We all know of leaders who have disqualified themselves by their behaviour. Those who have been found to have their hands in the till (like Robert Maxwell), their hands down their pants (like Bill Clinton) or their hands on the glory (any limelight seeking celebrity wannabe will do). Money sex and power are often quoted as areas of particular weakness, but there are so many more subtle areas that trip up the unsuspecting leader. They are all things that represent unformed or immature character; they are crucial fault lines in the tectonic plates of leadership, issues that can create destruction of earthquake proportions when the leader is put under pressure.

Insecurity, pride, fear of man, need for approval, unteachability, insensitivity, lack of grace, laziness, gossip, critical attitudes, meanness, impatience, self pity, self righteousness, anger, prejudice, even workaholism are evidence of unformed character.

The problem with a leader with charisma is that they can get results, and when that happens the motivation to get into God’s school of character formation is nowhere to be found. They are so blinded by their initial success that they fail to see the investment that is needed for the long haul. They can often cruise for a long time on their innate abilities or learned skills before their lack of maturity catches up with them. When it finally does, it comes as quite a shock, usually after some major melt-down or failure that makes them realise the foundations of their whole leadership experience need a radical overhaul.

So how does character get formed?

Firstly it takes time. You can’t rush the formation of character, like a good wine, it takes time to form. Fruit that is forced to grow in artificial conditions has no flavour. Have you ever had those strawberries that taste of cardboard, not much pleasure in that is there? So it is with character. We all know when we have met someone who has experienced something of life, someone who has been through hard times, suffered, and overcome. Those things take time. No one is born mature. Even Jesus we are told ‘learned obedience through the things he suffered’. We don’t quite know what that means but there was evidently something being formed in him through times of difficulty and suffering.

Many of us were in such a rush to get into leadership. We were excited about the vision we had. We could see no obstacle to our meteoric rise to influence and responsibility. We just wanted to get on and ‘do the stuff’. It all sounds so easy when you read about other’s exploits; plan your leadership journey on a piece of paper; or lie awake dreaming about what you can achieve, or what you can do for God.

It took me a long time to figure out that God was more interested in doing something in me than doing anything through me. It took time to realise that I was not God’s answer to the global church’s shortcomings or failures. It took time for me to accept that God had a different agenda to mine. It took time for me to abandon my headstrong wilfulness, and to trust in God’s timing. It still does!

It takes time.

We will continue to explore the theme of character formation in subsequent blogs

Recently Phil was visiting his doctor and was asked by him, ‘what is the best thing about getting older?’ Phil’s replied stunned him. He said, ‘Well I’ve been serving Jesus for over 50 years and I’m really looking forward to meeting him’. The doctor said ‘That’s the best reply to that question I have ever heard.’

This typifies Phil’s outlook on life. He has been motivated by love for God, has never taken the easy or self-serving route, has consistently invested himself in others rather than looking for the limelight for himself. His book ‘Go and make apprentices’ was ahead of its time. It’s out of print but is available on line at http://www.dci.org.uk/zipped/apprentices.pdf It is a classic on leadership and discipleship. I commend it to you.

Whenever I spend time with Phil I am challenged by his attitudes to life and serving Jesus. I find myself to be shallow and far too concerned about me, it is never a comfortable experience, but always a good one.

The scariest thing is that some years ago Phil asked if I would speak at his funeral. What can you say about such a giant of the faith? What do you say about the man that has mentored some of the best known names in Christian circles (Terry Virgo and Clive Calver to mention just a couple)? I’m sure his funeral will be a who’s who of the Christian world! I don’t know what I will say but I do know that he will be enjoying his greatest longing – to be with his saviour Jesus. May we have such clear focus and passion.

Phil, heaven awaits.

I guess an unexpected emergency hospital admission has increased her awareness of her fragility, and speeded up the process of her recognising that she wants to spend more time with her extended family (here in Liverpool). Even so it is surprising. My sister (who lives in London) and I have both cross-examined her to check she has fully counted the cost, but she seems adamant!

I salute her courage to start all over again at 84, to make new friends, learn a new language (scouse) and get to know a whole new part of the country.

