Weekend Reads: Unshakeable faith and unlikely influence

A Mother’s Heart Moved the Hand of God

By Tedd Galloway

A Mother’s Heart Moved the Hand of God, by Tedd Galloway (Morgan James Publishing, 2014), is a straightforward missionary story, with most of the action takes place in East Africa during the first Gulf War.

To understand the story, it’s important to know that both Galloway and his wife Donna are ordained pastors. He was sent to Africa as a maintenance manager for a mission compound. But that job is simply the frame. The book focuses on how the Lord brought the Galloways a sweet little baby girl who was malnourished and near death.

The baby’s mother had died in childbirth, and the little girl was doomed to be buried alive with her mother. In that part of Africa, it is believed that any baby who kills his or her mother has a very strong spirit and will be a danger to the community if allowed to live. But the little girl’s uncle rescued her and brought her to the clinic where the Galloways were serving. They wanted to keep her and adopt her. And they did, after some further harrowing adventures. A shocking twist in the mission work involving a pastor’s sin drove the Galloways out of Africa. Back in the United States, life continued to spiral downward. They could hardly believe the fact that this man’s sin had not been disciplined. For a time they left the ministry altogether. When one of their older daughters developed anorexia, it seemed as if the bottom had fallen out altogether.

The story made me cry. But the Galloway family’s unshakeable faith in the Providence of a loving Father and the kindness of God in the midst of their personal disaster was utterly refreshing. These people know the same God I do. Through the pages, we had spiritual fellowship around the truth that life’s not perfect, but God is.

Redefining Leadership: Character-Driven Habits of Effective Leaders

By Joseph M. Stowell

“An unlikely, counterintuitive, radically different pattern of influence.” That’s what Joseph Stowell is looking for, and arguing for, in a leader. Redefining Leadership: Character-Driven Habits of Effective Leaders (Zondervan, 2014) insists that moral authority is paramount.

Stowell, who is president of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich., uses “leader” and “pastor” almost interchangeably. His book is clearly written for all kinds of leaders, but it seems to focus heavily on pastoral ministry.

According to the world, leadership is about results. What did this leader accomplish? What kind of organization did he build? But according to Stowell, leadership is about character. Who are you? What do you live like? Results are nice, but character is ultimate. What kind of results did Jesus have? He got Himself killed. His followers scattered. But He never compromised His character, so His results continue to change the world. Now that’s counterintuitive.

The character-driven leader chooses character over outcomes. In other words, he doesn’t lie to make a sale. His priority is to be a follower of Jesus. Thus, his ambition is not to gain the perquisites of leadership. His ambition is give up his own life, his own dreams and choices, for the sake of blessing others. That was the kind of leadership Jesus exercised. And that’s the kind of leadership His followers must choose too.

The world’s way of using one’s position to compel obedience from unwilling “sheeple” is not an option. Yes, you can lead by pushing and dragging. You can insist that you’re the boss and everyone else needs to knuckle under. But that won’t ultimately work. If you do gain the world that way, you’ll still lose your soul. Besides, real influence is the exclusive perk of the trustworthy. From this, Stowell derives his final conclusion: Jesus is the leader all leaders must follow.