In his book Servant Leadership, Robert Greenleaf talks about two kinds of leaders. The first is a strong natural leader who likes to take charge, make decisions and give orders. The second is a natural servant who assumes a leadership role simply because doing so is the best way […]
From Below, Not From Above
Our five-hour drive ended at an abandoned lot. Across the street was the office where we would spend the next five days with 15 leaders of an indigenous African ministry. Nicholas, our team leader, began unpacking the van, and we followed his lead. During the week, he worked tirelessly, pouring […]
Identifying Destructive Power
I was recently in a meeting with former staff of a mission agency. They had worked all over the world, sacrificing a great deal in their desire to serve God and the vision of their organization. They were all taught and encouraged to model servant leadership. However, as I […]
Danger – Power at Work
I recently had lunch with Bill. A few years ago he had been asked to serve on the Board of Directors of a large Christian non-profit working with the poor in an American city. He was the only non-Christian and only non-business leader on the Board. As we talked, he […]
Finding Your God-Given Capacity
Loren was a leader who impacted me. He led a large organization, and yet remembered the names and key details of hundreds of people. He communicated vision and inspired thousands at a time, but had the ability to focus only on you when you spoke to him. He met with […]
What Is A Leader?
How many times have you heard someone say “What we need are real leaders?” You’ve probably also heard sports commentators say “This player not only has tremendous athletic skills, he also provides great leadership.” It is often easy to sense a lack of leadership in a situation. At the same […]