Here’s the first of my notes from one of my summer reads, Carson Pue’s Mentoring Leaders. It’s great holiday read; anecdotal, clear and provides a useful spiritual self-examination as well as guidance on developing other leaders.
Pue insists, rightly, that Christian leadership is rooted in an understanding of who we are in Christ. For Pue this is limited to the doctrine of adoption, it would be helpful to add a doctrine of imputed righteousness, but his point is still valid:
I frequently ask Christian leaders to describe how peaceful they are in their lives, on a continuum between one and ten. Peace, you see, is a sign of spiritual maturity. It gives me a quick measure of how they see themselves in relationship to Jesus. While not being very scientific, it has been very helpful in my coaching and mentoring of leaders.
Once leaders have a clear understanding of their place as a child of God, there is a new peace or shalom that embodies their life and their leadership.
Pue helpfully shows how biblical meditation is the key to the growth of peace, as we move up from simple prayers of petition.