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Nailing It
paperback
  • Length: 224 pages
  • Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.5 in
  • Published: April 08, 2025
  • Imprint: IVP
  • Item Code: A0974
  • ISBN: 9781514009741

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Nailing Outdated Leadership Practices to the Cross

Traditional leadership teachings and styles haven't changed much in years. But the world is changing and so are Christian leaders—women need room for their natural gifts to shine and people of color needed space to elevate the values they bring into their roles. Even seasoned leaders are growing weary of the status quo, craving innovative ways to lean into new ways of thinking for the good of their organizations and the emerging generations they serve.

In this transformative resource for leaders of all ages, Nicole Massie Martin inspires us to crucify our ministry idols and nail our outdated leadership practices to the cross. Sharing leadership principles and case studies wrapped in biblical precepts and pastoral wisdom, she leads us through seven areas of traditional leadership that need to be reframed:

  • Power
  • Ego
  • Speed
  • Performance
  • Perfection
  • Loyalty
  • Scale

Get ready to take the leap of faith into new leadership realities, and discover how crucified living can lead you to nail it.

"After spending more than seventeen years in senior executive roles across both marketplace and ministry, I have seen many leaders succumb to the temptations offered by ego and achievement. But in Nailing It, my friend and brilliant thought-leader Nicole Massie Martin offers a new paradigm that is centered on the sacrificial example of Jesus. I am grateful for this book, and you will be, too!"

Nona Jones, preacher, business leader, and author of The Gift of Rejection

"The most helpful, practical, challenging, inspiring, and empowering leadership book I've read. In Nailing It, Nicole Massie Martin has provided a blueprint for effective leadership in our rapidly changing world. By identifying leadership practices that hinder our effectiveness and sharing practical principles that lead to personal and organizational flourishing, Nicole has 'nailed' the pressing leadership issues of our day."

Christine Caine, founder of A21 and Propel Women

"It would be hard to count the number of books, seminars, and podcasts currently available on leadership. Many are helpful and give wise counsel. In this book, Nicole Massie Martin offers a unique approach to leadership, one that recognizes the pathways and pitfalls of current leadership models in the church and in the culture, but one that also challenges various approaches with the perspective of a leader crucified to self for the glory of God and the good of those they lead. Every leader will resonate with one or more of the issues raised, and every leader will be helped by the wisdom offered in these pages."

Ed Stetzer, dean at the Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

"Nicole Massie Martin's Nailing It shines a light on the approaches that are needed now and in the future. I loved Nicole's focus on inclusion in leadership with clear examples of women and people of color. Through founding 4word, I have witnessed how leaders in companies like Toyota North America (through its Christian Fellowship), Envision Radiology, Escalante Golf, and many others implement transformational characteristics of love, surrender, grace, and trust. Nailing It offers practical approaches for leaders to implement these qualities. In addition, Nailing It provides hope for the future where the love of Christ can be shared by leaders of tomorrow by their example with those who may never enter the doors of a church or know another follower of Christ."

Diane Paddison, founder of 4word, former global executive with Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies, and author of Work, Love, Pray and Be Refreshed

"By reading this book, you can learn from one of the most impressive and effective leaders in the world today. Regardless of your specific calling, Nicole Massie Martin here will equip you to lead with joy, humility, and excellence while overcoming discouragement and hardship. By the time you close the book, you will not only be ready to lead better, but you will also be inspired to follow Jesus more closely than ever."

Russell Moore, editor in chief at Christianity Today and author of Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America
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CONTENTS

Introduction

Part One: The Problem
1. The Realities of Stress and Suffering in Our Present Age
2. Triumphalism, Trauma, and the American Church

Part Two: The Progression
3. Crucifying Power: From Personal Control to Complete Surrender
4. Crucifying Ego: From Self-Centeredness to Divine Love
5. Crucifying Speed: From Deliberately Fast to Delightfully Slow
6. Crucifying Performance: From Transactional Performance to Transformational Presence
7. Crucifying Perfection: From Unattainable Standards to Grace-Filled Wholeness
8. Crucifying Loyalty: From Collective Assimilation to Communal Affirmation
9. Crucifying Scale: From Organizational Growth to Missional Depth

Part Three: The Promise
10. Resurrecting Healing and Hope
Epilogue

Acknowledgments
Notes

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Nicole Massie Martin (DMin, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is the chief impact officer at Christianity Today and the founder of Soulfire International Ministries. She is the author of Made to Lead and Leaning In, Letting Go. She serves on the executive council of the National Association of Evangelicals, the board of trustees for Fuller Theological Seminary, and the national advisory board for the Salvation Army. She is married to her best friend, Mark, and together they are raising two amazing daughters near Baltimore, Maryland.