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Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders Hardcover – Illustrated, April 21 2006
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The discipline of self-awareness―the single most important body of information a leader possesses
The discipline of self-management―handling difficult emotions, expectations, temptations, mental vibrancy, and physical well-being
The discipline of self-development―a life-long commitment to learning and growing and building on one's strengths
The discipline of mission―enjoying the permissions of maintaining the sense of God's purpose for your life and leadership
The discipline of decision-making―knowing the elements of good decisions and learning from failure
The discipline of belonging―the determination to nurture relationships and to live in community with others, including family, followers, mentors, and friends
The discipline of aloneness―the intentional practice of soul-making solitude and contemplation
- ISBN-109780787977535
- ISBN-13978-0910296007
- Edition1st
- PublisherJossey-Bass
- Publication dateApril 21 2006
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions15.49 x 2.54 x 22.86 cm
- Print length192 pages
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Review
–Insights magazine (Sept. 2008)
Review
―from the Foreword by Ken Blanchard, author of The One-Minute Manager and Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time
"The depth and breadth of wisdom in this book is just short of unbelievable. Good leaders aspiring to be great leaders will do well to read this book and allow it to probe and shape their lives."
―Bill Easum, Easum, Bandy & Associates
"I have always been challenged by Reggie McNeal’s ‘right on’ insights. And this book is packed with ‘right on’ insights for any leader wanting to move from good to great."
―Robert Lewis, pastor and men’s fraternity founder, Fellowship Bible Church, Little Rock, Arkansas
"Someone once taught me a powerful lesson: ‘If you are without discipline, you are without power.’ In this revitalizing work, Reggie has tapped into a power source for all leaders―disciplines. Grab hold of this book and begin a newly charged life today!"
―Wayne Cordeiro, New Hope Christian Fellowship O’ahu, Honolulu, Hawaii; author of Culture Shift: Transforming Your Church from the Inside Out
"We owe Greatness to God. Reggie McNeal challenges us to this standard and gives us some practical ‘how-tos’ in this clear and compelling new book. I recommend this book for all who aspire to a meaningful Halftime and Life II."
―Bob Buford, author, Halftime and Finishing Well; founder and chairman, Leadership Network
From the Inside Flap
Based on his extensive experience as coach and mentor to many thousands of Christian leaders across a broad spectrum of ministry settings, Reggie McNeal helps spiritual leaders understand that they will self-select into or out of greatness. In this important book, McNeal shows how great spiritual leaders are committed consciously and intentionally to seven spiritual disciplines, habits of heart and mind that shape both their character and competence:
The discipline of self-awarenessthe single most important body of information a leader possesses
The discipline of self-managementhandling difficult emotions, expectations, temptations, mental vibrancy, and physical well-being
The discipline of self-developmenta life-long commitment to learning and growing and building on one's strengths
The discipline of missionenjoying the permissions of maintaining the sense of God's purpose for your life and leadership
The discipline of decision-makingknowing the elements of good decisions and learning from failure
The discipline of belongingthe determination to nurture relationships and to live in community with others, including family, followers, mentors,and friends
The discipline of alonenessthe intentional practice of soul-making solitude and contemplation
Practicing Greatness goes beyond mere clichés and inspirational thoughts to be a hard-hitting resource for leaders who aspire to go from being just good enough to being a great leader who blesses others.
From the Back Cover
Often spiritual leaders do not aspire to greatness for fear of seeming to lack humility. Yet greatness in spiritual leadership is just what we need―in our churches, our businesses, in education, in the social sector, in every sector of society. The question is how do good spiritual leaders become great leaders?
