Leadership Lessons from Ted Engstrom, Part 4

At the encouragement of a few friends and fellow General Council members, I am reading through The Making of a Christian Leader by Ted Engstrom. This book was written in 1976 but still resonates with its insights to this day. Talk about retro!

Every week, I will share some quotes and gleanings from my reading for the week. I hope to use this time as an encouragement to myself and to others that being a leader is a calling from Christ and only possible through Christ.




CHAPTER TWO: THE OLD TESTAMENT AND LEADERSHIP

"...spiritual men can take ... [leadership] tools and use them for the glory of God, whether or not all the tools in the leader's arsenal are spiritual.", p. 25

[Joseph provides] "a magnificent example of organization in Scripture!", p. 26

"...authority flows from the higher levels to the lower in God's plan.", p. 26

 "Authority carries with it great responsibility.", p. 27

"Those entrusted with authority are divinely ordained to use it responsibly for His purposes.", p. 27

"...the complex nature of authority...depend[s] upon the attitude with which it is received...", p. 27

"...the people did not understand his [Moses'] role in their midst.", p. 29

"...he [Moses] knew it was time to train someone else for leadership.", p. 30

Six qualities of Moses' leadership found in Hebrews 11 (p. 30):                                          1. Faith (v. 24)                                                                                                                      2. Integrity (v.25)                                                                                                                  3. Vision (v. 26)                                                                                                                    4. Decisiveness (v. 27)                                                                                                          5. Obedience (v. 28)                                                                                                              6. Responsibility (v. 29)

"Behind David's accomplishments was the blessing of God.", p. 31

"The strongest reason ... that the Israelite tribes offered for wanting David to rule was that he was God's choice.", p. 31

"David...protect[ed] them as their judge in peace and their captain in war.", p. 31

Secrets to David's Success (p. 32-33):                                                                                 1. Wise Diplomacy                                                                                                               2. Recognition of the Lord God                                                                                               3. Constantly Seeking God's Blessing                                                                                  4. Not Ashamed to be Involved in Spiritual Exercises                                                                             5. Led His People in Praising God

"...the Christian leader ... must be willing to exercise spiritual means to mold, stimulate, and continually challenge his colleagues and subordinates.", p. 33

"His [Nehemiah] character was above reproach; he was a praying man; he displayed great courage in the face of much opposition; he had a deep concern for his people...; he did not shirk responsibility given to him." p. 33-34 

Join me in learning with the next post on Chapter 3 (Christ and Leadership in the Gospels) of this book.