Leaders

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We must learn common leadership principles, but power is released as we become true to our God-given personalities.
Harold Myra

Every leader is unique — magnificently unique. We humans made in God's image are each a distinct universe, and though there may be general principles of leadership we can apply, we all must develop our individual, personal mosaics.

The leaders interviewed in this book are in some ways studies in contrasts. I think back to our discussions in a suburban living room with Fred Smith for Leadership's first interview. The memory of his darting wit contrasts with, say, that of Richard Halverson's open earnestness in an O'Hare Airport room … or Howard Hendricks's lively but professorial interaction in a Dallas coffee shop … or Eugene Peterson's low-key yet penetrating blend of pastoral insight and literary allusion in CTi's conference room.

I looked up the introduction for that first Leadership interview and found this description of Fred: "He possesses not only the fastest but the most fitting quip for every occasion. His humor is always sneaking up on you from the most unlikely angles. But Fred's is never surface humor — it's lightning-crisp communication. He answers questions with stories and elliptical insights that blow open preconceived ideas. Fred often speaks on two or three levels of humor at the same time, and you have to be watching his eyes for the twinkle and his face for the precise expression to punctuate his meaning."

Fred is unique, and humor and depth of insight are only part of his individuality. Each of the leaders interviewed in this book showed commonalities such as intense commitment to Christ and deep ministry insights. But there's a rich diversity in their personalities; they have played ...

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