Howell, Alan

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Harding School of Theology

Harding UniversityScholar Works at HardingBible & Ministry Faculty Research and Publications College of Bible & MinistrySummer 2017Review of Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains:Christian Leadership in Uncharted TerritoryAlan HowellHarding University, ahowell@harding.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.harding.edu/bible-facpubPart of the Christianity Commons, and the Missions and World Christianity CommonsThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Collegeof Bible & Ministry at Scholar Works at Harding. It has been accepted forinclusion in Bible & Ministry Faculty Research and Publications by anauthorized administrator of Scholar Works at Harding. For moreinformation, please contact scholarworks@harding.edu.Recommended CitationHowell, A. (2017). Review of Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory. Missio Dei: AJournal of Missional Theology and Praxis, 8 (2). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.harding.edu/bible-facpub/1010/3/2019 Missio Dei Journalmissiodeijournal.com/issues/md-8-2/authors/md-8-2-howell2 1/2TOD BOLSINGER. Canoeing the Mountains: ChristianLeadership in Uncharted Territory. Downers Grove, IL:InterVarsity Press, 2015. 247 pp. Paperback. $18.00.In Canoeing the Mountains, Tod Bolsinger, assistant professor of practical theology andvice president and chief of the leadership formation platform at Fuller TheologicalSeminary, offers “a guidebook for learning to lead in a world we weren’t prepared for” (13).Bolsinger believes that for many ministers, a seminary education has “trained them for aworld that is disappearing” (13, 15). He wants his readers to be ready to face the challengeof leading into the uncharted territory of a post-Christian age. The early Americanexplorers, Lewis and Clark, serve as guides in this study of leadership, and their journey ofdiscovery is used as a lens to explore the situation facing Christian leaders today. Bolsingeralso draws on his own personal history in pastoral ministry and denominational leadershipto connect theory and practice.The book’s first section addresses “Understanding Uncharted Territory.” Following theconventional wisdom of their day, Lewis and Clark expected to find a waterway that wouldconnect the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. What these explorers found, though,was not a flowing river, but the Rocky Mountains! They had come prepared to explore viacanoes, but had to ditch those plans and lead their crew off their “map” to safely cross themountains. Bolsinger notes that “just as Lewis and Clark functioned under a set ofgeographical assumptions, leaders of the church in the West today have been operatingunder a set of philosophical, theological and ecclesiological assumptions” (27). He argues“that leadership—and especially leadership development—must be dramatically differentthan it was during Christendom” (30). In this new environment, paths for thriving (or evensimply surviving) will not be found by trying harder or having greater technical skill relatedto the solutions of the past. Instead, what is required is a “spirit of adventure” and anability “to look over Lemhi Pass and let the assumptions of the past go” (33).In the second and third sections, Bolsinger discusses “The On the Map Skill Set” and what“Leading Off the Map” requires. One of his important refrains is that no one will trustsomeone to lead them off the map until they have proven their ability to lead on the map.In these sections, he unpacks this core concept from earlier in the book: “transformationalleadership lies at the overlapping intersection of three leadership components.” It “beginsin technical competence . . . is validated in relational congruence . . . and becomestransformational through the integration of adaptive capacity” (43–44). Bolsingerthoughtfully and effectively addresses each of these three parts of leadership and how theybuild on each other. Other notable items in these sections were some inspiring andchallenging descriptions of Lewis and Clark’s leadership partnership (62, 68–70), anexamination of the power that organizational culture has over strategy (73, 77), and adiscussion of the necessity for leaders to have conviction that “the mission trumps” allother questions and should be more important than preferences, personalities, orprograms (125).10/3/2019 Missio Dei Journalmissiodeijournal.com/issues/md-8-2/authors/md-8-2-howell2 2/2In the fourth section, Bolsinger explores “Relationships and Resistance” by looking at theways organizations fight against change and encourages leaders to expect sabotage andaddress it effectively (174–77). In the fifth and final section, Bolsinger focuses on“Transformation.” He weaves in the story of Sacagawea, the young, nursing mother whosaved Lewis and Clark’s expedition, and connects that example and others totransformational leadership by reminding us that “those who had neither power norprivilege in the Christendom world are the trustworthy guides and necessary leaders whenwe go off the map. They are not going into uncharted territory. They are at home” and canhelp us find our way (191). He challenges leaders to be better listeners by including thewisdom of other voices into the decision-making process (196–7) as well as to experimentwith different leadership structures that could better fit what a given context demands(200–1). Finally, he emphasizes that “leadership into uncharted territory requires andresults in transformation of the whole organization, starting with the leaders” and remindsus that “God is taking us into uncharted territory to transform us” (217).Overall, I found Bolsinger’s approach and argument compelling. As a missionary serving inwhat could be conceived as a “pre-Christian” society, there was much that I resonated withas well. I found myself often nodding along in agreement—that the world he was describingwas one strikingly similar to where I find myself in ministry. I was pleased to seeBolsinger’s argument for including marginalized voices from within the West (196–200)but it made me wish he had included a push for more voices from outside the West as well.I think their perspective could help us understand what life and ministry outside ofChristendom could and should look like. Bolsinger used the Lewis and Clark narrative sostrategically and sparingly that it did not overwhelm the aims of the book. Instead, it wassuch rich source material that I wished he had included even more of their story. Iappreciated his use of sidebars to summarize essential themes and ideas in each chapter.He packed the book with dozens and dozens of memorable quotes on leadership from boththe business and church spheres. On a few occasions, though, these became a distraction,with back to back to back quotes in the text, as if the author was trying to make sure tosqueeze in all his favorite leadership aphorisms. Those minor critiques, however, do notdiminish my appreciation for this well-written book on how to do leadership in the post-Christendom West. It serves as a wake-up call to recognize our new environment and as aninsightful introduction to leadership in uncharted territory. Like Lewis and Clark, itthoughtfully explores and clears a new path for us, and I hope it paves the way for furtherreflection on what leadership looks like in the wilds outside the bounds of Christendom.Alan B. HowellMissionary serving the Makua-Metto peopleMontepuez, Mozambique

Review of Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory

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Review of Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory

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