Having worked as a parish priest and in theological training and development, David Runcorn is now a full time 'free range priest'. He writes, offers spiritual direction, and acts as a consultant and trainer in areas of spiritual formation, vocational development and Christian ministry. A well-known conference speaker and retreat leader, David is the author of several books, including Choice Desire and the Will of God, Spirituality Workbook, and The Road to Growth Less Travelled.

The ancient people of Israel and contemporary Western society share a preoccupation with the idea of leadership. In this perceptive and engaging book, David Runcorn reveals just how deeply one world can speak to the other. The story of 1 and 2 Samuel opens with a woman weeping. But grief is often the precursor of change, and the answering of Hannah's prayer is revealed in her song as a prophetic sign of God's ways in all the world. As the author then helps us reflect on various revealing episodes, time and again, he enables us to trace the true presence of God in the words, actions or faithful endurance of people on the edge of the 'main' script. And, he suggests, it is in the kind of honest, disciplined attentiveness they display, that the greatest hope for leadership will be found today.

David Runcorn

Cover page

Title page

Imprint

Dedication

Acknowledgements

1. Surviving leaders: On a journey beyond certainty

2. ‘In the beginning you weep’: Hannah and the unexpected starting place

3. ‘Here I am’: Samuel, listening and the tinnitus of God

4. On the perils of conscripting God: Religion, theology and technology

5. On the desire to be led: Leaders as the people’s dream

6. ‘Selfhood begins in walking away’: Saul the undifferentiated leader

7. How are the mighty fallen! When leadership fails

8. ‘What if?’ Jonathan and what might have been

9. Nobody does it better: David, man and king

10. I AM: God, hidden and revealed

11. Waiting among the dead: Vigil, protest and subversion

12. Calling from the walls: From victim to witness

Sources and further reading

Runcorn, David

The ancient people of Israel and contemporary Western society share a preoccupation with the idea of leadership. In this perceptive and engaging book, David Runcorn reveals just how deeply one world can speak to the other. It is particularly relevant to current debates in the church over women and leadership.

The Good Book Stall

Leadership and the Old Testament rarely go together, yet here SPCK deliver a great new David Runcorn work for the health, depth and growth of our Christian leadership. So often the Old Testament is neglected or considered of limited usefulness when it comes to considering Christian leadership. Here our world and the ancient nation of Israel are brought together in compelling contemporary themed narratives of servant leadership in the purposes of God. Politics and religion, loyalty and betrayal, triumph and tragedy, war and peace are ably navigated here by Runcorn in complimentary gender partnership.   
This is a great and effective blend of reflection on Scripture, insight from ministry and personal experience, thoughtful observation, and many moments where the reader is taken in an unexpected direction. I was particularly helped by the chapter on Jonathan. There is a fresh engagement with women’s ministry, scripture, subversion and how the new possibilities of leadership might unfold. It tracks the powerful, vulnerable but essential wrestle between fear and trust. A fresh, edgy and valuable addition to the raft of Christian leadership titles available in the market today.  
Perceptive and provocative!

Fear and Trust

God-Centred Leadership

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Fear and Trust

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