Top Ten Books of 2013--#5 - The Conviction to Lead - Albert Mohler
The next book that comes in at the #5 is a book on
leadership but it comes at it from a bit of a different angle. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Seminary
in Louisville, Kentucky, believes that all leaders must lead from a formed set
of convictions that are unchanging. He
writes that leadership is more than just a man filling a role to accomplish a purpose
or fulfill a certain task. Also if you
are a history buff, Mohler has multiple stories woven throughout the book that
helps to illustrate what he is writing about.
One notable mention is of Ronald Reagan and how that Mohler actually
worked in his 1976 political campaign.
This book is written in such a way that you might read
through it on an initial run but there are multiple things to be harvested the
second time through. I found the book to
be one that was begging for a highlighter and penned notes to be placed in the
margins. The chapter where he writes
about intelligence is very good because he cites a Harvard Business Review study that took into consideration those
with a very high IQ. What the study
found was that people can have a very high IQ but if there is not an emotional
aspect where they are willing to care, make adjustments, and occasionally
totally remove a program they thought would work, these people will not survive
as a leader.
Author: Albert Mohler
Publisher: Bethany House, 2012
He was especially clear that for every Christian leader
that our leadership motivations must correspond to biblical truth. He noted that biblical truth is built into a
Christian leader’s life when he is faithful to corporate worship, his personal
devotional life, Bible reading and the reading of great Christian
literature.
One of the places that I would have liked for Mohler to
have expanded on much more was the chapter on the leader’s worldview. That is a buzzword of sorts that has been
tossed around for more than a decade as Christianity at large had to grapple with
the whims of the post-moderns. If you
will remember the post-modern guys were the ones who led the charge for the
concepts (if they can be called that) of the Emerging Church. The only thing that was able to combat the influence
of the EC was the dogged determination to meet their philosophical and
doctrinal questions with clear answers from Scripture. I accidentally found myself in the arena of struggling
against some of these fellows in various places and what I found was when you
have an opinion about what the Bible says, you can make it say what you would
like. However at the end of the day our
opinions about what the Bible says have little status. What matters is what Scripture clearly
states. When you have a grasp on
Scripture, your worldview takes on a whole new meaning.
His chapters on character and credibility are over the
top and you will find yourself being quite motivated to do better and be
better! Again, there are multiple historical
references that Mohler supplies. If you
are preacher and you are constantly in the hunt for good sermon illustrations,
this book is one that you will benefit from.
Here is a quote about credibility:
Credibility is not a function of office or title. History reveals many presidents, monarchs,
and generals who could not lead. Any
number of roads can lead to the corner office, and some of them have nothing to
do with leadership. In a massive study
of American leadership, James Kouzes and Barry Posner identified credibility as
the single most important issue in establishing effective leadership.
I always have to be careful about any book that is
somewhat instructional about reading because this is one of my “vices.” So when I say that the chapter on reading is
the best one in the book, take it for what it is worth. The thing that is great about this chapter is
that Mohler establishes that reading is the best way for you to build your
convictions. Information leads to
production. You may have heard the old
adage that inspiration without instruction leads to frustration. What Mohler does in an awesome way is help us
to know “how to read.” He also talks
about “what to read” and “when to read.”
There are other matters that Mohler addresses but there
is one other that I thought was very useful.
He writes about the leader and power.
I am always very concerned about leadership and power. While the landscape is changing somewhat, I fear political power that encroaches
itself into sacred and consecrated areas.
Our foremost calling is in spiritual realms and not political ones. However, when alpha males get into religious
settings, if there aren’t spiritual bridles on their souls, much chaos can
ensue. Furthermore the longer a man
remains in the position as a pastor or on a district board or general board for
that matter, he must keep the fires
of the morning and evening sacrifices lit.
This means that there has to be a willingness to hear a dissenting voice
when and if you are in the role as a leader.
This idea of power is one that I have read about and wrestled around with
for years. I have read multiple books
concerning these matters.
As an aside on this topic if you are wanting to spend
some time reading on these issues I think that in 2014 two books that really
have stood out to me over the years might help you. The first one is fiction. It is written by Robert Penn Warren and is
entitled All The Kings Men. It is a book that explores the rise of Huey Long,
former Louisiana governor, and how that his quest for office changed him from a
humble man who wanted to do right to a raging ambitious driven politico. In fact if an assassination had not ended his
life, he would have given FDR a run for the White House. The other book dealt with the pedophile priests’
cover-up in the Boston diocese and the Los Angeles diocese in the Catholic Church. That book is entitled Our Fathers: The Secret Life ofthe Catholic Church in an Age of Scandal by David France.
I have rambled on enough but I would reiterate that
Mohler’s book was not only instructional but motivational. These are the best kinds of books!
Thanks for reading. . .
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