Spiritual Leadership: Moving People to God's Agenda

Rating:
Summary: Excellent source for the spiritual leader!
Review: Having read several leadership books as an Air Force Officer and seminary student, I can honestly say that this is the best book on the subject I have ever read! Blackabay's fluent writing style is consistent with his other titles, notably "Experiencing God" and "The Power of the Call". At the very beginning Blackaby differentiates between worldly leadership and spiritual leadership.

Throughout the book Blackaby describes his own leadership experiences and includes interesting stories of famous leaders (Truman, Reagan, Churchill, Thatcher, Napoleon, and Iacocca). As a minister, Blackaby also draws upon several examples from the Bible (Moses, Abraham, Joshua, David, Paul, etc.) and how they prospered and struggled in their God-called responsibilities.

Particularly compelling were the descriptions of: the 3 types of worthy and misguided goals, how a leader influences, time wasters, pitfalls of leadership, having God's affirmation, God's ways are different from the world's ways, improving decision-making, taking time for rest, and relying on the Holy Spirit/prayer/God's Word/wise counsel to make and stick with hard decisions.

Whenever I read a book I like to list on the inside front covers the page number and synopsis of a particularly interesting point or thought for easy reference. When I finished reading this gem the entire inside front cover was chock full of notes! Needless to say, this text will be referred to several times in the future.

Everyone will greatly benefit from this book: the Christian believer will gain great encouragement to lead from a biblical viewpoint while the non-Christian will be encouraged to consider life from the Christian point-of-view. With the failures the world has recently seen in religious and secular leadership, Blackaby's text is a timely arrival. His book is a welcomed relief from the rah-rah-rah motivational hype of other "leadership" books.

I recommend anyone in a leadership role (and everyone is a leader in some way) to buy the book, get a pen/pencil to take notes with, and learn how to become a better leader!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God's Agenda
Review: Having recently graduated from a Theological institute with a degree in Leadership, I have come quite well read in the area of Christian/Spiritual Leadership. Richard and Henry Blackaby handle this topic in a fashion unlike any other author. They focus the Christian leader's attention on their own personal life, causing the reader to reflect on their life and their relationship to Christ - and that's where Spiritual leadership begins. In a field inundated with discussion on "Visionary Leadership" the Blackabys remind us of the "vision-giver". We, as Christian leaders "do not sell visions, we share revelations." I would recommend this work to anyone [CEO to pastor, father to deacon] seeking to better their leadership abilities in the Christian arena.

Rating:
Summary: Must Reading for Novice Preachers
Review: I am a big fan of Blackabys Experiencing God and was looking forward to reading his book on Spiritual Leadership. It was not what I expected. It is an excellent book on leadership, but it is more of a primer novice for leaders than a book for experienced leaders who want to sharpen their leadership skills and character.

But as a primer, it is excellent. Blackaby leads the reader though a list of topics to equip pastors to be spiritual leaders. It runs the gauntlet from The Leaders Challenge to The Leader's Pitfalls and just about everything in between. Like Experiencing God, the Blackabys intersperse their personal experiences with Spiritual Leadership as application.

What makes this book unique is Blackabys emphasis on the spiritual part of leadership. They reject the influence of business models of leadership, specially Collins and Porras advice in Built to Last (BEHAGs - Big Hairy Audacious Goals) and urge the reader to recognize the work of God in the world and to join God in his work.

The authors discussion on vision gives the reader an example of how the Blackabys view spiritual leadership. They criticize leaders who try to get people to buy into their vision. Spiritual leaders should not sell vision, they say; rather, they share what God has revealed to them and trust that the Holy Spirit will confirm that same vision in the hearts of their people. So the job of the leader is to bring the people face to face with God so they can hear from God directly and not through the leader. The Blackabys, however, fail to adequately inform the pastor how to do this. The obvious consequence of this kind of vision casting is that pastors with weak leadership skills would observe where God is at work, ineffectively communicate that vision to their congregations, meet internal resistance, and then conclude that this must not be where God is leading them.

For instance, the Blackabys are Baptist. The averaged Baptist pastor stays in his church for only about 2.5 years. There is a reason for this. Although most Baptist churches are board led, they are for all intents and purposes congregational in their polity. Thus, in many churches, even the most inane proposal must be but through a relentless series of committees and votes. This kind of governance does not tolerate strong leadership very well. If the pastor has a vision from God, he must communicate that vision and trust that the Holy Spirit will confirm it in the hearts of a committee system. This assumes that everyone on all those board and committees is listening to God and is seeking God. In reality, the pastor gets something else; he gets an agenda that is set by the least spiritual, most obstinate member of the congregation.

There is an ethereal quality about leadership that many good leaders do not understand. They have it and they assume that the rest of us, if we just do what they do, will have it. But leadership is much more difficult than this. In this regard, John Maxwell, Oswald Sanders and Bill Hull do a much better job equipping pastors to be leaders. It is a good book, but my fear is that weak, timid leaders will use it as an excuse to do nothing.

Rating:
Summary: Must Reading for Novice Preachers
Review: I am a big fan of Blackabys Experiencing God and was looking forward to reading his book on Spiritual Leadership. It was not what I expected. It is an excellent book on leadership, but it is more of a primer novice for leaders than a book for experienced leaders who want to sharpen their leadership skills and character.

But as a primer, it is excellent. Blackaby leads the reader though a list of topics to equip pastors to be spiritual leaders. It runs the gauntlet from The Leaders Challenge to The Leader's Pitfalls and just about everything in between. Like Experiencing God, the Blackabys intersperse their personal experiences with Spiritual Leadership as application.

