Healthy leaders help people to face reality and to change their beliefs, values, attitudes and actions in order to deal with the real problems and the real opportunities. They resist false solutions and any attempt to bypass reality. With unrelenting precision, they pursue the truth.

In dramatic contrast to the Pharisees, who were highly accomplished at obscuring and avoiding reality, Jesus repeatedly brought the focus back to the real issue:

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?” He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” (Mark 7:5-8; see also Matt. 23:1-39; Luke 11:37-42)

Dealing with reality usually requires a considerable amount of both insight and courage on the leader’s part: insight to discern in the first place what the real issue actually is, and then the courage to address it. A healthy measure of honesty may also be demanded in the leader – he himself may have been a significant part of the problem in the past! Moreover, dealing with reality requires endurance; the real issue is rarely dealt with quickly or easily.

In many groups, considerable organizational energy is employed in obscuring or avoiding reality. This might be due to various vested interests that do not want the real issue to be uncovered or addressed, out of fear of loss of power, influence or money. For example, in the face of Jesus’ increasing popularity, the Pharisees feared the loss of their own control over the people (John 12:19; Mark 15:10). Consequently, they attempted to obscure the fact that Jesus had the truth and the power of God in His life and ministry (and they did not), by focusing on what it means to “keep the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:1-14; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-5; John 9:14-16).

Leaders may also avoid reality out of fear of potential conflict if the real issue is addressed, or they may simply be too busy, too impatient, or too lazy to do the arduous and often lengthy work that is involved in effectively dealing with the real issue.

It is not easy to pursue reality. People employ an almost limitless array of tactics to obscure or avoid it. Here are some examples:

• A church that lacks the presence and convicting power of the Holy Spirit blames the influence of the surrounding culture for the ineffectiveness of their ministry, when the true culprit is their own prayerlessness.
• A group that is bound by a negative tradition criticizes and rejects another group that is challenging that tradition for their lack of wisdom in the way they’re going about it, and thus avoids facing their true problem.
• Leaders can employ hype and “spiritual big-talk” to keep people superficially excited and to cover up their own lack of clear God-given direction.
• When all else fails, those in charge may resort to raw intimidation – using superior position, power, education or wealth – to silence those who challenge them (e.g., John 9:28-34).

In the short term, it can be more comfortable or convenient to avoid reality, but we will pay the price in the end.

To pursue reality requires honesty, insight, courage and endurance. Healthy leaders help people to face reality, to take responsibility and to deal with the real issue. This is our privilege and our high calling before God.

However, there are certain responsibilities that the leader simply cannot delegate to others. Thankfully, the number of such responsibilities is not large. In fact, there are two critical areas that uniquely require the leader’s personal attention: vision and leader development.

First, it is the unique responsibility of the leader to attend to the ministry’s strategic direction.

• The leader establishes the vision. While many other people can and should be involved in establishing direction, the top leader is uniquely positioned to obtain and synthesize the many valid and important perspectives that are necessary to shape and, when necessary, revise the overall vision.
• The leader communicates the vision both internally and externally. The leader is in the best position to articulate the vision and how it connects to long-term impact. He has the clearest understanding of the big picture and he usually possesses the broadest credibility to reach others with a coherent strategic message.
• The leader initiates and maintains alignment with the vision. “Alignment” means that constituents both understand the vision and own it. By definition, the leader is the only one with the complete (albeit imperfect) overview of everyone and everything involved, as well as the relationships to potentially help everyone to agree and move ahead with clarity and unity to fulfill the vision.

The second unique responsibility of the leader is leader development. Leader development is not an optional extra; its neglect creates collective ceilings that limit the growth and long-term impact of otherwise highly fruitful ministries.

• The leader should know whether team members collectively have the capacity to achieve the vision. He is in the best position to know the current gaps.
• The leader is also in the best place to know realistically the future demands and what those demands will require of existing and emerging leaders. He will not personally be involved in every aspect of their development, but he must be involved in shaping its form and content.
• Effective leader development is not merely a collection of training programs, but it is primarily an organizational culture – shared beliefs, values, attitudes and actions (Eph. 4:11-16). The nurturing of this culture must start with, and will usually not rise above, the leader.
• The leader possesses certain strategic and conceptual capacities that he must personally pass on to the next generation of leaders if the ministry is to survive and thrive (2 Tim. 3:10-17). The top leader is, again by definition, the only one who can give sufficient attention to top leadership succession. Research suggests that the majority of leaders are so busy with operational demands that they neglect this.

