A New Book to Read: Leading from the Lion’s Den

I recently received a review copy of a book by Tom R. Harper, Leading from the Lion’s Den. Harper is an evangelical leader and businessman. (Full disclosure: I blog for his site, Church Central.) He writes a brief leadership reflection based on each book of the Bible, using his own business experience as well as other examples from church and business. He’s not a scholar, and you can’t go deep in three pages on each biblical book. But I found it a stimulating read — and the chapter titles alone will make you think: “Rebuild Your Dreams on Their Own Ruins” (Exodus) “Lead through Stories” (Deuteronomy) “Admit Helplessness” (Job) and “Motivate Your People Less” (Hosea). The audience seems to be as much business leaders as church leaders. Still, I do think church leaders can learn from the business world about accountability, decent personnel practices, and the toughness required for leadership. Harper is candid about his own challenges in his work over the years. Definitely worth a look (and I’ll be sharing a chapter from the book soon).