Note to Female Readers

If you are a woman, I realize that this book may cause angst. Understandably, it is painful to recall hard-fought battles that opened new vistas for you. It hurts to remember the abuse many of you have endured under domineering males. And it’s frustrating to consider the lost contributions of women kept “under control” by culturally imposed roles and expectations. Even now, if you are shouldering responsibilities that should be shared with men, you may be thinking, I’m sick and tired of doing all the work while they sit around.

Please understand that when I talk about male leadership, I don’t mean it in a “men lead, women don’t” sense or a zero-sum-game dominance contest. In no way do I question that women are leaders, nor do I want to deprive them of any leadership role God intends for them. To do so would be patently unbiblical and would discount the tremendous contributions of many female leaders, not to mention raise the ire of my thirty-six-year partner in marriage, who has unquestionable leadership abilities. But even more important, to stop women from exercising any God-given gift would anger the One who distributed that gift in the first place.

This book is meant to guide and encourage men to become the leaders God intends us to be, living in such a way that women (and other men, for that matter) want to follow us. I’ll be first in line to confess that we men have not been careful to honor the gifts and dignity of the people we lead—especially the women in our lives.

You Are Called to Be a Leader

In various places and seasons of life, every one of us is called to lead—in our families, at the workplace, at church, and in the community—no matter how many people are following (or not following). In different ways and means, God commands us to step up and take responsibility, influence those around us for good, and transform the corner of planet earth where we live and work for His glory.⁴

The premise of this book is simple:  God made men to lead—and we’re not. Men are not assuming the responsible leadership roles God wants us to take. As a result, our faith remains underdeveloped, and we fail to impact our sphere of influence as God intended. However, when we do step up to the plate, take our God-given leadership assignment seriously, and lead in God’s way, seriously good things can happen—in every area of our lives and the world at large.

What might God do if you embrace your leadership mandate? For starters, He could restore intimacy with your wife and repair relationships with your children. He could use you to transform your workplace. He could make you a seen or unseen force that changes your church for God’s glory. He could use you to bring justice, fairness, and morality back to your community. He could cause your influence to discourage environmental abuse. He could use you to change the world.

And what might happen if you don’t take the call to leadership seriously? Well, just watch the evening news and you’ll get the picture.

You will find that the biblical leadership to which we men are called is not difficult or complicated. We don’t need an exceptional education or a Pattonesque personality to be a leader. There are just two basic things God calls us to d  First, He calls us to take responsibility for ourselves. Second, He calls us to nurture and develop the resources and people He has entrusted to our care. These are things any man can do, and every man has been called to do. In the chapters that follow you will learn sensible, practical, and biblical ways to do this in every area of your life.

It is our choice either to sit back and passively respond to the happenings of each day or take seriously God’s command to be His follower and a leader of those He has entrusted to our care.

May we choose well. A lot is at stake.