Ducking Spears, Dancing Madly
by Lewis Parks, Bruce C. Birch
Category: Religion

A penetrating look at church leadership through the stories of Saul, David, and other central Old Testament figures. The Bible portrays leaders not as heroes placed on a pedestal, but rather as flawed and fallen human beings who nonetheless work with the people around them and with the situation at hand to move toward accomplishing the will of God. Lewis Parks and Bruce Birch maintain that a clear, open-eyed understanding of biblical stories on the exercise of leadership is the only way to prepare for leadership in the church. In order to provide that understanding, they engage in a dialogue with the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, texts that portray the people of Israel in frequent social and political transition, and hence in need of effective leadership.