What makes this book unique is Blackabys emphasis on the spiritual part of leadership. They reject the influence of business models of leadership, specially Collins and Porras advice in Built to Last (BEHAGs - Big Hairy Audacious Goals) and urge the reader to recognize the work of God in the world and to join God in his work.

The authors discussion on vision gives the reader an example of how the Blackabys view spiritual leadership. They criticize leaders who try to get people to buy into their vision. Spiritual leaders should not sell vision, they say; rather, they share what God has revealed to them and trust that the Holy Spirit will confirm that same vision in the hearts of their people. So the job of the leader is to bring the people face to face with God so they can hear from God directly and not through the leader. The Blackabys, however, fail to adequately inform the pastor how to do this. The obvious consequence of this kind of vision casting is that pastors with weak leadership skills would observe where God is at work, ineffectively communicate that vision to their congregations, meet internal resistance, and then conclude that this must not be where God is leading them.

For instance, the Blackabys are Baptist. The averaged Baptist pastor stays in his church for only about 2.5 years. There is a reason for this. Although most Baptist churches are board led, they are for all intents and purposes congregational in their polity. Thus, in many churches, even the most inane proposal must be but through a relentless series of committees and votes. This kind of governance does not tolerate strong leadership very well. If the pastor has a vision from God, he must communicate that vision and trust that the Holy Spirit will confirm it in the hearts of a committee system. This assumes that everyone on all those board and committees is listening to God and is seeking God. In reality, the pastor gets something else; he gets an agenda that is set by the least spiritual, most obstinate member of the congregation.

There is an ethereal quality about leadership that many good leaders do not understand. They have it and they assume that the rest of us, if we just do what they do, will have it. But leadership is much more difficult than this. In this regard, John Maxwell, Oswald Sanders and Bill Hull do a much better job equipping pastors to be leaders. It is a good book, but my fear is that weak, timid leaders will use it as an excuse to do nothing.

Rating:
Summary: Read it and live it
Review: I found this book very thought provoking. It is a must read for all leaders who aspire to be led by God and his agenda in all aspects of life. It exposes the baggage that comes with human motivation rather than motivation led by the Holy Spirit. A must read for all church leaders!

Rating:
Summary: The best of the best in Leadership Reading
Review: I have been a secular (although I am a Christian) Business Consultant and Leadership Development Consultant for over 14 years and this is BY FAR the best I have yet read. This book has become required reading for ALL of my Leadership Workshops and I have given the books to many Business Leaders as a gift. The Blackaby's have delivered their message in a clear, easy to understand format and totaly absent of the "Author Focus",(diverting the attention to the brilliance of the author rather than the importance of the message)often found in so many contemporary writings. They accurately discribe modern "man made" leadership ideologies and with equal accuracy point to the flaws and shortcommings of those leadership methods. Most all leaders are constantly wrestling with question "why don't more people do what I would like them to do?" and we are forever looking for new and more meaningfull methods by which to lead those entrusted into our care. Simply put, we always are reminded of the shortcommings of our leadership skills, otherwise, why would we be looking for a new book in the first place. The Backaby's challenge all leaders with this dilemna with a simple, yet brilliant question..."What is it about YOUR leadership that makes others NOT WANT to follow you?" Instead of chasing yet another brilliant theory or yet another brilliant method, the authors challenge US... what is at the center of our motivation and what, if anything, is our guidance system? Spiritual Leadership answers that question and brings to life an ideology that will render any future pursuit of a "new way of looking at things", un-necessary. Above and beyond all (the point which literally changed the way I feel, think and teach)they clearly send the message that no matter how brilliant our leadership theories may be, how well read on the subject we all are, how articulate we may be on the subject of leadership and no matter how well intended our leadership efforts may be,if our leadership is not lead by the holy spirit and we as leaders don't ask for his guidance in our roles as leaders...we simply will fall short of where we could be. If a Leader is in fact dedicated to being the absolute most EFFECTIVE leader that he / she would like to be, then this book is an absolute "must read" whether you're a believer or not.

Rating:
Summary: Free your soul
Review: This is a great book that will open your eyes and move you towards God. Not only will you be inspired to see all the beauty around you but your soul will transform and embrace the beauty within you. Two other spiritual books that will have the same effect on you are The Butterfly by Jay Singh and The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. Free your soul.

Rating:
Summary: Spiritual Leadership: Moving People to God's Agenda
Review: This is the most profound and challenging book on Leadership I have ever read. The Blackaby's will cause you to think deeply about what you do as a leader that is both beneficial and destructive. I will be giving this book to many of my fellow leaders, whether they are Christians or not.

Rating:
Summary: Absolute Best Book on Leadership I Have Read!
Review: This work by Richard and Henry Blackaby is the absolute best book on leadership I have read. Having recently graduated with a doctorate in evangelism and church growth, and possessing a passion for reading pastoral material, I have read numerous books on leadership. All of them pale in comparison to this volume.

The authors focus upon a leader's relationship with God as the key to effective leadership. From this relationship flow a leader's vision, goals, influence, and decision-making. All of the basic leadership principles are covered in this book, but they are addressed from the perspective of one's relationship with God. This perspective is what makes this work so unique and so valuable.

I strongly recommend this book to all pastors, church leaders and even to Christian leaders in secular organizations as a "must read." Before reading the volumes of material available from Maxwell, Schaller and other noted leadership authors, try this one! It will transform the way you view leadership as a Christian.