MIN 510 – Leadership in Ministry

Leadership Journal

Assigned Reading:

Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sander – read chapters 16 through 18.

Church Administration Handbook by Bruce Powers – read chapter 5 and 6.

“The purpose of this journal is to allow students to demonstrate their ability to evaluate and apply leadership concepts studied through assigned reading, lectures, class discussion, and personal experience.” [Course Syllabus]

Here are some of the thoughts and quotes from Spiritual Leadership:

Four responsibilities of leaders:

1. Service
2. Applied Discipline
3. Guidance
4. Initiative

“Servant” is the essential image of the Christian religion.

The true leaders I concerned primarily with the welfare of others, not with his own comfort or prestige.

A spiritual leader will always direct the confidence of others to the Lord. He sees in each emergency a new opportunity for helpfulness.

Five guidelines to approaching a disciplinary situation:

1. First conduct a thorough and impartial inquiry;
2. Then consider the overall benefit of the disciplinary action to the work and to the individual;
3. Do all in the spirit of love – be considerate always;
4. Always keep the spiritual restoration of the offender in view;
5. Pray it through.

 “The ideal leader is one who hears the voice of God, and beckons on as the voice calls him and them,” A. W. Tozer speaking of a leader giving guidance.

“More failure comes from an excess of caution than from bold experiments with new ideas.”

“Everyone entrusted with spiritual authority can expect tests, temptations, and trials along the way. As difficult and inconvenient as these test may be they serve to purify and clarify leadership. . . Tests are meant to let us succeed, not fail. Test display progress.”

Five tests of leadership

1. Compromise
2. Ambition
3. The impossible situation
4. Failure
5. Jealousy

“God delights to lead people, and then, in response to their trust, to show them power that matches every impossible situation.”

Delegation – “to succeed in getting things done through others is the highest type of leadership.”

“Failure to delegate is also a poor stewardship of human resources god has provided.”

“The degree to which a leader is able to delegate work is a measure of his success. A one-person office can never grow larger than the load one person can carry.”

More to come next week . . .