I must confess that I did not want to read another book on leadership when I received this book. Since training leaders has been a big part of my ministry, I have read dozens and dozens of books on leadership, and even did my dissertation on the topic. There are some really good books and some not so good books on the topic; some written from a distinctly Christian position and some not necessarily from that point.
However. because of my appreciation for Harry Reeder, I read The Leadership Dynamic and immediately concluded that this book needs to be the basic book for Leadership 101, 102, and 103. Reeder is right on the mark when he contends that healthy churches must have healthy leaders. Reeder’s desire is for leaders who know their mission, who are unalterably committed to achieving it by God’s grace, who take care of their people, and who intentionally produce leaders. I react positively to those things and also to the way the book connects training leaders with discipleship. I have the same reaction when I read that leaders must be grace-driven with a disciplined lifestyle.
Reeder’s 3-D Leadership paradigm of define, develop and deploy gives a good context for all the specifics in the book. Because one of the main points in the book is to train and disciple leaders and potential leaders, this book will be a valuable tool for a pastor to have and use in discipling church leaders. My recommendation is to read it and use it in the process.
As I was reading the book, I also gleaned another entitled When Leadership and Discipleship Collide, by Bill Hybels. Hybels is right; there are times when various approaches to leadership collide. Do we use the American business model, or a strictly biblical model, or what? Reeder gives an excellent balance that incorporates the biblical principles of leadership with good, common sense application. Again my reaction and appreciation for this book centers around its concept that leadership is connected to making kingdom disciples, for that is what “world-shaking leaders look like,” where they come from, and what they would do.