Customer Reviews

Leaders Who Last

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The title of this book made me want to read it. The first two sentences made me want to read it even more. In his foreword, Mark Driscoll writes: "Pastor Dave Kraft is in the right season of life to write this book. By the time this book is published he will be seventy years of age" (p. 11). That was enough to make want to listen, and listen hard, to what this man had to say. So, I read the book in three different sittings in a thirty-six hour time frame. I'm glad I did.

Dave Kraft is a good writer, with a simple, straightforward style. The book is clear and confident. Kraft knows what he wants to say to leaders and says it. I was immediately drawn in with the book's clear flow-of-thought, which is evident from the contents.

Part One: Foundations
Chapter 1. The Leader's Power
Chapter 2. The Leader's Purpose
Chapter 3. The Leader's Passion
Chapter 4. The Leader's Priorities
Chapter 5. The Leader's Pacing

Part Two: Formation
Chapter 6. The Leader's Calling
Chapter 7. The Leader's Gifts
Chapter 8. The Leader's Character
Chapter 9. The Leader's Growth

Part Three: Fruitfulness
Chapter 10. The Leader's Vision
Chapter 11. The Leader's Influence
Chapter 12. The Leader's Legacy

The chapters are short, to the point, and seasoned with good illustrations and striking quotations of leaders from a variety of different contexts. For example, here's a great quotation about character from the legendary coach, John Wooden: "Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation, because your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are" (p. 98). There are lots of these leadership maxims scattered through the book, so read with a highlighter handy. You'll want to remember some of these.

But even more important is the wisdom with which Dave Kraft writes. One gets the sense in reading these pages that he is a man who has lived intentionally and maintained a learning posture throughout his life. His insights and convictions come through loud and clear and without apology. Here are a few that caught my attention. (Keep in mind that this is a book written primarily for people in Christian leadership.)

* "Leadership begins and ends with a clear understanding of the gospel and being rooted in the grace of Jesus Christ as a gift." (p. 29)

* "It is vitally important that each of us discovers his own pathway to deep intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ." (p. 32)

* "Passion will have more of an impact than personality." (p. 50)

* "If a person's gift mix is not predominantly in the speaking category, that person should not consider a major leadership role." (p. 89)

* "A lifelong learner asks all kinds of questions, reads broadly, writes down new ideas, learns from opposing thoughts, and is growing in Christian character." (p. 113)

* "Be careful with whom you spend the bulk of your time. A leader influences many by investing in a few and letting those few influence the rest." (p. 128)

* "Today, the crying need is for more leaders. To grow by addition, you recruit more followers. To grow by multiplication, you add more leaders." (p. 139)

And, the most importance sentence in the book (for me): "If you need people, you can't lead people." Now that's a hard saying, but a very important insight. The following sentences puts in context. "There is an inability or lack of desire to make the tough calls, speak the truth, or do the hard things. Motivated by a fear of disappointing people, this inability will seriously hamper and work against your ability to lead." (p. 132)

These, however, are just a few of the gems found in this wise and helpful book. Most of the chapters also include helpful, practical advice about how to implement the principles being taught. For example, the chapter on priorities (building on the previous chapters) outlines an eight step process for determining how and where to spend your time, moving you through purpose, passion, goals, plans, priorities, schedule, execution, and evaluation. It's a fairly simple approach, but it's doable - as is all the other advice Kraft gives.

So, I highly recommend this book. Though it is a brief book and doesn't say everything that can or should be said about leadership, what it does say is said well and sticks. Kraft's Leaders Who Last has a quality similar to J. Oswald Sanders' classic Spiritual Leadership from a generation ago. If I could summarize what I appreciate most about this book into three brief things it would be these: (1) There is a strong emphasis on depth of personal devotion to Jesus, out of which flows everything else. (2) There is a strong emphasis on multiplying other leaders. (3) It is written by someone who has done it for over forty years. `Nough said.

Dave Kraft's book "Leaders who last" is one of the best books on leadership, I have read read. Having read Maxwell and others in this genre this book sets itself above the rest in the following ways: 1) Kraft is a leader at Mars Hill Church one of the fastest growing churches, 2) Kraft is actively engaged in pastoral ministry and training leaders, 3) Kraft writes from a biblical worldview, and finally Kraft explains concepts biblically but draws from his many years of experience. Leaders who last is an excellent book for Pastors, but also for every Christian. Every Christian should learn to be intentional in following Jesus in every area of life. While Kraft's aim is to instruct leaders and those in full time Christian ministry, I believe his book is helpful for every Christian, which is why I recommend every Christian leader. Part Three on Fruitfulness of "Leaders who last" was especially helpful as I do a lot of coaching of leaders and future leaders in my ministry. This section has lead me to pursue future training in the field of coaching. To wrap up this review, this book is one I will be recommending other Pastors, leaders, and future leaders in the Body of Christ to read, and is also why I gave it 5 stars!

