Leadership Development Series

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.

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

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.

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

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