Many other management tasks flow directly from these two areas, including allocating resources, assigning people to priorities, role definition, project initiatives, evaluation and improvement. Thus, the leader must be very careful to not become so caught up in the daily needs of operating the ministry that he neglects to pay sufficient attention to these two critical responsibilities (Acts 6:1-4).

If there are only two things that you do well, do these!

We will return to our series on Transformational Thinking in the next Letter.

The last several Letters introduced the first: looking at God. The continuous experience of inward union with Christ is the source and center of all other healthy thinking behaviors. This is an inward choice to look at Him, by His Spirit.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18, ESV)

Union with Christ is the living nucleus of transformational thinking; every other aspect of our thinking, and our lives, must revolve around this – around Him.

…If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

When we live out of His inward life, we will have His enabling, His presence, His victory, and we will pursue the highest. This is the second habit of transformational thinking: passion for the highest. The healthy leader will strive to grow, to solve, to build, to overcome – always pushing, pressing on, moving forward to fulfill God’s highest purposes.

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father… (Col. 1:10-12)

This is an inward growth orientation, a decision to move forward, a choice to act with purpose expecting growth, ultimate victory and fruitfulness. This comes directly from looking at God.

…If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31)

God created the universe – there is nothing too hard for Him!

Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. (Jer. 32:17)

Transformational thinking chooses to believe that whatever great things God has done in the past, there is still more! There is always more! And we’re going to have it!

Not Just Half Full

We commonly recognize two kinds of thinking: “the cup is half empty” or “the cup is half full.” There is a third option: “whatever the cup is now, it’s going to be full… and running over!”

This is an inward choice, an inner discipline of transformational thinking – to always look for growth, for positive change, for impact. To choose to think that it can – in fact, it will – be better in the future. We will grow, we will build, we will overcome, we will be fruitful – by God’s grace and for His glory.

And even if we fail, we will still succeed – somehow! Even if it’s not better, it will be better – somehow! Even if we die, we will live again!

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. (Dan. 3:17-18)

…Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (Phil. 1:20)

We Will Take the Land!

Caleb was a transformational thinker. He had a compelling growth orientation:

Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as He said. (Josh. 14:12)

In the wilderness, both Caleb and Joshua chose to believe God’s promise about the land, in spite of the giants:

…We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. (Num. 13:30)

God considered Caleb to have followed Him “wholeheartedly.”

[Caleb] will see [the land], and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly. (Deut. 1:36; cf. Num. 32:12)

Thus, transformational thinking is not content with merely thinking the right things; it will act, it must act. And it will act with confidence, with boldness. Transformational thinking expects victory, chooses victory. “If God is for us, who can be against us? We will not be defeated!”

Beyond Human Motivation

A passion for the highest is the choice to believe God, to expect God to do what He promised. This is not mere human positive thinking. A healthy growth orientation comes from the inward presence of God and it is directed to His purposes. It is based on the faithfulness, power and passionate forward-moving vision of God. Thus, the outward effectiveness of our leadership will never exceed the quality of our inner life in God. Without the first habit of transformational thinking – looking at God – an inward growth orientation will be mere human energy, fleshly passion, the hype of self-confidence.

From the presence of God in their hearts – out of inward union with Christ – healthy leaders are infused with divine vision. As they grow in Christ, increasingly they think as God thinks, they see as God sees. They move ahead believing, trusting, hoping – always pushing, anticipating, expecting. They serve a living God!

…the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. (Rom. 4:17)

Healthy leaders see the great potential that God has placed all around them. They see the gifts, talents and callings of their coworkers. Even in impossible circumstances, healthy leaders see divine opportunities. Even in death, they believe God will bring life. They have an inward growth orientation; they choose to believe in victory. They have a passion for the highest!

A Biblical Pattern

The Bible is filled with such thinking. Jesus epitomized a growth orientation, a passion for the highest. He looked at the lowly group of disciples around Him and He saw the transformation of the nations:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations… Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… (Matt. 24:14; 28:19)

Paul looked at the church of his day – wrestling with sin, error and division, sometimes up and many times down – yet he saw a mature, unified, spotless bride in the future; he saw a radiant church!

…Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Eph. 5:25-27; cf. 3:16-19; 4:12-16; John 17:21-22)

Healthy leaders believe God for His best. They want to turn around a dying church or failing business, or start up some new radical ministry or entrepreneurial venture, or revolutionize an existing process. They want to mobilize others in the face of strong inertia or resistance. They may not change the entire world, but they passionately pursue making a significant difference. They are not content merely to scrape through. Leaders want to transform; they are not content merely to maintain. Leaders lead. With boldness, they go first. They begin the quest for a new order. They plunge into new, sometimes dangerous, and always unpredictable territory. They take us to places we’ve never been before, and probably could never find on our own. Their faith compels us. Their vision urges us, empowering us, insisting that we follow.

