Lead Like It Matters to God: Values-Driven Leadership in a Success-Driven World

by Richard Stearns

Outcomes Conference Book of the Year
Christian Book Award Finalist Richard Stearns is a leader who has been tested as a CEO in both secular companies and also as the head of one of the world’s largest Christian ministries. After stints as CEO of Parker Brothers and then Lenox, Stearns accepted the invitation to leave his corporate career to become the president of World Vision US, where he became the longest serving president in their seventy-year history. During his tenure there he implemented corporate best practices, lowering overheads while tripling revenues. His leadership in calling the American church to respond to some of the greatest crises of our time, notably the HIV and AIDS pandemic, and the global refugee crisis, challenged Christians to embrace a bold vision for compassion, mercy, and justice. In Lead Like It Matters to God , Stearns shares the leadership principles he has learned over the course of his remarkable career. As a leader who has navigated both secular and sacred spaces, Stearns claims that the values Christian leaders embrace in their workplaces are actually more important than the results they achieve―that God is more concerned about a leader's character than a leader's success. With wisdom, wit, and biblical teaching, Stearns shares captivating stories of his life journey and unpacks seventeen crucial values that can transform leaders and their organizations. When leaders embody values such as integrity, courage, excellence, forgiveness, humility, surrender, balance, generosity, perseverance, love, and encouragement, they not only improve their witness for Christ, they also shape institutions, influence culture, improve team performance, and create healthy workplaces where people can flourish. Through this book, Stearns will inspire a new generation of Christian leaders to boldly take their values into their workplaces to tangibly demonstrate the character of Christ, the love of Christ, and the truth of Christ as they live out their faith in full view of others.

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction, Christian, Business, Professional Development, Christian Non Fiction, Christianity

264 pages, Hardcover

Published March 30, 2021

About the author

Richard Stearns is the president of World Vision United States, an international Christian relief and development organization.

Reviews

[Bill Pence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Stearns served as President of World Vision for twenty years, after previously serving as CEO of Parker Brothers and Lenox. In this book, he writes that he believes that God is far more concerned about how a leader leads than he is about the success that leaders deliver. The book is about why he believes the values Christian leaders embrace – he writes about seventeen of them - are more important than the success they achieve. He tells us that these Christian values are under assault in our culture, and the book is about reclaiming those values.
He writes that we are to work with excellence and diligence wherever we serve, not because success is our goal but because faithfulness is our goal. He tells us that when we focus first on being faithful to God in our lives, and when our work is driven by the values of God’s kingdom, he may very well bless us with successful outcomes. But qualities like integrity, humility, excellence, perseverance, generosity, courage, and forgiveness matter more to God than the most impressive résumé of accomplishments.
Each of the chapters of the book begins with a scripture passage and a corresponding leadership principle. Throughout the book, the author illustrates each of the values with stories from his life.
A key scripture verse for the author, and one that he had stenciled on his office wall for most of his time at World Vision is 2 Corinthians 5:20:
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
That verse, more than any other, seemed to capture his role as a Christian leader. He tells us that wherever you work or volunteer—in a school, a business, a church, a ministry, a nonprofit, in government, or in your home—you too are called first to be Christ’s ambassador.
I really appreciated this book about values driven leadership, which should be required reading for Christian leaders.
Here are 25 of my favorite quotes from the book:
1. When we truly take God with us to work, He will use us for His purposes.
2. We reward success, but God’s bottom line is faithfulness.
3. Your life is your witness whether you are at work or at home.
4. Values-driven leadership is more about character than capabilities, more about being than doing, more about pleasing God than people.
5. Work is inherently valuable as we use our unique talents and abilities in ways that reflect God’s own creativity to produce products and services that benefit the broader community.
6. Our workplaces matter because they are human institutions filled with people whom God cares about. God wants all people to flourish and to be drawn into relationship with him.
7. Good and godly leadership contributes to human flourishing when it creates cultures and environments that are fair, just, and caring.
8. Your career is just the setting in which you live out your calling to serve as Christ’s ambassador.
9. A surrendered leader is called to a higher purpose: to know, love, and serve God in this life.
10. Only by learning to trust God for their careers can leaders truly rise above the daily stresses and pressures of life and bear fruit for the Lord.
11. Outcomes do matter. But it is how those results are best achieved that matters more in the long run.
12. Excellence means that we will always strive to use the gifts and abilities that God has given us to the fullest extent possible.
13. As a Christian leader, your coworkers should be among the main objects of your love of neighbor.
14. When you show the people around you that you care, you earn the right to be their leader.
15. Rank and title should not determine how you treat people in the workplace—or anywhere else. An attitude of superiority toward others will kill your witness for Christ at work.
16. When you, as a leader, make the effort to get to know the people around you at a deeper level, they feel valued and affirmed, and you gain a new appreciation for their unique gifts and abilities.
17. The best leaders help people achieve the things that are important to them through coaching, encouragement, and practical direction.
18. A leader’s first responsibility is the well-being of the people he or she is entrusted to lead.
19. Integrity may be the single most important quality a leader can possess.
20. Sometimes there is a price to pay when we try to live out our faith at work. But Jesus never promised us a faith that costs us nothing.
21. One of the chief tasks of a leader is to create a vision for a different and better future, and a belief that it can be achieved.
22. The place you work is your place of Christian ministry, and you have also been placed there to serve God.
23. The best leaders make efforts to become aware of their own weaknesses and shortcomings and learn to understand the magnified impact their words and actions can have on others.
24. The people you work with were placed in your life for a reason. You have been entrusted with them for a season. God wants you to be his ambassador in their lives, showing them his love and care.
25. A Christian leader can be an island in the storm for people who are hurting in a difficult work environment.

