BiblicalLeadership.com writer profile: David Bowman
1. Tell us a little about you personally (family, church, hobbies).
My bride and I have been married for 36 years. She is the Associate Superintendent for Business and Auxiliary Operations for a large school district. Our son is a major in the United States Marine Corps. He, his bride, and our granddaughter live in California.
Our daughter serves as an attorney specializing in Texas public school law. She is a former Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney. Her husband is an engineer. Our unofficially-adopted-but-just-as-much-loved daughter and her family live in the Houston area. She is an award-winning public school teacher. Her husband works for a NASA contractor. Their son, our grandson, is a high school student and all-world percussionist.
I have served as the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas for 10 years. Nearly 400 churches participate in Tarrant Association.
My favorite hobbies are reading, writing, and outdoor adventures. The mean doctor says I cannot run anymore. My bride and I have picked up golf after a quarter-century layoff.
2. Describe what kind of work you do, and what you've done in the past.
Our daughter worked for us for two weeks between college and law school. She said my job could be summed up in this way: Meet, eat, repeat. My job involves coaching, consulting, and training.
Three of our staff members are Professional Certified Coaches (PCC). We are each certified to facilitate consulting processes like Church Unique, God Dreams, and StratOp. We also provide Younique life plans. We facilitate leadership development training in Peru; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; in strategic areas across the United States; and soon in Wales, United Kingdom.
3. What was your first-ever leadership role?
I have been given leadership roles as far back as I can remember. My first pastoral experience was serving a small country church that was Baptist two Sundays a month and Methodist the other two Sundays.
That was followed by serving a similar church which was Baptist and Presbyterian. I served these churches while I was in college. I was also the pastor of a team that started a church during a college summer missions experience in rural Michigan.
4. How has God grown you as a leader over the years?
I was a 26-year-old pastor in my first full-time position. My wife, our baby boy, and I parked at the small country church where I served and walked across the parking lot for the evening worship service. I was a little overwhelmed with how much I did not know.
I made up my mind that if I ever figured out what I was doing, I would spend the rest of my life helping others figure out what they were doing. That's what I get to do every day now. I still do not know it all, but I learn something new every day. What I learn, I pass on to others.
5. What's the hardest leadership lesson you've ever learned?
There are some people who will use your integrity against you. A leader in one of our churches attacked me in a meeting one night. He lied and he knew it. He also knew I would not tell what I knew about him that would have ruined his reputation. Unfortunately, that was not the only time that happened.
6. What advice would you give to Christian leaders?
My strongest strength on the Strength Finder assessment is Learner. Naturally, I think every leader ought to learn something new every day. That may mean taking new territory of mind and habit. It may also mean going deeper in an area of vital interest or emerging expertise. Leaders are learners.
Every leader needs a personal growth plan. Do not learn so that you feel like the smartest person in the room. If you are the smartest person in the room, you may have heard, you are in the wrong room. Learn to make everyone else in the room feel like they are the smartest person in the room. This is best accomplished by asking powerful questions rather than making observations. Don't be a hero; be a hero maker.
7. Most meaningful Scripture:
My life verse for the first part of my life was Joshua 1:9. Less fear; more faith. For the rest of my life, it is John 3:30. Less of me; more of Jesus.
 | David Bowman, (DMin, PCC) is the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as a Multiplying Trainer for Future Church Co. Learn More » |
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