As a part of the leadership journey that I am on, we were asked to read Practicing Greatness by Reggie McNeal.  A few years ago i read the Present Future, which is also by McNeal (and I should probably read it again).  So I was familiar with his work and his style.  Practicing Greatness is a quick and easy read, but there is a lot to digest in it.

The basic plot is this, what are the practices or disciplines of great leaders.  And what does that look like in various contexts.  The use of anecdotal examples is very helpful, and I kept finding myself in both the negative and positive examples.  Reading this book challenged me to really look at what practices I need to develop in my life.  Of the 7 listed I think that Decision Making and belonging are my two weak points.  I make decisions but I know it takes me forever to feel comfortable with that.  And I am an independent person by nature but I need to develop relationships that I can truly belong to and with.  And I am working on that.

I was also challenged by the Chapter on the Discipline of Mission.  i know what the mission of every christian is, but I need to constantly drag my life back the mission that God has put on my heart, which is teach people about Jesus and his incredible grace.  That’s my mission, so whatever I do I need to be making sure that I am living up to my mission.

This is truly a must read for all spiritual leaders.