[Caleb Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off full disclosure, I have not read Stearns’s other book “The Hole in Our Gospel” I was turned off by the title and read some reviews that pointed out problematic theology. However, I was already half way through this book before I even connected to what else Stearns had written. I stumbled on so questionable statements in this book that made me dig deeper into the author. However, regardless of this Stearns’s is an extremely qualified leader with a track record to back it up. In this book he provides 17 insights from his leadership history and shares a number of insightful examples that show he is not only is he a skilled leader but he exemplifies the humility that he encourages other to embrace.

Each chapter take a dive into a different leadership skill that usually accompanies a story of Stearns’s learning it the hard way. I found all his examples extremely relevant and it appears there were even some last minute additions that made the book more relevant in this ever changing “pandemic”. Each chapter was extremely well put together with not only relevant examples but also with very practical suggestions that helped individual readers relate the principle of the chapter to their work. My favorite chapters included “Love”, “Vision”, and “Balance”. Then there was the “greedlessness” that hit way too close to home for me and had some hard hitting reminders of how short I am falling from meeting my own goals in some areas.

The book was extremely well written and easy to pick up and read a chapter here or a chapter there, something that is often missing from other leadership books. This was easy to read even on a very busy schedule and it makes sense that this book has an accompanying study guide. It would be a good read for a Christian workplace group/small group. However this leads to my biggest criticism, the scripture references felt tacked on as “proof texts”. I am sure that Mr. Stearns may have discovered and learned some of these principles from the Bible as well as the character of Jesus but the scriptural support feels largely tacked on. Make no mistake Stearns’s Christianity and dedication to it is clearly something he has put first in his life and there are TONS of valuable information here for Christian leaders but the style makes it feel as if it is a leadership book first. This is not a bad thing, we need more books by Christian’s that fill gaps in Christian knowledge and this book certainly aims to do just that for leadership.

My only other concern is that there were a few passages that hinted at theological problems. For example one passage hinted that Stearns’s may embrace some aspects of critical theory. This does not mean we should write him off. Again, I think this book contains excellent information and I would highly recommend it to Christian leaders at any level of an organization. However, I don’t think anyone should dive into this work expecting great Biblical insights, I think to do so would greatly diminish the value that actually can be found here.

Overall, I found this book encouraging to me as a leader and some of the chapters hit at just the right time as I dealt with some of the same issues mentioned. I think most readers will find this to be true. I have read a LOT of leadership books and very few have been as well put together as Stearns’s. Bit size nuggets of wisdom that comes from someone who has often had to learn the hard way. What more could someone ask for? My time spent with Lead Like it Matters to God was time well spent and it personally helped me turn some negative workplace happenings into positives for the future. In addition, Stearns offers significant wisdom as to how someone’s Christianity should show up in their work.