From inward union with Christ, transformational thinking has a passion for the highest!

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:12-14)

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (Rom. 8:5-6, ESV)

Here is a clear description of the practical, internal “mechanics” of union with Christ. The maturing believer “sets his mind” on the Spirit and on “the things of the Spirit.” This means to inwardly turn away from the things of the old life (self, sin, the world, the devil) and to give our full inward attention to Him. This does not refer to our minds in a purely intellectual sense, but it means our entire inward lives – our minds, our hearts, our thoughts, our motivations, our affections, our love, our desires, our focus – “all that is within me…” (Ps. 103:1). It refers to the turning of our inward lives to Him. This is the internal mechanism of union with Christ, this is the internal activity of knowing God.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Col. 3:1-2)

This is what it means to “draw near to God” (Heb. 10:22), to “seek [God] with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13), to “set the Lord always before me” (Ps. 16:8). We consciously and inwardly turn to Him, looking at Him, expecting Him to “look back.” As we touch Him, He touches us!

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you… (Jam. 4:8)

As we have seen in a previous Letter, the inward experience of fellowship with God is the living nucleus of transformational thinking and the source of everything good in the leader’s life and ministry. Consequently, the leader must place the highest priority on nurturing this inner life. Union with Christ is the fountainhead of all true Christian leadership and ministry fruitfulness.

There are so many practical ways in which we can inwardly “look at God.” Here are a few:

• Praising God (Ps. 103; 150)
• Worshipping God (Ps. 29:2)
• Thanking God (Ps. 50:23)
• Loving God (Ps. 18:1)
• Receiving God’s love (Ps. 33:22)
• Drawing near to God (Jam. 4:8)
• Appreciating God (Ps. 8:3-6)
• Resting in God (Ps. 62)
• Asking God (Ps. 43)
• Fearing God (Deut. 10:12)
• Hoping in God (Ps. 33:20-22)
• Trusting in God (Ps. 33:21)
• Desiring God (Ps. 42)
• Yearning for God (Ps. 63:1)
• Hungering for God (Matt. 5:6)
• Pouring out your heart to God (1 Sam. 1:15)
• Sharing your complaints to God (Ps. 142)
• Telling God your struggles (Ps. 102)
• Repenting, turning to God, confessing your sins to Him (Ps. 51)
• Crying out to God (Ps. 4:1)
• Weeping before God (Ps. 30:5, 11)
• Submitting to God (Jam. 4:7)
• Proclaiming God’s promises to Him (Ex. 32:13)
• Reading His Word (Ps. 1)
• Hoping in His Word (Ps. 119:114)
• Meditating on His Word (Ps. 119:148)
• Seeking God in His Word (Prov. 4:20; 5:1)
• Tearing your heart before God (Joel 2:13)
• Praying in the Spirit, praying with the understanding (1 Cor. 14:15)
• Singing in the Spirit, singing with the understanding (1 Cor. 14:15)
• Reflecting before God (2 Tim. 2:7)
• Remembering God’s works (Ps. 77:11)
• Beholding His beauty (Ps. 27:4)
• Crying “Abba Father” (Rom. 8:15)

These actions are quite diverse, but they all share one thing in common: they are ways in which we inwardly look at God. In all these various ways, the leader inwardly turns – consciously and intentionally – to Him.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another… (2 Cor. 3:18, ESV)

So, turn to Him, look at Him, inwardly reach to Him. And as you do so, listen to Him, expect Him to speak, expect Him to reveal Himself to you, expect Him to touch you with His love.

…He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14:21)

The actions listed above can be done continuously, as well as during special focused times in the day. If you will do them – any of them, and even just a little – it will change your life, it will transform your leadership; and God will use you to profoundly impact the lives of many others!

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

Knowing God is not merely an intellectual agreement about a “legal position” in Christ, but it is to be a conscious, inward experience of fellowship with Him:

…He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14:21)

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched… We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3)

Sadly, a traditional idea in some churches is that the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts is something that we only ever take “by faith.” We simply believe that we have His indwelling presence, whether or not we’re ever actually conscious of it. As a result, Christianity becomes somewhat of an intellectual and theoretical exercise. We mentally agree with what God has said and it stops there; our lives then consist of gritting our teeth and trying to do, in our own strength, what we know God wants us to do. Of course, theory will only satisfy us for so long. In the end, it becomes frustrating; our theory tells us about all the wonderful things that we should be experiencing, but we are not experiencing. Consequently, the more theory we have, the more frustrated we become.

