Polycentric Mission Leadership: Toward A New Theoretical Model for Global Leadership  

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Polycentric Mission Leadership: Toward A New Theoretical Model for Global Leadership*

By Joseph W. Handley Jr.  

Regnum Books International, 2022 

191 Pages 

Find it on Amazon*

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Summary

This book, by an author who has devoted his adult life to Christian missions, offers a “new” model for mission leadership for the multi-cultural enterprise that is Christianity in the world today. He offers the insight that given the cultural diversity of Christian leaders around the world, we must embrace a more collaborative, decentralized approach to leading, an approach that is as given to community and listening as it is to offering vision. The spirit of this leadership is defined in this quote: “Leadership communities in the image of the Trinity embrace a level of mutuality, reciprocal acknowledgement of each other’s gifts, vulnerability to one another, and genuine shared life that transcends simply getting the job done.” Kindle location 646 

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Responses

  1. So, we’ve been practicing this, otherwise known as “leadership plurality”, for many years now; and recently launched a multi-national, multi-2ndary doctrine network in Asia. Of course the authors recognize that this is the approach found in the book of Acts, and our relationships have focused upon this in all our mission efforts. There are many lessons to be learned, and we outline these in our foundational documents. I’ll look at getting the book; just was curious at the ‘new’ and ‘theoretical’ parts of the title.