Weak Enough to Lead: Habits of a Faithful Christian Leader

James C. Howell

Paperback

Description: 

The Bible’s understanding of leadership is decidedly different from that of the business world!

The Bible’s version of leadership is pretty different from—and sometimes alien to—that of the business world. It is also dissimilar from our usual assumptions about what makes a great leader in the church, where we tend to focus on preaching ability, strategic hutzpah, and managerial savvy.

But what if the Bible actually points toward a different set of characteristics necessary for leadership? What if our weakness is an essential qualification? Do we know our limitations, our inabilities? Do we see clearly our vulnerable, broken selves? Do we really believe that God’s strength is perfected in our weakness, and do we lead with that as a core belief?

James Howell’s Weak Enough to Lead is not a list of “leadership principles” from the Bible. This book is an examination of stories about leaders from the Old Testament, where we discover not only them but ourselves. How does family dysfunction or depression or tragic bad luck or larger historical forces figure into the leadership equation? How do biblical characters prosper despite themselves or stumble even while being holy? Can we get inside the head, heart, and the actual administration of King David and reckon with his strength and foibles? How is strength in leadership almost always the downfall of the biblical leader? What kind of leader would Jesus, Esther, Moses, Jeremiah, or Paul be today?

Howell explores the careers, struggles, joys, and devastations of various biblical leaders, believing that immersion in scripture’s stories is what modern Christian leaders need—not to succeed so much as to be God’s people in the world. He roots this unique exploration of leadership in a prayer of Jehoshaphat: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

- Publisher

About The Author: James C. Howell is the senior pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC, and adjunct professor of preaching at Duke Divinity School. He is co-author of Preaching the Psalms (Abingdon, 2001) and author of The Beautiful Work of Learning to Pray (Abingdon, June 2003). He is also author of Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs and Yours are the Hands of Christ (Upper Room Books)

- Publisher

Pages: 160

Publication Date: October 2017