What is leadership? And how does one lead? A quick scan of your local bookstore might convicne you it’s about mastering certain techniques or demonstrating personal charisma.
A Failure of Nerve, Revised Edition: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix
Church Publishing
288 pages
Then comes Edwin Friedman’s A Failure of Nerve, like a boulder crashing through the frozen lake of conventional leadership wisdom. The text is something of a cult-classic: unknown to many, and beloved by those who’ve stumbled upon it.
Friedman was a Jewish rabbi and therapist, yet Christian pastors and leaders will find his words illuminating, as if someone turned on the lights to reveal what they’ve been stumbling over in the dark.
Friedman’s central claim is that leadership is shaped more by the leader’s emotional presence than by merely knowing what to do. When pastors try to lead toward positive change, they often encounter resistance, anxiety, and even sabotage of their leadership. The task of leadership is not to out-strategize the chaos but to manage manage your own anxiety, remain connected to your people, and retain the conviction to stay the course.
In an age addicted to data and chasing the next quick fix, Friedman offers something better: courage. His work reminds us that faithful leadership isn’t about controlling outcomes—it’s about becoming the sort of non-anxious presence that helps facilitate real growth.
For pastors spinning their wheels and worn out by shallow solutions, A Failure of Nerve is both a bracing challenge and a glass of cool water.
Bryce Hales is lead pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in San Luis Obispo, California and co-author, with his wife Ashley, of A Fruitful Life.
