ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Every leader knows well that authentic leadership is a team eff ort. No
worthy leader leads alone. The role of leadership is to activate as many
people as possible in the pursuit of the vision or goal. Any goal or vision
that can be achieved by one person by himself or herself is not very worthy
or challenging. Worthy visions and worthwhile goals are so BIG that
they require many people working together to achieve them. Therefore,
leadership worthy of the title is a corporate activity – not an individual
one.
Certainly the writing of this book has been a team eff ort. Even though the
primary reading and writing has been from my own life and experiences
- the transcription of those notes and events has been made possible by
my staff. So I want to give due credit where credit is due!
First, I want to express my deep appreciation to the early members
of the “New Directions” musical teams who were my initial training
ground in the basics of discipleship and mentoring. It was through the
dynamic of those hundreds of relationships with high school and college
students that I learned the priority of people in God’s plan for leadership
development. The relationships that Patt and I developed with those first
teenagers confirmed to us that God builds leaders through individuals
- not through institutions. God showed us through those wonderful
relationships that His plan has always been people – not programs. Over 45
years later we continue to rejoice in the “abiding fruit” (Jn. 15:16) that has
come from those early days of ministry and mentoring. Today, scores of
those young people that we “learned on” are leaders in their own right.
Many have gained a significance and influence that far exceeds our own –
which is “pay day” for every parent or leader!
Secondly, I thank God for the hundreds of National pastors around the
world who have sat through leadership seminars I have taught in their
various countries. It was their persistence in asking me for my “teaching
notes” that gradually provoked me into writing this book. So, it has been
my desire to enhance their lives and leadership for the Kingdom of God
that has motivated me to carve out the time in my schedule to expand my
notes into manuscript form. I joyfully invest the principles of this book
in their ministries!