Compassionate Leadership

PRAISE FOR

COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP

The Gospel of the kingdom of God means that leaders cannot simply follow the strategies that bring success as the world defines it. To lead as Jesus led means to serve, be compassionate and always be lifting up the next generation. Paul and Ted do a terrific job of walking through what it means to lead in the light of the Gospel.

ALAN ANDREWS

President, U. S. Navigators

I was so excited and blessed when I read Compassionate Leadership. I have learned so much from Ted Engstrom and Paul Cedar through the years. To have them combine their vast experience, vision and advice in such a practical and engaging way is a huge benefit for all. In a day when many of our leaders have disappointed us, this book is a must-read for those who would aspire to serve others in the footsteps of the greatest leader who ever lived, our Lord Jesus Christ.

CLYDE COOK

President, Biola University

Today the zeal to lead dynamically is commendable, but for many it is untempered by the compassionate shepherd-heart of Jesus. When results are prioritized above nurturing the souls of people, a leader risks ministering as a corporate mogul. I can imagine no better pair of success-proven but servant-spirited leaders to address us with balance in this regard than Ted Engstrom and Paul Cedar.

JACK W. HAYFORD

President, International Foursquare Churches

Chancellor, The King’s Seminary

Compassionate Leadership contains a challenge to every Christian leader to lead as Jesus led—as a compassionate servant. Dr. Ted Engstrom and Dr. Paul Cedar have practiced compassionate leadership for decades and have served as invaluable models and mentors for me and countless others. I am pleased that their wisdom will be passed on through this book.

DEAN R. HIRSCH

President and CEO, World Vision International

The plethora of books and articles about leadership can be mind-numbing. But there is always room for a book that centers on Jesus, the leader servant. I think the essence of this message is a fresh glimpse of Jesus, the one whose exercise of leadership is so radically different from the success-satiated tripe that gets promoted in our contemporary understanding of the concept. My hope is that this volume will draw us to a fresh encounter with Jesus and, through that, a transformation in how we lead as genuine servants.

SAM METCALF

President, CRM (Christian Resource Ministries)

Compassionate leadership—what leader doesn’t want that?! This book is authentic because it was written by two compassionate leaders. My friends Dr. Ted Engstrom and Dr. Paul Cedar show that compassionate leadership is biblical leadership—it’s Christ-like leadership.

DR. RAYMOND ORTLUND

President, Renewal Ministries Former Speaker, Haven of Rest Radio Broadcast

In an era of brash leaders, corporate raiders and harsh take no prisoners corporate models of leadership, Compassionate Leadership is an oasis of truth and reason that offers a radically different approach. Christian leaders should look first to these biblical principles of leadership before looking to the Fortune 500 for their role models.

RICH STEARNS

President, World Vision U. S.

After reading so many so-called Christian books based on business models of leadership, it’s good to read one that is based on the biblical model of the caring shepherd and the biblical motivation of love. I highly recommend this book to beginners and veterans alike.

WARREN W. WIERSBE

Author and Bible Teacher

© 2006 Ted W. Engstrom and Paul A. Cedar

Published by Baker Books

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakerbooks.com

Baker Books edition published 2014

ISBN 978-1-4412-2385-2

Previously published by Regal Books

Ebook edition originally created 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Other versions used are:

AMP—Scripture taken from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE, Old Testament copyright © 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament copyright © 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

KJV—King James Version. Authorized King James Version.

NASB—Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

NKJV—Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

TLB—Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Dan Kimball

Foreword

Leighton Ford

Introduction

Chapter 1

Portrait of a Compassionate Leader

Chapter 2

The Biblical Model of Compassionate Leadership

Chapter 3

The Perils of Compassionate Leadership

Chapter 4

Discovering Your Leadership Skills

Chapter 5

Compassionate Leaders and Mentorship

Chapter 6

Our Accountability to God

Chapter 7

Compassionate Leaders and Followers

Chapter 8

A New Generation of Compassionate Leaders

Chapter 9

Learning to Lead

Chapter 10

The Ultimate Joy

A Final Word

Seasoned Counsel for Emerging Leaders

Appendix A

Christian Leadership and Leadership Styles

Appendix B

Making Your Boss Successful

Appendix C

Love Is Essential in Leadership

Appendix D

Profiles in Courageous Leadership

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As co-authors of this book, we are indebted to a fellow gifted author, Norman Rohrer, for his editorial assistance in bringing together our thoughts and gleaning from earlier writings for this publication. Norm himself is a gifted author, and he has given dedicated service to us, his friends, in this project. For this we are most grateful.

