This book is packed with excellent advice and some radical insights into how to lead in a church setting. I found myself questioning whether everything Hybels was saying was relevant to a small local church, but I think he just longs to see churches growing into larger churches. There were times when I'd also worry that he was losing focus on the power of God's sovereignty and the power of the Holy Spirit to work in people's lives, but he doesn't underestimate either – in fact, he is just espousing the fact that the gift of leadership should be exercised well and that this gift itself is from the Holy Spirit. Hybels comes across as someone who is exceedingly passionate about the church – both local and universal – and quite rightly describes it as the hope of the world, but he also is open, honest, and humble about his past weaknesses and how leaders should respond to their own. This is not an expository book, but it was not meant to be: this is a book which takes the serious subjects of communicating a vision, putting a strategy in place, working with a team, and encouraging and equipping new leaders. If 'communicating a vision' sounds wishy-washy and a little American, then I agree with you. I found myself worrying that the reader could take Hybel's advice and shape a church around a vision which isn't related at its core to the gospel. Thankfully, Hybels, at every point I doubted him, came to the fore with a strong emphasis on reaching out to the lost. In fact, he starts with a powerful point: amidst the chaos and hurt of the world, it is the church which brings redemptive potential, and which has the power to completely transform people's lives. ( )

While reading Courageous Leadership it became clear that Bill Hybels sought to run the church like a God-oriented business. While this maximized the efficiency of his ministry, it seems to have lost what makes the church a unique entity in the world while creating a large but distanced group of worshippers. Many of Hybels strategies for leadership are good on their own, it is simply when they are taken to the degree Hybels has taken them that they begin to look like a corporatization of the church rather than a way of building up the community of God. ( )

One of the best books on leadership that I've ever read...and re-read. Leadership is not for the faint of heart. ( )

Challenging Christian leaders to be bold and follow a Jesus- like approach to leadership ( )

This is a Christ centered book. Its thesis is that the local Christian church is the chief means on earth for transforming the world into a better one where peace and goodwill can abound among humankind. While leadership may not be the most important component in the local church, it is one component that is absolutely critical to the church's successful mission- - that of bringing about a better world through the positive transformation of human kind, one person at a time. Leadership enables the church, through Jesus Christ to positively impact not only the here and now for humankind but also for souls' heavenward journey to be with God eternally and receive His blessings. The book is credible. It is based not only on the author's knowledge gained from public and private education. It is also, and primarily, based on what the author applied in his leadership role in a large expansive church. The book is authentic in revealing that some approaches failed, but many more succeeded. ( )