The art of leadership, a review
Ghanaian author, evangelist Dr. Dag Heward-Mills, has written other books grouped into seven series. Below is a list of these series with their corresponding books in parentheses: Loyalty Series (‘Parents and Loyalty’, ‘Leaders and Loyalty’, ‘Loyalty and Disloyalty’, ‘Those who accuse you’, ‘Those who forget’, ‘Those Who Leave You’, ‘Those Who Pretend’), Church Building Series (‘Church Growth’, ‘Church Planting’, ‘The Mega Church’), Anointing Series (‘Catch The Anointing’, ‘ Ministry with signs and wonders’, ‘Steps towards the anointing’), Work of the Ministry Series (‘How can you be in the perfect will of God’, ‘Losing, suffering, sacrificing’, ‘Dying’, ‘Many are called’, ‘Proton’, ‘Rules of Church Work’, ‘Rules of Full-Time Ministry’), Pastoral Ministry Series (‘The Art of Leadership’, ‘Transform Your Pastoral Ministry’), Hit Series (‘Why Christians Who Don’t Tithe Become Poor And How Christians Who Tithe Can Get Rich’), Christian Life Series (‘Relapse’, ‘Daughter, You Can Make It’, ‘Demons and how to deal with them’, ‘Model marriage’, ‘Name it! claim it! Take it!’, ‘Quiet time’, ‘Tel. l They’).
In one hundred twenty-nine (129) chapters contained within five hundred and twelve pages, Heward-Mills captivates the reader with his fluid, time-tested physical and spiritual principles that would transform the novice into a dynamic leader. The title, ‘The Art of Leadership’, implies that the concept must be learned and the book is a very useful guide.
The subject of reading receives considerable and deliberate treatment in the book. This is really as a result of the relative ignorance of spiritual leaders in this information age. A considerable number of church leaders mistakenly believe that all they need to do is open their mouths and God will easily fill them. Others say that there is no need for teachers since the Holy Spirit teaches everyone. Although unwarranted, this is clearly one of the reasons that ministers of the Gospel are not normally treated with respect because there is so much to learn.
In chapter 24, he encourages any potential leader to spend any amount of money and time to get a book, as the information could well make a difference in one’s life. Not only does he passionately argue that reading is one of the most essential habits of any leader, but he warns that “if you don’t read, please don’t try to guide anyone” (p.122), since ignorance is the greatest enemy of The humanity. Therefore, reading is essential for leadership since, among other reasons, it leads to growth (intellectual and spiritual), improves vocabulary and develops leadership skills. Therefore, it is obvious that there are dangers in choosing to be ignorant in this age.
As one builds a personal library, Heward-Mills reminds the reader that “wisdom comes through reading” (p. 343) and also makes a radical and interesting departure from some traditional but misleading views. Some narrow-minded leaders assume that the Bible is the only book one should read. The author reasonably suggests that one should “read books that expand your imagination and the frontiers of knowledge” (p. 347). Although some materials are poisonous to Christians, there are several non-Christian books worth reading.
The importance of training cannot be overstated. In addition to investing in buying and reading books related to one’s work, Heward-Mills encourages the reader to spend money in order to be better equipped and prepared for God’s assigned task. This is reminiscent of a very important character included in the text titled ’70 Great Christians’ written by Geoffrey Hanks and published in Fearn, Ross-shire by Christian Focus Publication in 1992. She is Mary Slessor, the missionary from Calabar. She notes that she “realized that she would have to improve her education if she wanted to become a missionary and began to borrow books from the church library. She also joined an evening class two nights a week”. (Hanks, 1992, p. 194).
More than one publisher (Parchment House and Lux Vertbi. BM Ltd.) has been in charge of the production of this book, which is a clear example of its importance. The fact that the sixth edition was published in 2008 demonstrates the extremely high demand for the text and the publication of the second edition in 2011 is further proof of this fact.
In the Holy Book, we learn that Jesus and Samuel eventually grew in both wisdom and stature and were favored by God and man. This underscores the importance of the man’s recommendation. The foreword to the reviewed book was written by a household name in Christianity, Yonggi Cho, who is unarguably one of the most successful contemporary Christian leaders. This implies that he endorses a considerable part of the credible information in this timely publication. Furthermore, the inclusion of this West African author, Dag Heward-Mills, on the board of Church Growth International Ministry is a testament to his relevance.
The text is very easy to read due to the length of each chapter, some as short as a page or two, for example, chapters 3 (The Kind of Leadership to Avoid), 9 (Maintain Personal Integrity), 11 ( Never use Power without Wisdom or Wisdom without Power), 12 (Don’t be a leader without life…), 91 (Translate your vision into reality), 129 (Constantly thinking about the day of reckoning), etc. Also, the font is large enough for the average reader to decipher clearly. The scripture passages stand out clearly as they are in bold and, except for verification, the passages are not simply mentioned but reproduced to avoid putting the book down to read from the Bible.
However, the overall presentation of women is not well balanced in the text and would give a first impression that women are not considered important in church leadership. Although the writer appeals to the reader not to be angry with him, but to direct him to God, she observed that “at its crudest, female leadership is a dangerous thing” (p. 34). One would have expected a treatment of some good qualities from Biblical women leaders like Deborah, Esther, etc.
The imprint (a generic term that includes the city of publication, the publisher, and the date of publication) is incomplete. The missing link or thread in this chain is the city of publication, which is not clearly indicated in the text. This is very important bibliographic information. However, writing instructions are given to POBox 114, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana. One wonders if the city here could be used as a place of publication.
Consideration of adding an index and bibliography would further enhance the quality of this invaluable text. An index generally facilitates relatively faster information retrieval. A bibliography, a descriptive list of the reading materials consulted, could be very helpful in such a prominent publication, since many points of view were provided and many readers would be inspired to make further references. It would be helpful to add a bibliography, an alphabetical list of authors’ names (last name followed by other names), and the respective works cited in the next anticipated edition.
Notwithstanding the above, Dag Heward-Mills’s text is very easy to read due to the length of each chapter, some as short as a page or two, for example, chapters 3 (The Kind of Leadership to Avoid), 9 (Maintain Personal Integrity), 11 (Never Use Power Without Wisdom or Wisdom Without Power), 12 (Don’t Be A Leader Without Life…), 91 (Translate Your Vision Into Reality), 129 (Constantly Thinking About the Day of Accountability), etc. . Also, the font is large enough for the average reader to decipher clearly. Scripture passages stand out clearly as they are in bold and, except for verification, the passages are not simply mentioned, but are reproduced for ease of reference.
I wholeheartedly recommend this classic publication to all potential leaders. Every pastor should read this book.
