Jeff Iorg - The Character of Leadership: Nine Qualities that Define Great Leaders

Jeff Iorg has made an enormous contribution to the critical area of ministry and leadership. It isn't what a minister does so much as what he is that makes him effective. This is a must-read for every minister who strives for excellence in ministry. I recommend it without reservation.

James T. Draper Jr.
President Emeritus
LifeWay Christian Resources

As I was reading Dr. Iorg's book, I kept thinking, This man has walked in my shoes! His counsel is biblical. His applications are practical. Every seminarian, pastor, and church or Christian organization staff member should make it a must-read. It has been said that reputation is precious, but character is priceless. This good book, written with the honesty and transparency of the author, underscores that reality.

Jim Henry
Pastor Emeritus
First Baptist Church Orlando

In his book, The Character of Leadership, Jeff Iorg defines lasting leadership as character, not capacity or competency. The making of a great leader is built on what God intends you to be rather than doing the leading God intends for you to do. His purpose is first and foremost to shape you into the image of Jesus, the greatest leader of all time. You can be the leader God called you to be!

Rick Warren
Pastor, Saddleback Church
Author, Purpose-Driven Life

Jeff Iorg is eminently qualified to write this volume on leadership because he possesses and has consistently demonstrated the qualities of leadership described in this book. These qualities have graced his life as a pastor, church planter, state convention executive, and now as president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. This book should be required reading for every minister of the gospel. The chapter on integrity and the no-nonsense chapter on purity are very much needed in our times and worth the price of the book and the investment of your time to read it. Even the seasoned leader will be enriched by the wisdom of the author.

J. Robert White
Executive Director
Georgia Baptist Convention

The Quest for Character

I N MY TWENTIES, I was determined to change the world. In my thirties, I tried to reform the church. In my early forties, I discovered I was the problem.

That was a difficult day.

Like most young leaders, my early ministry was marked by a passion to change something. My decision to change the world obviously didn't work. Then I decided the church was the problem. So I started a new one. While it grew into a strong healthy church, something still was not right. No matter how hard I tried to restructure the people and circumstances around me, I still was deeply frustrated.

Through a painful series of circumstances, some of which you will read about in this book, God brought me face to face with this hard realitymy problem was me! So, for the past decade my focus has been on becoming the leader God intends me to be rather than doing the leading God intends me to do.

Don't misunderstandI am very busy doing! I am committed to energetically applying myself to the work God assigns me. People who evaluate me give me high marks for industry, dependability, and attention to duty. Finding enough to do is not and never has been my problem.

If you read anything in this book that leads you to shirk your responsibilities, delve into some ethereal justification for ineffectiveness, or drift toward laziness in ministry, then you are misreading me. God wants you to work hard and to study how to improve your skills so you work more effectively. Other books, other very important books, will help you do that. Most schools, seminaries, and seminars focus on these skills. Many of them are helpful. But this book is not about how to do leadership. It is about how to be a leader.

The reality is too many young leaders start out like me. They believe if they learn enough facts and accomplish enough tasks, they will not only satisfy God, their followers, and their peersthey will also find deep fulfillment. I no longer believe that. Now I know that deep fulfillment comes from knowing God intimately, understanding his purpose to shape me into the image of Jesus Christ, and discerning how he is using his Word and my circumstances to shape me toward that purpose.

God has an ultimate purpose for you. Simply put, he wants to shape your character to make you like Jesus Christ. Romans 8:2829 summarizes this purpose: We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.

These verses are packed with meaning! While volumes have been written about them, let's summarize the key points as they relate to character development.

God has a definite purpose. That is clear in these verses. We are called according to His purpose; therefore, God must have one. God is doing something specific in each one of us.

God's purpose is to conform us to the image of Jesus. This is also very clear. We are to be conformed to the image of His Son. God is busy remaking his children, including all of us leaders. He is busy making us more and more like Jesus.

God is intentional about his purpose. Romans uses strong theological languagethose He foreknew He also predestined. God knows and determines, in ways we can never understand, that we will be conformed to the image of Jesus. God is relentless in this endeavor. He wills itand what God wills, he accomplishes. Long ago, God reminded Isaiah, I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please (Isa. 46:9b-10 NIV). We need that same reminder. God is intentional and purposeful in conforming us to the image of Jesus.

God's ultimate purpose gives meaning to our circumstances. Usually, the all things in these verses is applied when bad things happen. Comfort is drawn from these verses during crisis, bereavement, or tragedy. That certainly is appropriate. But the phrase all things means that all circumstances of life, bad and good, transpire and conspire to change us. God is at work through all our circumstances to shape us into the image of Jesus. Accepting and affirming that one great spiritual reality causes our circumstances, no matter how puzzling, to make sense in the context of Christian character development.

God's purpose is good. God allows circumstances that have good results in our lives. Not every circumstance is goodthe death of a child, a tragic illness, a national calamity, or other horrific events cannot be called good. God does not call them good. Only fake piety or some form of spiritual denial leads to calling these events good. But God promises good can come from every circumstance as its meaning is related to his ultimate purpose. God can bring a good result, inner conformation to Jesus, from whatever he allows us to experience.