Grace to Lead
Practicing Leadership in the Wesleyan Tradition, Revised Edition
Grace to Lead: Practicing Leadership in the Wesleyan Tradition, Revised Edition offers a clear and practical guide for pastors, teachers, and Christian leaders shaped by the Wesleyan vision of grace. Drawing on the insights of the 18th-century Wesleyan revival and the best of contemporary scholarship, Bishop Kenneth Carder and Dr. Laceye Warner show how leadership rooted in grace forms character, inspires mission, and strengthens the church for faithful service today.
This updated edition expands the original with fresh illustrations, models of leadership for congregations and institutions, and renewed attention to the practices that empower leaders in every ministry setting.
Christian leadership, the authors remind us, is theological at its core. Flowing from the abundant grace of God in Christ, effective leadership is never merely about technique or strategy, but about embodying God’s mission in the world.
About the Authors
Laceye C. Warner
Rev. Laceye C. Warner, PhD is Royce and Jane Reynolds, Associate Professor of the Practice of Evangelism and Methodist Studies and Associate Dean for Wesleyan Engagement at Duke University Divinity School. An elder in the Texas Conference, Dr. Warner was appointed to the faculty at Duke Divinity School in 2001. She is the author of several books including Knowing Who We Are; The Method of Our Mission: United Methodist Polity and Organization, and a contributing editor to the Wesley Study Bible. Dr. Warner enjoys living on a flower farm with her family and many of God’s creatures.
Kenneth L. Carder
Kenneth L. Carder is Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams, Jr. Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Duke Divinity School and Senior Visiting Professor of Wesley Studies at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary Columbia, SC. Carder is a retired Bishop in The United Methodist Church.