God’s ultimate purpose in all things revolves around His Son:

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! Continue Reading »

In our last Letter, we looked at the goal of leader development – we must build healthy leaders. There are five key attributes of a healthy leader:

• 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? Continue Reading »

Read this parable of the bamboo if you would serve in leadership.

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As we noted in our last Letter, a godly leader will choose accountability. Healthy leaders will be accountable ones!

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A leader does not become one overnight. He must be tested first.

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In the forming of character in the life of a leader, discipline is an essential element. In fact, discipline lies at the heart of character.

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No leader will be perfect – other than the Lord Jesus. However, since God’s leaders reflect God Himself to men, they must be of the highest character. This was why Moses received such a harsh judgment (Num. 20:7-12). God’s work will be done in God’s way, in a manner consistent with God’s holiness and character.

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Leadership derailment occurs when a leader, who had the ability and opportunity to accomplish more, ends up fired or demoted or simply fails to succeed at the level for which he was called and gifted. In our last two Letters, we examined the characteristics of leaders who derailed. Continue Reading »

The last Leadership Letter looked at research by the Center for Creative Leadership on leaders who derailed. These leaders once had great potential but it was never fulfilled. What did the researchers learn about the specific differences in personal traits and skills between successful leaders and derailed ones? Continue Reading »