Being a Leader:
Who is a Leader? Or what is Leadership?
“Leadership is the act of influencing or serving others out of Christ’s interests in our lives so we accomplish God’s purposes for and through them,” Christian leadership is not rooted in worldly notions of success, such as the love of money or power. Jesus Himself spoke against this when expressing the importance of serving others in Matthew 20:25-28.
Leaders are not to oppress and overpower others with their authority as the Gentiles practiced. Instead, leaders serve others, which Jesus demonstrated when He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8)
.
There are 7 Christian Leadership Principles:
Love (1 John 4:8, Romans 5:5)
Modesty (Proverbs 16:18-19)
Self-development (John 18:4)
Motivation (Nehemiah 2:17)
Correction (Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:13-14, 2 Timothy 2:23-26)
Integrity (Proverbs 16:13)
Follower of God’s Will (Proverbs 16:1, 3, 9)
Isaiah 11:1-9 says in the coming messianic kingdom, not only humans, but all God’s creatures will live together in peace and harmony. This is just one of many texts in Isaiah that contain what we might now call an “environmental impact statement.” Judgment and promise, sin and grace are not only for humans but their consequences, good and bad, are felt by the entire creation.
What is the Quality of a Leader?
Apostle Paul says about the quality of a Leader (1 Tim, 3:1-7) “If someone aspires to be a church leader, he desires an honorable position.” So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.
In 1 Timothy 2:14-26, we see how Apostle Paul repeatedly warns Timothy to avoid “wrangling over words” “profane chatter” and “stupid and senseless controversies” (2 Tim, 2:23). This is a good reminder for Christian workers that not all talk at the water cooler is profitable, even if it is not downright evil. Are the conversations we engage in and the ways we speak helpfully to those around us? Do our words serve as ambassadors of reconciliation and redemption? Unhelpful conversations can spread like gangrene lead to ruin and impiety and breed quarrels. One thinks of similar warnings in James (James, 3:2 to 12) about the destructive potential of words. The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness” (2 Tim, 2:24 to 25).
Indeed, much of the portrait Paul sketches of Timothy in this letter could be held up as something for Christian workers to strive toward. Paul, writing a letter to Timothy, becomes a support network for him. We might ask what kinds of support networks today’s organizations would do well to provide for workers.
We also see how Apostle Paul writes a letter (Titus 1:5-9) to appoint elders (Who Love What Is Good) in every town, and he must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, and who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Jesus says Leaders are servants; one of the most powerful images in the life of Jesus is when he washes his disciples’ feet in John 13. When he is finished, he says to them, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” Jesus, of course, isn’t talking about feet. He’s talking about servant-leadership. Great leaders focus on serving those who follow them. Great leaders wash their people’s feet.
We can see some of the most inspiring characters in the bible
1. Noah: Leaders do what’s right even if they are alone
In Genesis 6, God is despairing over the wickedness that has overtaken humanity. Reluctantly, he decides to wipe out the human race and start from scratch. Noah, however, is the only one who has not been corrupted. You know the story. God tells him to build an ark that will save him, his family, and a whole host of animal life. As he is boarding the ark, God says to him, “For you alone, I have seen to be righteous before me in this time.” Literally, the whole world was doing what was wrong. But did that deter Noah from doing what was right? Not a chance!
2. Abraham: Leaders embrace the unknown
God approaches Abraham in Genesis 12 and tells him to “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.” In other words, Abraham is instructed to leave his comfort zone and march onward into uncertainty. As business leaders, that’s a hot topic: managing risk and uncertainty. Great leaders embrace that uncertainty because they know the truth: the Promised Land awaits them on the other side.
3. Joseph: Leaders endure in spite of circumstances
The story of Joseph beginning in Genesis 37 is powerful. The guy had a pretty tough life. He was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. His father was told that he was killed by a wild animal. He was framed by his boss’s wife because he refused to sleep with her and was thrown into prison. He interpreted the dream of a prisoner who was released and restored to his position, but the guy forgot about him. In the end, though, Joseph became the leader of all Egypt–second only to the Pharaoh himself. When there is a famine, he is then able to save his family from starvation. He tells his brothers when he sees them again that, though they meant harm, God orchestrated the events to put Joseph in a position to save them. Leaders have a vision that sustains them through difficult times.
