Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry

Ruth Haley Barton (Doctor of Divinity, Northern Seminary) is founding president/CEO of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors and Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve. For over twenty years, she has ministered to the soul care needs of pastors and leaders based upon her conviction that the best thing we bring to to leadership is our own transforming selves. Trained at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and the Institute for Pastoral Studies Loyola University Chicago, Ruth is a seasoned retreat leader and spiritual director. A sought-after speaker and preacher, she has served on the pastoral staff of several churches and teaches frequently at seminaries and graduate schools. Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Sacred Rhythms, Longing for More, Pursuing God's Will Together, and Life Together in Christ. She continues to share her thoughts and perspectives on soulful leadership through an online resource called eReflections as well as a podcast entitled Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.

Leighton Ford is president of Leighton Ford Ministries, which seeks to help young leaders worldwide to lead more like Jesus and more to Jesus. For many years, Ford communicated Christ around the globe through speaking, writing and media outreach, addressing millions of people in thirty-seven countries on every continent. He served from 1955 until 1985 as Associate Evangelist and later Vice President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and was featured as the alternate speaker to Billy Graham on the Hour of Decision broadcast. He served for nearly twenty years as chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, an international body of Christian leaders. The author or co-author of numerous books, including Transforming Leadership and The Attentive Life, Ford lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife Jean.

"Barton has written a book which could serve as a prescription for people in ministry who have come to the end of themselves. I recommend this book for leaders who have experienced a glance toward the dark night of the soul but have found themselves working harder, trusting less, and growing weary in order to avoid the transforming work of the soul."

-- Susan Reese, Journal of Spiritual Formation Soul Care, 2009

"At times Barton’s words were a needed wake-up call and at other times they were a source of refreshment. I’m thankful for both."

-- Mike Bonem, Leadership Network (books.leadnet.org), August 30, 2008

"This beautiful cross between Ordering Your Private World and Celebration of Discipline isn’t a book you merely read; rather, [it’s] one you process with the Holy Spirit, with passages that call to be re-read and swallowed slowly. Definitely not ‘a glorified self-help project.’"

-- Danette Matty, YouthWorker Journal, September/October 2008

"Ruth Haley Barton’s book Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership is a must-read for all those in ministry."

-- Larry Magnuson, YouthWorker Journal, January/February 2010

"There are many books that help sharpen our leadership skills, but this one brings challenging insights to strengthen our souls which will transform our leadership."

-- Kerry Clarensau, Enrichment Journal, Fall 2009

"Ms. Barton relies heavily on the life of Moses as a window into the different aspects of leadership in which we might learn to seek God and allow God to strengthen us to provide spiritual leadership to others. The book is not just for those already in leadership roles, but also for those who are seeking leadership."

-- Marlyne Seymour, The Living Church, January 4, 2009

"The most significant book I read in 2008 . . . is a call to inspect one’s inner life and motives for leadership with neither guilt nor obsession, allowing God to tweak and morph it at will."

-- Danette Matty, YouthWorker Journal, January/February 2009

"It may seem hard to believe, being a pastor or other religious leader can be very draining on one’s faith. Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership answers a real problem that many may not realize exists for their pastors and priests."

-- James A. Cox, Midwest Book Review, December 2008