One of the purposes of this blog is to highlight great leaders. A couple years ago I met a great leader in Don Christian, who was and still is the Dean of the School of Business at Concordia University in Austin, Texas. Don introduced me to Concordia, a university that I had heard of, but didn’t know much about.

I have learned a lot more about Concordia over they past two years and I can tell you that the university is a hidden gem in Austin, in Texas, and in the country. But I promise, this hidden gem won’t be hidden much longer. Concordia is re-inventing the university experience in my opinion. I now serve on an advisory board of emerging leaders who advise the university on how to best serve the students, staff, faculty, and the community. I have never seen a university that values the opinions and advice of others as much as Concordia does. They are open to any idea, as long as it fits with their mission.

Their mission is what drew me to them and what I think separates them from almost every university. Their mission is to develop Christian Leaders. Is there a better mission than that? Isn’t that what we all are called to do? A truly effective leader develops other leaders. That’s what Concordia is doing. They are developing Christian Leaders that we can trust. Christian Leaders that will serve the community with integrity. But really what is a Christian Leader?

I think some people fail to understand Christian Leadership. The cornerstones of Christian Leadership are simple.

• Service – We are all called to serve. That is what leadership is!
• Humility – A Christian Leader is humble. They serve, but don’t boast about it.
• Gratitude – We should all be thankful for the gifts we have been given, and we should show our gratitude daily!
• Stewardship – We must use the gifts we have been given to serve God and our community.
• Accountability – Without this the other cornerstones do not exist. This leads to personal responsibility.