To have a transformed and victorious life, we need His presence. This inward experience of God is mentioned frequently in the New Testament:

And we all, with unveiled face [in our hearts, v. 15], beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18, ESV)

In our hearts, we look at God, we receive His love, we love Him, we know Him; and this union with Christ is the foundation and wellspring of everything in our lives and ministries.

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6)

The Holy Spirit is not simply an unfelt and theoretical presence that we accept by faith. In our hearts, He cries out “Abba, Father.” The Spirit loves the Father and the Son, just as He has done for all eternity. The eternal fellowship of the Godhead is happening in our hearts!

Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (1 John 3:24)

John says we know God lives in us by the presence of His Spirit in our hearts. This does not refer to mere mental agreement, but to an inward spiritual perception, a conscious awareness of His presence.

We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. (1 John 4:13)

Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart… (1 John 5:10)

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (John 16:13-15)

… God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Rom. 5:5)

… those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Rom. 8:14)

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Rom. 8:16)

These, and other New Testament passages, are clear and dramatic. The Holy Spirit will “testify,” “teach,” “remind,” “guide,” “speak,” “tell,” “make it known,” lead.” Moreover, this is not only an occasional thing; we can know His presence continuously, in the midst of suffering as well as blessing:

…If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23)

The Holy Spirit is with us. He is in us, crying out “Abba Father,” revealing the love of the Father, and the glory of the Son.

This is the living nucleus of transformational thinking: the inward experience of fellowship with God, by His Spirit. Every other aspect of our thinking, and our lives, must revolve around this – around Him.

I want to know Christ… (Phil. 3:10)

This was Paul’s cry, his passionate pursuit. To know the Lord Jesus is the greatest prize, far surpassing everything else in this life (Phil. 3:4-9).

Jesus defined “eternal life” the same way: eternal life is to know God.

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

But, what exactly does it mean to “know” Jesus Christ? What does it mean to “know” God?

Knowing God

In the world, there are many ideas about what it means to “know God.” Here are a few:

• To know God is to serve others.
• To know God is to obey moral rules.
• To know God is to perform religious rituals.
• To know God is to have an accurate understanding about Him.
• To know God is to sense the beauty and grandeur of His creation.
• To know God is to feel the passion and depth of the arts.
• To know God is to experience wonderful emotions of peace and joy.
• To know God is to achieve an inward state of freedom from selfish desires.
• To know God is to receive forgiveness of sins and then passively wait for eternity in heaven after death.

According to each of these various approaches, if you do this then you “know God.” To do it means to know God.

According to the New Testament, however, none of these definitions is satisfactory. Biblically, knowing Christ is the gift from God of an inward experience of fellowship with Him, by His Spirit and through His Word, which results in the transformation of every aspect of life.

First, it is His gift. We can know Jesus because, by His death on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins, reconciling us to God.

… since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand… God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Rom. 5:1-5)

It is the gift of God – and it is always His gift – that we can know Him. We do not earn fellowship with God. He gives Himself to us. Throughout our lives we grow in our union with Christ, but we never earn it – whether by external obedience or inward spiritual exercise.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Heb. 10:19-22)

Second, while knowing God is an experience, it is not an emotional, intellectual or physical one (although it will impact these aspects of life). In our hearts, we look at God, we receive His love, we love Him, we know Him.

And we all, with unveiled face [in our hearts, v. 15], beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18, ESV)

Third, it is by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reveals to us the Son of God who reveals the Father.

All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (John 16:15)

Consequently, through the indwelling Spirit we have the fullness of the Godhead abiding in us!

Fourth, we find inward union with God through His Word. The Word of God reveals Him in truth and power.

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)

Finally, knowing God results in transformation of all we are and do (Rom. 6:1-4). This will mean peace with God (Rom. 5:1), obedience (John 14:15; 1 John 3:24), holiness (Rom. 8:3-4; 1 John 2:3-6), vision and fruitfulness (John 15:5), passion for the lost (2 Cor. 5:20), endurance with hope in times of suffering (2 Cor. 4:16-18), zealous ministry work (1 Cor. 15:10), and love and servanthood toward others (Gal. 5:13-14).

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17)

In our next Letter, we will begin to look at the practical dynamics of this inward union with Christ – how it “works” – particularly as it relates to Christian leadership.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

To “love God with all your mind” means to fully explore and use the thinking capacities He has given you, in a manner always proceeding from, and subject to, His indwelling Presence.

