Saint Peter’s Principles: Leadership for Those Who Already Know Their Incompetence
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
All thoughtful leaders can admit experiences of ongoing incompetence—dilemmas, decisions, and even debacles that make them question how they became leaders in the first place.
When we look at St. Peter, however, we see a great leader who engaged with his weaknesses and knew his shortcomings. By following his example, we become better leaders in any arena.
Seminary president Peter Lillback’s profound treatment of more than 100 principles drawn from St. Peter helps you to think through your
- management style
- communication
- decision-making
- and more
Practical spiritual exercises put the lessons of each short chapter into action—bringing joy to our hearts, guidance to our lives, and help to our service.
- Provides an overview of issues pertaining to the nature of pastoral ministry
- Focuses on the life of Peter
- Includes practical spiritual exercises to put the lessons into action
- Welcome to St. Peter’s Principles
- Formation of a Leader
- The Leader Looks at Himself
- The Art of Godly Leadership
- The Leader’s Relationships
- The Leader’s Colleagues
- The Leader’s Productivity
- The Leader’s Management of People
- The Leader’s Communications
- The Leader’s Purpose, Planning, and Creativity
- The Leader’s Decision-Making
- The Leader’s Role in Development
- When the Leader Faces Conflicts and Firings
- The Leader and Integrity
- The Leader in Culture
- When the Leader Passes the Torch
- Conclusion
An astonishing book... that every Christian leader should read.
—Richard L. Pratt Jr., President, Third Millennium Ministries
I have never read a book on leadership quite like this one. It manages to play off both Laurence Peter’s famous book, The Peter Principle, and the apostle Peter, with large doses of the doctrine of providence thrown in. It does not elevate a half-dozen leadership ideals and promise triumphalistic success, but begins with our incompetence and provides no fewer than 128 insights—no reductionistic formulas here! Yet precisely because of these anomalies, Peter Lillback’s book is a treasure-house of wisdom to be digested slowly.
—D. A. Carson, Emeritus Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
This is a rich, wonderfully instructive and helpful compendium of wisdom on all aspects of leadership. There is nothing merely theoretical. The principles are applied with the insight and humility of one who embodies the lessons he teaches. The format provides easy access to the material, and the reminder that even our trials due to our incompetence can bring glory to God should encourage us to be ourselves and forget ourselves.
—Alistair Begg, Senior Pastor, Parkside Church, Bainbridge, Ohio
“This is a remarkable book, filled with practical, biblical wisdom. It consists of 128 short lessons in leadership, each supported from the life and teachings of the apostle Peter and illustrated with fascinating anecdotes of both successes and failures experienced by Dr. Lillback in a lifetime of leadership, first as a pastor and then as president of one of the world’s most influential seminaries. Every chapter concludes with a set of challenging questions in the form of ‘Spiritual Exercises’ that will help any reader grow in personal character formation, faith in God, and diligence in prayer. Highly recommended.
—Wayne Grudem, Distinguished Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary
- Title: Saint Peter’s Principles: Leadership for Those Who Already Know Their Incompetence
- Author: Peter A. Lillback
- Publisher: P&R
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2020
- Pages: 595
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Leadership › Religious aspects--Christianity; Peter, the Apostle, Saint
- ISBNs: 9781596381933, 9781629956398, 9781629956404, 1596381930, 1629956392, 1629956406
- Resource ID: LLS:STPETERSPRNCPLS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:12:08Z
Rev. Dr. Peter Lillback (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary) is president and professor of historical theology and church history at Westminster Theological Seminary. He also serves as the president emeritus and founder of The Providence Forum and senior editor of the new Unio cum Christo: An International Journal of Reformed Theology and Life.
Dr. Lillback’s academic interests include church history, the doctrine of Scripture, public theology, the theology of John Calvin, Johannine Theology, and Christianity as it relates to American history. For those who are new to Dr. Lillback’s writing and teaching on his research interests, he recommends several resources as places to start. On Calvin, he would recommend starting with his work co-edited with David Hall, A Theological Guide to Calvin’s Institutes: Essays and Analysis, as well as his lecture “The Place of Covenant in Calvin’s Theology.” Also consider his course Covenant Theology, available free online from Westminster, which specifically focuses on Calvin’s contribution to the development of covenant theology during the Reformation.