Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory

I highly recommend this book for Christian leaders. I read this as part of my MBA program and have gone back to it countless times. So much so that now I am taking my entire leadership team through it. This book offers tremendous insight into the world that we live in today and the leadership required for the church now and in the future. I believe this book has application beyond just the church, however. I work in healthcare, a constant changing environment. I find the principles in this book are highly applicable for any Christian leader walking through change. This book takes insights from Lewis and Clark’s expedition and applies it to the world of leadership in insightful ways. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Great book on leadership. Interesting, because it’s a true story, and the narrative helps break up the technical/leadership portions. This makes it an easier read if you lean more toward fiction or stories vs. non-fiction/ sel-help. Good lessons.

This is a thoughtful and helpful book for anyone trying to lead a church in a rapidly changing culture. Bolsinger’s central metaphor—Lewis and Clark expecting rivers but discovering mountains—captures well what many pastors feel today: we’re trying to navigate terrain that older maps simply didn’t anticipate. The book does an excellent job naming the difference between technical problems and adaptive challenges and explaining why so many leadership tools that worked in the past no longer seem to work. In that sense, it’s deeply validating for church leaders who feel like they’ve been paddling hard only to realize the river has disappeared. If I have a critique, it’s that the book diagnoses the challenge more clearly than it prescribes solutions. I found myself wishing for more concrete examples of what adaptive leadership looks like in everyday congregational life. Still, this is an important and worthwhile read. It gives language to the moment many churches find themselves in and encourages leaders to approach the future with courage, humility, and a willingness to learn new ways of leading.

First, if you have interest in leadership growth and development, this book is a must-read for you. Tod offers great insight from his years as a minister and consultant that will, at the very least, challenge you to rethink your personal and organizational modes of operation while also giving you directions about how to consider taking different paths towards more desirable results. Whether you agree with his insights or offerings, you will be prodded to engage with them. Second, if you are a fan of Lewis and Clark, especially if you have read Ambrose’s work on them, you will especially enjoy the narrative retold through this book and the applications drawn from their amazing endeavor. The parallels between The Corps of Discovery and the leadership style(s) we need to navigate change are clear, cleaver, and usually not overstated or correlated too loosely. In fact, at times, I wished Bolsinger had shared more connection to the historical account, not less. Finally, the book is narrow enough to be practical, but broad enough to apply to a wide range of contexts. While written with church leadership in mind, the concepts apply to any organization trying to navigate change in an ever-changing cultural landscape. As a member of the faith community however, I love the constant reminder and call back to our eternal purpose and the primary reason why we must embrace challenges and change. I highly recommend this book!

Insightful, inspiring and informative, this book reframes the conversation about how to lead the church (and every other organization and institution) into the uncharted territory of an uncertain future. It has all the benefits of a textbook on your shelf for reference and all the readability of your favorite leadership author. It was so good, I also picked up Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage book—and read about Lewis and Clark’s adventures, too. It’s a great read too!

I really enjoyed this book. Bolsinger never attempts to give solutions or quick fixes. Rather, using the excellent analogy of Lewis & Clark's expedition of exploration, he urges us to consider that the present organisational structures & leadership training cannot take churches forward into the future. We must give up the methods that have worked in the past & stop thinking that just doing the same things will bring new results. He has really got me thinking, which is a sign of a good book. I appreciate the fact that Bolsinger doesn't give in to the temptation to "tell" me what to do. Rather, his comment in a recent interview expresses well the purpose of his book. He is talking about the essential DNA of each denomination/congregation. “Your fundamental practice is the practice of discernment. What of this do we hold on to because if we lose this, we stop being ourselves? What is it that we let go of because if we don’t let go of it, we will give up our opportunity to fulfill our mission?” A significant book at a time when the western church is facing serious decline. Clear, courageous, Spirit-led conversations are desperately needed NOW!! And Bolsinger's book encourages us to action NOW!!

Fantastic ! Inspirational, challenging and so thought provoking. Every leader looking to grow and develop should read this book.

In my work of training leaders I now have a strong word of encouragement – Don’t engage your leadership journey unless this book is in your backpack. “Canoeing The Mountains” deals with one of the most daunting questions we face as Christian leaders - How are we to lead in a world that is increasingly ambiguous, uncertain, and complex? The wise counsel to master “on the map” leadership so as to establish trust for “off the map” leadership was worth the price of the book. As a professor dedicated to teaching the art and craft of Christian leadership I know of no better resource for understanding and applying the concept of adaptive leadership than this work. Terry Young - Ambrose University

transformative if you are looking to move forward

Brilliant book, a must read for all leaders!!