4. Moses: Leaders stick up for their people
Yes, it’s true. God has to be very convincing in order to get Moses to take action in Exodus 3. He at first gives excuse after excuse as to why he isn’t the right guy for the job. When he finally does answer his calling, Moses approaches Pharaoh and boldly passes on the iconic message: “Let my people go.” The Israelites, Moses’ native people, had been enslaved by Egypt and Moses was the one enlisted to lead them to freedom. When the time came, Moses was willing to step up and lead.
5. Joshua: Leaders rule by example rather than command
In Joshua 24, after leading his people into a new land, Joshua offers the Israelites the option to either A) serve the God who they had always served, the one who had brought them into the land, or B) serve the gods of the surrounding lands. “But as for me and my house,” he says, “we will serve the Lord.” The people answer in unison that they will pledge their allegiance to God. Because they believe in Joshua’s leadership, they follow Joshua’s example. He doesn’t have to threaten them; he merely inspires them by his example.
6. David: Leaders are not afraid of giants
Everybody knows this story. In 1 Samuel 17, the Israelites are being defeated by the Philistines and their 9-foot tall giant–Goliath. Goliath taunts the Israelites and challenges them to send him one man and, if that man should defeat him, the Philistines would become their servants. David, a small shepherd boy who will not even fit into the armor he is provided, volunteers. When Goliath mocks him, David says, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, whom you have taunted.” With that, he takes a stone, slings it at Goliath’s forehead, and knocks the giant to the ground–dead. In other words, you can face any challenge as long as you have conviction and strength of resolve on your side.
7. Isaiah: Leaders rise to the occasion
In a vision Isaiah has in Isaiah 6, God asks who he should send as a prophet to His people. Isaiah responds, “Here am I. Send me!” Leaders don’t wait to see if anyone else is going to step up when something needs to be done. They take initiative and are first to raise their hands, first to stand, first to speak up, and first to make decisions. Leaders shun inaction and are always ready to take the plunge at a moment’s notice.
8. Daniel: Leaders maintain their resolve without regard for consequences
Many of us know the story of Daniel in the lion’s den. Daniel, in Daniel 6, is a highly esteemed government official whose colleagues become jealous. Seeking to get rid of him and knowing that he is a religious man, his colleagues convince the king to enact a decree saying that prayer can be made to no god except for the king. Once the decree is made, Daniel continues on praying and giving thanks to his God just like he always did. When he is caught, his colleagues tell their king and he is forced to throw Daniel into the den of lions. The next morning, the king finds Daniel alive. The lions had not harmed him. The point? Daniel’s faith in his God is what made him great in the first place. Knowing this, he would not recant regardless of what happened to him. Great leaders follow this example and maintain steadfast in their convictions regardless of what happens.
9. John the Baptist: Leaders aren’t afraid to call out the phonies
John the Baptist, in Matthew 3, is baptizing people and preaching about the coming of Jesus. When a pretentious, self-righteous group of religious officials comes for baptism, he calls them out for what they are: “a brood of vipers.” Leaders aren’t afraid to call it like it is. Whether they are suppliers, employees, or even customers, leaders have what it takes to be brutally honest with the people they come in contact with.
11. Peter: Leaders recover from failure
Peter, the most well-known disciple of Jesus, denies even knowing Him three times while Jesus is being crucified. Jesus had predicted he would do it, though Peter insisted he would never deny Jesus–even to the death. When the rooster crows (what Jesus said would happen), Peter realizes what he had done and weeps bitterly. In Acts 2, we see Peter giving the first sermon after Jesus’s ascension into heaven–to a crowd of thousands of people when he had previously denied Jesus in front of just a few days earlier. Leaders don’t become discouraged when they fail. They don’t wallow in self-pity and give up due to the mishap. They pick themselves back up and continue on. Leaders do better next time.
12. Paul: Leaders are passionate about what they believe in
Paul, throughout his life recorded in Acts, is a very zealous individual. As a Pharisee, he violently opposes the spread of Christianity, going out of his way to see Christians killed and imprisoned. When Jesus appears to him in Acts 9 and changes his mind, he becomes equally adamant about the truth of Christianity. Paul travels across the entire known world, spreading the message about Jesus and establishing churches everywhere he went. Leaders are driven by a sense of purpose. Leaders have a fire lit under them and feel compelled to accomplish their objectives. There is no place for apathy in the life of a leader. Leaders always care and care deeply.
Let us all value the qualities God has given us, let’s identify our abilities and help others too;
God Bless All, Amen.
