Let me encourage each and every person who is a leader in any respect in the church or Christian ministry to read this awesome book! I hope these quotes whet you’re appetite :)… here goes:
Vision is at the very core of leadership. Take vision away from a leader and you cut out his or her heart. Vision is the fuel that leaders run on. (pg 31)
Leaders are not the only ones who are energized by the passion of their vision. Followers thrive on it. (pg 35)
How does a leader best communicate vision? By embodying it. By personifying it. By living it out. (pg 38)
Even if no one else joined him, he was going to bring his vision to life. (pg 39)
I love the song, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”. The second verse says, “Though none go with me, still I will follow.” (pg 39)
The “when” also matters. In my experience, there are starting points, midway points, and ending points, in a ministry season that almost demand a vision talk. September, January and the end of June. (pg 43)
#1 VISION INCREASES ENERGY AND MOVES PEOPLE INTO ACTION (pg 45)
#2 VISION INCREASES OWNERSHIP (pg 47)
#3 VISION PROVIDES FOCUS (pg 47)
At a certain point people need more than vision. They need a plan, a step-by-step explanation of how to move from vision to reality. (pg 55)
I did not fully realize how deeply Dr. Billy Graham and his associates valued team until I enjoyed a visit with him at his home in Montreat, North Carolina. He led me down the hill from his home and pointed out the houses being built nearby by some of his team members. Apparently, forty-five years of togetherness was not enough for this tightly knit team. (pg 75)
Parenthetically, I believe that half of the fundraising strategies employed in these churches are unbiblical. I’m sorry, that’s the way I see it. The Bible doesn’t teach that a church ought to be financed by bake sales or bingo. (And I’m not really sorry.) (pg 108)
We want to see churches led by leaders, taught by teachers, and administrated by administrators. (pg 113)
Bless the socks off your key players. (pg 117)
Leaders learn best from other leaders. (pg 134)
(I read this next one on the plane ride from London, England to Tanzania… such “God timing” :)
As a leader it’s your job to keep your passion hot. Do whatever you have to do, read whatever you have to read, go wherever you have to go to stay fired up. And don’t apologize to anybody. (pg 188)
So I decided to make several life-management adjustments during my ministry year in an attempt to keep my heart from shrinking and my spirit from getting callused. I began taking regular days off, scheduled more solitude into my week, and incorporated into my reading diet more books that were challenging on a deeply spiritual level. (pg 196)
God, mold and shape me to my full leadership potential. (pg 199)
Make me like David, so I can be a leader who inspires hope. (pg 201)
God, give me Jonathan’s capacity to love. (pg 201)
God, give me Joseph’s personal holiness. (pg 202)
God, give me Joshua’s decisiveness. (pg 204)
Oh God, give me Esther’s courage (pg 205)
Oh God, if you would just grant me a portion of Solomon’s wisdom. (pg 207)
God, give me the emotional authenticity of Jeremiah. (pg 208)
God, may I never forget how important parties are. Like Nehemiah help me remember to celebrate. (pg 209)
How much better if we would all pray for the initiative-taking boldness of Peter. (pg 210)
God give me Paul’s intensity (pg 210)
Someday we are going to stand face to face with the Son of God who never gave up on His redemptive calling. (pg 252)
(read this last one… it had a big impact on me…)
A few months ago a cruel disease took the life of one of my closest friends. This book is dedicated to him. As I write these words I am fighting to hold back a river of tears. Jon Rasmussen was a brother, a mentor, a sailing partner, a fellow soldier, a servant, a confidante, and truly one of the most remarkable men I’ve ever known.
Two days before his death I knelt by his bedside and told him one last time that I loved him with all my heart and that I would see him on the other side. With labored motions he reached for a present that he had arranged for me. Opening the carefully wrapped box, I discovered a beautiful silver mariner’s compass. Before I could protest his thoughtfulness and generosity, Jon whispered, “Bill, your life gave my life direction. From the day we met, God used you to show me how my life could have purpose and meaning, and I can’t thank you enough.
“Read the backside”, he whispered. I read the three words engraved on the silver surface with tears in my eyes: “Stay the course.” After reading those words I climbed onto the bed and embraced Jon for several moments, then prayed for him.
Two days later Jon died. Doing his funeral was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But I will treasure his final gift to me like few other earthly possessions I own.
Stay the course. Stay the course. Stay the course.
If I do – if all of us leaders do – we will win the day for the glory of the One whose name we bear. (pg 253)
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