On Leading Well

Category: Books & Quotes

  • Book Bite: I Once Was Lost

    Recently my friend Craig recommended the book “I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus.” Craig plants postmodern churches that are raised out of the surrounding culture. He helped envision and coach 12 plants in the past three years. Craig knows what he’s talking about. So I Kindled the book and sat down to read it today.

    The book provides an excellent overview of leading people to Jesus. Authors Doug Schaupp and Don Everts work with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. In the past 10 years they (and many friends) have seen more than 2,000 college students choose to follow Jesus Christ. I like their emphasis on the path being both mysterious and organic. This is in stark contrast to the traditional/modernistic approach of classical apologetics and truth-based certainty.

    They have debriefed many of these students to get inside their heads and find out what barriers they faced in coming to know Jesus. Five thresholds that postmoderns must cross include:

    • from distrust to trust. Somewhere along the line they learned to trust a Christian.
    • from complacent to curious.
    • from being closed to change to being open to change in their life. This usually proved to be the hardest.
    • from meandering to seeking. There is a big difference between the curious investigator and someone who actively, purposefully, even urgently seeks God.
    • and finally crossing the threshold of the kingdom itself. They needed to repent and believe and give their life to Jesus.

    We serve our friends by sticking with them through each stage and helping them identify where they are on their journey toward God. Though I don’t believe each stage is as clear-cut as the book suggests, the authors’ framework will help anyone who genuinely desires to nudge, guide and lead someone else to connect with Jesus.

  • Two Great Quotes on Self-Leadership

    In their article “SuperLeadership: Beyond the Myth of Heroic Leadership” authors Charles Manz and Henry P. Sims, Jr. question whether the heroic figure of a leader is the most appropriate image of the organizational leader of today.

    Their answer: true leadership comes mainly from within a person, not from outside. Thus the challenge for any of us giving and receiving leadership within an organization is to understand how to mine the immense wealth of talent each employee or volunteer possesses.

    Two great quotes came across my desk in the past 24 hours that reflect this idea of self-leadership. One is ancient, one is fresh.

    A leader is best
    When people barely know he exists,
    Not so good when people obey and acclaim him.
    Worse when they despise him.
    But of a good leader, who talks little,
    When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
    They will say:
    We did it ourselves.
    – Lao-tzu, 6th century B.C. Chinese philosopher

    “Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says ‘Oh crap! She’s up!’”
    – Rachel, student-led movement intern

  • How Do You Lead Well?

    In stark contrast to most daily headlines and the last post concerning How The Mighty Fall, I have two deep convictions. First, every human endeavor stands or falls on leadership. Second, good leadership is possible and accessible to most people who are willing to learn, to serve, and to make decisions that are unpopular.

    How do you go about becoming a good leader?

    Warren Bennis, in his excellent essay “Become a Tomorrow Leader” succinctly answers:

    Figure out what you’re good at. Hire only good people who care, and treat them the way you want to be treated. Identify your one or two key objectives or directions, and ask your coworkers how to get there. Listen hard and get out of their way. Cheer them. Switch from macho to maestro.

    Insight for aspiring servant-leaders: How are you growing in the nine areas listed above?