Overall, I have shared my biggest concerns in this review and in the grand scheme of things the problems are relatively minor when looking at this book as a whole. It certainly offers a lot of value in its relatively short 242 pages. With that said I would still recommend readers use caution before diving deeper theologically with Stearns. But in the end the big question is;

Is it a good book from a Christian perspective on leadership? Absolutely!

[Kurtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was good read for someone looking to dig and grow in their leadership. It does a great job of applying Biblical passages to each quality it discusses.

It did a good job of telling stories and connecting them to the attributes, though I felt sometimes it could dive a little too deep into the story and less on the application.

Overall I can recommend this to any Christian looking to learn to be a better leader!

[George P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Good leaders can change the world in remarkable ways — just as bad leaders can do serious harm,” writes Richard Stearns in Lead Like It Matters to God. While many define good leadership in terms of results, however, God defines it in terms of values: “God is far more concerned about how a leader leads than he is about the success that leader delivers.”

Stearns knows what he’s talking about. From 1998–2019, he led World Vision, a global Christian relief and development organization. Prior to that, he held leadership positions at Gillette, Parker Brothers, The Franklin Mint, and Lenox, where he was president and CEO. His book is the fruit of deep spiritual formation and real-world experience.

Why do values matter more? Because Jesus Christ came into the world to establish the kingdom of God. Stearns defines the Kingdom as “a new way of living, a new dream for human society that would turn the values of the world inside out as people chose to live under God’s rule and according to his values.” Christians are ambassadors of that Kingdom, “transformed disciples transforming the world.” Among other things, our mission requires “repudiating the values of the world … and modeling the values of God’s kingdom.”

Stearns identifies 17 values Christian leaders should embody. According to him, “The starting point of Christian leadership is total surrender.” We cannot practice Kingdom values unless, together with Christ, we say to God, “not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42, KJV). The other values grow out of a surrendered will and include such countercultural characteristics as sacrifice, humility, greedlessness, forgiveness and listening, as well as the more traditional leadership values of excellence, integrity, vision and courage.

The intended reader for Lead Like It Matters to God is the average Christian. Stearns wrote it to help Christ followers “take your faith to work.” Given our society’s growing distrust of leaders and institutions — which is often an earneddistrust — the book’s message is sorely needed. Social trust requires trustworthy institutions, and those can only be led by trustworthy leaders. “We are to be the tangible demonstration of the love, character, and truth of Christ as we live out our faith in a very public way,” writes Stearns.

I also recommend this book to pastors for two reasons: They lead local churches, and they guide the spiritual formation of their church members. In both roles, pastors must know what ambassadors of Christ’s kingdom act like and model that lifestyle personally.

Book Reviewed
Richard Stearns, Lead Like It Matters to God: Values-Driven Leadership in a Success-Driven World (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2021).

P.S. If you liked my review, please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: In contrast to many leadership books that outline steps to success, describes what it is like to give value-shaped leadership in both for profit and non-profit settings.

No question. Good leadership is a gift to any organization or political entity. Richard Sterns, out of his Christian faith, takes a different approach from many other leadership books. His focus is not on skills or “steps to success.” Sterns should know from work at Gillette and CEO experiences at Parker Brothers, Lenox, and World Vision. He contends that what matters most are the values that shape one’s leadership. After introducing this approach, Sterns devotes a chapter each to seventeen different values.

Beside values you might expect like excellence, vision, courage, self-awareness, and perseverance, Sterns includes values you might not associate with executive leadership. These include sacrifice, love, humility, integrity, generosity, forgiveness, balance, humor, encouragement and listening. He begins with surrender, describing his own painful experience of getting fired twice in a two year period and spending fourteen months unemployed. He describes this period of being “benched” by God as one that convinced him that God wanted his Mondays through Saturdays and not just his Sunday, a life of daily surrender. Likewise, he describes the value of trust, particularly trust in God, as one that enables leading in the face of adversity with calm.

