Dave Kraft: Leaders Who Last
Dave Kraft
In the final section called Fruitfulness, Kraft argues that vision, influence, and legacy are the ways in which leaders impact others, in particular those who are called to be leaders. In terms of vision, Kraft laments that leaders are not hearing from God and thus lack a vision for the church. A strong and compelling vision will motivate followers to work in a ministry. A person in a leadership role in the church must have a vision from God. A lasting leader develops the vision, communicates it well to followers, and along with followers, implements the vision. In order to last, leaders must have help to see the vision accomplished. Kraft suggests that church leaders invest a good portion of their time in developing a core leadership team of individuals who are themselves invested in becoming lasting leaders. The leadership team, then, becomes responsible for communicating and implementing the vision, as well as influencing others in the church to work together toward the objective. The leader’s legacy is the quality of leaders she develops during her lifetime. Kraft argues that current leaders focus too little on developing future leaders. The reasons for this lack are numerous, including the leader’s own insecurity and low priority for leader development. True to form, Kraft offers a step-by-step process for developing potential leaders.
After each section Kraft offers the reader an opportunity to reflect on the previous chapters’ content to think things through and discern ways to implement the suggestions into practice. For example, at the end of part one, Kraft asks, “How is your walk with the Lord? Are you getting good quality time alone with him?” and “Are you trying to do too much by attempting to keep everybody happy?” At the end of part three, he asks, “Name the future leaders in whom you are currently investing. What is your game plan for each of them?” His intention for asking these and other reflective questions is to stimulate leaders to pay attention to the four main responsibilities of Christian leadership so that they can finish well.
The chief strength of the book is the hands-on and practical steps and processes, which Kraft offers throughout the book to help leaders improve their leadership capacity. Church leaders and others who are looking to do more than survive in their leadership roles may find some of the steps challenging depending on where they are on their walk. Kraft’s own purpose and calling are evident as he seeks to invest in the next generation of leaders and to encourage others to do the same. He focuses on the leader personally and the leader’s realm of influence. The book is easy to understand and quick to digest, unless you want to take the time required to reflect on your own leadership and its potential areas of improvement. Then, you may find yourself spending days or weeks of intentional, devoted time to challenging and changing your mental and ministry status quo in order to equip yourself and other leaders to finish well.
Reviewed by Michelle Vondey
Publisher’s page: http://www.crossway.org/books/leaders-who-last-tpb/
Excerpt: http://www.wtsbooks.com/common/pdf_links/9781433513183.pdf
Dave Kraft Leadership Coaching: http://www.davekraft.org/
Category: Ministry, Summer 2014
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