Christians and their institutions are stuck, says Michael Foss, stuck in the thinking and dilemmas of the past. This short volume is a plea for Christians to rethink their point and purpose in light of larger cultural changes and a crisis in leadership. Foss detects a crisis in leadership in declining rates of church participation, stagnant levels of students preparing for ministry, and burnout among clergy.
To energize a new generation of leaders able to transcend yesterday's thinking, Foss encourages a new style of ecclesial thinking. He first traces the larger cultural shifts that affect the church's position in the world and styles of leadership. He then diagnoses church thinking as largely reproductive of past successes and ineffective in this new context. Advancing to productive thinking empowers Christians to leave behind the most important and frustrating dichotomies or polarities in today's church: evangelism vs. social justice, control vs. freedom, growth vs. discipleship.
Foss's model of moving from issues into conversation and then into compassion is a blueprint for new leadership "equipped to think productively for the sake of the reign of our God in the world."
A Servant's Manual
is aimed in part at bringing the key ideas and energy of Foss's earlier book, Power Surge, to a wider audience of concerned Christians, potential leaders for the next generation.