In leadership circles, especially Christians circles, it is challenging to balance power, influence, and humility. If you’re a Christian leader, you feel this tension. You have enormous amounts of influence and some level of power. What often got you to that place is humility, but humility is what will keep you there (or the lack thereof will take you down from there). The authors of The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb lay this out well: Unfortunately, the things that make leaders dangerous are the very things that earn them affirmation.
What I found most helpful about The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb, were the examples of leaders who seek to live and lead in the way of Jesus.
I think too often as leaders, especially young leaders; we forget that leadership and living is a long time. A marathon, not a sprint. The world has not passed you by at 35; you have not missed your chance at 45. Even though it might feel like it, leading like Jesus keeps this in mind and sees that what you do for all of your life is what counts.
Here are 11 quotes from The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb that I found helpful & convicting:
- We must recognize that only after naming the truth of our sin can we come in grace and truth to name the sins of others.
- Power is the capacity to affect reality.
- This is the first temptation of power: We view the problems as “out there.”
- For Christians, the journey into true power begins with the realization of our desire for false power.
- Marriage, for instance, is a relational reality that calls us into our weakness, if we are willing to grow in love. In marriage, we are called into our brokenness, our inability to love another well, and our unhealthy desires. Whether we feel strong or weak, therefore, God invites us to walk forward in the truth of our weakness so we might know his power.
- The way of the dragon is fixated on the spectacular, obsessed with recognition and validation, intoxicated by fame and power. The way of the Lamb is committed to worship, pursues God in the ordinary, and is faithful in hiddenness. The dragon devours and dominates, while the Lamb humbly and sacrificially serves.
- Unfortunately, the things that make leaders dangerous are the very things that earn them affirmation.
- Much of what we call Christian is not a manifestation of the supernatural life of God in our souls; much of what we call Christian is really just human.
- Ministry is bringing the life of God, as it would be understood in terms of Jesus and his kingdom, into the lives of other people.
- Our worship of God in the wilderness is a proclamation of his power.
- The practices of the church are always a mirror to our hearts.
This book made my list for favorite books in 2018, so be sure to check it out.