But trying to get her to decide where to live has been altogether another question. Over a 24 hour period we viewed about 8 retirement apartments, all with wardens on site. Perhaps this was a mistake to give so many options, because by the end she really couldn’t remember which one was which. Thankfully I had the foresight to video most of them so she could review which one was which.

The problem however was in trying to persuade her to choose the flat that she wanted, not the one that we wanted for her, or that we might think was most convenient for us. And here is my point. After a life time of serving others – as most mothers do, us children, her mother in law, her mother, my dad up until his death 15 yrs ago, and more recently the less fortunate neighbours on her estate, my mum seemed incapable of just thinking for herself. It took a great deal of subtle questioning, and devious psychological approaches to figure out exactly which property she preferred.

Perhaps she is just ‘old school’. And maybe ‘old school’ is actually a lot more preferable to our current culture of ‘me first’ greed and self-centredness.

I think we got there in the end and hope to see her moved up in the next couple of months. No doubt it will lead to many more reflections on family life and the like!

In the 20thC change was fairly predictable and gradual. With the obvious exception of the impact of two world wars, change took place at a steady pace and a consistent direction. With a little foresight, research and by keeping one’s ear to the ground, it was possible to predict what was likely to come in the next 10 years. All that has changed. Since the 1990s change itself has changed!

Instead of being continuous, linear and relatively smooth, it has become discontinuous, sudden, unexpected and unpredictable. Consider the impact of global warming, 9/11 and 7/7, and the economic seismic shifts in the western economy; or the impact of the Internet on music, media, retail, knowledge, and social relationships; or the impact of mobile technology on communications. Both the pace of change and the unpredictable direction of change have been breath-taking.

What is the leader meant to do in the midst of all this? Clearly the old paradigms of the leader as change agent do not work in our 21stC culture. We need a whole new approach. What are the new mind-sets, skills and approaches needed?

It’s tempting to revert to the old caricature of the gutless leader who simply waits to see which direction the people are heading in and then rushes to stand at the front of them, claiming to be giving direction and oversight to something he had nothing to do with initiating. Or is there actually some validity to that approach?

Well one thing is for sure, initiative is going to be increasingly bottom up. The days of the great prophet-leader who is far seeing and determines the direction of travel for all is all but gone. Except for strong tribal cultures where deference to the leader as demi-god is automatic, this approach is bound to fail. People will vote with their feet.

But people still want leadership. In fact it is wanted more than ever in a sea of increasing uncertainty and insecurity. People want to know that someone is in charge, that some is at the helm of the ship, that someone is listening to the weather forecast and charting appropriate courses. But what kind of ship’s captain is needed for these freak weather conditions?

Perhaps I could offer a few thoughts on this matter. There is so much still to learn.

1. Leaders who listen. As Steven Covey so wisely says in his classic ‘7 habits of highly effective people – ‘seek first to understand before being understood’. We need to hear the hearts, concerns, insecurities and hopes of those we lead. We need to understand the pastoral landscape in which we bring our leadership. The uncertainties and fears they live with both limit their ability to respond to leadership vision, and should inform us as to the issues that our leadership needs to address.

2. Leaders who give context for conversation. To figure out what is going on we must be brokers of dialogue. Often the ideas and initiatives that will successfullytake us forward into the uncertain future will come from the conversations that take place with our stakeholders; those who we seek to serve in our leadership

3. Leaders who pray and listen to God. It is now a time more than ever before to heed the gentle promptings of the one who stands outside of time and sees the end from the beginning. Obedience to Christ is one sure way of navigating the future. Obedience has always been a biblical imperative, but now becomes a pragmatic necessity. Those who put their trust in God and his ability to help us navigate the choppy waters will find a measure of peace and confidence in uncertain times

4. Leaders with flexible strategies. Our mission, vision and values may have some enduring qualities, but certainly our strategies must be adaptable, ready to respond to new developments, able to change quickly, and have built-in obsolescence. Any strategy that is designed for more than 2 years needs to be reviewed regularly to see if it is still fit for purpose. Where we are heading may not change, but how we get there certainly will.

