Pastoral Leadership: preparing others for glory

In his profoundly insightful book on leadership, 'Leading with a Limp', Dan Allender states that one of the core  purposes of pastoral leadership and ministry is (naturally) to help others to grow in Christlikeness;  but such heart transformation occurs when and to the the degree that we are "captured by gratitude and awe".  That is, Christlike character formation occurs as we respond in 'spirit-and-truth' worship and Christ-glorifying obedience to the wonder of and beauty of God’s glory and grace as revealed to hearts and minds by the Spirit through his Word.
Of gratitude – our response to grace, he writes:  “growth in character occurs to the degree that we accept being forgiven as a greater gift than life itself.  If the greatest gift is not what I see but how I am seen by the living God, then my gratitude knows no limits.  It can grow immeasurably as I suffer through the loss of illusions, the death of dreams and the shatterings of success.  Suffering grafts our heart to grace.” 
And awe – our response to glory:  “awe is the capacity to bow in the presence of something or someone more glorious than ourselves.” (p. 147)  He continues, and this is so Lewis-like:  “Each syllable of awe is meant to prepare us for the day we will stand face to face with utter glory, the very presence of God.  To ride in front of a roller coaster or to [listen to] a violin virtuoso perform a miracle on strings is a form of purgatory:  it purges us of mediocrity and arouses us to desire something beyond ourselves.”  

As leaders encourage others to grow in character by deepening this sense of gratitude and awe, ‘leadership’ will thus involve “being committed to all in life that leads to gratitude and awe rather than to things that birth prescription and control.” (149)