Christ-centered Leadership Archives | Freedom To Lead International®

What Sets “Christ-Centered Leadership” Apart?

Christ-centered leadership (CCL) has become familiar verbiage over the past decade. Like “servant leadership,” its usage is ubiquitous, but its meaning varies among those who use the term. A quick Google search for CCL yields a range of definitions that include acting with integrity, hearing God’s voice, and being anchored in the presence, power, and ministry of God. What distinguishes Jesus’ leadership in light of more dominant leadership models of His day and ours? Certainly, Jesus influenced those He led by developing authentic relationships with them rather than resorting to strong-arm coercion or positional power. But is Christ-centered leadership really different? After reviewing many leadership theories over the years, I propose the characteristic that most set Jesus’ leadership apart was His capacity to discern and to develop His followers’ potential. He saw people as God’s image-bearers. He saw the future fueled by their collective, Spirit-empowered genius, and consistently

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Leadership During the Downturn

Leaders Facing Uncertain Times We live in uncertain times. COVID-19 is the earthquake that is rocking us at the moment, but the pandemic’s devastating after-shocks will shake people and societies for years to come. As the disease ravages many lives, the economic and psychological impact of this virus will likely wreak havoc on a much greater number of the world’s population. As leaders face the challenging months ahead, how will others remember us when the dust settles? Jim’s story is instructional for leaders during the downturn. Jim’s Story My friend Jim is a gifted engineer, inventor, business leader, author, philanthropist, and noted sculptor. Jim’s story will appear in a book soon to be published; here’s a very abridged version. Jim’s career included coming up with designs for requests from the University of Michigan for everything from a heart lung machine to a smart pump to control drug infusion during the

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These Are Their Stories: Finding Purpose in the Midst of Loss

By Michelle Sessoms on December 9, 2019 / Christ-centered Leadership, These Are Their Stories / Leave a comment

This post goes along with our series called “These Are Their Stories.” Throughout the course of this year, we at Freedom to Lead have been intermittently featuring segments called “These Are Their Stories.” We are telling stories of men and women throughout Asia and Africa who have been impacted by God’s work in their lives and leadership through Freedom to Lead. We have heard from Owen, Stephen, Matthewand Elizabeth.week Then, we heard the story of Chandra and Rick. This week we combine three stories into one. Samuel’s Story When you first meet him you’re slightly intimidated as he towers over you in height. His square jaw is set and his eyes are piercing. You can’t help notice the scars on his arm, but you try not to stare. But then he offers you a firm handshake and his white teeth smile against the contrast of his dark complexion. He tells you

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Thanksgiving Looks A Little Different This Year

By Michelle Sessoms on November 26, 2018 / Christ-centered Leadership, Leading Change, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

Thanksgiving looks a little different this year. Today I am exchanging turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin for ugali, chapatti, and mandazi. Instead of watching schoolchildren perform plays about pilgrims and Indians I am watching a host of nationalities and tribal groups as they role play stories of old. But one thing remains the same: I am deeply grateful. This week Freedom to Lead is in Kenya. Next week we will go on to Zambia. In these weeks I am rubbing shoulders with men and women leaders from many nations who are deeply committed to the work of Christ and to leading well in their spaces. And I am deeply grateful. My large extended family in Florida is gathering potluck-style on folded tables outside. And while I miss being with them this year, I have a different kind of family right across the table from me here. My Family Across the Table

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Investing In My Twelve Year Old Self

By Chip DeWitt on November 19, 2018 / Christ-centered Leadership, Stones of Remembrance / Leave a comment

As I approach Thanksgiving this year in the context of being a member of a ministry that seeks to raise up Christ-centered leaders, I think of a man who poured character and principles of leadership into my own life. Mr. Rhodes Bob Rhodes was my scoutmaster in the little town where I grew up. I can still see him in my mind’s eye, standing in front of the small group of us rowdy twelve- and thirteen-year olds. I can still picture him speaking of the importance of being men of excellence, doing acts of kindness, and putting others before ourselves. Every Monday night he would meet us in the basement of the Lutheran church and help us work on how to be better citizens. He would teach us how to address our elders or someone on the phone. Every year he took us to camp and spent a week hiking

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It’s Just a Piece of Paper

By Michelle Sessoms on June 12, 2018 / Christ-centered Leadership, Leadership Development / Leave a comment

When participants complete all eight modules of Freedom to Lead’s The Garden Project (a four-year investment that involves training and transference to another generation of leaders), they receive a certificate from Belhaven University. It’s really just some nicely printed words on a piece of paper. Or is it? In 2014 Freedom to Lead entered into a relationship with a church planting network in Ethiopia. That means that Ethiopia was FTL’s first footprint onto the African continent. As pace setters and as ones who’ve led the way for FTL’s presence in Africa, we have a lot indebted to this group of Ethiopian brothers and sisters, influencers for Christ. Last December we were almost at the end, with the next-to-last leadership module before us. Times in the country of Ethiopia were tense, as fractures throughout the region were threatening to crack wide open in the face of government and tribalist conflicts. We left

