the pure passion of his vision! If he cannot successfully exert leadership
influence, the people simply will not follow.
CHRIST’S MENTORING MODEL“Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to Him those He
wanted, and they came to Him...that they might be with Him and
that He might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive
out demons.” (Mark 3:13-19)
...To Him 4 (Mastery)
...With Him 4 (Mentoring)
...By Him 4 (Ministry)
GENERAL LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS
“We have different gifts according to the
grace given us... If it is leadership, let him
govern diligently...” (Romans 12:6, 8).It has been my supreme joy now for over 35 years to disciple, teach and
mentor young Christian leaders. In the earlier years of my life and ministry,
I primarily focused on mentoring high school and college students. In
those days, the subject of “Leadership Development” was not a widely
known concept within the church. We just talked about the subject of
discipleship – and even that was not widely understood or practiced.
As I began to disciple certain young people in their Christian lives, I
quickly noticed that some of them had strong influence over their peers.
They were the teenage “Pied Pipers,” who always seemed to be center
stage...out in front...leading the pack...setting the pace...initiating
activities...speaking for the group. They had natural leadership skills –
although often neglected or misdirected. These young leaders were about
equally divided between guys and gals. Some were leaders in student
body government, some in academics, some in social activities, some in
athletics, and some in their churches. I began to reach out to them through
various forms of “contact work.” That meant hanging around with them