C.H. Spurgeon writes, "Beware of no man more than yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us." Spurgeon poignantly alerts us to the danger of indwelling sin. The writer of Hebrews warns against that sin; the "sin that so easily entangles" (Heb. 12:1a). Tragically, many Christian leaders fail to heed the warning of Spurgeon and the book of Hebrews. Theological compromise leads to liberalism. Moral compromise leads to immorality. Few Christian leaders, as a result, finish strong.

Leaders Who Last by Dave Kraft serves Christian leaders well by turning their attention to the standards set forth in the Word of God. Kraft writes, "The greatest and most pressing need in the body of Christ today is an army of leaders who have a vision of a desired future and are called and anointed by God. These leaders possess a fire burning in their hearts that can't be extinguished. They are motivated and led by God to intentionally, passionately, and effectively influence others."

Kraft argues that leaders (and pastors in particular) have four key responsibilities, namely, shepherding, developing, equipping, and empowering. Three sections provide a helpful framework for developing the author's argument.

PART ONE: FOUNDATIONS

Kraft presents five areas that should characterize the life of every leader. The center hub represents the power of Christ. Four additional spokes make up the "leadership wheel" and include purpose, passion, priorities, and pacing.

"Leadership" writes Kraft, "begins and ends with a clear understanding of the gospel and being rooted in the grace of Jesus Christ as a free gift." I might build on the author's presupposition by adding that no amount of talent, speaking ability, giftedness, or charisma can replace a working knowledge of the biblical gospel. So many churches appear successful on the outside. Some Christian leaders and pastors (especially some young pastors) appear to have it all together on the outside. But when the gospel is compromised and the core truths of the Christian faith are neglected, tragic results are waiting around the corner! When a pastor begins to compromise the doctrine of hell, the exclusive claim of Christ, or the authority of God's Word he willingly embraces a "different gospel" (Gal. 1:6-8). The leadership foundation must be established for any kind of tenure in ministry. And Kraft does an excellent job developing the "leadership wheel."

PART TWO: FORMATION

In part two, the author narrows his focus. He discusses the leader's calling, gifts, character, and growth. Finishing well should be a high priority for every Christian leader. Kraft presents five helpful suggestions for achieving this important goal:

1. Maintain a vibrant relationship with Christ.

2. A posture of learning.

3. Identifiable goals and self-control.

4. Supportive personal relationships and family.

5. Clear vision, strong biblical convictions, perspective, and surrendering to the lordship of Christ.

PART THREE: FRUITFULNESS

Part three summarizes the leader's vision, influence, and legacy. The section on vision is especially helpful. Kraft writes, "A leader is a person who is dissatisfied with the way things are. He has a God-given burden, a vision, and a call to see something different. He wants to see something change, to build a new future. He then begins to communicate what he thinks and where he wants to go."

Kraft is calling for visionary leaders to step up to the plate; leaders who have a "destination in mind and possess the ability to take others along on the journey." He makes a strong case for visionary leadership. These leaders must:

1. Develop the vision.

2. Communicate the vision.

3. Implement the vision.

Leaders Who Last is a book that every pastor should read, absorb, and put into practice. Dave Kraft writes with the heart of a pastor and clearly communicates essential leadership skills that should be included in the makeup of every Christian leader. Every leader who intends on finishing strong needs to read Kraft's book. The principles are biblical and practical. No theory here. Highly recommended!

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Being in leadership I want to learn as much as I can from people who have been in leadership. I want to learn from their successes and failures. So when my pastor recommended Dave Kraft's book Leaders Who Last I ordered immediately.

In this book Kraft writes clearly and makes his points well. As to the content it wasn't until the last section of the book that I began disagree with him on leadership (more on that later).

The opening lines of the introduction set up the book wonderfully - "This book is about finishing your leadership race. It is a marathon, not a hundred-meter-dash." What follows is a how-to guide on finishing the leadership race that God has called leaders to run. Drawing from Scriptures and experience Kraft shows us what it means to be a leader.

Kraft's definition of a leader is as follows - "A Christian leader is a humble, God-dependent, team-playing servant of God who is called by God to shepherd, develop, equip, and empower a specific group of believers to accomplish an agreed-upon vision from God."

Kraft, drawing from thirty years' experience, gives details on how to fulfill that definition of a leader. He categorizes the responsibilities of a leader into three parts - foundations, formation and fruitfulness.

The section on foundations deals with a leader's personal growth and how he develops as a leader. He begins with this statement - "Because leading is a reflection of who you are, you lead from the inside out."

How true this is. Like every aspect of our Christian life we are changed and developed from the inside out. He takes it a step further by saying - "As a leader, everything I am and everything I do needs to be anchored in my identity in Christ."

After going into this in detail he devotes a chapter in the section on foundations to a leaders pacing. Too often leaders try to do everything and get overextended. Health problems will/can occur. Close relationships get strained. To guard against this he argues that leaders need to take regular time off to reenergize.

He moves onto the formation of a leader. He spends a good amount of time on being called which is paramount in being a good leader. We tend to put people in positions of leadership when they in no way have been called. That is a recipe for disaster.