FOREWORD

Dan Kimball

Reading this book is very much like listening to one of Johnny Cash’s more recent CDs. When you hear the voice and music of Johnny Cash, you can instinctively tell that he is a seasoned, vintage musician. Johnny Cash has become a guru—you could say even a mentor—to emerging generations looking for someone who sings from the depth and breadth of a lifelong experience. What was interesting about Johnny Cash is that toward the end of his life, more than ever he was openly and strongly pointing to Jesus and the wisdom of the Bible. His last album, My Mother’s Hymn Book, was comprised entirely of hymns dedicated to his faith in Jesus.

This book is similar in that it draws on the breadth and depth of the lifelong experience and leadership wisdom of Ted Engstrom and Paul Cedar. Here we have the rare opportunity to study under two men whom I consider to be the leadership gurus and older mentors today’s emerging generation is looking for. After a lifetime of studying, writing about and practicing leadership, Ted and Paul openly and strongly point to the wisdom of the Bible and the example of Jesus, who was truly the model of being a servant and leading by compassion.

As leadership trends come and go, books are written on everything from crafting mission statements to setting strategic goals to being able to develop multiple levels of ministry teams. These are all much needed in ministry—it is a fast-paced and complex world that we live in. But what makes this book stand out from the rest is that it is written by two men who are not just popping in on the leadership scene with new and trendy ideas that may sound good.

Ted and Paul have observed leadership trends over a long period of time, and this book is filled with wisdom that we should all prayerfully absorb. The plethora of leadership principles and strategies out there today may fade away as culture shifts and leadership values change. But like a Johnny Cash song, the words in this book penetrate beyond any trend or fad. They emerge from a pool of deep wisdom. They speak from and to the heart of what leadership is about and will outlast any trend or fad—leading like Jesus with a heart and life of compassion and servanthood.

Dan Kimball

Author, The Emerging Church

www.vintagefaith.com

FOREWORD

Leighton Ford

An old Indian proverb says that nothing grows under the banyan tree. That huge tree towers so high and spreads its branches so wide with such thick foliage that the sun cannot filter through to nurture the tiny seedlings below.

The same thing, unfortunately, can be said of many visible and strong human leaders. Their reach goes high. Their influence goes wide. They are seen by many as leaders. And yet they do not create space within their circle of influence to permit younger leaders to put down their roots and spread their branches.

That was not Jesus’ kind of leadership. As tall as He stood, being the Son of God among men, He still humbled Himself and took the place of a servant—even submitting to death on the cross for our sake.

And His goal was to reproduce other compassionate leaders who would lead by serving. The Son of man came not to be served but to serve, He once reminded His quarreling disciples (see Mark 10:45). And again, when He had washed and dried their feet at His last supper with them, He said, Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you (John 13:14-15).

It is this Jesus style of leadership that our world needs today, when the media hypes leaders as being super-personalities, who too often have super-sized egos, while followers hunger for those with the authentic spirit of compassionate service shown by Jesus.

Paul Cedar and Ted Engstrom have given us their thoughts on compassionate, service-oriented leadership with an authenticity that is evident both in their source and in their example.

Their source book, of course, is the Bible, particularly the Gospel stories of Jesus. Many Christian leadership books preach the false gospel of secular leadership models, hiding their true message behind some carefully selected Bible verses. Ted and Paul, however, have gone to the Source—drawing on the life and ministry of Jesus Himself.

Then, too, the convictions they express have been forged in their own lives. Across the years both have been followers, and both have been leaders.

Ted Engstrom led in Youth for Christ, in religious publishing, and then was second in command to the legendary Bob Pierce in World Vision. After assisting two presidents of this dynamic organization, he himself became a most effective president.

Similarly, Paul Cedar was part of the Billy Graham team; then he worked closely with me as the director of several of my own evangelistic campaigns. Later as a pastor of two outstanding churches, as president of the Evangelical Free Church of America, and then while heading the Mission America Coalition and chairing the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, he consistently exhibited a sense of compassionate leadership as he served the people of God.

What do these two men have in common? First, they always sought to be led by Jesus and to exalt God, not their own egos. Second, they have been Kingdom seekers, not empire builders, aiming not at building their own reputations but at working in close partnership with others. Third, both of them have been mentors to younger leaders, seeking to pour out their lives into the next generation and to