Truly Christ-Centered Leader Development
Healthy Leaders | Issue 59
Welcome to Issue 59 of Healthy Leaders. In this issue, we return to the Center, Jesus Christ.
Hello friends,
Welcome back to our ongoing conversation on healthy Christian leadership and leader development.1
At the end of our last issue, we talked about Christ being both center and circumference in your life and leadership.
We keep coming back to this every day in our work in Christian leader development, because He already is the Center of everything!
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the Head of the Body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His Cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)
This incredible truth has profound implications for how to build leaders!
Here’s Malcolm with more:
In all of our frontline work, we focus on Christ as the heartbeat of all healthy leadership — because He is worthy of our focus, because we need Him ourselves, and because this focus works. Our brothers and sisters in Cameroon have frequently testified of this truth!
“Union with Christ, always taken for granted once we are born again, is the true beginning and the end of leadership. I felt ashamed of myself as a leader after seeing how far I had strayed away from Jesus’ model of leadership. This model has made leader development and discipleship easier and down to earth. Since this training started, I have not stop wondering what could happen if the Church were to fully embrace these tools. We would be able to match the harvest with the number of harvesters! I see a completely new route of ministry before me.” (Pastor S)
“Our solid foundation is Jesus Christ. To lead like Him I must be in union and fellowship with Him all the time. I must seek His face before taking any step.” (Sister K)
“As a Christian leader, I must have the right foundation — fellowship with Jesus — and build on that foundation. My personal relationship with God comes first. It is not something I am supposed to do in my spare time, but something that is supposed to be my identity. Fellowship with God is the source of my life; I cannot live without it. My leadership comes from a good relationship with Christ.” (Sister E)
What about you?
How do you practically keep Christ as the focus of your life and leadership on a day-to-day basis? What do you find most effective? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Until next time, we’re with you!
— Chris
Recommended Resources
Audio Teaching: Returning to Your First Love
Core Model Brief: Summary of the Principles of Healthy Leader Development
Book: To Enjoy Him Forever
For more resources, visit our website.
Thanks to our friends at Fifty-Four Collective for putting together a comprehensive set of video courses for growing healthy organizations, starting with this series of courses on leadership by Malcolm. We’ll be using some of their videos and some of our own. Be sure to check out what they’re doing!