(paid link)
The Making of a Christian Leader by Ted W. Engstrom:
I nearly put this book review in my Leadership Academy Curated Library. However, I decided to place it here because I believe Ted Engstrom’s The Making of a Christian Leader supports my two-part thesis that:
The solution to global corruption is excellence in personal leadership.
Providing ethically-based Christian leadership is the morally correct response to the threats posed by Spiritual Warfare.
To gain a better understanding of this dynamic, let us turn to Engstrom’s own explanation of what this remarkable book offers:
What it is not:
New Testament leadership is not a power-play. During the last supper of Christ, with the incarnate God sitting among them, the disciples began to quarrel. This spirit of contentiousness is a leadership error.
New Testament leadership is not authoritarian. Christ’s reaction to his arguing disciples was to offer comparisons and contrasts rather than dictating that they stop.
New Testament leadership is not cultic control. During the last supper Christ told his disciples that he was among them as a servant.
What it is:
New Testament leadership is focused on individuals. This becomes apparent when you examine Jesus’ interaction with his followers.
New Testament leadership is focused on Scriptures. Jesus held the Old Testament in absolute esteem and did not dilute absolute truth with relativistic philosophy.
New Testament leadership is focused on Jesus. By trying to understanding Jesus, we gain a better understanding of Almighty God.
New Testament leadership is focused on purpose. Jesus lived his life and left specific goals for his followers to carry on his earthly ministry.
When I decided to delve into the often terrifying realm of Spiritual Warfare, my concern was that my fictional depictions might lead to reckless spiritual adventures of angel worship, obsession with the demonic, misguided attempts at exorcism, etc. My belief is that the appropriate role for humans in the unending, invisible war between good and evil is to provide solid, ethically-based leadership to address enduring problems in the material world. The Making of a Christian Leader is a terrific guidebook for that kind of work.
