Pastor Gerald Brooks has written another timely leadership book that deals with the real issues we face, and offers the only solution that has been proven time and again to really work…love. This isn’t a book with generic principles reworded, or a list of 10 ways to be a better leader. It’s not a book based on opinion or someone else’s strategy; it’s a book based solely on God’s Word, and His ultimate design for life in leadership.

Brooks correctly identifies a problem church leaders are currently facing, and that is that the people we lead are often living out a cultural definition of love rather than a biblical one. He breaks down 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, in a powerful way that redefines love the way God intended it, and proposes that leaders must have love as their primary motivation. Love motivated leadership is transformational, and to demonstrate this reality Brooks includes testimonies from other great leaders at the end of each chapter, leaders who have seen personal and organizational transformation take place when they committed to leading with love as their primary motivation. He also gives response questions for the reader to consider as they process personally the content from each chapter. These interactive elements create a dynamic reading experience not found in many leadership books.

Examining 1 Corinthians 13 through the lens of leadership, it becomes clear how we as leaders often miss the mark both individually and corporately. When things other than love drive our motives and passions, the churches we lead become imbalanced and unhealthy. Brooks goes through the four passions Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 13, prayer, spiritual gifts, faith, and activism. When any one of these becomes the focus, we’re in danger of creating division. He then outlines the fifteen characteristics of love by breaking them down into four categories, the atmosphere, attitude, activity, and application of love. The chapter on true spiritual maturity forced me to ask of myself, and of the people I lead, how mature are we really? And is love just an ideal in our lives or are we living it out as a practical reality?

Pastor Brooks doesn’t pull any punches, and in this powerful book he confronts the difficulties of leadership, the dark side of our motivations, and the solution that transforms the way we lead. I discovered again the principle that has proven true time and again in my leadership, that the remedy to many of the problems I face as leader, is to love well. This simple yet profound concept is what 1 Corinthians is all about, and what Brooks so masterfully unpacks for leaders. You’ve probably read 1 Corinthians 13 many times before, and I’m sure you’ve read plenty of leadership books, but I doubt you’ve read a book that puts the two together in this way. It will refresh you, challenge you, and encourage you to continue becoming the loving leader God created you to be.

See more about Leadership According to 1 Corinthians 13 by Gerald Brooks at growingothers.com.

Tags: 1 Corinthians, book, Gerald Brooks, Leadership, review