This will result in true, self-giving love toward others:

…Love your neighbor as yourself… (Mark 12:31)

The Fall and Rise of the Mind of Man

God created man to be a brilliant thinker. After his creation in God’s image, man had the ability to know His Creator – to look at Him, to fellowship with Him, to love Him – and to serve Him with highly complex thinking capacities.

When he sinned, man died spiritually (Gen. 2:17; Eph. 2:1, 5), becoming alienated from God’s life and truth (Col. 1:21). The image of God in man was deeply marred, and his thinking became “futile”: empty and worthless.

…their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools. (Rom. 1:21-22; cf. Ps. 94:11)

Consequently, even though fallen man is still capable of complex and sophisticated thinking, by virtue of his creation in God’s image, it is but a faint and distorted shadow of his original thinking capacities. Thus, man can split the atom but builds atomic bombs, he creates the internet but disperses pornography and violence on it, he produces intricate pieces of art that are idolatrous and blasphemous, he shapes brilliant analysis but uses it to deceive others.

…out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (Matt. 15:19)

Thank God, He did not abandon us to our own corrupt and futile ways! Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can be reconciled to God, and restored to union with Him. From His indwelling life, through the power of His truth, our minds are then progressively “renewed” (Rom. 12:2) and our thinking capacities restored to the true image of God (Col. 3:10).

As we daily choose to walk in “new life” (Rom. 6:4), counting ourselves “dead to sin but alive to God” (Rom. 6:11), we can have the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16)! Thus, our thinking is transformed and God can use us as His agents of transformation for others.

How Leaders Think

Essentially, leaders do two things: they think and act. To be successful, they must do both well.

Many writers on leadership (ourselves included) have appropriately focused on the leader’s many and varied actions, such as communication, leading change, team-building, conflict management, collaboration, delegation, building leaders, and so forth. This model of transformational thinking focuses on the inward life of the leader – how he thinks – the fountainhead of his actions.

While it is vital to give attention to the content of thinking (what we think), we must also attend to the processes of thinking (how we think).

This model identifies ten critical thinking capacities of a healthy Christian leader. These behaviors are distinct from each other, but there is much overlap and interaction between them. Usually, integrated clusters of them will work together in various situations.

In our next Letters, we will examine these ten habits of transformational thinking:

1. Looking at God. The continuous experience of inward union with Christ is the source and center of all other healthy thinking behaviors.

2. Passion for the Highest. The leader must always strive to grow, to solve, to build, to overcome – always pressing on to fulfill God’s purposes.

3. Love of Learning. Transformational thinking explores, questions and continuously learns.

4. Learning from Mistakes. The leader must be resilient, flexible and adaptable, able to learn from his own mistakes.

5. Thinking about Thinking. Reflection and evaluation help the leader maintain accurate self-awareness and avoid self-deception and unnecessary limitations.

6. Embracing Ambiguity. Leadership is rarely straightforward and clear, so the leader must be willing and able not only to tolerate ambiguity but actually to embrace paradox and uncertainty as the indispensable authors of new insights, solutions and opportunities.

7. Thinking Interdependently. Together we are complete. The leader must value, and be sensitive and accountable to, those around him. To think well, he needs to think in cooperation with others.

8. Engaging Deeply. Healthy leaders fully participate in the world around them. To understand joy, sorrow, beauty, pain, victory and divine life, the leader must experience them.

9. Integrating Science and Art. Healthy thinkers develop and use both discipline and creativity – both logic and innovation – to solve problems and explore opportunities.

10. Thinking Holistically. A key leadership capacity is to see the big picture, integrating spiritual and practical, identifying and analyzing both internal and external patterns, and recognizing how each part relates to the whole.

This is transformational thinking! Such internal habits can transform our lives and the lives of those around us.

Our hope is that this model will present these thinking behaviors in a clear, unified, Christ-centered framework that enables us to more systematically and comprehensively nurture and use these habits as we live (thinking and acting well) out of Jesus’ indwelling life for His glory.

The next Letter will consider the first habit of transformational thinking: looking at God.

having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him. (Eph. 1:9-10, NKJV)

The Son of God, Himself, is the final and complete revelation of God (Heb. 1:1-2). He fully reveals the Father (John 1:18; 16:15; 17:10, 26; Col. 1:19). In Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). Everything is “under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:27). All things were created through Him and for Him, and all things are held together by Him (Col. 1:16-17). In everything, He has the preeminence (Col. 1:18).

Accordingly, the biblical model of leader development revolves specifically around the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Healthy leader development must be entirely Christ-centered, Christ-focused, Christ-absorbed. The Son of God is all in all!

