Books
The Resilience Factor:
A Step-by-Step Guide to Catalyze an Unbreakable Team
Want to unleash the "remarkable" in your team?
The potential of a team of God-inspired, talented, committed people is boundless. But without resilience―including the savvy and skill to get up again (and again) when the going gets tough―teams simply cannot thrive or lead well. Resilience is what sets great leaders and teams apart from those that literally fall apart. It's what's missing when great organizations lose steam.
Having worked with team members in many kinds of churches and Christian organizations, served on numerous teams, and surfaced the best research on teams, my co-authors Léonce B. Crump Jr. and Warren Bird and I have distilled our collective wisdom into a series of practical steps that promise to both inspire and equip teams to move from floundering to flourishing.
Filled with examples of top-performing teams, individual and group reflection questions, diagnostic tools, and team activities, The Resilience Factor promises to become the go-to resource for leaders who want to release remarkable resilience in their teams.
Praise for The Resilience Factor
“Many leaders struggle to overcome internal culture problems, growing trust deficits, and the loss of team productivity. Thankfully, this influential new book, The Resilient Factor, is an instant go-to resource for building an effective team. In addition to helping teams develop clarity of purpose and align around goals, this book will equip and empower leaders to build teams that last.”
CRAIG GROESCHEL
pastor of Life.Church and host of The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
“If the past decade has taught leaders anything, it's that great teams don't endure against all odds by failing to change. Instead, they use setbacks and chaos to grow stronger, resilient, and ready for the future. This book will teach your team exactly how to do that.”
DR. DAVID BURKUS
Author of Best Team Ever and Leading From Anywhere
“Many of us know we need to be more resilient – but how do we get there? The Resilience Factor artfully explains the new leadership realities of our day, and expertly guides us step-by-step to become the resilient leaders and teams needed for tomorrow. I’ll be taking my teams through this insightful workbook, and I highly encourage everyone do the same!”
KADI COLE
leadership consultant, executive coach, and author of Developing Female Leaders
“It's almost as if they are your coach, you are in the locker room of ministry and they are walking you through step by step how to win the game. If you want to upgrade your team and level up your leadership, take time and let this team coach you through this masterful book.”
ALBERT TATE
lead pastor of Fellowship Church, speaker, and author
Leading Small Groups That Thrive:
Five Shifts to Take Your Group to the Next Level
Leading Small Groups That Thrive shows small group leaders, step by step, how to plan for, launch, build, sustain, and multiply highly effective, transformational, healthy small group experiences where people grow spiritually together.
In this book, leaders get both what they want-practical, straightforward, actual small group member voices and experiences, and compelling guidance on how to build transformational groups complemented with real-life examples and data of successful small groups-and what they need-substantial, challenging insights and a data-driven model grounded in the latest research on church small groups.
Praise for Leading Small Groups That Thrive
“This book speaks visionary truth with empowering grace. By combining fascinating real-life research with insightful questions, thoughtful analysis, compelling models, and pragmatic recommendations, this is a unique and valuable resource for small group leaders and ministries seeking to grow life-giving, thriving communities.”
CAROLYN TAKETA
small groups pastor and editorial advisor and host of the GroupTalk podcast
“Your insights and coaching in this book is gold. There is coaching in here that isn’t just for small groups but how we should all think about leadership in the church, at home, or professionally. You absolutely nailed the why- what- how. Can’t imagine the sweat that went into this book. How much I needed this.”
TYLER
Bible study leader
“All of us are looking for practical tips to be better group leaders and help the people we lead take their next spiritual steps. Leading Small Groups that Thrive provides research and real-world examples from proven practitioners to back it up. Whether you’re a seasoned small groups leader or a future one, this book will help you be a better leader.”
CHRIS SURRATT
small groups specialist at LifeWay, and author of Leading Small Groups
“After serving 30 years on staff with Cru, I know how small groups can be “hit or miss.” I’ve also seen firsthand how powerful and transformational groups can be, too. This is a great resource for established and new leaders to grow in their abilities to confidently lead groups for individual growth and spiritual health.”
VIVIAN MABUNI
author, and host of Someday is Here podcast
Teams That Thrive:
Five Disciplines of Collaborative Church Leadership
Many churches have begun to share key leadership duties, but don't know how to take their leadership team to the point where it thrives. Others seriously need a new approach to leadership: pastors are tired, congregations are stuck, and meanwhile the work never lets up. But what does it actually mean to do leadership well as a team? How can it be done in a way that avoids frustration and burnout? How does team leadership best equip the staff and bless a congregation? What do the top church teams do to actually thrive together?
Using examples from many churches, Teams That Thrive presents discoveries from a large-scale study of church leadership teams, which culminate in five disciplines that, if implemented, can enable your team to thrive. This book is a coaching tool for senior leadership teams that enables struggling teams to thrive, and resources teams doing well to do their work even better.
Praise for Teams That Thrive
“As someone passionate about teams, I strongly recommend Teams That Thrive. It draws out best practices and principles from hundreds of leadership teams, pulls together top marketplace research, and then illustrates them with stories from churches at every level. I encourage you not to simply read it yourself, but to read it and work through it with your team. It will make you better. It will help you thrive.”
LARRY OSBORNE
pastor at North Coast Church, and author of Sticky Teams
“Serious leaders are serious about their teams because something extraordinary happens when a team thrives, something much greater than the sum of its parts. Teams That Thrive is an unusual blend of spirit and practice. It is fresh, deep and eminently helpful!”
NANCY ORTBERG
Author, Looking for God
“Church leaders talk big about the priesthood of all believers, but too many don’t know how to live that out on the leadership team level.
This excellent book shows how.”
DERWIN GRAY
Lead Pastor, Transformation Church
“This practical book is full of tips and tools that church leadership teams can use to become better and to increase in impact. Teams That Thrive will be a great help to my own team as we help church leadership teams get unstuck.”
TONY MORGAN
Founder, The Unstuck Group
“Teams That Thrive has been an invaluable resource for our church leadership team. We have been functioning in a team leadership model for 10 years now, but Hartwig and Bird helped to draw out some of the weaknesses in our model, especially as our leadership team has significantly grown. This is not as much a theological apologetic for team leadership, but a practical guide for how to put the principles of team leadership into practice in a church setting, which is so incredibly different than a business setting.
Hartwig and Bird are not only deeply practical in their book, but they are rooted in biblical truth, promoting a model of leadership that will only work when those serving in leadership are biblically qualified to do so.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and have gone so far as to buy copies for our entire leadership team as well as for a number of pastor friends.”
SCOTT
Amazon reviewer