This book examines the lives, leadership, and legacies of two singular leaders of a common era, William Wilberforce and Thomas Jefferson. Both men were to courageously begin their political careers with a proposal to end slavery's horrors and both received a resounding "no" from their elder colleagues. The incredible comparative story of how similarly their lives began and were shaped is matched only by the striking divergence in sustaining their early commitments after defeat. How their leadership and character were shaped over the decades by mentors and colleagues provides important clues to these great differences in their perseverance. Most telling, in contrasting these two great leaders over a lifetime, it will be seen that it was their beliefs, their worldviews, that ultimately shaped their character and their capacity to act courageously resulting in legacies of a peaceful end to slavery in a transformed England and in six hundred thousand deaths in a divided America. It is in the "why" that these stories come alive for today.

Leadership does not arise from a concerted, directed effort, but through a leader's character that is enveloped by God's moral and virtuous character. Surface level reading of scripture might not reveal the deepest insight possible as to what is required for spiritual transformation. This book seeks to explain how virtue is developed, the tools God uses to develop virtue, cultural barriers that prevent spiritual formation, and what form of leadership is needed in the multi-cultural world global organizations must operate in. There is no greater time than now in our postmodern and turbulent time for a refined understanding of Christian leadership. Understanding how people are formed spiritually and grow in Christlike character is also important if better societies are to emerge.