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Leading
Christian Organizations’ purpose is to train and equip the
Church on discipleship and leadership. It seeks to facilitate
training for the African Church and disciple all nations in the
power of the Holy Spirit through biblical principles of leadership.
The book stands on the premise that church organizations follow
biblical principles and values as opposed to secular organizations
in leadership and that biblical leadership concept is values-based
fulfilling God given responsibility through God-given capacities.
The book further follows traces biblical form of leaders through
the roles of various persons in the biblical text. First, it traces
leadership influence through patriarchs who are heads of families
of Israel such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and through, Judges,
who God sent to rescue Israelites from oppressors, administered
justice while fulfilling prophetic and visionary roles in Israel.
Second, it traces leadership through priests/prophets and kings
in the Old Testament, leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ in the
New Testament and that of the apostles in the book of Acts and
demonstrated in the writings of Paul and other apostles.
Organizations perform well when its philosophies and ethos is
articulated through its mission, vision and values. Such philosophies
also provide a basis for leadership of the Church through the
biblical norms and covenants. Leading Christian Organizations
defines organizations as social entities that enable people to
work together to achieve objectives. The book contends that although
the New Testament organization development structure was not well
defined, Jesus left behind leaders guided by His biblical teaching
rooted in the mission, vision and values of the church He established.
Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is a no vision, the people
perish.” The Leader’s major responsibility is to accurately
communicate vision to the group and the values that drive the
service. The “Ephesians 4:11 Ministries” advances
that every one in the church should be equipped for the work of
service (ministry).
Self-leadership depicts the character of the leader revealed in
their love of God and others while reflecting Christ-likeness.
The individuality of a leader should respond to God’s plan
for man and his God-given gifts to serve through the Holy Spirit.
Life long learning in a continuous basis is a hallmark of leadership.
The elements of strategic planning in fulfilling God’s mission
are likened to the corporate approach of leadership in effective
organization. The book also contends that leaders’ accountability
is seen through prayer and biblical guidance and inspiration of
the Holy Spirit. Christian goals should be high performance in
leadership and stewardship (servant-manager).
Leader development, modeling leaders of excellence, mentoring
and coaching, equipping leaders and teams all have biblical backgrounds
culminating into Jesus’ appointing the disciples as mentors
to effect/reproduce the mission, vision and values. Lwesya in
his book presents practical steps in mentoring and coaching other
emerging leaders.
Through following Biblical principles and values, Christian leaders
choose to lead the way God desires. Christian values (spiritual)
assists in the leadership of Christian organizations, in the development
of hope for the future of communities and influencing of the belief
of the vision through strategies and continuity.
Leadership styles include the traditional and modern situational
styles, which bring influence in leadership through the Holy Spirit’s
empowerment. Cultural patterns are important to leaders, especially
in the African context as they affect the influence of the mission.
Democratic principles of leader selection and identification are
at variance with biblical tenets. Leading Christian Organizations
also notes the cultural variance of Biblical and African traditional
leadership.
Leading Christian Organizations further argues that implementation
of a strategic plan is an interaction of the People Process, the
Strategy Process and the Operational Process. Effective leaders
muster, facilitate, monitor and evaluate the three processes continuously
for the purpose of good performance (Colossians 3:23, 1Timothy
6:11, Titus 2:9). Leaders account for what they do and maintain
a performance evaluation system.
The author sees a pivotal role of the Holy Spirit in the community
of believers and traces the origins to the Acts of the Apostles.
The local assembly through the Holy Spirit acts as an ambassadorial
community of Christ’s mission for the whole world. The leaders
in the local assembly include elders (shepherds, overseers and
bishops or presbyters) and deacons who have to act as spiritual
and visionary leaders and role models. The “Ephesians 4:11
ministries” contends that every one in the church can be
equipped for service or ministry to build up the body of Christ.
This is God’s purpose for leaders to the Church.
The basic thrust of the book is on organizational leadership for
the African Church. It aims at offering training that equips the
church to disciple all nations in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The author directs his exposé to support study in classrooms
and small groups. Any reader will enjoy the author articulated
views presented which came out of his passion for developing Africa’s
Church Leaders.
Reviewed by Taiwo K Ilesanmi
REFERENCE
LIST
Boal, Kimberly B. 2004. Strategic Leadership. Encyclopedia
of Leadership. Vol 4. George, Goethals R., Georgia J. Sorenson,
and James Macgregor Burns, 1497-1503. Thousand Oaks, California:
Sage Publications.
Lwesya,
Enson M. 2007. Leading Christian Organizations. Springfield, Missouri:
Africa’s Hope Publications.
Narasimhan,
Ganesh. 2008. Steps in Strategic Sustainable Development. Journal:
Economics, Management, and Financial Markets 3, no. 24-35. http://www.doaj.org/doaj?func=
abstract &id/Stractegic (accessed July 27, 2008).
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