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Col. 2:9-10, NKJV)

In previous Letters, we have examined both the goal and the process of Christian leader development. In everything, leader development must revolve around the Son of God.

First, the goal of leader development must be Jesus Christ. All five of the necessary elements of healthy leadership are connected directly to Him:

• Christ (John 15:5; Gal. 2:20; Col. 2:6). Apart from union with Christ, we will accomplish nothing of any eternal value. “Apart from me you can do nothing.”

• Community (Eph. 1:23; 2:21-22; 3:16-19; 4:11-16; 5:31-32). Spiritual maturity is a corporate experience. First, Christ builds community; the leader’s union with Christ will be expressed in the leader living together with others in the Community in self-giving love, in true servanthood. Second, community builds Christ; it is in nurturing and accountable relationships with others that the leader will fully experience the indwelling life of Christ.

• Character (Phil. 1:11; Is. 64:6). Human righteousness, apart from His indwelling life, is “filthy rags” in God’s eyes. True righteousness “comes through Jesus Christ.”

• Calling (1 Cor. 3:11-13; Gal. 1:1). Neither man nor ministry should be first; in all things, Christ must have the preeminence. Today, so much is done in the church to serve either man’s need or his ambition; but God is only glorified through His own vision, He is only pleased with what He initiated.

• Competencies (2 Cor. 3:5-6; Phil. 3:4-11; 4:13; Col. 1:10-12; 1 Pet. 4:11; Zech. 4:6). All of man’s greatest accomplishments are “rubbish” compared to that which comes from Jesus’ indwelling life.

We could build our emerging leaders to shine brilliantly in every human capacity, but if we have neglected to bring them into deep union with Christ, from Whom the whole person is properly built, they will ultimately experience failure in both life and ministry.

Second, the process of leader development must be Jesus Christ. He is the Source of power in all four of the Dynamics of Transformation:

• Spiritual (2 Cor. 3:18). There was a veil in our hearts of separation between us and God. In Christ, God has removed this veil. Now, inwardly, we can see Him, we can hear Him, we can touch Him. As we look inwardly at Him we are transformed into His likeness, by His Spirit, from one realm of glory to another.

• Relational (Eph. 4:16). Corporately, we are united with the eternal self-giving fellowship of the triune Godhead. The Father loves the Son who loves the Spirit who loves the Father and the Son – through us! It is “from Him [that] the whole body… grows and builds itself up in love.”

• Experiential (2 Cor. 1:8-9; 12:7-10). Challenges and sufferings take us beyond our own strength and we are forced (often for the first time) to look away from ourselves and to truly rely, with deep surrender, on Him; that is how we are changed.

• Instructional (2 Tim. 3:16-17). “All Scripture is God-breathed” – this is not only a proof text for the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture; it is a revelation of specifically how the Word changes us. Our interaction with the Word of God must go beyond human intellectualism. It is through the breath of His Spirit upon His Word that we are transformed.

Our training programs might harness the latest and greatest of human wisdom and methods, but if we do not bring our emerging leaders into face-to-face encounters with the Son of God (1 John 1:1-3) – through spiritual, relational, experiential and instructional dynamics – their lives will not be transformed.

Thus, leader development must revolve around Him in everything.

It is an extraordinary and utterly disastrous error to ignore, neglect or assume the intentional centrality of the Son of God in practical Christian leader development in both its goal and process. Jesus, Himself, is the Goal and He is the Process.

Today, in many nations, Christian leaders are returning to their first love – to Him. Burned out and frustrated, they are recognizing that they have been absorbed in His work more than in His Person, and that they are much better equipped in knowledge about Him than in living union with Him.

Of all of the many necessary paradigm shifts that Christian leader development is currently undergoing, this is the deepest, the most profound, the most vital.

Let us return to the centrality and the preeminence of the Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, in Christian leader development. He, Himself, is our Process and our Goal; He, Himself, is our Journey and our Destination.

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen. (Rom. 11:36)

• Christ.
• Community.
• Character.
• Calling.
• Competencies.

Thus, a healthy Christian leader is a man or woman who knows God, was formed and lives in supportive and accountable community, has strong character, knows the purpose of God and presents it with credibility, clarity and passion, and has the necessary gifts, skills and knowledge to lead the people in the accomplishment of this purpose – and is continually growing in all five areas.

Whether or not one embraces our particular “5C Model,” everyone agrees that we must build the whole person. Certainly, no one seems to be arguing that we should build Christian leaders who don’t know God, or who don’t have character, and so forth!

