Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders is a literary classic and is acclaimed as one of the greatest leadership books in print today. Offering a depth and breadth of biblical wisdom and practical application, Spiritual Leadership get to the heart of the matter with an emphasis on the character and qualities of the leader, for leadership flows out of who we are, not just what we do.

Below are some of the memorable quotes from the book during my most recent reread…

1. True greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you.
2. Spiritual leaders are not elected, appointed, or created by synods or church assemblies. God alone makes them.
   
3. The spiritual leader must be clothed “with humility” (1 Peter 5:5).
4. Before we can conquer the world, we must first conquer the self.
5. Many who aspire to leadership fail, because they have never learned to follow.
6. A leader must be able to see the end results of the policies and methods he or she advocates. Responsible leadership always looks ahead to see how policies will affect future generations.
7. The spiritual leader will not procrastinate when faced with a decision, nor vacillate after making it. To postpone decision is really to decide for the status quo.
8. People who are skeptical of prayer’s validity and power are usually those who do not practice it seriously or fail to obey when God reveals His will. We cannot learn about praying except by praying. No philosophy has ever taught a soul to pray. The intellectual problems associated with prayer are met in the joy of answered prayer and closer fellowship to God.
9. If a man is known by the company he keeps, so also his character is revealed in the books he reads.
10. Life’s value is not its duration but its donation – not how long we live, but how fully and how well.
11. Procrastination, the thief of time, is one of the devil’s most potent weapons for defrauding us of eternal heritage.
12. Those who lead the church are marked by a willingness to give up personal preferences, to surrender legitimate and natural desires for the sake of God.
13. The true leader is concerned primarily with the welfare of others, not with his own comfort or prestige. He shows sympathy for the problems of others, but his sympathy fortifies and stimulates, it does not soften or make weak. A spiritual leader will always direct the confidence of others to the Lord.
14. Lowering standards is always a backward step and compromise nearly always requires it.
15. More failures come from an excess of caution than from bold experiments with new ideas.
16. God will defend the leaders he has chosen. He will honor, protect, and vindicate them. Leaders need not worry about defending their rights or their office.
17. To succeed in getting things done through other leaders is the highest type of leadership.
18. Indeed, no man, however gifted and devoted is indispensable to the work of the kingdom.
19. Faith builds faith. Pessimism dismantles faith.
20. Willingness to concede error and to defer to the judgment of one’s peers increases one’s influence rather than diminishes it.

Which quote from Sanders book challenges you or gets you thinking about leadership in a different way?