In our own context we have had to adopt our strategies and structures radically in the last 3 years. From having one way of doing church that really to all intents and purposes was a ‘one size fits all’, we have developed multiple ways of doing church. In particular our missional communities that have an infinite variety of ways to function, our satellite services that are going to break us out of our Wavertree-centric way of operating, our multiple approaches to how we foster discipleship, and more recently the decision to set up a separate trust to develop our Frontline projects. All of these developments reflect the need to adapt and respond to rapid and unpredictable changes in our environment.

5. Leaders who are happy for others to take initiative and get the credit. As president Harry Truman said ‘you can achieve whatever you want as long as you don’t mind who gets the credit’. The need for a leader to be the guru of any organisation is going to drastically limit its ability to respond to unexpected change. No one person has all the wisdom, all the ideas, all the leadership that it takes to operate in the new context. We must be willing for many of those initiatives and ideas to come from others. If as leaders we need to feel or be seen to be in command and control, then our days will be numbered.

The leader as ‘all conquering hero’ doesn’t work in today’s paradigm. They generally equate to Jim Collins level 4 leader (Good to Great), the charismatic leader who leads by sheer force of personality and individual brilliance. The level 5 leader who is characterised by personal humility and yet fierce resolve will be much better equipped to allow others into the limelight and leadership space.

Have fun as you navigate the new leadership territory and learn to manage discontinuous change!

It was a delight. However much I may dislike calming a screaming baby, clearing up sick, or changing nappies – one smile and everything is all right. In fact more than all right, it’s pretty fantastic. Her smile melts my heart, makes me cry, makes me laugh and makes me want to sing. She is beautiful.

It struck me that God must feel pretty much like that about us. However much we mess up, he delights in us. One smile towards him, one repentant heart cry, one prayer of thanks, one faltering step of faith – and he’s all over us, smothering us with his love and affection, saying ‘Well done’, ‘you’re the apple of my eye’. Nothing is too much trouble for him. It’s hard to get our head round it, but the scripture in Zephaniah 3:17 even says he rejoices over us with singing.

Thank you for your amazing unconditional love Father

Thank you for giving us a weekend of your love Francesca

And I believe it. Leadership is often much maligned and sometimes with good cause. The quality of leadership in the UK is not something to be proud of. Leadership is often something people
are expected to pick up along the way, whether it is in business, local government, the arts, education or even the church.

I wonder if the basics of leadership were part of a core curriculum on personal development that was taught in schools, if we wouldn’t produce more and better leaders. At the very least it would awaken a realisation that leaders are as much made as born, and that it requires focussed effort, intentional learning, hands-on experience, and constant appraisal with feedback.

So what about in the church? – Leaders are in constant demand. As the church expands it needs people who will take both initiative and responsibility – the two key functions of leadership. Whether it be leading a small group, a welcoming team or a church plant, leadership is crucial. No leadership, No future.

The book ‘Leadership Pipeline’ by Charran, Drotter and Noel is instructive in helping us think about the need for a constant process of leadership development. In particular it identifies the need for different kinds of leaders at different levels. The skills required to lead ourselves is different to the skills needed to lead a few other direct reports, and is very different to the skills needed to lead those who manage or oversee others. It’s also very different to leadership that gives vision and direction to a whole organisation.

How will we ensure that we have enough leaders for the future? Some churches will hire in outsiders. It saves all the bother of training people yourself, but runs a high risk of a mismatch of DNA. This in turn leads to tensions within leadership and often much pain in the parting. Alternatively you commit to the long slow process of raising up leaders in-house. This requires much patience and a belief that we should be investing in people’s leadership potential whether or not they end up staying with us. It’s easy to see years of investment apparently wasted when your young enthusiastic leader walks out the door to another opportunity outside your church.

With a kingdom mind-set of course it is never wasted, and I believe if we will sow into such people, and end up blessing other situations, churches or organisations; then we will surely reap in our own ‘house’.