But how can we build the whole person? It’s very easy to say that we need to do this. How can we actually build union with Christ, relational capacity, integrity, vision and practical ministry capacities in an emerging or existing leader?

There is no guaranteed formula for doing this. However, biblically, there are consistent dynamics that are effective in changing people’s lives. In addition, our own experience affirms the power of these dynamics. After 30 years of walking with God, studying the Scriptures, leading churches and building leaders, we have experienced and observed, over and over again, four particular dynamics that bring transformation to people’s lives. These are the “Four Dynamics of Transformation.”

This idea of Four Dynamics – the 4Ds – is so simple and yet so powerful. We already know this intuitively; it’s commonsense. There are four dynamics that bring transformation of life:

• Spiritual – the transforming power of the Holy Spirit (connecting with God).
• Relational – the transforming power of relationships with others (connecting with people).
• Experiential – the transforming power of life’s experiences (connecting with life).
• Instructional – the transforming power of the Word of God (connecting with Truth).

This was the practice of the early church:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)

They were “devoted” to all four dynamics:

• the apostles’ teaching – instructional.
• fellowship – relational.
• the breaking of bread – experiential.
• prayer – spiritual.

This is how lives were changed in the New Testament church!

This was how Jesus built His emerging leaders (see a previous Letter). This was how Paul ministered the Gospel:

…our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. (1 Thess. 1:5-7)

Once more, all 4Ds were present:

• our gospel came to you not simply with words – instructional.
• but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction – spiritual.
• You know how we lived among you for your sake – relational.
• You became imitators of us and of the Lord – experiential.
• in spite of severe suffering – experiential.

As a result, the lives of the Thessalonians were transformed and they became “a model to all the believers.”

How the 4Ds Work

Through the spiritual dynamic, we come face-to-face with the inward Presence of the Holy Spirit, who transforms us:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18, ESV)

Through the relational dynamic, we connect with people who reveal Christ to us and transform us:

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph. 4:16; cf. Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:7; 1 Pet. 4:10)

The experiential dynamic includes the impact on us of many kinds of life’s experiences. For example, in the sufferings, challenges and pressures of life, we go beyond our own capacities to succeed and, in a deeper way, look to God for His help, and we are changed:

… We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. (2 Cor. 1:8-9)

In the instructional dynamic, we are changed by the Word of God, by the power of Truth:

… and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:15-17)

When all 4Ds are strongly present in a leader development design, spiritual life is nurtured, relational capacities are strengthened, character is developed, calling is clarified and deep leadership capacities are built. This is how healthy leaders are built.

The 4Ds in Leader Development Design

If we are to build the whole person, our leader development design must strongly be:

• Spiritual. We must bring our emerging leaders face-to-face with God through prayer, fasting, meditation in the Word of God, forgiveness, reflection and encounters with the Holy Spirit.
• Relational. Healthy leaders are built in a context of genuine relationships with other people who are their mentors, coaches, role models, leaders, teachers, friends, and spiritual mothers and fathers.
• Experiential. Leader development is a hands-on experience. People learn by doing, especially when they are challenged. Pressure is also essential in the formation of a leader.
• Instructional. The teaching of the Word of God must be practical, relevant and engaging.

To build healthy leaders, all Four Dynamics of Transformation must be strongly present; none can be neglected, all have the highest priority. This is the true challenge of Christian leader development – to design and cultivate transformational cultures of leader development.

1. Vision. In Christian circles, we could also call this “Calling.”
2. Character.
3. Competence.

All three elements are found in the description of King David in Psalm 78:

He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. (Ps. 78:70-72)

Verses 70-71 reveal David’s calling:

He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people

Verse 72a shows his character:

David shepherded them with integrity of heart

Verse 72b describes David’s competencies:

with skillful hands he led them.

Just as a stool has three legs, there are three foundations of effective leadership. All three must be present and in balance for the leader to succeed. The three foundations are calling, character and competencies.

What would happen if one element were missing in the life of a leader?

1. If a leader possessed a strong calling and strong character but had weak competencies, he would produce a big mess! There would be lots of great ideas, good intentions, passion, zeal, sincerity and godliness, but nothing much actually accomplished by the organization.
2. If the leader had strong character and strong competencies, but was weak in the area of calling and vision, the organization would run like a well-oiled machine, but it would not accomplish anything of significant value.
3. To think of a leader with a strong calling and strong competencies, but who was weak in character is the very worst scenario! This combination would spell inevitable disaster for the leader and for everyone in the organization. In the words of Howard Hendricks, “The greatest crisis today is a crisis of leadership. And the greatest peril of leadership is a crisis of character. Think about it, to give a person management techniques and leadership skills without integrity is simply to enable him to become a better rip-off artist.”

