As I prepare this week to leave to teach in Zambia for the next three weeks (I invite you to read more about what Marilyn and I will be doing in my recent newsletter), I’m glad to welcome my friend Bob Logan to offer this guest post about his new book, The Leadership Difference. God and the internet willing, I hope to share some posts from Zambia in the coming weeks. Rich
Brief Bio: Dr. Robert E. Logan has over 40 years of ministry experience, including church planting, pastoring, consulting, coaching, and speaking. Having seen a great deal, Bob remains on the cutting edge of ministry through hands-on missional involvement. Bob earned his DMin from Fuller Theological Seminary. He counts it a privilege to walk alongside ministry leaders and help catalyze their ministries toward fulfilling the call God has placed on them, and he thrives in developing holistic and transformative resources that can easily be implemented in any context. 
I graduated from seminary at the wise age of 24. Much to my astonishment, no churches were calling me to become their pastor. Eventually someone suggested that maybe I should start a new church, so I agreed. What did I have to lose? I was assigned to a particular community and went around knocking on doors, talking with people about what they wanted—and didn’t want—in a church.
Have you ever felt like you weren’t fully equipped for your leadership role? Like you needed a bit more practical guidance in the “what-to-dos” of ministry? Like the barriers you’re running up against aren’t specifically theological but are more about how to lead people and get along with them as you work together?
If so, this book is written for you. The Leadership Difference focuses on specific skills like:
- Discernment and focus
- Effective self-care
- Who you need on your team
- Team-building essentials
- Developing people through coaching
- Leading change
- Communication skills
- Supervising staff
- Organizational development
- Financial and legal practicalities
- Empowering and releasing new leaders
Anyone in a position of leadership, whether they’re leading a church, a team, or a small group, needs skills and strategies like these—skills and strategies that result in lightening your own load, developing the skills of others, and getting the job done effectively. To find out more about The Leadership Difference, click here.
Excerpt from the book:
Very early on in my ministry when I was an intern, I was frequently late for staff meeting. Eventually, my supervisor took me aside and said, “You’re not late because you didn’t run fast enough. You’re late because you didn’t start early enough.” That was one of my early lessons in time management… and in personal development.
Sometimes people don’t connect the so-called “practical skills”—things like managing your time and money—with deeper character issues. But they are intrinsically related. Where do our actions come from? Our behaviors are rooted in the way we see life, what we value, what we really believe. Actions are a far better indicator of the heart than words.