Even typical corporate values like excellence are re-shaped by Sterns’ Christian commitments. He states that “excellence means that we will always strive to use the gifts and abilities that God has given us to the fullest extent possible.” He believes “good outcomes do not lead to excellence; excellence leads to good outcome” (italics in original). He argues for love for the workers in an organization, no matter the title.

One of the endearing things about this book is that Sterns not only values humor but he is practices it, usually laughing at himself. He illustrates humility with his experience of plugging up and surreptitiously plungering his private executive toilet on his first day as CEO at Lenox and describes the “shroud of Turin” he left on a glass window he mistook for a door as he rushed to a meeting with the governor of Tennessee, arriving bloody nosed, quipping, “You should see the other guy.”

He speaks compellingly of the power of encouragement by contrasting two bosses, the one who told him he had no marketing talent, while the second kept encouraging him and giving him stretch assignments that affirmed his confidence. He credits the second boss with grooming him for his first CEO position. He argues for corporate and personal matters, describing the time he was his angriest at World Vision, and it all had to do with pumpkin seeds. And in his description of the balanced leader, he notes the role of reading in the lives of great leaders. I might quibble with some of his examples though–while Harry Truman and Warren Buffett strike me as balanced and sensible, I’m not sure about Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, or Elon Musk–all of whom are great readers.

The book concludes with a challenge for Christians to take God to work and offers several closing stories of the unseen acts of faithfulness through which God works, including the child sponsored by a couple through World Vision who became the sixth archbishop of the Anglican church in Kenya. I would commend this book to every aspiring leader. For all the reasons above, it is both substantive and engaging. Note the values that you want to cultivate more deeply in your leadership and get to work. If Sterns is right, it all matters to God.

____________________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Jung]

Christianity isn’t just about what you believe – it’s how you act. Christian leaders have a special responsibility to show love and kindness to others and to act with integrity at all times. A good leader should set a positive example for others and help the organization to grow in the right direction, following Christian values. Ultimately, the true definition of success is not status or wealth, but having faith in God and helping to shape communities through loving leadership.

And here’s some more actionable advice:

Create balance and boundaries.

Work is important, but it isn’t everything. We all need a healthy work-life balance – that goes for leaders and their staff too. You should establish boundaries, and not expect 24/7 availability from your team – nor they from you. It’s also essential you save enough time and energy for your personal life and interests outside of work. That way, you’ll be a more grounded, balanced individual capable of being more productive and making better decisions.

---

A leader should be humble, self-aware, and ready to listen to others.

There are many ways for Christians to follow Jesus’s example. But they shouldn’t only look outward. Sometimes it’s necessary for Christians to look inward, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses with humility and honesty.

Stearns recommends 360-degree performance reviews for leaders. Every year, he asked his direct reports at World Vision to provide in-depth evaluation of his leadership. It wasn’t always a comfortable experience. Getting this candid insight into how he was perceived, however, helped him to become aware of his weaknesses, and improve as a leader.

Here’s the key message: A leader should be humble, self-aware, and ready to listen to others.

Self-awareness is crucial. Jesus said that a person should take the plank out of his own eye before trying to remove the speck in someone else’s. In other words, people should become conscious of their own shortcomings first.

It’s worth keeping this advice in mind when considering the issue of bias. Many people – particularly white men – have subconscious biases that can have a negative impact on their perception and decisions.

For example, Stearns became aware of his biases when working with a woman in rural Uganda. Judging the woman by her informal dress and casual attitude, Stearns doubted that she was qualified to run a microfinance program.

In fact, if anything, she was overqualified – he later discovered that the Ugandan woman had a master’s degree from the London School of Economics. This was a wake-up call for Stearns, as he realized the importance of self-awareness and understanding how biases can distort leadership.

As you strive to become more humble and self-aware, you should also reflect on your listening skills. A fundamental part of Christian leadership is listening to others. Other people are also made in the image of God, and they may be able to offer helpful insights and contributions.

There’s no doubt that collective wisdom beats individual wisdom. Just remember the examples of collective human accomplishments mentioned earlier, like buildings or scientific inventions. In his book The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki shows how, time and time again, a crowd outperforms an individual expert.

When you listen, everybody wins. You learn from your team member, who in turn feels affirmed and respected, and the end result is a committed, caring organization. That’s the goal!

