Equipped to Serve by Leading
A Journey in Spiritual Leadership Development
This is a process of spiritual leadership development that I have refined over the past 20 years of leading people, organizations, and ministries. It is, as always, a work in progress. It begins with Personal Spiritual Formation, realizing that Christian leaders first and foremost begin with hearing the voice of Jesus. It is crucial to know Him and to discern where He is leading us. Next we move to Personal Leadership, understanding who God has made us to be. This always precedes what God is calling us to do. Lastly, we go to Positional Leadership because as an ancient Afghan proverb goes: “If you think you’re leading and no one is following you, then you’re only taking a walk.” The key to successful leadership always involves building and leading great teams.
Click on a Theme to expand upon the theme’s curriculum plus additional resources.
NOTE: The web-based portion of “Equipped to Serve by Leading” is under construction and is being completed as quickly as possible.Theme #1: Personal Spiritual Formation
Objective: “Abiding in Christ and hearing His voice”
The Voice of Jesus Study Guide
The Theology of the Voice of Jesus
Gratitude & Confession
Meditation & Discernment
Practicing Discernment
Theme #2: Personal Leadership
Objective: “Learning to lead like Jesus”
Character: Developing the Heart of a Servant Leader
Chemistry: Discovering the Divine Design of a Leader
Finding Your PLACE in Life & Ministry
Personality Discovery (DISC)
Learning Spiritual Gifts
Abilities Awareness
Connecting Passion with Ministry
Experiences of Life
Living Your Strengths (StrengthsFinder)
Relational Intelligence
Relational Intelligence On-line Assessment
Relational Intelligence Study Guide
Competency: Developing the Skills to Lead Well
Leader Action Model (Insight, Innovate, Initiate)
Influence vs. Power & Position
Leadership “Bank Account”
Developing Authentic Relationships & Feedback
Discovering, Developing, and Deploying Leaders
Strategic Planning Process
Calling & Commitment: Discerning Jesus’ Call & Mission for a Leader
Calling: specific calling of a leader
Commitment: commitment to an organization’s mission, vision, values & strategy.
Theme #3: Positional Leadership
Objective: “Leading Christ-centered, Kingdom Building Teams”
The Heart of team (the why)
The Structure of team (the how)
The Decision-making of team (the what)
Organic vs. Mechanistic
Leader’s Role in Defining & Guiding Decision Process
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (with Assessment)
#1: Absence of Trust (Leader’s Role = Be Vulnerable)
#2: Fear of Conflict (Leader’s Role = Demand Debate)
#3: Lack of Commitment (Leader’s Role = Force Clarity & Closure)
#4: Avoidance of Accountability (Leader’s Role = Confront Difficult Issues)
#5: Inattention to Results (Leader’s Role = Focus on Collective Outcomes & Results)
Required Reading:
The Voice of Jesus – Gordon Smith
Finding Your PLACE in Life & Ministry (Workbook) – Jay McSwain
Living Your Strengths – Albert Winseman, Donald Clifton, & Curt Liesveld
Relational Intelligence – Steve Saccone
Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
Jonathan’s Top 10 Books on Organizational Leadership
