Introduction to Leadership Fundamentals

Introduction

Welcome to our Christian Leadership Training & Academy.  This is the first in a series of lessons on this important topic.

We begin with an important affirmation.  The world needs good leaders as does the church!

We might think that these two spheres are incompatible and that we would need one type of leader for secular matters and another for the spiritual side.  But God is not looking for chameleons.

Theories About Leadership

This is where we may buy in to many incomplete theories about leadership. For example, you may subscribe to the old adage that leaders are born and not made. This is the whole nature / nurture debate.

Sometimes, people reduce leadership to one term.  A leader must have integrity, vision, creativity or compassion or nothing else matters.   Sometimes leadership is defined by styles: you must be a consensus builder, democratic or a soft autocratic.  Even Jesus is co-opted with book titles like Lead like Jesus or Jesus CEO.

And of course there are many business theories about leadership.  You must know how to influence people, plan strategically, cross pollinate your departments, etc.

Christian Leadership Training – Fundamentals

Although there are many good theories and methods and much can be gleaned from them, there are a certain number of fundamental leadership qualities that every good leader must possess.  Without this foundation, whatever you build will be more likely to collapse.  At the very least, your leadership style will be less effective, sub-optimal and will likely frustrate or hurt many people along the way.

The Christian Leadership Training diagram above outlines the foundation of a good leader and will serve as our guide for the remainder of this Christian leadership course.

Internal beliefs – As with almost everything, God begins from the inside, at the level of the heart.  Good leaders begin with a set of internal beliefs that guide the rest of their choices.

• Model – The model of a leader has to do with a leader’s self-perception. What leadership style do they follow? Two common biblical images are the servant and the pastor of antiquity.  A leader must internalize these symbols so that they make up his perception or model for how to lead.

• Motive – The motive of a leader is all about character and the personal / spiritual life of the leader.  It includes being able to overcome the greatest threats / temptations for a leader.  No project, process, idea or strategy will reach its fullest potential if there is a great weakness of the leader in this area.

External behaviors – Once the internal stuff is taken care of, the external grows from that.

• Manner – The manner of a leader is concerned with their perspective regarding people and those he / she is leading.  This incorporates a leader’s personal relationship style, and his / her ability to resolve conflict in a healthy way.

• Method – A good leader knows how to use wise methods.  This includes having a sound program in place to develop other leaders, the ability to plan correctly, the wise use of time and money management all for the benefit of others.

During the next several Christian Leadership Training lessons we will explore each of these Christian leadership basics in greater detail.

Christian Leadership Training – Lessons

Lesson 1 – The model of a leader – General overview

Lesson 2 – The model of a leader – Unpacking the servant model

Lesson 3 – The model of a leader – Unpacking the shepherd model

Lesson 4 – The motive of a leader – Successful leadership begins on the inside

Lesson 5 – The motive of a leader – The importance of character in a Christian leader

Lesson 6 – The motive of a leader – The three biggest temptations that leaders face

Lesson 7 – The motive of a leader – General strategy for overcoming temptation

Lesson 8 – The motive of a leader – Specific strategies for overcoming the lure of power

Lesson 9 – The motive of a leader – Specific strategies for overcoming the lure of money

Lesson 10 – The motive of a leader – Specific strategies for overcoming the lure of sex

Check out Maxell’s book on leadership: [text-blocks id=”1265″ plain=”1″]