The book:

Just Lead! A No Whining, No Complaining, No Nonsense Practical Guide for Women Leaders in the Church

By Sherry Surratt and Jenni Catron

Published by Jossey-Bass

Why I picked up this book:

I have known both authors for several years now and think the world of them as women ...

When I read the Bible, I often feel inspired to leap over the highest mountains. The story of David defeating Goliath, Moses parting the Red Sea, Jesus defying the tomb with the resurrection, fill my heart with courage to face any enemy head on.

But then I find myself shaken ...

Six years ago we moved from the inner city to a three-acre plot with multiple fruit trees. I never realized how much work these trees require, naively assuming they produced their bountiful harvests year after year, sans intervention. I had much to learn. Fruit trees must be ...

Darkness is rich with theological meaning. Our first thoughts may be of evil things, ala "the powers of darkness." But there are other applications. Darkness hides things and people, like Nicodemus' first meeting with Jesus under the cover of night. From the darkness, chaos, ...

I had looked and felt much like Natasha about 18 months prior to our coffee shop chat. I'd sat in a stunned silence on the oversize sofa in the counseling room at QuietWaters Ministries, an intensive care retreat center for pastors and missionaries in crisis in Denver, Colorado. ...

Natasha cradles her coffee cup between her trembling hands. Holding that cup, it seems, is the one thing she can do to keep herself together.

Usually she sits erect—shoulders back, head up, chin square, eyes tuned in. Natasha typically leans in during a conversation and engages ...

Last week, the Catalyst Conference blew through Dallas with more force than the gusty winds we experienced in the parking lot. This was two and half days packed full of church leaders, hip plaid shirts, soulful worship, and a who's who lineup of Christian authors and speakers. ...