Writings on Christian leadership and leader development by Malcolm Webber
In our last Letter we looked at the traditional approach to building Christian leaders: the local church sends its emerging leaders to a specialized, independent, external entity (the “factory”) that takes responsibility for training them and then sending them back.
Malcolm Webber
The most central and important characteristic of a healthy leader is a strong personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Servant leaders lead out of a deep and abiding security in Christ. Abusive leaders, however, usually are very insecure. There are other reasons why certain leaders become abusive, but insecurity is one of the main ones [...]
Malcolm Webber
It takes a long time to build a truly qualified leader. So, what should be our goal for the participants in “leadership training” of some kind?
Malcolm Webber
There was once a young man who was exceptionally bright. When he was ready, his father went to enroll him in a fine university and said to the President of that school, “Since my son is so gifted, would it be possible for him to finish the courses in less than the normal time?” “It all depends on what you want your son [...]
Malcolm Webber
Building leaders is an intensely personal exercise, demanding much time and energy. Consequently, we cannot personally build hundreds of leaders – only a few. But how do we choose that few? In our last several Letters we examined seven practical guidelines concerning how to choose emerging leaders.
Malcolm Webber
In our last Letter, we saw that since leaders personally build leaders, one leader can build only a few other leaders at a time – that is, if he wants to do it properly.
Malcolm Webber
The following are some guidelines that will help you to be more effective in getting others to listen to you with understanding and reception
Malcolm Webber
All My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, (Jam. 1:19) Listening is one of the most important of all leadership skills. The wise leader will be able to declare the words of Elihu: I waited while you spoke, I listened to your reasoning; while you were searching for [...]
Malcolm Webber
All leaders can improve in their leadership. In our previous Letter, we saw that we can help our leaders improve by overcoming the barrier between leaders and followers, by being realistic in our expectations of them, and by striving to understand them.
Malcolm Webber
At some point, most followers complain about their leaders. Some of the most common complaints are: • “My leader will not listen to me.” • “He will not encourage me.” • “He will not recognize my efforts.”
Malcolm Webber