This book is for Christian leaders, whether they are leaders in churches, businesses, non-profit organizations, the military, government agencies, schools, or hospitals. Beginning with the importance of faith, the commandment to love, and the call to serve, the book describes the service model of leadership, key practices of servant-leaders, and organizational structures that are based on the teachings of Jesus and the guidance of Scripture. It addresses practical leadership issues such as motivation, leading change, and how to be effective as a leader who is in the world, not of the world. The book is unusual in that it combines the wisdom of the Scriptures with empirical research and experience that supports Biblical teachings. The book includes a Study Guide for individual reflection or group discussion, plus a list of Biblical references, bibliography, and notes.
Missing the Last Train is a short story about a man who has lost his focus on the most meaningful things in life. Working too late on Christmas Eve, he misses the last train home and is stuck overnight at the train station with his bag of presents for his children. The station attendant invites him into his small office, and shares “The Four Rules” for finding meaning in life. When the man boards the first train the next morning, he knows that “The Four Rules” are the Christmas present he needed most.
This is a new edition of the original 1968 classic, The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council, for which Kent Keith wrote the Paradoxical Commandments. Keith was 19, a sophomore at Harvard, when he wrote the book as a leadership manual for high school student leaders. In The Silent Revolution, Keith encourages high school student leaders to work together, through the system, to achieve positive, lasting change. He believes that student councils can, and should, make a difference. He explains the need to love people, and do what is meaningful and satisfying, whether you get the credit or not. He uses hypothetical stories to describe practical leadership skills and dilemmas, argues that the “good guys” can win, and urges students to take action now. “Don’t vegetate,” he says. “Initiate.”
M. Keith was 20, a junior at Harvard, when he wrote this book as a companion to his first book, The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council. Keith wrote The Silent Majority for high school student leaders who want to give the student council its noblest meaning and purpose: people helping people. Keith argues that no one is completely apathetic–everyone is interested in something. It’s up to student leaders to find out what their fellow students are interested in, and then link up with those interests. In the process, student leaders will learn more about themselves, and discover the richness of life that is available to those who become “people people.”