Moses made the obvious statement that there would be leaders of 10s, 50s, 100s and 1000s. This not only reflects the idea that we all have a ‘measure of leadership’ as Paul described it in 2 Cor 10:13, but also that if we are going to lead 1000s then we probably need to have led 10s first! Jesus put it this way ‘he who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much.’

So as we consider our own place in the leadership pipeline, lets think about the skills, opportunities, type of training, and mind-set changes that we will need to go to the next level. Let’s look for them and welcome them when we find them. If the opportunities and training are not obvious, then perhaps we should provoke those who manage or mentor us to help us find the next step. A growing leader is usually a happy leader!

All this reminded me of the life we aspired to and have tried to live since the 70’s. It was inspired by our reading of Graham Pulkingham’s ‘they left their nets’, the story of a pioneering Christian community at the church of the Redeemer in Houston, Texas. Since our second year of marriage Jenny and I have had people live with us. The most we ever had at one time was 18 under one roof! Though usually it’s been just 2 or 3 extras. Our first extra actually provided the deposit to help us buy our first house.

We’ve had people who have just needed somewhere to live. Others have needed the healing environment of a family to find God’s grace to change. Some have come specifically to be discipled, and a few to help us out at particularly intense times of our lives. All have enriched our lives and hopefully all have received something from living with us. We needed to modify the kind of people we had to live with us according to the age and stage of the children. Mostly the kids found it fun to have extra adults around (more in-house entertainment), but occasionally they resented the lack of time just with mum and dad.

It’s been a way of life for us for the last 35 years and it’s been encouraging to see so many others in the church in Liverpool embrace the same values and practices. As God said right at the beginning, ‘It’s not good for man to be alone’, Genesis 2:18, and as the Psalmist said ‘he sets the solitary in families’ Psalm 68:6 NKJV.

Of course all this is in the hope that as Jenny and I reach our dotage we will be welcomed into the home (or more likely annex) of one our lovely children!

We had arrived on the Saturday evening after a long dusty, hot and bumpy 9 hour road drive from Uganda. We were tired but glad to have arrived without incident. We were due to preach in two different churches the following day and time to prepare for this opportunity with the Mayor were limited.

With God’s help I began to put together what was more like a full on preach for the Mayors office, than a politically correct sanitised package of leadership wisdom. As I prepared, it seemed clearer and clearer that they needed to understand that it was righteousness that would lift up a city or nation, and that godly values were the only ones that would attract the blessing of God and pull a city like Butembo out of its poverty and chaos.

In the end it became a much larger affair than I could have ever imagined, with the mayor, deputy-mayor and about 100 of their staff sitting outside the mayor’s offices, waiting for my presentation. There was a TV camera man and radio reporter under my nose as I gave my address through our trusty interpreter Rostand Mana (who heads up YWAM in Congo).

The crowd were attentive, but nothing could have prepared me for the Mayor’s response. He not only affirmed all that ‘the man of God’ had said, but he publicly repented on behalf of the nation and city for all its corruption and partiality. He was effectively laying down the gauntlet to bribery and discrimination. He was potentially making himself vulnerable to the wealthy power brokers in the city who operate by bribery all the time (note to self – must pray for mayor’s protection). He received many nods of agreement and even a round of applause for his stand and bravery.

I thought about all this when I got back to the UK and heard about Liverpool’s own Mayoral election. I wondered if my points for the Mayor of Butembo, might just be relevant for the first elected Mayor of Liverpool. So what did I say? What kind of leadership is needed?

