Leadership Interview :: Tim Cooley, Sr.

From time to time I have been interviewing leaders on my blog who have influenced my life. You can access the previous interviews HERE. This interview is with Tim Cooley. He is the academic dean of Penn View Bible Institute, a pastor, and is currently working on his doctorate in education.

What gives you the greatest joy as a leader?
Seeing younger leaders develop their skills and their character and go beyond what I could ever have done. The “no greater joy” of III John 1:4 is followed by the joy of working together with a group of people to see something accomplished in such a way that the people say, “We did it ourselves.”

What is your greatest frustration as a leader?
My own slowness to grow. After that could come a reflection on the slowness of people to follow, but that causes me to ask what I could have done to make following more compelling.

Who made the biggest influence in your life as a leader?
Of course, Jesus, without a close runner-up. But behind Him, my own father, Rev. LaDette W. Cooley; Rev. Paul F. Miller; Rev. Leonard Sankey; and a whole range of authors.

What books have changed your life?
Unquestionably the Bible, without a close runner-up. If I know my heart, I seek as did John Wesley to be “a man of one Book.” But beyond the Book of all Books, the following come to mind, yet they are only a sampling.

Richard S. Taylor, The Disciplined Life
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible
Unknown Christian, The Kneeling Christian
Mark Guy Pearse, The Christianity of Jesus Christ
Ralph Winter and Steven Hawthorne, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement
Kenneth Gangel, Building Leaders for Church Education
Philip Yancey, Disappointment with God
James Dobson, Straight Talk to Men and their Wives
Garry Friesen, Decision Making and the Will of God
George Marsden, Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief
H. C. Conant, The Earnest Man: Adoniram Judson

The times when I read them extend across many years.

What is your biggest challenge as a leader?
To “lead myself”

What goals do you have as a leader?
A.   To Be a Man after God’s own Heart
B.   To Lead My Wife and Family to Love the Same Savior I Love
C.   To Reflect the Love of God in Such a Way as to Influence Others around Me to Want to Know Him
D.   To Powerfully Communicate the Message of the Gospel as a Preacher/Teacher
E.   To Achieve Excellence in Fulfilling the Responsibilities of my Job

What is the Holiness movement’s greatest need?
Young men and women, totally committed to Jesus Christ, dynamically filled with the Holy Spirit, grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and passionately serving the church and the world.

How important is self leadership?
If I cannot lead myself, I cannot lead anyone else. I can only offer to God (Rom.12:1) what I have brought under disciplined focus to His purpose. Paul’s “this one thing I do” (Phil.3:13) required an intentional focusing of all his powers. Self leadership requires an ultimate purpose that governs my daily choices. The devil is in the details; the big failures usually grow out of many small compromises. Self leadership, then, means establishing an excellent big purpose then faithfully implementing that purpose through thousands of tiny decisions.

What do you do to improve your self leadership?
Pray, read, practice, and try again. Learn from my mistakes (and those of others). Listen to people around me. And keep trying.