Effective Christ-centered Leadership Over the past five weeks we’ve examined what we mean when we refer to “leadership development” (specifically, that which is Christ-centered). This is a term that is widely used but not commonly defined among churches, ministries, and organizations. Rather than run the risk of becoming like the Wild West of the 19th century, we’ve tried to come to terms with what leadership development means and what it contains. Today we conclude this series. Last week examined the categories for effective Christ-centered leadership development that make up its components. An organization or ministry may focus on one or more of these categories. character formation biblical literacy context-specific skills ministry development By sizing up the task before us, knowing we are functioning in these categories, we think that all’s well that ends well, right? Yes, but here’s the caveat. Research shows that “while every emerging Christ-centered leader needs all four of

Read MoreRead more" title="Read more" url="https://freedomtolead.net/blind-men-and-the-elephant/" align="right"]

Leadership Development Over the past several weeks we have been looking at how the term “leadership development” means a lot of things to a lot of people and without a common understanding of terms we might get lost in the wild west of expansion. Last week we at Freedom to Lead defined Christ-centered “leadership development” as “adult-focused, intentional cultivation that seeks to establish and enhance effective Christ-centered leadership practices.” However, merely having a working definition of leadership development is not sufficient to make the way forward. We need to size up the task before us. Rick Sessoms in his book Leading with Story: Cultivating Christ-centered Leaders in a Storycentric Generation asks his readers to do this:   “Picture in your mind’s eye an emerging leader you know. As you think about him or her becoming all that God wants them to be, what will it take? What will be needed

Read MoreRead more" title="Read more" url="https://freedomtolead.net/sizing-up-the-task/" align="right"]

It was William Shakespeare who said, “Some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Are leaders born or made? Are leaders in leadership because of natural giftedness or because they arose to the occasion at the time it was needed? Development or Emergence The first thing we need to establish if we’re going to have a working definition of leadership development is to differentiate it from leadership emergence.

Read MoreRead more" title="Read more" url="https://freedomtolead.net/coming-to-terms/" align="right"]

Leadership development is often like the Wild West expansion in the mid 19thcentury. When I was in my elementary and middle school years you would most likely find me building forts in the woods creating a world of my own. My brother and I and our neighborhood friends would create new paths and “discover” new streams and ponds. These were simpler days when our time was set by the arrival of lightning bugs that signaled dinner was ready. One of my favorite forms of creative outside play was to imagine we lived in pioneer days, the days of covered wagons and panning for gold. Perhaps it was a unit we studied in school or this new computer program called “Oregon Trail” that inspired me, but I liked to imagine that quest of making our way west. At the time we lived just across the Hudson River from New York City.

Read MoreRead more" title="Read more" url="https://freedomtolead.net/the-wild-west-of-leadership-development/" align="right"]

Leadership development. It’s become something of a fad. Today organizations love to talk about it. If a church or ministry offers a “leadership development” program, then they feel like they’re well on their way. But what is leadership development? How do we define it? More specifically, what are the elements that are needed to see a leader “developed”? What works, and what doesn’t? Freedom to Lead International is all about seeing leaders developed. We are deeply committed to cultivate leaders so that they can be all God wants them to be. The cultivation process involves using whatever tools work. In our case, the effective tools are story, symbol, and song. However, if we ever find that those tools do not work, then we’ll try something different. But when all is said and done, we are primarily about leadership development. Over the next several weeks we’ll look into the foundational principles of

Read MoreRead more" title="Read more" url="https://freedomtolead.net/what-is-leadership-development/" align="right"]