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.

Bolsinger’s book is a must read for anyone in leadership. Think beyond the now and into the unknown.

Rod Bolsinger has captured the lost ingredient that our Apostolic brothers and sisters had in abundance after Christ's Resurrection: the adventure of discovery. Early committed followers of Christ Jesus faced expulsion from their families and traditional religious lives. They faced physical, mental and spiritual torture; and frequently saw death for those embarking in faith on the adventure of discovery that we call Christianity today. The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803-1806) was commissioned to find the water route to Asia and "claim" the land. Their Corps of Discovery assumed what lays east of the Mississippi River (their past) would prepare them for their adventure west of the Mississippi River (their future). When they reached the end of the maps, the headwaters of the Missouri River they thought it would be crossing a hill and easy coasting downstream to the Pacific Ocean. Not so fast, eager followers! The Rocky Mountains went UP, not down. Like the Kingdom of God in the last 30~40 years, the methods, techniques and solutions no longer were working. Churches closing. The percentage of those who self-identify as active followers of Jesus, the Messiah-Christ, is sharply declining. The complacency, comfort, and conflicts within the Body of Christ have brought the Adventure of Discovery we read about in the Book of Acts to a shuddering halt. Such tride-and-true techniques as turning inward, praying for God to medevac us out of this troubled world, adding a praise band, flashing lights, eloquent preaching and guilt-tripping has not succeeded. Author Tod Bolsinger paints a clear picture that NOW is the time to ADAPT to THRIVE! Not next year, not after COVID-19, not when we reorganize (again) and certainly not after firing our current Pastors. NOW is the time to re-launch the Kingdom of Christ, "on earth as it is in heaven." "What is in front of us is nothing at all like the world where we previously thrived." An excellent and easy read (or listen) for those eager to rejoin Jesus on His Adventure of Discovery, redeeming those living lonely and unloved lives apart from the agape Love and Grace of the LORD.

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!

While I appreciate the topic the author addresses and he offers some practical and systematic ways to tackle what I have dealt with more or less intuitively, I wish the author used more Scripture. While the extended metaphor of Lewis and Clark and their exploits are interesting, that is hardly the epistemological center for the Christian leader, but sadly, if you follow the book, it will be.

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!!