We need all three. Thus, the three necessary capacities of effective leadership are character, calling and competencies.

But is this sufficient? Is this model sufficient to describe a mature, balanced and effective Christian leader? Is there anything missing?

There are two elements missing in our model: Christ and Community. These are the two great commandments Jesus gave us:

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt. 22:35-40)

The leader must be in right relationship with God and with his brothers.

So, there are actually five elements that must be present in the life of a healthy Christian leader: Calling, Character, Competencies, Christ and Community.

Now, let’s put these five in order. Which should come first? Of these five, which produces which?

Here is the order. Our model of the holistic Christian leader starts with his personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The leader must know God.

Christ must come first.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 3:11)

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. (Col. 1:18)

True leadership is not possible without Christ first! Without Christ first, the other four elements will not work – like a body without a head!

Without Christ first in the life of the leader, he will never get along in community with others:

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. (Tit. 3:3)

Without Christ first, the leader’s character will be sinful:

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. (Eph. 4:17-19)

Biblically, Christian leadership is not character-based; it is Christ-based. While character is vitally important in Christian leadership, it is not first. Christ is first!

In Christian leadership, everything does not proceed from character and values; everything proceeds from union with Christ. This is not mere semantics but it goes to the very heart of how we understand the Christian life and Christian leadership.

To make this distinction is not to undermine the importance of character and values. On the contrary, this actually establishes true character and values, proceeding not from human effort but from the indwelling life of Christ!

…If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit… (John 15:5)

so that you may be… filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God. (Phil. 1:10-11)

Without Christ first, the leader will have no calling other than hopelessness and futility:

remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. (Eph. 2:12)

Sadly, many Christian leaders put their callings first and then try to use Christ to fulfill their own ambitious, self-centered visions. But He will not accept second place in anyone’s life. We should not pray for power without first praying to know Christ. We should not use the Word of God for teaching, without first using His Word to know Him. Ministry must not be first; in all things, Christ must have the preeminence.

Finally, man’s competencies are useless apart from Christ. Without Christ first, the leader is capable of nothing of any value in God’s eyes:

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags… (Is. 64:6)

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

True competencies come from Him:

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant… (2 Cor. 3:5-6)

Christ must be first! The leader must know God. He must walk with God, and out of his relationship with Jesus will proceed every other aspect of his leadership.

This is not just the “best” way; it is the only way to true Christian leadership. Everything else is mere fleshly works.

Second, the leader’s personal relationship with Jesus must be expressed and worked out in the daily life of his various communities: his family, his church community, the teams he is a part of, and the broader community of the world.

In this context of Christ and community, character will be formed in the life of the leader. The indwelling life of Christ expressed and worked out in community will develop godly character.

Since God now has someone with character, He can trust him with a calling. Once the leader has a calling he will need the competencies to fulfill that calling.

This is the logical progression of the elements in our model of healthy Christian leadership: Christ, Community, Character, Calling and Competencies.

Leaders with wrong priorities will never be satisfied and all they will ever produce will be like filthy rags in God’s eyes (Is. 64:6), useless works of wood, hay and stubble:

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. (1 Cor. 3:11-13)

The foundation must be right, and then the building on that foundation must be right. The four elements all come from Christ.

If men put community first, a shallow, humanistic social club will result. If character is put first, legalism and self-righteousness will result. If leaders put calling first, competition and gift-identification will result. If competencies are put first, self-reliance and mere human achievement will be the results; the leaders may outwardly succeed, but such success will be empty and transient.

Leaders with the wrong first priority will never be satisfied. Moreover, they will always be insecure in their leadership because only Christ brings true security. Insecure leaders, sadly, often become abusive leaders, using others to build their own value and meaning. (Please see Abusive Leadership: SpiritBuilt Leadership #6 by Malcolm Webber for more on this.)

That is the logical progression of these elements of healthy Christian leadership. But we should not think that we must address each of these sequentially – as if a leader must first be mature in Christ before he begins to address his need for community, etc. The leader should grow in all five areas concurrently. Consequently, the following is a better way to visualize the relationships of these five elements:

Christ and community are the contexts of the healthy leader: he needs to live in Christ and in community. Character, calling and competence are his capacities: they need to be in him.

Christ is the Source of character, calling and competencies. Christ is also the broader context of true community. Truly, He is the Center and Circumference of all things (Eph. 4:4-6)! In community, character is formed, vision is clarified and competencies are developed.