Philosophy of Leadership
Leadership is an inexhaustible, nuanced, and ever-changing topic. It requires constant learning and adapted responses. So, the following four values are by no means a comprehensive examination of leadership, but they capture the core of who I am and what I believe in as a leader.
01
Christian Leadership
Christian leadership must be Christian in character. As pastors, we can learn a great deal from the world of business, but we must remember that we are shepherds and not CEOs. Our job is to serve God, so we take our queue from Him. Doing so includes basic but essential practices, such as servant leadership, telling the truth, being gracious, and above all else, loving God and other people.
02
Healthy Leadership
In order to succeed organizations must be both smart and healthy. However, health is far more important than "smarts". A healthy organization is one in which there is trust, open communication, and collaboration. A healthy organization can leverage these strong internal resources to become smart. But a smart organization cannot simply plan and brainstorm its way to health. So a good leader always focuses on health above smarts.
03
Mentoring Leadership
Jesus spent the majority of his ministry building into a small group of disciples so that they could continue and expand his ministry after he was gone. The birth of the church testifies to the wisdom of this strategy. Mentoring allows a leader to have a far greater reach than they could on their own, as they are able to impact the lives of those they disciple, plus many others through them.
04
Imaginative Leadership
The Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye defines the imagination as “a vision of possibilities which expands the horizon of belief.” Leaders need to be imaginative because it is their job to help others see beyond what is to what can be. The Old Testament prophets show us that sometimes this means facing uncomfortable truths and seeing where they may lead. But, they also show us that this must always be done with hope, as we cast a vision of what is possible by God's grace.
