The Best Leaders Know How to Follow

We often have a lot of different paradigms for leadership, many of which are good and helpful. But first and foremost — according to pastor Tom Nelson — leadership is followership. It may seem paradoxical, but it's a consistent thread in Scripture: Those who lead well, follow well. In this episode of The Flourishing Pastor podcast, Nelson unpacks this dynamic and explains what it looks like for him — and what it can look like for you. As the conversation unfolds, Nelson explains why he sees Psalm 23 as a paradigmatic leadership text.

Further topics include the importance of self care and friendship for long-term, healthy, and effective leadership.

More about The Flourishing Pastor podcast:
Flourishing for individuals and churches alike is about far more than leadership tips or strategic plans. Instead, when we read in the Scriptures that King David shepherded the people of Israel with integrity of heart and with skillful hands, part of what we’re reading is a dynamic, multilayered framework in which both leaders and those they lead can get beyond just surviving. Over the course of 10 conversations, pastor Nelson looks into what he has called “the lost art of Shepherd Leadership,” and how recovering it can help leaders and the work they lead flourish.

Tom Nelson is the senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Kansas City, Kansas, and he's the president of Made to Flourish, a national nonprofit that works with churches and their leaders in the area of faith and work. You can learn more about Tom's work at www.madetoflourish.org, and you can find his new book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership — which is the springboard for this podcast — wherever you buy books. 

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Christians often report that their churches don’t prepare them for the pressures, opportunities, or challenges of their daily work. At Made to Flourish, we call this the Sunday to Monday gap, an unhealthy divide that can blur our understanding of God’s work in the world — work we’re meant to join. To help close that gap, we want to mail you a collection of practical, theological books — completely free of charge. In this free box, you’ll also get the latest issue of the award-winning Common Good magazine, and for a limited time, Tom Nelson’s book, The Flourishing Pastor: Recovering the Lost Art of Shepherd Leadership. So whether you’re a pastor or layperson, claim your free books at madetoflourish.org/box.