In 1986, after years of thinking, I developed my definition of leadership:
Leadership is the discipline of deliberately exerting special influence within a group to move it towards goals of beneficial permanence that fulfill the group’s real needs.
– Haggai, Dr. John E, The Influential Leader: 12 Steps to Igniting Visionary Decision Making, copyright 2009, Harvest House Publishers: Eugene, Oregon, page 20
I call this “Visionary Decision Making” because it makes a direct connection between the here and now and a leader’s deepest aims and aspirations. It applies to decision making everywhere, from the home to the highest corporate boardroom. It goes beyond simple goal setting. It denotes a meticulous consistency between daily decisions and your answers to the question: “What is your life ultimately about?”
– Haggai, Dr. John E, The Influential Leader: 12 Steps to Igniting Visionary Decision Making, copyright 2009, Harvest House Publishers: Eugene, Oregon, page 16-17
Decision making sits at the heart of leadership. In fact, leadership really boils down to a constant execution of decisions, big and small, day in, day out. And the trail of decisions a leader leaves behind him charts the trajectory of his influence.
– Haggai, Dr. John E, The Influential Leader: 12 Steps to Igniting Visionary Decision Making, copyright 2009, Harvest House Publishers: Eugene, Oregon, page 15
The first thing to say about leadership is this: Leadership frequently gets mistaken for other things. “Too often, attempts to analyze leadership tend to fail because the would be analyst misconceives his task. He usually does not study leadership at all. Instead, he studies popularity, power, showmanship, or wisdom in long-range planning.”
So said the celebrated psychologist W.C.H. Prentice, writing for the Harvard Business Review. Prentice was right. To his list of mistaken definitions of leadership, I could add many more: organizational acumen, administrative expertise, and sheer hard work. All of these are important. But none addresses the subject of leadership.
Haggai, Dr. John E, The Influential Leader: 12 Steps to Igniting Visionary Decision Making, copyright 2009, Harvest House Publishers: Eugene, Oregon, page 7
What will people say about your life in heaven? Will people speak of God’s work and glory through you? And even more important, how will you answer the King when He says, “What did you do with what I gave you?”
Daniel Webster once said, “The greatest thought that has ever entered my mind is that one day I will have to stand before a holy God and give an account of my life.” He was right.
– Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, copyright 2008, page 174
Our view of the Holy Spirit is too small. The Holy Spirit is the One who changes the church, but we have to remember that the Holy Spirit lives in us. It is individual people living Spirit-filled lives that will change the church (Ephesians 3:16).
– Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, copyright 2008, page 171
Most of us use “‘I’m waiting for God to reveal His calling on my life” as a means of avoiding action. Did you hear God calling you to sit in front of the television yesterday? Or to go on your last vacation? Or exercise this morning? Probably not, but you still did it. The point isn’t that vacations or exercise are wrong, but that we are quick to rationalize our entertainment and priorities yet are slow to commit to serving God.
– Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, copyright 2008, page 169
I wrote this book because much of our talk doesn’t match our lives. We say things like, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” and “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” Then we live and plan like we don’t believe God even exists. We try to set our lives up so everything will be fine even if God doesn’t come through. But true faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God’s fidelity to His promises.
– Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, copyright 2008, page 168
Oswald Chambers writes, “Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be as original with other people as He is with you.” To that I would add “Be careful not to turn others’ lives into the mold for your own.” Allow God to be as creative with as He is with each of us.
– Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, copyright 2008, page 167
My suggestion as you think, make decisions, and discern how God would have you live is to ask yourself, “Is this the most loving way to do life? Am I loving my neighbor and my God by living where I live, by driving what I drive, by talking how I talk?” I urge you to consider and actually live as though each person you come in contact with is Christ.
– Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, copyright 2008, page 166
