William Willimon's Vocation Chapter Summary

Leaders are perhaps uncovered at many different levels and situations (Simmons, 2011). However, leaders in many organizations lead when forced into the spotlight and find out they are not equipped to function effectively. Becoming a leader can be as simple as leading a small team, a group or a community organization (Jennings, 2012). The truth of the matter

First published in 1987, The Leadership Challenge is a guide for becoming leader. The book received many awards and its above two million copies are internationally sold. The book teaches principles of leadership that apply whether the leader is running a sports team or a fortune 500 organization. The book includes stories and examples of many leaders from micro to macro level (Founders and Authors, 2013). The basic leadership principles can be adopted by anyone to challenge status quo and increase leader productivity multifold. The book tells about the flow and hierarchy of values too (Machedo, 2013). One can use the guide without an instructor to develop leadership traits.

This book by Gordon MacDonald can be compared to “Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry” by Ruth Barton. Barton notes that some leaders have such an insatiable appetite for approval from others, that it leaves them standing as service providers that suffer from compassion fatigue. They fail to initiate quiet time that creates an uncommon intimacy with God. The pastoral leader must stop and become aware of his/her surroundings while listening for where God is leading them before they try to lead

Since I realized that God calls me to be a pastor not only to feed but also to take care of God’s people, I have been pursuing to be a pastor serving for a local church. So, I always pay attention to preparation for sermon, Christian education, and the demonstration of pastoral leadership. That is, my concern has been mainly limited to ministries within the church. Yet, this summer PMM makes me participate in ministries outside of the church. Involvement in two organizations (Homeless ministry and the ministry for North Korean refugees) has me think of a possibility of working at organizations outside of the church as a pastoral leader. It also makes me find out how I should take care of ministries outside the church other than church ministries.

In their book, Churches, Cultures and Leadership, Mark Lau Branson and Juan F. Martinez point out the perspective of “Practical Theology.” (Part 1, 39) They also explain the purpose of “Interpretive Leadership.” (133) Their stories helped me understand how the circumstances challenge church leaders. (Introduction, 19)

Using the book as a field guide to take along the leadership journey is suggestive that leadership is something that is ever-evolving and can always be improved upon if a person is willing to look within themselves and make continuous improvements.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate what I have learned about spiritual leadership. This paper outlines principals and personal experiences that I have encounter throughout my life. I have applied those learning experiences to various concepts discussed in this course. Identifying leadership as it pertains to the work I do, examining the leader’s role and goal, exploiting the leadership dynamics, and the personal reflection on purposeful prayer. Biblical principles and ethics of leadership are grounded on basic ideas regarding intellectual, biblical, and moral principles.

The life of a pastor requires many developed practices, none more important than personal spiritual practices. The author, adheres to many daily and weekly habit s to develop personally and spiritual with the hope to remain spiritual vibrant. As Addington explains all great qualities of leadership come form the place deep inside our hearts, the hidden recess of our souls, whose “channels lead to deep veins of God’s work and molding” (Addington, 2014 p1).

Pastoral Ministry is sectioned into four parts. The first part is on “Biblical Perspectives.” When asking, “What is a pastor to be and do?” we must look to God’s Word for answers and not to the latest fads or theories that

Hello. My name is Capt Michael Humphrey. The leadership related book that I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing is entitled “Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time,” by Dr. Ken Blanchard. Dr. Blanchard is the co-founder and Chief Spiritual Officer of the Ken Blanchard Companies. The mission of the Ken Blanchard Companies is “To make a difference in people’s lives, to drive human work and effectiveness in the workplace and to help each organization they work with become the provider, employer and investment of choice. Dr. Blanchard is the author of over 60 books and presenter of more than 100 keynote speeches. Dr. Blanchard’s most notable works include “The One Minute Manager,” which sold over 13 million copies, in 37 different languages, as well as the follow up to “The One Minute Manager,” “Leadership and the One Minute Manager.”

In this assignment, I have decided to describe and analyze the situational approach and contingency theories of leadership. As looked through various theories, I found the situational approach theory and the contingency theory to be particularly interesting. As the eldest sibling, I have always thought of myself as some type of “leader”, often making decisions and taking the initiative. As I grew older, I realized that there were situations where there were people better prepared for various challenges. Consequently, I found myself in leadership positions at different locations that ranged from church to a job held. As an example, I led a team of workers during a summer job at Walmart. Though I was not the appointed team leader, other co-workers sought for my advice and help with various tasks. Additionally, I have recently become the praise team leader at my church although the official title is held by someone else. On the other hand, I have held several positons (including my current teaching position) where I have found others to be much better prepared (physically and mentally) and in turn, I have sought for their leadership. Consequently, as I have matured, I have come to believe that leaders can arise from different backgrounds, experiences, settings, and beliefs and that a leader in one setting may not be able to lead in another.

For the purpose of this report, we have decided to look at the assumption that leadership is based on the different types of relationships between people, rather than the skills and abilities of just one person.

Leadership is something that can be taught (Northouse, 2015. There are some valuable theories, which will be discussed later in this paper, how a leader can develop into having a strong influence in any daily aspect of their lives. Also later in this paper it will be discussed the various styles of leaders that can affect the behaviors of the actions of each leader. Each leader can learn these attributes or some of them just have the natural capability of being a leader.

J. Thomas Wren (1995) put together a book to help leaders define leadership for themselves. The Leader’s

The psychodynamic approach to leadership has its roots in Sigmund Freud´s. The psychodynamic paradigm has its origins in Freud’s psychoanalytic theories of human behaviour. Specifically, this approach draws attention to the sources of energy and motivational forces that drive human