Perry Noble - The Most Excellent Way to Lead

A LL MY LIFE, ITS BEEN MY GOAL TO ADD VALUE TO PEOPLE. For almost forty years, the primary way Ive done that is by communicating about leadership. It is my passion because I believe that everything rises and falls on leadership.

When you help a person become a better leader, you help all the people that leader impacts. There are few things more rewarding than seeing leaders changed by being challenged, inspired, and equipped to grow, and then seeing them make a positive impact in their companies, churches, families, and communities.

Two decades ago, I taught leadership primarily in church environments. At that time, one of my personal goals was to help one thousand pastors to grow their churches beyond one thousand people in weekly attendance.

In 1999, after teaching a conference targeted at helping pastors to reach this milestone, I received a letter from a young man who informed me that he was planting a church, and he wanted me to know that he desired to be one of the pastors who would one day reach a thousand. He told me that hed listened to my leadership lessons on tape, read my books, and felt as if my teaching had set him up to be successful. That young pastors name was Perry Noble.

In the fall of 2002, I received another letter from Perry. He wanted me to know that his church had broken the one-thousand barrier in attendance, and he graciously thanked me for being influential in his life.

What a rewarding moment that was. Having the opportunity to add value and help a leader in some small way is the reason I write books, host conferences, and speak at events.

Imagine my surprise when less than a year later I received another letter from Perry. This time he let me know that his church had reached two thousand. And he again expressed gratitude for all the leadership resources my company and I had created, which were helping him to grow.

Five months after that, I received another letter. His church attendance had reached three thousand people.

At this point I asked my assistant, Linda, to write this young man to let him know I had read the letters, was proud of him, and would love to have lunch with him sometime. He must have called Linda the same day, because it wasnt long before I saw a lunch appointment with him on my calendar.

When I arrived for lunch, Perry was waiting for me, pen and notebook in hand. Oftentimes when I meet with young leaders, they talk a lot about themselves and try to impress me with their knowledge and achievements. That wasnt the case with Perry. Instead, he impressed me with his questions. For two and a half hours, he picked my brain.

That day, I mostly tried to give him the benefit of my experience and the lessons Id learned from my mistakes. But I also gave him a couple of assignments and told him I would be happy to have lunch with him again sometime.

A month later, Perry e-mailed Linda with a description of what I had asked him to do, what he had done, and the results he had seen. And there was a request for another lunch.

I have no idea how many times Ive met with Perry over the last decade, but every time I do, Im rewarded by hearing about his follow-through and seeing the growth of his church. (He still writes me to say thank you every time he reaches another one thousand people. And he recently texted me to say that sixty thousand people attended his church one weekend!)

But whats most remarkable is that as Perry and his church have grown, his hunger to learn has actually increased. And so has his desire to help people and add value to them.

Perry has been an exceptional student and practitioner of leadership. And thats why Im delighted to present this book to you. Everything I know about leadership Ive learned from the Bible. The same is true for Perry, so everything he teaches in this book is rock solid and highly practical. Perrys reading of 1 Corinthians 13 and his application of it to leadership is insightful, encouraging, and heartfelt. It will help you become a better leader. And that will help you fulfill Gods calling on your life, because everything rises and falls on leadership.

So turn the page. Youre going to enjoy this journey.

John C. Maxwell