By Betty N. Surrency
Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Lead Like Jesus
Longtime friends Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager and co-founder of Lead Like Jesus, and Bob Buford, founder of Leadership Network and author of HalfTime and Finishing Well, will join together on Friday, Feb. 3, at St. Paul’s Baptist Church in Richmond for a day-long event.
The Lead Like Jesus Celebration at Virginia Baptists’ 21C conference will bring together a host of nationally known speakers to help express and define leadership Jesus-style.
Blanchard and Buford are both well-known in their respective fields but are most excited about spending their time talking about how Jesus has changed their lives. Blanchard writes that “leadership is an influence process—any time you influence the thoughts, actions or behaviors of another you are engaging in leadership whether in your personal or professional life. Leading like Jesus will mean aligning your heart, your head, your hands and your habits in a way that allows you to carry out God’s perfect vision.”
The question for all of us is, “How do we lead like Jesus?” According to Blanchard, the answer is clear. Jesus’ mandate for all of us is to be servant leaders. In Matthew 20:28, Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served; He came to serve others.” Before we can model our behavior after his perfect leadership example, we first must be like Jesus. When we understand the characteristics of his leadership, we can be a servant leader, too!
Buford agrees and states “the reason I sold Buford Television Inc. was to fund the work of Leadership Network. I wanted the time to invest myself in its mission, which is connecting innovative leaders in American Christianity in order to multiply their ideas and practices.”
Leadership Network, founded in 1984, states its purpose as identifying, connecting, and helping high capacity Christian leaders multiply their impact. Servant leadership is strong in both men’s life and work.
Blanchard describes servant leadership as it relates to four domains—the heart, the head, the hands and the habits. Heart relates to your character. Why are you serving? When your heart is wrong, you quickly lose your way. The journey of life is to move from a self-serving heart to a serving heart.
The head focuses on your beliefs and assumptions about leadership. Effective leaders have clear leadership points of view that they are willing to teach others.
The hands transmit your leadership character as you interact with those who are under your influence. Your decision-by-decision behavior can make or break your relationships and your ability to inspire trust. Good intentions and right thinking bear fruit here and real discipleship is tested.
The habits enable you to renew your daily commitment to serve rather than be served. Effective servant leaders recalibrate daily to maintain a servant leader heart. That’s what Jesus did.
Buford concurs as he recently participated as a source for a new book on the intersection between trends in American culture and religion. This exercise caused him to consider the characteristics of people who lead booming churches. Here is his list:
1. An entrepreneurial approach to leadership
2. Strong leadership, strong management
3. Preserve the essence. Change the form
4. They inhabit the intersections of God and individuals, culture and tools
5. User-friendly—easy access for unchurched people
6. Purpose Driven—God’s purpose
7. Biblically based
8. It’s about relationships
9. It’s about the heart, the head and the Holy Spirit—Go with reason as far as it takes you, but it’s not enough
10. Understand market segmentation
11. The Network is the university of the future
12. Think globally, act locally
Feb. 3 promises to be a day to remember. Join Blanchard, Buford and a host of other nationally known speakers to sharpen your leadership skills. Remember leadership is influence, so this event is for you.
Tickets are $65 and include a Friday evening worship event and a half-day of specialized training on Saturday, Feb. 4. All materials, breaks and meals are included in the $65 ticket price. There is not a better deal in Richmond or the Commonwealth.
Plan to bring your leadership team. Lead Like Jesus @ 21-C will transform your life and the lives of those you touch. To get a promotional packet contact Gwen Payne at the Virginia Baptist Mission Board at 1-800-255-2428 or at [email protected].
Special to the Herald