Based on his extensive experience as coach and mentor to many thousands of Christian leaders across a broad spectrum of ministry settings, Reggie McNeal helps spiritual leaders understand that they will self-select into or out of greatness. In this important book, McNeal shows how great spiritual leaders are committed consciously and intentionally to seven spiritual disciplines, habits of heart and mind that shape both their character and competence:
THE DISCIPLINE OF SELF-AWARENESS―the single most important body of information a leader possesses
THE DISCIPLINE OF SELF-MANAGEMENT―handling difficult emotions, expectations, temptations, mental vibrancy, and physical well-being
THE DISCIPLINE OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT―a life-long commitment to learning and growing and building on one’s strengths
THE DISCIPLINE OF MISSION―enjoying the permissions of maintaining the sense of God’s purpose for your life and leadership
THE DISCIPLINE OF DECISION-MAKING―knowing the elements of good decisions and learning from failure
THE DISCIPLINE OF BELONGING―the determination to nurture relationships and to live in community with others, including family, followers, mentors, and friends
THE DISCIPLINE OF ALONENESS―the intentional practice of soul-making solitude and contemplation
Practicing Greatness goes beyond mere clichés and inspirational thoughts to be a hard-hitting resource for leaders who aspire to go from being just good enough to being a great leader who blesses others.
About the Author
Reggie McNeal is the director of leadership development for the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Through his various leadership roles, from local congregational settings to denominational positions to seminary classrooms to coach and consultant for thousands of spiritual leaders, he has been devoted to helping leaders understand and practice true leadership greatness. McNeal is the author of Revolution in Leadership: Training Apostles for Tomorrow’s Church (Abingdon Press), along with A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders and the best-selling The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church, both from Jossey-Bass.
Product details
- ASIN : 0787977535
- Publisher : Jossey-Bass; 1st edition (April 21 2006)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 192 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780787977535
- ISBN-13 : 978-0910296007
- Item weight : 386 g
- Dimensions : 15.49 x 2.54 x 22.86 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: #251,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #17 in Psychology of Leadership
- #190 in Christian Leadership (Books)
- #1,906 in Christianity Textbooks
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Reggie enjoys helping people, leaders, and Christian organizations pursue more intentional lives. He currently serves as the Missional Leadership Specialist for Leadership Network of Dallas, TX. Reggie’s past experience involves over a decade as a denominational executive and leadership development coach. He also served in local congregational leadership for over twenty years, including being the founding pastor of a new church. Reggie has lectured or taught as adjunct faculty for multiple seminaries, including Fuller Theological (Pasadena, CA), Southwestern Baptist (Ft. Worth, TX), Golden Gate Baptist (San Francisco, CA), Trinity Divinity School (Deerfield, IL), and Columbia International (Columbia, SC). In addition, he has served as a consultant to local church, denomination, and para-church leadership teams, as well as seminar developer and presenter for thousands of church leaders across North America. He has also resourced the United States Army Chief of Chaplains Office, Air Force chaplains, and the Air Force Education and Training Command. Reggie’s work also extends to the business sector, including The Gallup Organization.
Reggie has contributed to numerous denominational publications and church leadership journals, including Leadership and Net Results. His books include Revolution in Leadership (Abingdon Press, 1998), A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders (Jossey-Bass, 2000), The Present Future (Jossey-Bass, 2003), Practicing Greatness (Jossey-Bass, 2006), Get A Life! (Broadman & Holman, 2007). His latest book, Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church (Jossey-Bass, 2009) details the three shifts that church leaders must make to engage the missional movement and offers suggestions for a different scorecard to reflect missional ministry.
Reggie’s education includes a B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina and the M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees both from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Reggie and his wife Cathy, have two daughters, Jessica and Susanna, and make their home in Columbia, South Carolina.
Customer reviews
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Usually I run into two problems with other leadership books. First, some of them are just boring to me. Sometimes I have felt like I'm reading through some dry, academic work. This is not too fun--it seems counterintuitive to try to sharpen your skills with a dull book. Secondly, some leadership books are too repetitive and vague. The information kind of runs together, with one chapter looking suspiciously like the previous chapter.
McNeal's book is different. It was a joy to read, and each of the 7 disciplines made a lot of sense to me. Practicing Greatness is more about being a leader than "doing" leadership roles. This book further confirmed my decision to stay in my current ministry and continue to do something that I'm gifted for and passionate about.
I hope you'll take time to read it.


