Reading insights by Wayne Weiss

I recently read a book that was inspirational and motivating, giving me a shot in the arm (heart) I needed at this time.  The title is “A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders”.  The author is Reggie McNeal, who is Missional Leadership Specialist for Leadership Network in Dallas, Texas.

I have had the pleasure to hear Mr. McNeal at a LCMS Outreach Conference in St. Louis several years ago, and more recently at a LCMS Wisconsin Lutheran Teachers Convention.  He is very insightful and offers outstanding ideas in sharing God’s Word.

What follows are the notes from the jacket cover of the book which summarizes the book very well:

“No religious leader can thrive without having heart for the job.  Put in these times of unpredictability-caught up in trying to help others maintain their hearts-few complete their ministries without sometimes neglecting their own spiritual needs.

“Reggie McNeal proposes that effective spiritual leaders must become experts in matters of the heart-particularly their own.  Maintaining heart for the demanding work of ministry hinges on leaders’ ability to discern God at work in their own lives, shaping their hearts to embrace the particular ministries to which they are called.  This process of finding heart depends on an interactive partnership with God.  God introduces the storyline-but the leader’s responses affect the development of the drama.

“To demonstrate these points, McNeal leads readers on an excursion into the heart-shaping drama of four major Biblical leaders: Moses, David, Jesus, and Paul. He identifies the influences God used to shape them:

• CULTURE-the times and the environment in which a leader is raised
• CALL-the leaders’ personal call by God to mission
• COMMUNITY-the people who shape and sustain the leader
• COMMUNION-the leader’s personal relationship with God
• CONFLICT-the leader’s engagement of destructive forces in life and ministry
• COMMONPLACE-the daily choices of living

“Using illustrative stories of contemporary church leaders who opened their hearts to God’s guidance, McNeal shows how God is still using these same influences to shape the hearts of religious leaders today.”

McNeal offers many interesting incites.  Here are some in reference to the four Biblical leaders:

• Moses: He did what he did because he obeyed his heart.
• David: David developed a heart after God’s because he had a heart that had room for others.
• Paul: Paul contended that his life could not be understood apart from his call.
• Jesus: God ensured that Jesus would be shaped by community and the commonplace.

Other insightful thoughts:

• Pre-Christians are looking for God, not a successful church.
• Saying yes to God means seeing each exchange with another human being as fraught with God potential.
• Strategize on how to get beyond the citadel and into the village where people are hanging out. Choose engagement over retreat.

Please consider adding this to your reading list, near the top.  You won’t be disappointed.
 
Copies of “A Work of Heart” can be found at amazon.com or used copies through websites like abebooks.com.

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