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently I had the opportunity to read the new book Lead Like It Matters to God: Values-Driven Leadership in a Success-Driven World. In this slim book, Richard Stearns who is best known for his role as president of World Vision, presents "17 values to transform your leadership." While published by InterVarsity Press and definitely from a Christian point of view, the primary audience is anyone who is a leader in secular or Christian organizations. Stearns emphasizes that no matter your place of service, anyone who is a Christ-follower is called to be Christ's ambassador in all that they do.

Although there are 17 values presented, Lead Like It Matters to God has 20 chapters which include an introduction, conclusion, and a chapter providing biographical background information about Stearns. As Stearns combines leadership principles with stories from his own experiences, these chapters are helpful in establishing his credibility. For example, while most recently serving in a Christian non-profit organization, Stearns spent the majority of his career working in huge companies such as Parker Brothers and Lenox. His first hand experiences in these companies provids numerous examples which demonstrate the principles he shares are useful in any leadership setting. Each chapter begins with a scripture, a leadership principle, and a quote which introduces the value presented. These resources alone are worthwhile.

While an excellent book for anyone who is or aspires to be a leader in any setting, Lead like It Matters to God is unabashedly Christian. As such, it would make an excellent choice as a textbook or supplementary reading in a leadership course. A small group would benefit from reading and discussing the book together. With 20 brief chapters, an individual could work through the book devotionally as well. If you are still looking for a graduation present for your favorite high school or college graduate or someone who is embarking on a new career, this book is just what you are looking for.

I received a complementary copy of Lead Like It Matters to God from InterVarsity Press via NetGalley. All views are my own and I am not obligated to leave a positive review.

[Meagan | The Chapter House · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I really liked how each chapter is short-ish and can be digested either on its own or as part of a longer reading session. Correlating Bible verses and quotes at the beginning of each are also useful and thought-provoking.

I particularly enjoyed how Stearns first worked in the business world, only going into ministry/non-profit work later in life; a majority of the books I've read lately are from authors who started in ministry and stayed there, or went on to other business endeavors. Both are fine; it was just nice to have something different! I really appreciated the insights on how to live out my faith in a secular environment.

This is very much, first and foremost, a leadership book; it's written by a Christian whose faith plays a huge role in his life (which is fantastic), but, is not a theology book per se. I'll also note there does seem to be some soft critical race theory included.

Only after starting the book did I realize Stearns headed World Vision for a number of years. I'm very familiar with this organization, also based out of the Pacific Northwest, and have interacted with it in multiple ways over the years (including sponsoring a child), and was particularly aware of the organization in the news during early 2014 as it changed (and then reversed said change) a longstanding policy on marriage. This incident was briefly referenced in the book, but not explicitly; I would not have picked up on the reference without having already known about its broader scope.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don’t have to be a CEO of a major company to appreciate Lead Like It Matters To God, the latest book from Rich Stearns. Just a few pages into the book, it becomes clear that this is a book for everybody. After all, we all have some leadership role whether it is in our employment, our church, our family, or our social circle. Mr. Stearns makes the case for values driven leadership by highlighting 17 qualities that identify a Christian leader. My favorite among those are humility and integrity. Humility is especially evident throughout the book as he shares personal stories and anecdotes in a very humble and entertaining way. It is also refreshing to see him refer to integrity as the North Star of leadership, shaping all other decisions and interactions (the “Pumpkin Seed” story in chapter 9 offers a fantastic example of integrity). Mr. Stearns comes from a background of leading major companies like Parker Brothers, Lenox China, and finally World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization with worldwide reach. He mines that experience for valuable stories and examples that he includes throughout the book. And, as he has done in his previous writings, he combines his own experience with scripture and inspirational quotes. The result is a highly refreshing look at leadership from a Christian perspective and a reminder that it is possible to successful leader while accomplishing the more important task of being an ambassador for Christ.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear a space on your bookshelf because this is a keeper: your reference guide to leadership with advice from God's word.

When I decide to read a book, there is the big decision: reserve it at the library, download the e-reader copy, or purchase a "real" book. I buy a hard copy, like I did for "Lead Like it Matters to God" when I suspect it's a book that I would like to pass along to someone else. While reading this one, I thought of numerous people who would benefit from it, but in the end I decided that this is one of the very few books that I will keep for myself. It's that good!

