When Good Books Are Put to Bad Uses

Ian Evison,
CRG Director

“Is this a good book?”

Whether a book is good—in its effects—often depends on how it is used. A well-written book with great insights and practical advice is rarely useful if clergy read it on their own, gain a little momentary perspective, and then shelve it.

In contrast, a book that is neither insightful nor well-written can start a revolution if it raises the right issues and a board, session, or vestry reads and discusses it section by section.

Furthermore, the best books or other resources often contain great potential for misuse. Like any powerful tool, a resource can be not only useless, but harmful. Below is our short list of some great books that we see used to harmful effect.

Our staff and consultants contributed to this list; we would be glad to hear your nominations as well (crg@alban.org).

For links to more information, click on the book's title or image.

The Wounded Healer, by Henri J. M. Nouwen

This book has helped many leaders see that their personal woundedness can provide the occasion for developing great empathy and great strength. Unfortunately, this book has also served as a refuge from accountability or a rationale for failing to come to terms with serious and potentially dangerous shortcomings. Alcoholism is not a leadership style.

Generation to Generation, by Edwin H. Friedman

Edwin Friedman's book has helped many leaders to act with greater maturity and less anxiety. But his advice to be a "non-anxious presence" is often misunderstood or misused. Some leaders have embraced the "non-anxious presence" advice as a rationalization for behavior that is merely distant and disengaged. They then become—spiritually if not physically—a non-anxious absence.

Leadership Without Easy Answers, by Ronald A. Heifetz

This is an immensely popular book, unfortunately in part because “balcony space” (one of the book's key concepts) can be comfortably used as a safe retreat, where leaders can go with their friends and kibitz about their work without getting involved. In his new book, Leadership on the Line, Heifetz makes an effort to guard against this misuse of "balcony space."

Clergy Killers, by G. Lloyd Rediger

Rediger makes an important point: congregations often deal with destructive behavior by conciliation or placating—anything to avoid a fuss. This does not work. However, even healthy criticism hurts. There is great temptation for even the most mature leader to suspect that critics of clergy action or clericalism are “clergy killers.” While there may be a place for the strategies Rediger suggests, using them too early or too often is a sure recipe for turning a good argument into a church fight or split.

Antagonists in the Church, by Kenneth C. Haugk

Leaders, especially clergy, often can’t stand the idea that anyone dislikes them. It can be marvelously freeing to accept—really accept—that some won’t. And some will play the role of habitual antagonist. Yet the temptation to personalize a conflict is usually a temptation best resisted. One disgruntled person can’t be allowed to derail change, but divergent and cautionary voices are a part of the change process. Creative leaders bring these voices into the process and help the group hold the tension of discord.

Personality Type and Religious Leadership, by Roy M. Oswald and Otto Kroeger

In a spot quiz, today’s congregational leaders are more likely to know their Myers-Briggs type than their blood types—or even the Ten Commandments! The Myers-Briggs indicator serves many as a powerful tool in developing both personal leadership capacities and (increasingly) the capacity of teams. Lamentably, the temptation can be great to use this test for diagnosing or dismissing others and for excusing ourselves.

Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey’s writing reminds us of a basic truism: we must take time for activities that are important but not urgent, like recreation and relationship. We must not neglect self-renewal. Yet, this era loves highly individualistic understandings of effectiveness—and success. Ultimately, effectiveness and success depend upon more than the characteristics of individuals. For some, writers like Covey and others represented in airport bookstores become an unfortunate invitation to forget this.

The Purpose Driven Church, by Rick Warren

This book is a leader in a pack of “organizational biographies” that have helped spread important innovations. Yet, too often such books are used by “wanna-be” leaders who live in very different contexts. These leaders attempt to imitate the high-profile congregations by following their practices to the letter without grasping their spirit. They never quite understand the need to recreate such practices for their own situations.

Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman

Daniel Goleman’s central observation—that intellectually smart people can be emotionally dumb as posts—desperately and lamentably needs to be applied to theological education and congregational life. Yet (also lamentably) Goleman’s work is sometimes taken as an invitation to cultivate a happy attitude and stop using your brain. The presence of positive emotions doesn't eliminate the need to think.

The In-Between Church, by Alice Mann

What serves well to aid understanding can serve equally well to pigeon-hole. This and other work about congregational size theory is used by some leaders as a set of hard-and-fast rules (“If a congregation is program-sized, then it displays characteristics XYZ”). They ignore other factors: location, membership make-up, and history. Like personality type theory, size theory is pernicious as a label or a self-justification.

Why Conservative Churches Are Growing, by Dean M. Kelley

Years ago Dean Kelley pointed out that at least some conservative churches were growing because they were doing some important things right and others needed to learn from their experiences. Unfortunately, a few churches have jumped too quickly: first, to the Biblically incongruous conclusion that God most values the big and the successful; and second, to the equally incongruous conclusion that the past success of some congregations can set the pattern for the future success of all congregations.

The Holy Bible

The best book used for the worst purposes—no contest.