Acknowledgments
Through the efforts of many people, this book has finally become a reality. I first want to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to the members of the Disciples, a Sunday-morning Bible class of the Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena, California, for their supportive interest and practical response. After listening to me as their Bible teacher each week for three years and hearing about the book I was "one day" going to write, they put me on the line and said, "Now go and do it."
I want to thank the instigators of the project, Bob Oberlander and Bob Harris, for their help in enlisting the interest of the members of the class. I also want to express special thanks to Roland Hinz, who believed in me enough to invest his support and encouragement. Deep thanks also go to Dr. Cliff Penner, who gave generously of his wise counsel and experience.
I have learned much about spiritual growth and leadership from the young people in my various pastorates. To other special friends who for many years urged and encouraged me to write, my special thanks.
To my "covenant brothers," a group of pastors with whom I have been meeting regularly for twenty-five years, I owe a great debt of gratitude, as I have seen them model spiritual leadership at its best. And most of all, I want to thank the students at Fuller Theological Seminary for what I learned about the formation of spiritual leadership from them in the ten years I taught there.
Thanks, too, to those in administration at Fuller Theological Seminary, who in my retirement years provided me with office space and the freedom to minister to students both one-to-one and in small groups. This gave me the opportunity to encourage them as they were continuing their spiritual journey in a seminary setting.
This book would not have been possible without the creative efforts of Robert C. Larson, my co-author, with whom I have spent many hours sharing and sharpening my thinking. Bob spent months organizing and integrating volumes of material into what has become a readable and coherent whole. I also owe a debt of gratitude to my wife, Edie, who worked with Bob in line editing to give the manuscript the authenticity of my thinking.
I am grateful to Barbara Friend, who transcribed many long hours of taped material into a workable manuscript for editing. To so many dear friends I give my heartfelt thanks.
