Leadership and Emotional Sabotage: Resisting the Anxiety That Will Wreck Your Family, Destroy Your Church, and Ruin the World

Rigney’s approach to leadership and its absence in our culture, church, and families provides a refreshing perspective on a pervasive issue. Although this book is short, it offers a powerful exploration of both the problem and its solution. The premises are sound, and the conclusions and prescriptions are thoroughly Biblical. This is a book that every man—whether young or old, pastor or layman—should have in their library. It is a resource I will continually reference.

Loved it and bought books to share!

This book has taught me a great deal about the psychology of effective leadership. Bravo to Joe! Long live the Moscow Mood!

A must read for all believers in Christ

Rigney, like a true son of Issachar, knows the times and rightly identifies a principle problem, leaders are being manipulated in every sphere emotionally. Not only does he identify the problem, but gives REAL practical solutions. Get several copies for the men in your Church, in your Family, and for any guy you pass in the street.

Rigney offers a gem of a book. As a busy dad and pastor, I appreciated how concisely he composed his sections, chapters, and the book itself. I found his ideas to be immediately implementable and solid. Rigney offers a way forward in light of angst, contention, dereliction of duty, and paralysis in a way which works in a variety of sectors--from the home to the workplace to the church to society at large. I've reread the chapter "Courage at Home," and will no doubt reread the whole book again.

I've had the book for a month and I've started my second trip through it. I need what Joe Rigney has to say. I have so very much I need to see the Lord build into my character that one trip through was not enough.

My pastor sent me a picture of this book and with it said “buy this book, read it, and then read it again.”. Now that I have read it for myself, I have sent the same text to many men. Joe Rigney is biblically masculine in this book. He tells you the hard truth without making the reader walk away ashamed but instead hopeful and encouraged to do better (at resting in Christ work and sovereignty.). This is a wake up call for men to fight for their personal Holiness, their marriage and their family. Wonderful and needed read.

A must read for all Elders and prospective Elders

The best book on leadership I've ever read. I'll let Joe convince you how good his book is. Here are some of my favorite takeaways:
"Herding: a process where togetherness triumphs over individuality and everyone adapts to the least mature members of the community. Disruptions by the immature will be accommodated while anyone seeking to take a stand will be characterized as cruel, selfish, and cold. The most immature members then set the agenda of the whole."
"Quick Fix Mentality: a desire for symptom relief rather than fundamental change, stemming from a low threshold of pain. Broken systems often prefer chronic pain over short term acute pain that would address the issue. They look for solutions in in data rather than clarity and intentional action, jumping from expert to expert in search of the magical how-to."
"Like a moon orbits a planet, a husband guides his family by his gravity."
"Faithful headship cultivates and atmosphere of joy and thankfulness. A faithful husband feels the temperature in his home and adjusts it."
"Playfulness is a key sign of trust, love, health, and humility, and is the clearest sign that a system is being lead faithfully."
"Gladness is a compliment to, and the completion of, gravitas. A Godly man runs his course with joy. Strength, steadiness, sacrifice, competence, and confidence are all essential, but joy crowns all. Faithful headship leads, bleeds and sacrifices, always with joy. First in, last out, and laughing the loudest.
"When winsomeness is elevated as the fundamental value, we become fixated on our reputation. In doing so we cultivate cultural conditions conducive to manipulation. We hand our adversaries a steering wheel called 'what we're known for' and they hang our public image over our heads like the sword of Damocles."
"When confronted with a cultural conflagration, we must help people see that they can be helped by Jesus. When possible we must identify with people show them that we were just like them - drunks, brawlers, greedy - but that's what were WERE, but we were washed, sanctified, and justified by Jesus."