Good leadership is indispensable.

I believe that trapped inside you is an undiscovered leader of great value to your generation!

Are leaders born, made, developed, created, cultivated, or products of circumstances? Is leadership reserved only for an elite few, a specific gender, people of a particular social stratum, or those of advanced intelligence? Is leadership the prerogative of a rare breed; is it a by-product of the superior DNA of a super-race? Or can anyone from anywhere at any time emerge as a leader? In some form, these questions have been around for thousands of years. This book is written to challenge the limitations of your conception of your own abilities and hopefully ignite in you the conviction that you were born to lead.

The world is filled with followers, supervisors, and managers but very few leaders.

History has produced a legacy of distinguished and outstanding leaders who have impacted the world and furthered the development of humanity. They were both men and women, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, trained and untrained. They came from every race, color, language, and culture of the world. Many of them had no ambition to become great or renowned. In fact, most of the individuals who have greatly affected humanity have been simple people who were thrust into circumstances that demanded the hidden qualities of their characters, or they were driven by personal, passionate goals.

Leaders are ordinary people who accept or are placed under extraordinary circumstances that bring forth their latent potential, producing character that inspires the confidence and trust of others. Our world today is in desperate need of such individuals.

In his renowned play Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare wrote, “There is a tide in the affairs of men.” With these words, he was expressing his observation that the waves of history have an influence on our lives. It’s as if we as individuals and nations are caught up in a tide of providential events. There have been eras in the history of the world in which multiple tide-like influences have impacted our civilizations and cultures at nearly the same time. These historical incidents are known as “crossroads of history.” I would suggest that we are now at a confluence of historic tides.

The twentieth century saw perhaps more distressing developments than any previous century, including devastating wars, monstrous new weapons, countless natural disasters, and fatal diseases. It was also possibly the most unpredictable, politically interesting, and revolutionary of any century in history. In the last several decades, a relatively short span of time, the world has experienced many remarkable changes in the realms of science, technology, medicine, and space exploration, as well as hundreds of other so-called advancements. We must agree that our generation lives in a swirling tide of events, dreams, promises, threats, and changing ideas about the present and the future. The conditions of our world press the present generation to ask anew, “Why am I here? What is the purpose of life? Why are life and reality the way they are?”

The leaders of our time are bewildered when they are called upon to explain why our world is the way it is or to suggest a direction for the future. Many people in positions of public trust confess that they are just trying to keep the lid on, and others have abandoned even that hope.

Added to this bleak environment is the painful reality that over the past few decades, a dramatic leadership vacuum seems to have developed throughout the world. In nearly every realm, there is an absence of quality, effective leadership. In the political, civic, economic, social, and spiritual realms, recent events indicate that previous generations have produced weak leaders who fade in the presence of true leadership and leave our present generation in this same leadership vacuum.

The disgrace and fall of renowned Christian leaders, the exposure of corruption and unethical activities among political and business leaders, and the covert conspiracies of governments betraying their own people serve as evidence that this lack of quality leadership is affecting almost every sphere of our lives. We urgently need competent leaders.

Where do we look for such leaders? While we often think of leaders as “out there,” we need to look within ourselves. Each one of us is a leader who can affect the people and institutions in our own spheres of influence. When we begin with ourselves, we will naturally have an effect on the lives of others.

It is in this environment that we, as stewards of this present age, must face the challenge of developing, training, releasing, and reproducing a generation of leaders who can secure the future for our children and their children. Becoming a Leader is designed to contribute a solution to this challenge. It is my hope that you will be inspired to respond to the call of destiny and responsibility and to awaken and develop the potential leader within you.

A good leader not only knows where he is going, but he can inspire others to go with him.

Introduction

Great leaders do not desire to lead but to serve.

There is leadership potential in every person. Despite this universal latent ability, very few individuals realize this power, and fewer still have responded effectively to the call. As a result, our nations, societies, and communities are suffering from an astounding leadership void.

Where are the genuine leaders? Where are the individuals who are willing to take responsibility for the present situation and conditions in the world? Who is willing to accept the challenge, to face it head-on with integrity, character, and a commitment to execute righteous judgment for a better world? Our homes are crying out for leadership. Our youth are begging for leaders. The church is suffering from an absence of leaders. Our governments are being undermined because of a lack of leaders. Our communities need positive role models, our children need fathers, and our world needs direction. From America to Australia, from Croatia to the Caribbean, and from Uganda to Uruguay, the world is in desperate need of true leaders.

This is not the first time that a dearth of quality, effective leadership has been the norm throughout the world. Yet a quick glance at the historical record shows that during periods when moral, social, economic, spiritual, and political chaos have gripped nations, the greatest leaders have surfaced. The answer to all our problems is qualified, just, and righteous leaders.

The biblical record reveals God’s demand for quality leaders during times of human crisis. His search for effective leadership is expressed in numerous statements, such as these:

Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly. Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.

(Deuteronomy 16:18–20)

My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.(Jeremiah 4:22)

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.(1 Timothy 2:1–2)

These and other passages of Scripture indicate that whenever a nation lacks quality, legitimate, and just leaders, nationwide deterioration occurs. However, just as it is impossible for a bitter spring to bring forth sweet water (see James 3:11–18), it is impossible for an unrighteous world to produce righteous leaders or for an unjust system to produce just characteristics. God’s remedy for this type of situation is the discovery and raising up of new, trained leaders committed to justice and righteousness. Quality leadership is the key to prosperous and peaceful lives and nations.

What makes an individual a leader? Who becomes a leader? When does one become a leader?

The essence of leadership is the exercise of influence. The command given to the Christian church by Christ is, “Go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them the things I have taught you.” (See Matthew 28:19–20.) This is a direct mandate to provide leadership for nations, instructing them to live according to the principles of the kingdom of God.

This commission clearly places the responsibility for producing the quality leaders that the world needs upon the shoulders of the Christian church. Yet it is sad that even the church itself is in need of quality leadership. Perhaps part of the reason for this is that the church and its theology have been preoccupied with heaven and preparing individuals to leave the planet, meanwhile forsaking the responsibility of producing quality leaders for the earth today. The responsibility to meet this need is the challenge of our generation for the sake of the generations to come.

By reading this book, you will be responsible for hearing the cry for leaders in your nation, your city, your community, your church, and your family. This book is designed to help you awaken and enhance the potential leader hidden within you so that you can develop and refine your leadership qualities and use them to benefit the world.

A true leader is a model for his followers.

Part 1

Discovering Yourself as Leader