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HarLead2 08-08-110 Leadership from the Inside Out Examining
the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader Kevin Harney Zondervan,
2007, 196 pp., ISBN 978-0-310-25943-5 |
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Kevin Harney is the Teaching Pastor and Evangelism Champion at Faith
Church in Dyer, Indiana, and Central Wesleyan Church in Holland,
Michigan. Harney says leaders must humbly
and consistently examine their inner lives and identify areas of needed
change and growth. They must listen to
voices of those who love them enough to tell them the truth. (from the back
cover) The book has an eye-catching format that includes several categories of
sidebars in each chapter: self-examination suggestions, ways to invite others
into our lives for accountability, insights for preventative care, and ways
to build networks to help us. Each
chapter ends with discussion questions.
"Few leaders drop out of ministry because they lack the
skills. Instead, too often they lack
an examined inner life shaped by the Holy Spirit." "And when the inner life is left to
erode to a critical point, the outer world implodes." (13) "Self-examination is essential in the
life of every leader."
"Healthy leaders not only practice self-examination but also move
beyond reflection to invite others into the deep parts of their souls."
(16, 17) Chapter
1. Love Strengthens Every
Relationship: The Leader's Heart "If our heart stops beating, we die." Sample symptoms checks: (25) ●
I minister more out of duty than out of love for
God. ●
When I lead in prayer….the words…feel hollow and
empty to me. "When God is no longer our first love, our leadership lives are in
danger." "It is so easy for
Christian leaders to allow other things to become our first love." "Often this surrogate first love seems
noble, even Christ-honoring, but it is a heart-killing illusion."
(27) Examples: ●
Building a successful and growing ministry ●
Being loved by the people we serve and keeping
them happy ●
Feeling important and valuable in our hearts (27) "As leaders, connecting with God more intentionally and intimately
is our starting point; it is the foundation for all we do in ministry."
(29) "If our hearts are going to be healthy and strong, we will learn
to forgive." "Forgiveness
heals. Unforgiveness kills." Meet separately with two people in your ministry
who love you and whom you trust. Ask
them if they think there is anyone whom you have not fully forgiven. (37)
Chapter
2. Lifelong Learning Expands Our
Horizons: The Leader's Mind No one seems to notice whether we read the Bible for personal
growth. (46) Network Building suggestion: In
your staff meetings ask each person to share what they have been reading in
God's Word over the past week and one way God has spoken to them in personal
Bible study. (45) "What is one lesson you learned from
your personal Bible study this month?" (48) "Digging into books is one of the best ways to keep growing as a
leader." (51) "Colloquy
groups are small gatherings of people who agree to gather, study, and dig
into a topic for a set period of time.
The key learning element…is group interaction." (54) Read books that challenge your worldview and rattle your cage. (55) Chapter
3. Attentive Listening Informs Wise
Decisions: The Leader's Ears "Wise leaders learn to identify people who have the experience of
years of walking closely with Jesus.
And when they get close to these people, they listen, ask good
questions, watch, and learn." (67) Chapter
4. Clear Vision Sees What Lies Ahead:
The Leader's Eyes "Leaders need to have sharp eyes to see culture as it is…. But even more important, leaders need to
see the presence of God. When we open
our eyes to the spiritual reality around us, everything else snaps into
focus." (Note 2 Kings 6:8)
(80) "Begin to pray, with faith
and confidence, 'Open my eyes, Lord, that I may see!' This is…about having the veil pulled back
and your eyes opened to see the presence of the spiritual world."
(81) "Wise leaders discover the wealth of wisdom from the past. They stop, make a 180 degree turn, and
slowly observe where they have been and where the church has been." (85) "God was building the church of today
on a foundation established over years, decades, and centuries." (87) "Leaders who want to stay healthy in their ministry will discover
the wisdom of knowing their family history.
This is true in our personal lives.
We can avoid generational sin and dysfunction if we are aware of them
and take measures to live in a different way.
The harmful decisions of past generations do not have to dictate our
future. In a similar way, leaders who
know the family history of their church can avoid past patterns and
pitfalls. Good leaders are good
historians." (86) "If the church you serve has been around for a while, learn its
history--the good, the bad, and the ugly." (88)
"Learning from the past is mandatory for a ministry's healthy
future." (89) Chapter
5. Affirming Words Bring Blessing and
Energy: The Leader's Mouth "Churches where words of kindness and encouragement are plentiful
have the aroma of life." (101) Chapter
6. Humble Service Reveals Jesus'
Presence: The Leader's Hands Network Building Sidebar: "It's a simple but culture-shifting
question. What do we have that we can
give away?" (129) Chapter
7. Laughter Sustains Our Sanity: The
Leader's Funny Bone Symptoms Check: ●
When I look in the mirror, I see sadness on my
face and realize I have lost my sense of joy. ●
I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard
that it hurt. ●
When I join a group, things always seem to get
more serious instead of more fun."
(138) Self-Examination Suggestion: 1. When people
are with me, do they usually leave with a smile on their face? 2. Do I laugh
often, and do others laugh with me? 3. Do I create
experiences and moments of play, fun, and laughter for the people I am called
to lead? "Leaders must learn to laugh.
We must laugh at ourselves, laugh with each other, and also laugh at
some of the silliness we face in the work of the church. If we take everything we do seriously, we
will wither up and die on the inside.
If we can't open the pressure valve with laughter, we just might
explode. So laugh or die. It's up to you." (147) Chapter
8. Understanding and Harnessing Our
Sexual Desires: The Leader's Libido Leaders are shipwrecking their lives through sexual compromise. "I had a sober awareness that I was
not beyond temptation. I found myself
scrutinizing my own ability to self-deceive, my propensity toward sin, how I
can rationalize poor choices, and how I can live a double life if I'm not
very careful." Sober fear gripped
me. I hope it never goes away. (153) Symptom Check: ●
I find myself letting people in my church meet
emotional needs that should be met only by my spouse. (153) "In a sex-saturated culture, we must guard our minds. This is the first line of defense."
(155) "The mind is a
battlefield. If the enemy can dominate
here, he can infiltrate, poison, and destroy every area of our lives."
(156) "Memorizing passages of the Bible and reciting them might seem
old-fashioned." "I
disagree. I believe the best way to
practice preventive care of our souls, when it comes to sexual temptation, is
to saturate our minds with God's Word.
Meditating on Scripture is a cleansing process, and at any time, we
can draw on portions of the Bible we have memorized." (159)
"Most of the time, when a godly Christian man or woman begins
crossing lines in the area of sexuality, it has to do with an emotional
need. They feel far from their
spouse." "Married leaders
should make their sexual lives a high priority." (165-66) Chapter
9. Bearing the Yoke of Jesus: The
Leader's Back Set a limit on how many nights you will go back to church during the
week. Then invite your staff, board,
and congregation to keep you accountable.
(172) "Each time we take a Sabbath, we make three declarations to
heaven, earth, our church, and ourselves. 1.
We trust that God is capable of running the
universe and his church without us. 2.
We are confident that God can provide all we need
in six days of labor. 3.
We understand that slowing down and meeting with
God and his people is a priority in our lives." "Think
about it. God, who is omnipotent, took
a Sabbath and called you to do the same." (176) |
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