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Jesus the Master Communicator (part 6)

By Michelle Sessoms on May 28, 2018 / Christ-centered Leadership, Jesus the Master Communicator, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

The past few weeks we began talking about Jesus, the Master Communicator. When we encounter Jesus in the New Testament we tend to view him through the lens of him as our Savior and Lord. But how often do we view him through the lens of Jesus the Master Communicator? In light of this, what are some ways we can adopt this communication style in our own communication of the gospel in formal and non-formal ways? Over these six weeks we are highlighting some of the communication styles of Jesus. To review, here are the first five: Jesus used good stories. Jesus used rich imagery. Jesus asked good questions. Jesus related truth to real life. Jesus spoke “the people’s language” Today we are wrapping up this series to talk about the sixth way Jesus communicated. 6. Jesus often summarized stories Jesus understood that he was talking with an oral-based storycentric

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Jesus the Master Communicator (part 5)

By Michelle Sessoms on May 21, 2018 / Christ-centered Leadership, Jesus the Master Communicator, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

The past few weeks we began talking about Jesus, the Master Communicator. When we encounter Jesus in the New Testament we tend to view him through the lens of him as our Savior and Lord. But how often do we view him through the lens of Jesus the Master Communicator? In light of this, what are some ways we can adopt this communication style in our own communication of the gospel in formal and non-formal ways? Over these six weeks we are highlighting some of the communication styles of Jesus. The first week we talked about how Jesus used good stories. Then we looked at how Jesus used rich imagery. Next we discussed the way Jesus asked good questions. Last week we looked specifically at the Sermon on the Mount and the way Jesus related truth to real life. Here’s the fifth one. 5. Jesus spoke the “people’s language.” Think about the

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Jesus the Master Communicator (part 4)

By Michelle Sessoms on May 14, 2018 / Christ-centered Leadership, Jesus the Master Communicator, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

The past few weeks we began talking about Jesus, the Master Communicator. When we encounter Jesus in the New Testament we tend to view him through the lens of him as our Savior and Lord. But how often do we view him through the lens of Jesus the Master Communicator? In light of this, what are some ways we can adopt this communication style in our own communication of the gospel in formal and non-formal ways? Over these six weeks we are highlighting some of the communication styles of Jesus. The first week we talked about how Jesus used good stories. Then we looked at howJesus used rich imagery. Last week we discussed the way Jesus asked good questions. Let’s explore the fourth communication style today. 4. Jesus related truth to real life. As we are interacting with the way Jesus communicated as a model to us all, one question comes to

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Jesus the Master Communicator (part 3)

By Michelle Sessoms on May 7, 2018 / Christ-centered Leadership, Jesus the Master Communicator, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

The past few weeks we began talking about Jesus, the Master Communicator. When we encounter Jesus in the New Testament we tend to view him through the lens of him as our Savior and Lord. But how often do we view him through the lens of Jesus the Master Communicator? In light of this, what are some ways we can adopt this communication style in our own communication of the gospel in formal and non-formal ways? Over these six weeks we are highlighting some of the communication styles of Jesus. The first week we talked about how Jesus used good stories. Last week we talked about Jesus using rich imagery. Today we will look at the third communication style. 3. Jesus asked good questions Not only did Jesus tell good stories and use images, but he also asked good questions. By asking questions he was involving the audience and

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Jesus the Master Communicator (part 2)

By Michelle Sessoms on April 30, 2018 / Christ-centered Leadership, Jesus the Master Communicator, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

Last week we began talking about Jesus, the Master Communicator. When we encounter Jesus in the New Testament we tend to view him through the lens of him as our Savior and Lord. But how often do we view him through the lens of Jesus the Master Communicator? In light of this, what are some ways we can adopt this communication style in our own communication of the gospel in formal and non-formal ways? Over six weeks we will be highlighting some of the communication styles of Jesus. Last week we talked about the first one: Jesus used good stories. Today we will look at the second one. 2. Jesus used everyday objects and verbal imagery If you give someone a mental picture, he will take it home and it will be in his heart for a long time. Jesus knew that and often used everyday images and objects or

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Using Story to Set Leaders Free – Video

By Michelle Sessoms on April 9, 2018 / Christ-centered Leadership, Leadership Development, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

This video provides a snapshot of how Freedom to Lead takes stories, images, and music to deliver time-honoring leadership principles. We have witnessed that when oral-based leaders experience the leadership principles of Jesus through stories, images, and music, their hearts are changed. As a result, communities are impacted.

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Christ-centered Leadership