Authority
Leadership Library Spotlight, pt. 1
by on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 11:01 am
A former percussion instructor once told me, “You are only as good as the music you study.” If I wanted to expand my repertoire as a musician, I needed to listen to various artists and their styles of musicianship. If I wanted to understand the tiniest nuances that accompany good drumming, I had to hear many different skilled percussionists work with those nuances.
Growing in wisdom and leadership is much the same as becoming a skilled musician. We are only as competent as the material we study. When we read, we learn how people think, we discover new ideas, and we develop a better sense of what makes a good argument and what makes for a good fire-starter.
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Leadership Library Spotlight, pt. 2
by on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Book: Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer, 3rd edition
Author: J. Oswald Sanders
I have always loved to work for bosses, coaches, pastors, and leaders who have high standards. They expect much from me and are not content to settle for mediocrity. They believe that every person on the team should strive to be as strong in competency and character as the best leaders in the group.
Part of my appeal with Sanders’ book has to do with his mentality that being a spiritual leader requires an extremely high standard of living and learning. In fact, the standard is so high that only complete reliance on and obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit will yield the marks of leadership in the believer’s life. This resource lays out a 166-page gauntlet of qualities, habits, challenges, dangers, and opportunities that spiritual leaders will need to master if they are to be fit for service in the kingdom of God as one to mark and follow by other Christians.
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Leadership Library Spotlight
by on Jan 29th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Book: Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
Author: Timothy Keller
If you are a follower of Christian blogdom, you would know just how far behind the ball I am on saying something about Timothy Keller’s latest work, Counterfeit Gods. Right at the turn of the decade, many Christian authors presented their “Top Books of 2009,” and Keller’s book was on virtually every list that I viewed. Therefore, I knew that it was at least worth a read.
Now, the Leadership Library’s purpose is not to review the latest and greatest, but arm you with resources that can be of use throughout your years of leadership in the home, church, and community. Nevertheless, Keller’s resource is one that will offer a healthy challenge to your own soul whenever you read it.
I think that it fits into a category along with Jerry Bridges’ Respectable Sins (coming soon) or, in a way, C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. In each of these works, the authors expose us to the subtle ways in which we rebel against God. Whether it is Lewis’ Uncle Screwtape’s advice on how to lead a Christian astray, Bridges’ attack against the more “acceptable” offenses against God’s rule, or Keller’s refusal to let our priorities escape the worthy title of idolatry, the point remains the same: Is God our all? Do we truly wish to serve Him and Him above all else?