Here are the books. There are a few more on the way, but these are my best thoughts…..so far.
The first book I wrote in 1997 is still, frankly, the best (Thank you Michael West of Fortress for editing). It lays out a model of congregational strengths relevant for the health of the community. Turns out to be relevant in lots of communities and many kinds of things that congregate, so it is used here and there around the world in places I would not have imagined. Deeply Woven Roots (on Amazon)
Boundary Leaders, also by Fortress, is the first version of a leadership model that is still emerging. This model is at the heart of the Institute for Public Health and Faith Collaborations that we developed at Emory in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and focuses a lot on leadership in complex communities dealing with racial-linked disparities. Stay tuned for the next version, but this is pretty good till then. Boundary Leaders (on Amazon
Leading Causes of Life, Written with my friend and teacher, Larry Pray, this is the text that set off a rich learning journey with many thinker/doers that is now visible in the Leading Causes of Life Initiative. In this book you can see the framework for the questions into which we are living. Here on Amazon.
Religion and the Health of the Public, with Jim Cochrane, is the smartest book I’ve every helped write. And this one certainly has the most footnotes of any! This is Jim and my best effort to lay out the theoretical unpinning of a new paradigm of faith and health on which to ground transformational practice so that we can be deeply accountable. It is slightly more expensive than the others, but the per-footnote price is extremely reasonable. Religion and the Health of the Public
God and the People: Prayers for a Newer New Awakening. Dr. Jerry Winslow said: The prayers Gary Gunderson shares with us in this little book foster in anyone willing to enter fully into their spirit a sense of new possibilities for engagement with the sacred all around us in the communities where we live and serve. We hear in these prayers the voice of a poet, and also hear the words of a prophet calling for social justice, knowing for sure we should do better. There is wonder at the goodness of the world created for us– astonished joy in the “leading causes of life,” and amazement at life itself. Buy on Amazon here.
Speak Life: Crafting Mercy in a Hard-Hearted World. Gary Gunderson represents another step in the journey of a learning collaborative called Stakeholder Health, a network of mission-focused, charitable and faith-based healthcare organizations that shares ideas and inspiration to foster the health of whole communities. Beyond merely sharing smart approaches to what is now called population health, the movement’s real fuel is the conviction that together we can build communities in which every person counts, where no one is left out and no one suffers needlessly because of institutionalized unfairness. “Speak Life” will give thoughtful readers plentiful opportunities to explore their own hopes for abundant life, for themselves and for those with whom they share life in community. Buy on Amazon here.
The Barefoot Guide to Mobilizing Religious Health Assets. It’s really all in this one and it’s free. Written with Jim Cochrane and his son Cagn. Adapted from Religion and the Health of the Public. If you’re an academic or a student using footnotes, use that one above. If you are more of a normal person, download this one for free. It is a gorgeously illustrated presentation of the basic theory components to the body of thought leaders need to grasp in order to engage their complex human systems. Barefoot Guide to Religious Health Assets (and it really is free