The Making of a Leader: Recognizing the Lessons and Stages of Leadership Development ($10.19 for the Kindle edition on Amazon) is unlike any leadership book I have read so far. It is not a quick and easy read. However, it is rich in deep and profound insight. This is a book that will make you think and reflect to better understand your own leadership journey.
Author J. Robert Clinton has performed a great service for all who long to grow into healthy and productive excellence as a leader. In the book he gives incredible insight into the “patterns and processes He (God) uses to shape us” into leaders.
Four Ways God Tests Our Character:
During a leader’s growth and maturation, God tests the leader’s character in four primary ways:
- Integrity Checks, which test our intentions, convictions, faith, calling, steadfastness, loyalty, and honesty.
- Obedience Checks, through which “a leader learns to recognize, understand, and obey God’s voice.”
- Word Checks, which “tests a leader’s ability to understand or receive a word from God personally and then allow God to work it out in his life.”
- Ministry Task, a final check that tests a person’s faithfulness and obedience in the use of his/her gifts.
Ongoing Guidance:
I found the section dealing with ongoing lessons in guidance especially fascinating. The way God uses “divine contacts,” and what Clinton calls the “double confirmation” is especially insightful. He explains,
First there is a crucial moment in the leader’s ministry when a sure word from God is needed for direction. Second, God gives direction to the leader directly or indirectly. Third, God then confirms this direction through someone else. Fourth, God brings the two together in some unmistakable, sovereign way.
The way God uses reflective isolation, conflict, and crises to help guide and mature the leader is also discussed, and guidelines are offered for the development of a personal ministry philosophy.
The Challenge of Finishing Well:
This book is so content rich it defies brief summarization. However, I would be remiss if I failed to note the uncomfortable, but challenging, observations found in the final chapter.
- Few leaders finish well.
- Leadership is difficult.
- God’s enabling presence is the essential ingredient of successful leadership.
- Spiritual leadership can make a difference.
Therefore, Clinton’s final words, “MAY YOU FINISH WELL,” is a personal goal of mine.