Catastrophic Crisis: Ministry Leadership in the Midst of Trial and Tragedy

Steve F. Echols & Allen England. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2011. 192 pp. (Paperback).

According to co-author Steve Echols, not all seminary students are excited about studying leadership, preferring instead to concentrate on classical seminary courses. While it is hard to blame them — we certainly want our leaders to be interested in doctrine — Echols contends that leadership studies are important, too. He wrote, “Leadership problems are the leading cause of forced termination in Southern Baptist churches, and the fallout has devastating effects on both the minister and the church.”

Taking the stance that nothing tests leadership like a crisis, the authors present a series of case studies of churches undergoing crises, including such events as New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and a church whose pastor was shot and killed during a service.

Each case study includes a narrative outlining the crisis and the leadership’s response to it, followed by an analysis of the outcome and aftermath and a set of questions for further study.

The final section focuses “on hope and help for leaders.” Drawing from scholarly literature on leadership theory, the authors offer valuable leadership crisis principles viewed through spiritual lenses.

Although “Catastrophic Crisis” is primarily a scholarly work, well-researched and thoroughly documented, it is far from the pedantic work that one might expect. Put simply, it’s a good read.