Many of us have spent our ministry careers steeped in conversations, books, conferences, and videos about leadership. Our very roles are defined in terms of leadership, and most congregations expect pastors to serve as leaders. Congregants witness their pastors’ leadership in the acts of preaching, teaching, pastoral care, and vision casting. Pastors who are not perceived as leading will likely be run over by internal forces in the church or will be let go altogether.

Leading is not for the faint of heart; neither is it for those lacking in conviction, vision, passion, and courage. Leadership is a high-stakes venture which can yield anything from total loss to high reward. In some cases, the loss and reward is without rhyme or reason. One leader does something, and there is fruitfulness and growth. Another leader does the very same thing, and there is loss, pain, and hurt.

Although the past several decades have produced more leadership materials and resources than most any leader could possibly consume in a lifetime, there is still a nagging and restless sense that we haven’t truly come to the heart of the matter when it comes to leadership. We have leadership laws and leadership principles, yet even these seem to come short of producing the kinds of leaders that many of us desire to be or that others expect us to be.

Several years ago, several BGAV field strategists had the opportunity to gather in Fredericksburg to share lunch with Craig and April Harwood. The purpose of the gathering was to discern if Craig would be a potential match to serve as a leadership consultant for BGAV. The meeting took more of the form of a conversation of discernment rather than a formal interview.

Craig’s resume was certainly impressive. Over the course of his distinguished career, he had served in various roles including pastor, coach, consultant, and founder of his own consulting business. He spent a large part of his career in high-level management positions at Texaco, and he also served as the VP of Human Resources for Coca-Cola. His vocation had taken him all over the world. He had been to places and experienced cultures that most of us do not have the opportunity to experience. There was no doubt that Craig’s willingness to serve as a leadership consultant with BGAV was a gift from God.

Yet, there was this one issue that remained unresolved—a question that would not go away. Asking it could easily result in a sudden ending of lunch and the termination of a newly formed relationship: Could a person with stellar leadership experience and skills in the corporate and business world possibly understand leadership in the context of a local church? There were doubts and concerns about drafting leadership models of the business world right into a local church.

When the moment presented itself, the leadership question was posed. What would a cruciform type of leadership look like in a church? The conversation that ensued was nothing short of divine bliss and relief. Craig was all over the notion of leadership shaped by the cross. It did not startle him or turn his world upside down; he was already there.

Over the past several years, Craig has been sharing stories, insights, and lessons based on his personal experience of living a life shaped by the cross with our BGAV family. Beginning January 15 and going through March 26, Craig will be sharing with all of us in six sessions of Leader Labs: Discovering the Carpenter in Each of Us.

The Leader Labs are rooted in a deep sense that leadership among the followers of Jesus is different than leadership in any other realm. The models of leadership celebrated in the business and corporate world and often peddled in Christian conferences typically fail to explore cruciform leadership—the only kind of leadership Jesus lived out.

Registration is now open.

Join us in exploring together how cruciform leadership can shape our lives and ministries.

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Brian Williams is BGAV’s field strategist for the Tidewater region.

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