Each chapter based on a leadership characteristic is the perfect combination of fellow Cornellian Rich Stearns' experiences at for profit and non-profit organizations (my favorite story is the war room), quotes from exceptional leaders, related Bible verse, and an interpretation of the scripture. This is one that I will read again and again, probably not back-to-back but by chapter as I experience a certain struggle or want to be inspired before a meeting (say, the encouragement chapter). Everyone is a leader in some way, and I recommend this book to all!

[Matthew Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because the titled interested me. What I didn’t know was who the author was and his experience, but as I read the pages of this book and heard Richards heart I was humbled and saddened. I was humbled by a man that has had such influence and yet focused on God the whole way no matter what industry he was in and saddened because there are many ways that I have failed, yet Richard does a great job by the end encouraging all readers that no matter what they have done God is still God and he is in control.

As we are leading, no matter in a sacred job or secular marketplace we can be used by God, but it does not depend on us. This book is peppered with nuggets of truth throughout. Richard brings leadership concepts and principles that can be used for anyone from the janitor to the CEO. No one is above learning.

So many good chapters that are well worth the price of this book. I encourage you if you are wondering what kind of influence you can have as a leader to pick up this book and let God be God and be used by Him for His glory, no yours.

[Jooyun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible leadership book because it was written all based on the author's experience! I almost wrote to the author, "what must I do to be just like you," but that would be so disrespectful for Jesus 😁. Rich Stearns is a living example that Jesus' way is the best way even in secular work environment. He learned it only from Jesus. He also proves that God uses our experience at work, corporate world, for bigger calling. All of us ache for the poor, the suffering and the least but God used Rich Stearns as CEO or World Vision to lead to change the world! God sees our faithfulness at our workplace to call for bigger calling. All our experience matters when we walk with God, winning, failing, learning, and repenting. Love this book of leadership based on Rich Stearns experience of leading with Jesus.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book, I just think I was hoping for something more applicable to everyone. I may also have had unrealistically high expectations after reading his book “The Hole in Our Gospel.”
While it seems well-intentioned and contains good advice, it’s still written from the perspective of a retired CEO who has spent his career managing subordinates. Much of the advice and many of the anecdotes involve situations with a clearly defined power structure (a leader and a “team” they are leading). I, on the other hand, often find myself informally leading peers over whom I have no clear authority.
I think I was also hoping that a leadership book from a Christian perspective might do more to address the contradictions I perceive between typical organizational power structures and the teachings of Christ.

[Philip Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Stearns became CEO of World Vision US, a year or so before I left World Vision International after 24 years in Australia, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. How odd that, in 2021, we would both publish books about leadership. Maybe not, because if you read my book and Richard's you will find a common theme about what matters in leadership. While I wrote a memoir, Richard is more structured in his approach. While I tell a story, Richard frames leadership around 17 essential values which he then illustrates with stories. Either way, we clearly agree about what is important for effective leaders. Although we spent only a short time as colleagues, I am sure I would have loved working with him.

[Mike Holub · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic. Rich calls us to live out the values of God to whoever is in our light, and it’s filled with stories and examples of how it’s accomplished in a professional setting. But this book isn’t just for workplace leaders, it’s for anyone who desires to show the character of God at work. We are called to be faithful, not successful, and to help people be excellent at work and at home. We are called to do this by being humble and encouraging, by listening first, and by seeing that everyone is a useful tool to God! It defies what corporate America tells us is successful and challenges us to shine Gods light in the workplace. I’ll be reading this once a year.

[Paul Baker]

2025-08-04

Review 2025.06.002

Reviewers Note: It is the middle of 2025 and I am not doing a good job of keeping up with this desired goal of mine to write book reviews. I do not want to lower my expectations but I am going to so that I can catch up. This will mean short reviews on the books I read.

Lead Like It Matters To God by Richard Stearns
264 Pages

This book was average. I really liked the idea he stresses several times that God has asked us to be faithful and not successful. That was encouraging. I could recommend this book to leaders but it may be a better survey read.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stearns has amassed so much wisdom over his remarkable career, rising to CEO in the private sector on two separate occasions (first at Parker Brothers and then Lennox) before taking the head job at World Vision and this book encapsulates so much of this.

