Spiritual formation is response to the ultimate reality, living by faith with our living Lord. I am encouraged that many seminaries have begun to offer courses in spiritual formation, encouraging students preparing for ministry to create space for the liberating power of the Holy Spirit in their innermost selves. It was during a time of discouragement in the early years of my first pastorate that his liberating power of the Holy Spirit Page 13 became real to me and changed the direction of my life and ministry. My cold heart became a burning heart, and I made the decision to be guided by that vision rather than my own ambition and need to be successful. I began to learn what it means to lead from the heart.
Life is difficult and complicated, and so is spiritual leadership.
What I have learned and am still learning is from the heart. I have learned that the way to the heart is the way to freedom, because it is the way to truth. This is the kind of leadership our world cries out for. My purpose in this book is to pass on to you what I have seen God do for those to whom he has given the purpose, passion and power to fulfill the most important mission on earth. Leaders, he says, need to listen, teach, encourage, inspire and target key groups for spiritual nourishment.