1. Leadership that embodies the character of Christ – ultimately only available from having the spirit of Christ living in us. I was reminded of Jim Collin’s description of level 5 leadership in his book ‘Good to Great’. He defines this highest level of leadership as being a combination of ‘professional will and personal humility’. Sounds like Jesus to me.
2. Leadership that honours God by a) thanking God for all his blessings, b) asking for his wisdom in every issue faced, and c) welcoming wisdom and biblical insight from men and women of God in the city. I guess this might just mean prayer in the council chamber.
3. Leadership that maintains its integrity. This will fly in the face of any culture of cronyism, impartiality or corruption. It means doing what is right, not necessarily what is expedient.
4.Leadership that leads by example. Leaders will inspire and motivate others by living sacrificially. People want to follow, but they have high standards and are not easily fooled by spin or image.
5. Leadership that leads from a servant heart. People are fed up with self-serving leaders. They are looking for a different model and people who are worthy of respect. It’s all about the issue of what motivates us in our leadership.
6. Leadership that is generous. Generosity is at the heart of God and immediately attracts his blessing. It will gradually challenge and change a culture from one of ‘what can I get’? to one of ‘what can I give?’
7. Leadership that remembers the poor. Loving justice means not only helping the poor with an immediate hand-out, but with a longer term hand-up. The poor are always on God’s heart. And it’s what we were commissioned for – to preach (and be) good news to the poor (Luke 4:18).
8. Leadership that can communicate a compelling vision. Founded on the character issues that are mentioned above, there needs to be an ability to see and communicate a compelling and convincing picture of the future. It’s what people will buy into and give their all to.
9. Leadership that doesn’t give up. When it comes to rebuilding a city, it takes a long term perspective to achieve anything. As the saying goes ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. We need politicians who will think of the next generation, not just the next election.

So I wonder what the next Mayor of Liverpool would think about that? Perhaps when we get the chance to meet the candidates at the hustings we can ask them!

Tarmac – that little appreciated invention that turns a spine-jarring, body-jolting, dust-covering experience into silky smooth transportation heaven. I’ll never complain about Liverpool roads again!

Flush toilets – O the joy of sitting in comfort with the opportunity to contemplate life instead of performing a circus juggling/ acrobatic/ contortionist trick squatting on dodgy faeces strewn boards aiming towards a hole you can’t actually see, whilst fighting off a demonic hoard of filthy contaminated flies.

Petrol filling stations – a relatively well ordered experience of fuel acquisition that bears no comparison to the roadside booths selling individual bottles of petrol in recycled 1 litre plastic bottles.

Hot water – that comes out of a tap, instantly, instead of having to have been heated over on open fire for an age in the early hours of the morning to produce a bowl of luke-warm water to wash in. This however was still infinitely better than the cold shower option that many of the team took (God bless them).

Electricity – a much taken for granted power that comes out of those small white sockets in your skirting boards. It allows phones to be recharged, books to be read in the evening, and a myriad of appliances to be run. Living with the cycle of daylight does have its merits, but not when so much of life happens after dark.

Not all the shock however is at the expense of the developing nation.

Road rage – not a great advert for our sophisticated society compared with the slow pace of walking everywhere and having time for everybody.

Sullen rebellious ungrateful children – are no match for the joy-filled simple lifestyle of the children we met. A beat up old ball of string used as a football gives more fun than the most expensive PlayStation.

Hidden away embarrassing elderly relatives – OK maybe they don’t often live long enough to grow that old in developing nations (does old age really have that much going for it?), but those who do are revered, honoured and respected in their communities and cared for at home. They still have a vital role in running the home or helping with childcare.

Multitasking – a modern invention of the west, compared with the joy of doing and finishing one thing at a time, minimising stress and maximising the feeling of a job well done.

I’m grateful for the many advantages of living where I do, but would love us to also learn from what the developing nations have preserved and we have lost. What do you think?

There are always mixed emotions about leaving Africa and re-entering ‘normal life’. They get so many things right, like respect for authority, care for the elderly, always time to talk and relate, working with the natural span of daylight, growing their own food, strong and stable families, and more. And yet we hail ourselves as the ‘developed world’.

The trip has been a wonderful time of blessing others and being blessed, of giving out daily and yet receiving so much. It is always sad to leave friends behind. But we have come away with many ideas of how to partner with them to see their dreams, both spiritual and material come to pass. These include investing in micro-finance, building a child sponsorship programme, linking schools in Butembo with schools in Merseyside, strengthening links with the Mayors office and providing more leadership training, continuing to train and encourage pastors, and ongoing partnership with local NGOs who are meeting the needs of the poorest and most desperate.

We have felt buoyed by your prayers, you have made an eternal investment. Thank you so much.