Spiritual Influence: The Hidden Power Behind Leadership

by Mel Lawrenz, Skye Jethani (Foreword)

'If you are in a position of positive influence, if you exercise leadership in any way, your faith in God gives you a power---a hidden power---that will allow you to make an enduring difference in the lives of other people and organizations. But how does that power work?' So says Mel Lawrenz in this fresh look at leadership which offers practical and biblical guidance to believers who want to have a deep influence and who want to What is the proper use of authority and power? Where do good ideas come from? How can we deal with failure? What does God expect of us? Drawing from more than thirty years of experience in pastoral ministry, Lawrenz writes for Christians in any position of influence. This book provides a new baseline for 21st century Christian leadership, addressing issues such * building integrity * seizing opportunities * exploring new horizons * speaking into crises * receiving power * accepting authority * promoting truth * managing expectations * dealing with criticism Using real-life examples, key Scripture passages, and history, Lawrenz shows that when believers align their responsibility to lead with the teaching of Jesus and the work of God's Spirit, their spiritual influence will have integrity and enduring effectiveness. 'Lawrenz gives us hope that the leadership pendulum which has swung from 'over- spiritualized' to 'de-spiritualized' in recent generations may have finally come to rest where it always belonged---upon Jesus Christ.' - Skye Jethani, Senior Editor, Leadership Journal, from the foreword 'It is exciting to think about believers at every level of society rising to a new call to exercise powerful spiritual influence. In his newest book, Spiritual Influence, Mel Lawrenz has given us all a new baseline for leadership that is personal, wise, and spiritual. It spans the generations and reaches across cultures. Just think what will happen if believers in positions of influence tie into the wisdom and the power that comes from God in order to bring restoration in our broken world!' - Mark Batterson, Lead Pastor, National Community Church in Washington, D.C..

224 pages, Hardcover

First published July 17, 2012

Reviews

[John Dobbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, the good. This book would be a good first book on leadership for someone to read. I think it is entry-level and covers some of the most basic approaches to Christian Leadership. The first section encourages the devotional / spiritual life of the leader. Without that, there isn't much "Christian" in Christian leadership! The middle two sections of the book focus on things like embracing opportunities, the need for wisdom and truth, and the emphasis is on the empowerment that comes from a relationship with God as the basis of true leadership. The last section is on facing the challenges ... Christian leadership is hard ... there are times when one has to simply persevere. There are wounds and criticisms and failures. How does a Christian leader deal with such? I like that each chapter has lists of things to do / ways to deal with issues. I didn't read anything in the book that I distinctly remember disagreeing with.

My criticisms of the book may be from my perspective as a reader more than anything else. I think that Lawrenz has a big term "Spiritual Influence" and he defines it in very big ways ... so much so that it's hard to nail down exactly what he's talking about. I generally like short chapters in books, and this book has short chapters. But these are big subjects and seldom fleshed out in helpful ways. For instance, the chapters "Expect Wounds" and "Deal with Criticism" are two HUGE subjects but given only a few pages each. Maybe those were subjects I was hoping to read more about ... and he just touches on them.

I have no doubt that Mel Lawrenz is a brilliant man and many reviews are glowing. So, I do think the book has value. I just kept having the impression that this is really four books, sketched out lightly, but assembled into one volume.

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and informative of binding spirits to cease for good

[Brian Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wherever you go today, you hear everyone espousing the need for good leaders and having influence; whether it’s in the marketplace or throughout the religious community, people are looking and desiring to see or have influence and leadership. Thanks to Zondervan, I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to receive an advanced copy of Mel Lawrenz‘s book Spiritual Influence: The Hidden Power Behind Leadership.

In as much as I wanted to read this and give my review right when the book was released, I found that I could not help but take my time and dig deep into the pages because this book, as is the subject for which it is about, cannot be glossed over. Mel took his time in putting this book together, and has uniquely done so. He has demonstrated that there is an undeniable link between true leadership and influence. This book could quite literally be seen as the textbook for anyone who desires to have true spiritual influence. He has broken this book into four distinct sections that build concept upon concept, precept upon precept.

The section Getting Grounded gives you foundation from which to understand why spiritual influence is so vitally important, why you should want to have it as well as follow those who do. The second section Taking Initiative builds upon the previous section by getting you to focus on how you as a person can become the person who possesses the qualities of a leader who has spiritual influence. In the third section Going Deep, Mr. Lawrenz shows where the spiritual connects to the natural, as well as why influence apart from the Spirit can lead to abuse of your influence.

I think the fourth and final section on Facing Challenges has been one of my favorite sections; not simply because it is what I’m dealing with as a person, I believe it is what every person wants to know when they are seeking mentorship and tutelage from someone. I’ve found myself quoting much of what is in this section simply because I find myself so connected to it.

Mel Lawrenz has written this book in such a way that if you are a leader who leads people, you can take this book and build a curriculum with it to train other leaders. There is much history encapsulated in it, as well as many appropriate anecdotes to highly emphasize critical points he is making throughout this wonderful resource. I also believe that if you have a small group and want to help others to become better and have greater influence at work or in any area of life, this is absolutely the quintessential book to use. It would be great if a course could be developed around this book and taught both in Christian and non-Christian colleges.

I especially recommend this to anyone who has ever faced struggles with being a leader, or anyone who wants to have influence regardless whether or not you have a leadership position. If you want to be an encouragement to someone who is a leader to you, this will definitely give you the framework from which to do that. I’d also recommend this to any young person you know who has recently graduated, who has aspirations of doing great things.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encouraging

This was an assigned textbook for my spiritual leadership course. While it was encouraging most of it was not new information to me regarding spiritual leadership as it deals with character issues and motives. Overall I would recommend this book to others.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, meaningful in all the right places. For me, the "hit home" places were late in the text. I appreciated the examination of failure issues and strategies for pressing through criticism.