He finishes with fruitfulness. This section is where I began to disagree with Kraft. Throughout the book Kraft mixes Scripture and personal experience fairly well. In this section he directs us to very little Scripture to make his points and instead relies heavily on experience. He places much of the success and failures a leader experiences on the leader himself. Yet we see in Scripture that leaders can and do fail because of no fault of their own (Noah and Jeremiah are prime examples of leaders doing God's work yet saw literally no fruit of their labors).

With that said I would recommend this book to any leader. He will challenge you evaluate your understanding of a leader and the role a leader plays in God's church.

Not another book on leadership! Yes and no. Yes, it is another book on leadership; but no, not just another book on leadership. This is an exceptional book on leadership, especially on pastoral leadership, and easily finds a place in my top three leadership books.

What stands out is Dave Kraft's experience. The book exudes the maturity of Kraft's 70 years of life, 50 years of following Christ, and 40 years of Christian leadership. It is a book written from the realistic trenches of long Christian service, and bears the unmistakable stamp of a humble Christian man who longs to leave a valuable legacy of leadership wisdom to the Church of Christ.

Kraft begins by identifying a major problem: only 30% of leaders last, or finish well. But instead of mistakenly concluding, "See, the church should not have leaders," Kraft's biblical premise is, "that you can learn how to be a good leader and finish your particular leadership race well."

The first section covers the leader's foundations. Kraft uses a memorable hub illustration to show how Jesus Christ is the foundation of the leader's power, purpose, passion, priorities, and pacing. In the chapter dealing with the leader's purpose, Kraft relates how, in the office of his daughter's high school counselor, he read a motto that was to change his life: "Some people come into our lives and quietly go. Others stay awhile, and leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same." That produced a prayer in Kraft's heart, "Lord, make me a person who leaves footprints in people's lives. I don't want to be a person who comes and goes with no lasting impact. Because of contact with me, may people never be the same again. May I be a person who intentionally and lastingly influences others." And that prayer birthed Kraft's purpose statement: "To leave footprints in the hearts of God-hungry leaders who multiply."

The second main section is the leader's formation. Here Kraft deals with calling, gifts, character, and growth. These chapters demonstrate Kraft's ability to combine the inspirational with the practical. Some books are inspiring, but you walk away thinking, "That's amazing....eh, what do I do now?" Other books are so full of step-by-step formulas that you slump defeated and powerless before you even take step one. Kraft is both inspirational and practical. He motivates and empowers, but also leads you through the steps required to turn aspiration into reality.

The third is the leader's fruitfulness, and this is where Kraft demonstrates the immeasurably huge potential of godly leadership to impact and influence the rising generations. So often leaders can get bogged down in day-to-day administration and crisis management, but Kraft calls us to look much further than the horizon of today, this week, or even this year. He challenges leaders to pour their lives into future leaders: exhort the eager beginner, empower the struggling learner, encourage the cautious contributor, entrust to the independent learner.

It's been a long time since I have read such a well-written and well-edited book. With hardly a wasted word, a lifetime of profound leadership wisdom has been packed into 150 pages. You can probably read it in a few hours, but you will read it again...and again. It has the potential to change the rest of your life. And, hopefully, through you many other lives will be changed too - both for time and eternity.

Leaders are a dime a dozen. People who get into ministry are too numerous to count. But how many of them last for the long haul.... very few. I have been in ministry 22 years and have seen most of my college and seminary ministry buddies drop out of ministry for various reasons (moral failure, burn-out, lost interest, emotional hurts, etc.) Some thought it was going to be easy. Others thought they could do it simply because they had some natural ability and talents. All is futile with out God and wisdom. Here is an author who speaks with conviction and from expereince. I appreciate him sharing his wisdom. We need more pastors who lean into God more and last longer by His grace. Thanks for writing this book.

If you are involved in any type of church leadership this book is a must own. As an Elder at my church, it is my hope that as Session we will read this book next, followed by our staff and Committee leaders. Like other reviews have said, it is a book I carry everywhere. Its a clear, concise, easy read, but challenging and full of wisdom. For more about this author read his blog [...]

A buddy of mine recommended this book to me a month or so ago. Upon picking it up the first time, I simply could not put it back down. I was captivated by his profound yet clear insights into being an effective leader. In essence, this book is full of common sense and simple wisdom. Like so many before him, Kraft reminds us that everyone is a leader to a certain degree. The question we must all consider is, "Am I a leader that others want to follow?" Too many times, we aren't. Sadly, we as broken people often punt what makes sense and what is right. Instead, we choose to fly by the seat of our pants independent of any advice from others. We want to do things they we we've always done them and expect different outcomes. As a result, we get frustrated and burn out. We try to do too much on our own and seldom do we ever stop and look at our leadership styles or methods and critic them as to their effectiveness. Kraft's model suggests a very lucid plan to get us on track as leaders.

Dave Kraft was my mentor many years ago. I am glad I came across this book. I presented copies to several pastors in my church, and it was well received. The only thing left for me is to get the church for Dave to do a seminar at our church. I am still working on that.
I highly recommend reading it.

This book is great for Leaders who are starting out. I say that because that is where I am at, as of right now. It has helped me put into perspective my life and my life goal. How to accomplish my calling. And how to be a Leader who last! I hope and pray that everyone who reads this will finish the race.