“Christian leaders: You were trained for a world that is disappearing.” -Canoeing The Mountains

Tod Bolsinger’s Canoeing the Mountains book explores how church leaders can guide their congregations through necessary changes; helping the church become spiritually healthy and equipping it to reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Here are some of my key takeaways from the book:

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The map has changed, but the mission hasn’t

• The church is living in a rapidly changing cultural landscape (post-Christian), and traditional models of leadership are no longer enough. Bolsinger uses the story of Lewis and Clark’s expedition as a metaphor. Lewis and Clark expected to navigate the West by rivers (canoes), but when they reached the Rocky Mountains, their maps and methods no longer worked. They had to adapt, leave their canoes behind, and learn a new way forward.
• I don’t disagree with this premise. But I would also add that many of the changes that this book is recommending are things that churches and pastors should have been doing the whole time. Church leaders should have had a missional mindset regardless of whether or not our American culture is post-Christian. The reason? It is what Jesus told us to do. We are sent. We are to engage in the Great Commission.

“As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” -John 20:21

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Beyond tradition: guiding the church into new territory

• Chapter 3 is all about how leadership in the church needs to recognize the culture has changed and the demands for church leadership have changed.
• In this chapter, the author emphasizes that effective leadership in today’s church requires more than just technical skills; it demands adaptive leadership. But you ask, what kind of changes?
  • Fostering learning
  • Collaboration
  • Resilience
• The author highlights the importance of building trust and credibility within the church community, as leaders cannot lead others into uncharted territory without first demonstrating competence and integrity. By embracing adaptive challenges, leaders can help their churches navigate the shifting cultural landscape and fulfill their mission effectively.

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Unity at the top fuels courage in the church

“Leaders must present a unified front.” (Page 69)

• In order to bring about transformation in the life of the church the leaders must trust each other and trust the direction that the church is going. This unity among the leaders will give the rest of the church confidence that they can tolerate the pain of change for a better future.

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Expect the applause to fade

• Adaptive leadership means making tough decisions that won’t please everyone. That’s part of the call. This is brutal, but I think it is true.

“But the minute we accept the call to adaptive leadership that brings transformation, we should expect most of the cheering to stop.” (Page 137)

• The desire to be liked, accepted, loved, respected is extremely high. Yet the truth of the matter is that there are many times when a pastor must make a decision that is going to upset some people.

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To move out on mission the personal lives of people in the church must change first

• Here is the author’s definition of leadership:

“Leadership is energizing a community of people toward their own transformation in order to accomplish a shared vision in the face of a changing world.” (Page 156)

• Homeostasis in a church is the natural tendency of a congregation to resist change and try to stay comfortable by keeping things the way they have always been. It’s basically the church’s “default setting” to maintain stability, even if that stability means staying stuck or unhealthy.
• I understand why the author has come up with this definition of leadership. It is not just about getting people on mission. People need to be changed/transformed so that the church can really embrace the church’s mission. This helps us to know that there are things we need to do to help people see that church-wide change really is necessary. It is so easy to say that we want to change. But as soon as this means that preferences or norms are challenged, people in our church begin to lose interest in the overall mission.

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Sabotage is inevitable in transformational leadership and how you respond defines whether change will last

• One of the hardest truths in Canoeing the Mountains comes in Chapter 13:

“You have not accomplished change until you have survived the sabotage.”

• Bolsinger points out that whenever leaders guide people toward transformation, resistance will rise. Sometimes that resistance looks like open criticism. Other times it’s subtle conversations, passive noncooperation, or a quiet refusal to follow through. What makes it especially painful is that sabotage usually comes from inside the community you love and serve.
• The temptation for leaders is to avoid conflict by keeping everyone happy. This is super common in pastoral ministry! Bolsinger calls this being a “peace-monger.” This term is fascinating to me. Here is the hard truth: appeasing resistance doesn’t bring health, it only strengthens the status quo. True leadership means choosing mission over popularity, even when that’s costly.
• So how do you survive sabotage?
  1. First, expect it—resistance isn’t a sign of failure.
  2. Second, don’t take it personally—people are often reacting to the disruption, not attacking you as a person.
  3. Third, stay calm and consistent—when leaders respond with steadiness, it builds confidence and clarity for those who are ready to move forward.
• Sabotage is rarely just about one difficult person. It’s often the whole system pushing back against change. That means leaders need to patiently work the system, strengthen those who are aligned with the mission, and help the community slowly internalize the new direction.
• The bottom line: if you’re stepping off the map into new territory, sabotage will come. But if you endure with courage and conviction, God can use even resistance to form a stronger, healthier church.

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Three ways I can personally respond to this book

1. Embrace adaptive leadership in my daily role

• I must recognize that guiding the church today requires more than maintaining tradition. I need to intentionally foster learning, collaboration, and resilience among my staff and leaders, and model adaptive leadership by being willing to step into new approaches and uncharted ministry territory.

2. Strengthen Unity and Trust Among Leadership

• I need to invest in building strong, trusting relationships with my leadership team so that we can present a unified front. This will give the congregation confidence to navigate change, even when it’s uncomfortable or unpopular.

3. Prepare for Resistance and Lead Through It

• I/we must embrace the fact that change will bring pushback, both subtle and overt. I should respond with calm, consistent leadership, focusing on mission over popularity, and guide the congregation through transformation by helping them see the vision and understand why personal and corporate change is necessary.