This is a review of the document Leadership Under Constraints (PDF Document) by Gil Rendle. This document was initially presented at The United Methodist Way: A Convocation that took place in 2007.
Main Themes
This essay provides:
“… a perspective on the current setting and challenges of leadership within the United Methodist Church from the lens of systems theory and organizational sciences.”
Rendle addresses the current state of the structure of the United Methodist Church and clearly evaluates the leadership strengths and weaknesses of the denomination. Adaptive leadership is over technical management at each level of the denomination.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Rendle states several assumptions in the denomination including that of scarcity, egalitarianism, representative democracy, harmony and entitlement. I found this to be a strength of the paper as it speaks a difficult word to denominational leaders while accurately describing reality. Another strength is the leverage points to be able to move forward.
Relevance to The United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church was the target audience and I found this essay to be relevant in all areas of content.
Relevance to The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
This document is relevant to Resurrection both as a United Methodist congregation, but also in particular ministry areas. I believe that there is great application within my particular ministry – Congregational Care.
Recommendation
I highly recommend this document to all leaders within The United Methodist Church both lay and clergy.
Rev. Andrew Conard 