One of the most important aspects of developing leaders cannot be programmed: How do you develop leaders spiritually? How do you help people grow in their awe of God and love for people?

Oswald Chambers once explained that the way we grow in holiness is to be around people more holy than ourselves. We hear their stray comments and absorb their judgment of what's important. We listen to their prayers and find that God is bigger than we'd thought.

That's the reason few seminars help with developing spiritual leaders: the process can be aided but not rushed. It requires holy people, and time. No one has yet found a shortcut to the process: (a) live a godly life and (b) let potential leaders rub shoulders with you.

I believe most pastors do this instinctively and well. But maybe they don't give themselves enough credit for it, for the process often seems haphazard. Developing a leader spiritually may happen in a brief, unplanned hallway conversation. A prayer over the phone. ...