Holy Clarity: The Practice of Planning and Evaluation
Sarah B. Drummond
In Holy Clarity, Sarah Drummond explores the most basic reason leaders of religious organizations conduct evaluations: To find and create God-pleasing clarity regarding the organization’s purpose and the impact of its activities. Leadership and evaluation are not separate disciplines, she argues. Effective leaders evaluate because they need to know what is happening in their organizations and how those activities are effecting change.
Drummond first describes the way in which our postmodern culture makes clarity difficult to obtain. She then looks at holy clarity from a biblical and theological perspective and makes the case that it is a spiritual discipline that can stand on its own theological merits. She presents four approaches to evaluation that can help a leader to guide a community toward greater clarity, both when evaluating or analyzing programs and when planning and starting programs. Finally, she considers the work of clarification as a faith practice, one that can make a pastor or layperson not just a better leader, but a better Christian who is more firmly grounded in God. Each chapter concludes with a fictional case study that provides a jumping-off point for discussion and helps bring her theory to life.
Holy Clarity is an accessible resource that provides an entry point for those who are eager to learn some basic practices in this crucial discipline.
Praise for the Book
“For all of us struggling to meet the demands of assessment and evaluation in our communities and institutions, Sarah Drummond brings holy clarity. She invites us to see evaluation not as an unwelcome import from ‘the business world’ but as a practice of faith. Seeking clarity of purpose through our evaluations, Drummond argues, we draw near to God’s own purposes. This is essential reading for all who seek clarity, truth, and vision in their work.” —Stephanie Paulsell, Houghton Professor of the Practice of Ministry Studies, Harvard Divinity School
“Sarah Drummond dispels the myth that evaluation can only be done by experts with advanced degrees in the field. She garners the latest thinking in evaluation, leadership studies, and practical theology, together with biblical and theological interpretations of evaluation, to offer the most up-to-date teaching on evaluation for religious leaders. Heed her message: employing the practices of evaluation is the way to holy clarity about the work of religious communities and organizations.” —Kathleen Cahalan, Associate Professor of Theology, Saint John’s University School of Theology, and author of Projects That Matter: Successful Planning and Evaluation for Religious Organizations
“Evaluation is about honesty and hope. We Christians are called to be honest enough to face the world as it really is, yet we remain hopeful because God’s love stands stronger than anything we might discover in the world. I recommend Holy Clarity to churches that long for honest hope.” —Scott Cormode, Hugh De Pree Associate Professor of Leadership Development, Fuller Theological Seminary
About the Author
ISBN# 978-1-56699-387-6
Alban No. AL387
paper
2009
In stock
$17.00
($13.60 for members)
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