Publisher's Synopsis
This book contains a vision for shaping the hearts and minds of developing spiritual leaders. It was written from my own experiences of observing a few men and women who were great leaders. Based on my experiences, I have concluded that great leadership really does exist and really can be developed with proper attention to a few essential principles. Sadly, I have also concluded that great leadership is very rare and fragile. Leaders, like all other human beings, suffer profoundly from severe deformities in their natures. These deformities often hijack the leaders' development from mediocre to good and from good to great. My hope with this book is to make a heartfelt appeal to you on the basis of my own experiences not to give up your hope and your quest for great leadership in the spiritual communities and challenges you encounter. The great leaders with whom I have interacted emerged in five significant phases in my life: my childhood family; my church community from the ages of 13 to 18 when I lived in England; my college community from the ages of 18 to 21 at Covenant College on Lookout Mountain, Georgia; my professional work community from the ages of 21 to 36 at Ernst & Young in Nashville, Tennessee; and my church communities in Nashville. Through stories and observations from my experiences, I hope to demonstrate to you the invaluable qualities which the great leaders in my life have exhibited, which I believe are universal characteristics of great leaders, in order to strengthen your hope and deepen your vision for Godly leadership.
