Spiritual Leadership: Moving People On to God’s Agenda by Henry and Richard Blackaby

Today I want to review a book that has changed my life; a book that changed my heart when I didn’t even know I needed to change. This book is Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda by Henry and Richard Blackaby.

The foundational principal of Spiritual Leadership is that we, as Christians, must lead differently than the world leads. Non-Christian leaders lead in order to advance a political or corporate agenda. Some leaders may lead in order to advance their own personal agenda.

But that kind of leadership has no place in a Christian’s life. As Christians, we must lead by moving people into God’s purposes for them. Blackaby says at the beginning of the book, “The spiritual leader’s task is to move people from where they are to where God wants them to be.”

That doesn’t mean we run over people. That means we disciple people. We speak the greatness of God into their lives. We see people with the eyes of God. We believe in them when no one else does. And we influence them ever, ever, ever closer to God and His plans for them.

Spiritual Leadership is written in a way that is both spiritual and practical. When I read it, it birthed a passion in me to see God’s greatness manifested in every single person in my circle of influence. But it also gave me practical ways to actually see that happen! Spiritual Leadership addresses leadership in every arena: business, church, and family. No matter where we are, at any given moment we should still be leading like Christ. Blackaby fills the book with specific examples and stories about what spiritual leadership looks like in each of these arenas.

Some of my favorite quotes from this book are:

• “When spiritual leaders have done their jobs, the people around them have encountered God and obeyed His will.” (page 21)
• “The best thing leaders can do for their organization is to grow personally.” (page 31)
• “For true leaders, failure will not destroy them but will, instead, further develop their character.” (page 38)
• “The difference between worldly visions and God-given visions is that God-given visions are always impossible to achieve apart from God.” (page 74) {Tweet This!}
• “Leaders cannot demand respect. They can only earn it.” (page 107) {Tweet this!}

These quotes are only a tiny sampling. Spiritual Leadership is full of more wisdom than I could ever summarize here!

The chapter titles in Spiritual Leadership are:

1. The Leader’s Challenge
2. The Leader’s Role: What Leaders Do
3. The Leader’s Preparation: How God Develops Leaders
4. The Leader’s Vision: Where Do Leaders Get It and How Do They Communicate It?
5. The Leader’s Character: A Life That Moves Others to Follow
6. The Leader’s Goal: Moving People On to God’s Agenda
7. The Leader’s Influence: How Leaders Lead
8. The Leader’s Decision Making
9. The Leader’s Schedule: Doing What’s Important
10. The Leader’s Pitfalls: What Disqualifies Leaders?
11. The Leader’s Rewards

If you are a leader in any area–or if you want to be–or if you are called to make disciples (yup, that summarizes every Christian on the planet!), please read this book. It will teach you. It will empower you. It will light a fire in your soul for the people under your care. It will show you practically how to carry out God’s plan for you in leadership.

Click here to purchase Spiritual Leadership: Moving People On to God’s Agenda on Amazon.com for only $11.18 paperback, or on Kindle for $9.99 (as of the date of this writing).

Have you read Spiritual Leadership? If so, what are your thoughts about it? Leave a comment below; I’d love to hear if this book impacted you as it did me!

Note: The links above are my Amazon affiliate links. If you would like to purchase this book, doing so by clicking on the links above will help me pay the expenses for this blog.