I’ve read numerous leadership books and the raw transparency and heartfelt nature of this book were clear. 17 principles that every leader needs to embody with stories and anecdotes that clearly showed how each could make you a better leader. Grateful to be able to learn from him.

[Juanita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this book 3.5 stars. It was interesting to hear about Richard Stearns life and how he ended up President of World Vision.
I really loved the chapter on Love. He said instead of asking What would Jesus do? Try asking what would love do? In 1 John it says God is love and asking what would love do, how would love react, what would love require, is more tangible than asking what would Jesus do?
He also put I into 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 As a leader I am patient, I am kind....
I really liked this very practical way to think about what I am doing.

[G. Salter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style isn't amazing, but Stearns does a good job of connecting ideas and communicating points that are often overlooked but important to doing leadership well: surrender to God is vital. Understanding how work connects to one's identity as a Christian allows people to see that all good work has some value, from selling shaving razors to serving the poor. Success is secondary to living out godly values.
A solid leadership book that describes an overlooked way of life.

[Bledar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Stearns invites you to consider 20 values that should drive leadership in a way that matters to God. As a former World Vision employee, I have never met him, but I have been enough in the organization to understand the uses and abuses of these values. You cannot lead without a moral compass, but you have to be careful not to take things to an extreme. This book grows out of his own experience with leadership.

[Dennis Ticen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some may see this book as just another “how to” manual for Christian leadership, but Stearns says in the very beginning that this is not that. In fact, while it is structured very much like other leadership books (a series of qualities upon which to build one’s leadership), the spirit and the tone of this book are very different. In some ways, this book is almost a memoir of Stearns’ leadership and life. He is open and honest about his struggles, his failures and his successes. He has known leadership in both secular and Christian circles. His down-to-earth, practical style should be well received and helpful. This book is an easy read with a lot of depth to it. It is timely and should serve the church and Christian leaders for many years to come.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Rebecca Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Stearns takes you through his personal memoir, pulling out leadership lessons along the way. I could not put this book down as his journey was really interesting from Lenox to Parker Brothers to World Vision. I love how he leads with integrity, humor and humility. This book is great for anyone interested in leadership, especially ministry leaders.

[Kaylin Mannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

“In a world where success is king, we must be careful not to fall into the trap of believing that our identity somehow derived from the magnitude of our achievements rather than our relationship with God. I believe God is far more concerned about how a leader leads than he is about the success that leader delivers. Because success is overrated.”

[Derek Kreider · Rating 4 out of 5]

His story of leading World Vision to help during the AIDS crisis when conservative Christians shunned victims was phenomenal. If only that anti-consequentialism was espoused by more conservative Christians today. We need stories like this to encourage us that faithfulness is what we're called to, not governing history through compromise.

[Brennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for any leader. There is nothing groundbreaking in this book, but Richard Stearns does an incredible job of breaking down each characteristic of a leader. All leaders should read this book. You may learn something new or be encouraged to do better in a certain area of your leadership.

[Joseph Mettimano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leading in the workplace (or anywhere else) with Christian principles and God-focused zeal requires wisdom, humility and deep roots in the Holy Spirit. Rich offers valuable insights and real-life experience to help all of us do it better. This is a great book and I'm really enjoying it.

[Pdaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good leadership book with stories from Stearns’ career. I think this will be a good reference book when wanting to be reminded of certain character traits to strive for as a leader. I do wish the last chapter had more practical advice.

[Jesse Gates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I especially appreciate Stearns' perspective to reward hard work not success. If you punish those who work hard but get low grades, you've just told such people, "Don't be diligent." If you reward people who don't work hard and still get high grades, you've just told such people, "Be lazy."

[Alex Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book on Christian leadership. Goes through like 17 different qualities in very digestible and enjoyable chunks. Has some great, relatable, sometimes laugh out loud anecdotes throughout. Nothing particularly profound and more focused on the workplace than I expected, but worth the read.

[Steven Austen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I do?

A brilliant book. it continually challenges the mindset. God might use me, but it us not about me. My job is to turn up, work to the best of my ability, be faithful, and leave the results up to God.