The Leadership Institute was founded in 1989 in response to the desperate need for a new generation of Christian leaders with deeper spirituality, integrity and compassion. Without the development of such leaders the church will be unable to impact future generations with the gospel.
The Institute has developed a new paradigm of leadership development based in spiritual formation. It has been effectively implemented with hundreds of seminarians and Christian leaders who have completed training spanning ten weeks to two years.
The Institute is inter-denominational and national in scope, working in partnership with denominations, churches, parachurch organizations and seminaries, including Fuller Theological Seminary and Talbot School of Theology.
The Leadership Institute’s logo is the culmination of a process of discerning fresh images of God’s calling for us now and in our future. Paul Jensen’s wife, Cheris, suggested the restful and organic colors that capture some of the spirit of our organization.
The Symbolism
The Global Image’s overall circular shape indicates the Institute’s growing global influence and God’s love for the world.
A Dark Cross enfolds the world in love. It symbolizes Jesus’s redemptive suffering, pain, and death and that of His followers. God redeems their suffering using it to form them in Christ’s image and to influence others. “If we suffer it is for your help and salvation” (2 Cor. 1:6).
A spiritual discipline or practice creates Open Space and unhurried time to listen to the voice of the one who calls us the beloved. Contemplation of the cross and of our crucified and risen Lord is represented by the open space closest to the cross. Such practices conform us to the image of Christ.
Concentric Circles or Waves of Influence emanate from spiritual practices of intimacy with Christ allowing God to redeem our suffering, This influence or leadership is spillage from the overflow of God’s work in us. The space between the concentric circles represents contemplative ministry practices. Contemplation releases enormous energy into the world. The three circles also represent abiding, loving one another, and bearing witness – the three relational commitments to which Jesus calls all his followers that their joy and fruitfulness might be full (John 15).
One outgrowth of this kind of influence are organic communities of grace represented by the Green Spheres. The side of the spheres facing the cross receive light.
