Recommended reading: leadership

Is a ‘good’ Christian leader the same as a successful business leader or are there fundamental differences between the two?

Sam Moore recommends some reading if you want to explore what good Christian leadership looks like in theory and practice – the list contains some secular titles as well:

• Growing Leaders: Reflections on Leadership, Life and Jesus by James Lawrence (A helpful introduction that examines the pressures Christian leaders face in the modern world, and how they can be raised up and developed)
• Leadership or Servanthood? Walking in the Steps of Jesus by Hwa Yung (In a world of self-seeking, this book reminds us that Jesus showed that spiritual authority is connected with service and obedience)
• Servants and Fools: a Biblical Theology of Leadership by Arthur Boers (A look at Christian leadership and how Jesus modelled a life of service and sacrifice)
• The Advantage: Why Organisational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business by Patrick Lencioni (A book that shows why healthy organisations outperform others and why unity in practice and culture is so important)
• In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri Nouwen (Drawing from his life in ministry, Nouwen explores the challenges of leadership and what scripture can teach us)
• Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the Human Mind by Nancy Kline (Few people are effective listeners, but this work stresses how important it is for good management and opening up new possibilities)
• Relational leadership: a Biblical Model for Influence and Service by Walter Wright (Informed by leadership teaching, his own experience and insights from Jude, Philemon and Colossians, Wright shows how leadership is not an assigned role, but a way of living)

Want more? See also Sam Moore’s recommended reading list on the topic of mission, which can be read by clicking here.

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(Photo: Tom Hermans, Unsplash)