The Irrational David: The Power of Poetic Leadership

In The Irrational Jesus: Leading the Fully Human Church, Ken Evers-Hood explored how our predictable irrationality can trip us up and how we can adjust for biases. But irrationality isn’t all bad. Leaders who live in their heads will never connect deeply with the hearts of those they serve. Because we are like small rational riders astride enormous emotional elephants, leaders must learn how to sing to elephants even as they speak to riders. In The Irrational David: The Power of Poetic Leadership, Ken invites you to sing. Through his work with poet David Whyte, Ken explores poetic leadership in King David, a fully human, irrational leader who knew how to stir people with song. In four sections, The Irrational David observes King David the believer, the beloved, the beautiful mess, and the broken-hearted. Offering his own poetry as a lens, Ken enters into scripture and creates a conversation between the spoken word and sacred text. Discover how irrationality and poetry can prepare us for the real conversations for which our communities are so hungry. Find new layers of meaning in familiar Scriptures. And welcome a fellow traveler into your life who has found strength through vulnerability and is willing to share his journey on the beautiful and messy road of faith with you.

Ken Evers-Hood graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary and earned his Doctor of Ministry from Duke Divinity School. He is the author of The Irrational Jesus: Leading the Fully Human Church, an imaginative blend of behavioral economics, game theory, and practical ministry. Ken pastors Tualatin Presbyterian Church, a creative, flourishing community near Portland, Oregon. When Ken isn’t serving TPC, you might find him talking about irrationality to anyone who will listen, juggling everything that goes along with three kids, or enjoying an Oregon coast sunset with his wife Melissa.