By Rachel Z Davis
What the Bi-b-l-e Says
When our culture defines leaders it says; A leader is in charge, a leader is above, a leader is the ruler, the decision maker, a leader is the one who reigns....'Our fearless leader'. According to the urbandictionary.com:
A leader is some one who has the ability to inspire others to achieve tasks and goals that they might not other wise be capable of reaching. Example: 'Amy is a really good leader. She got everyone involved in the class debate, even the usual kids who sleep through the class'. So Amy was a leader because she was good at getting people to do what she wanted them to do. Most leaders recognized in our culture Make stuff happen, with a capitol M for muscle and the muscle is their own. Work, sweat and tears...boldly going where no one has gone before. They see, they conquer.
Other definitions by our culture include:
Leadership is great men and women with certain preferred traits influencing followers to do what the leaders wish in order to achieve group/organizational goals that reflect excellence defined as some kind of higher level effectiveness. - Joseph Rost
Leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that represent the values and the motivations--the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations--of both leaders and followers.
- James MacGregor Burns
Here are some popular or commonly known great leaders defined by our culture with leadership skills that effected the world tremendously either in a good way or bad way: George Washington, Adolf Hitler & Winston Churchill.
As leaders in ministry, as leaders in following Christ we can not define our role by our cultures definition of a leader, only by what the bible says about leadership roles and what those look like. According to Christ's words and actions leaders are the greatest servants....they SERVE instead of seeking to be served.
Leaders Get Down & Dirty
Jesus is Lord and king of the universe. The most powerful, magnificent, huge, incredible ALL knowing being ever...so Jesus could have simply come down to earth, delivered some poignant sermons on how to do life right, how to get saved and how to follow God and then just said 'peace out' and buzzed up to heaven. But He didn't do that. He walked around, a LOT, going from place to place, rolling up his sleeves, making sure to mix in with people, share life and get His hands dirty SERVING others. He chose to walk it out and show everyone not just through His words, but by His actions.
We need to use Jesus as our model and ultimate definition for leadership. The greatest leaders by Gods standards are those who follow closely on the heels of Jesus. Leaders SERVE. Leaders are the first one in, the last one out. Leaders are the ones to climb into the mess and not just call in a cleaning crew.
So when He had finished washing their feet and had put on His garments and had sat down again, He said to them, Do you understand what I have done to you? You call Me the Teacher (Master) and the Lord, and you are right in doing so, for that is what I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher (Master), have washed your feet, you ought [it is your duty, you are under obligation, you owe it] to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you this as an example, so that you should do [in your turn] what I have done to you. I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, A servant is not greater than his master, and no one who is sent is superior to the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed and happy and to be envied are you if you practice them [if you act accordingly and really do them].
-John 13:12-17 (AMP)
Speak Their Language, Don't Expect Them To Know Yours
If any of you have ever tried to teach someone something you most likely have experienced that people learn differently. Some people learn kinesthetic (physically or by doing) some auditorial (by hearing), and some visually (by seeing). Jesus was the ultimate leader, he taught using all three. But for many the most powerful message is the one received in the heart through experiencing and observing the love of Christ first hand. He SHOWED us love through His actions, not just words. He walked it out for us first so that there were fresh prints in the snow to follow back onto the trail.
As leaders we are called to FOLLOW His tracks, walk in His steps and mark the path for the next person to follow. As leaders we must be followers, truly learning how to die to self more each day and growing in Him.
Wonder Woman & Her Invisible Jet
To some of my single friends I am a leader because I am walking out marriage as a Christian woman before they are. I am marking the tracks to the trail. They are learning from watching me, listening to me and experiencing me being transformed into a more Godly wife day by day. They are also learning from me by watching me fall down and use Gods ways to help me back up.
I am not a leader to them because I said so, because I'm smart, or popular, or good it stuff. It's not a title or position, it's a willingness to follow Jesus. A willingness to walk my walk transparently. To be brave enough to trust Him and let go of my plans and my ways and to follow His leading.
Leaders are leading other people to trusting and relying on Jesus, and deepening their relationships with Jesus because they have seen the leader do it in their own life. We, as leaders have marked the path. We have been in the trenches and we have dared to fly the course like Wonder Woman in an invisible jet for all to see and learn from so there is safety in a freshly marked path for others. And if we are good leaders we are walking in the tracks of other leaders who came before us...and all of us are walking as closely in the footsteps of Jesus as possible.
Even if someone's path as a follower is trying to navigate a different set of struggles then your own, our freshly marked path will still lead them to Jesus. Why? Because if we walk out our issues and are led to a deeper freedom in Christ then they will remember that. People relate to each others resources. We remember survival tools, and when someone sees us face a mountain or a pile of rubble from the wreckage of our past, or a brick wall in our lives today, and we pull our bibles out and use what it tells us as a hammer to knock down that obstacle, people will feel safer trying Jesus as the solution to their struggles.
Again, the greatest leaders by Gods standards are those who follow closely on the heels of Jesus.
Unworthy Syndrome
I think one of the most common attacks on the minds of Christian leaders is the enemy planting seeds of doubt about their ability to fulfill their calling as leaders. The enemy tries to get us to agree and doubt ourselves because we make mistakes and aren't perfect. Thankfully WE don't need to fulfill the calling on our life. We just need to keep following JESUS. He will do the work in us.
The bible tells us that 'being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.'
-Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
'He who began a good work in (and that also means through you) you shall complete it' which is great news! We don't have to be perfect, or worthy or achieve or strive.
In the book 'Jesus Is___', the author Judah Smith transparently writes:
'...I'm embarrassed I still struggle with my big mouth. But i'm not going to adopt an attitude of false humility: "I'm not worthy of being a pastor. I will never preach again." I was never worthy in the first place. Its not about me. It's about God, about grace, and helping people in my church and my city meet Jesus'.
All of us fall short, knowing that makes us rely on Jesus and us relying on and submitting to the leadership of Christ makes us good leaders.
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down;you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
-Psalms 139:1-5 (NIV)
For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]
-Romans 11:29 (AMP)
No Need For A Snowsuit In Summer
There is a season for everything....as a leader we need to serve & lead as we honor each season. Seasons are critical to pay attention to. There are actually certain journeys that if you take them in the wrong season you can die, and some that at the very least, if you take in the wrong season will go from being an amazing experience to a terrible one. Seasons are not necessarily saying 'don't ever go', but they are clearly showing the BEST time, the most effective time, and the most blessed time and way to go. God's word says:
TO EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven:
-Ecclesiastes 3:1 (AMP)
But who are we to try to make summer last even one day longer? We can not! Only God decides how long a season is, the temperature, the direction of the wind. Sometimes as leaders we may get attached to the mission, the team, the structure of ministry, but can we remain more attached to Jesus? Can we keep our focus on serving and following the Lord and hold the ministry with an open hand so that God can mold and transform it in His timing and season? Can we be like a leaf riding the wind and allow God to be the power and direction that carries us?
How silly would it be to show up to a pool party in July wearing a snowsuit? Sometimes when we cling to how we see serving God or how we think it should be going or how we think it should be structured we miss the season completely. More importantly, we can miss the point, to serve our awesome God! So before we forge ahead 'serving God' the way we think He wants us to, let's always remember to call ahead for the weather report. Don't be 'that guy' at the pool party, that's just embarrassing.
Let us listen to God if He calls you to serve Him in a different way or calls you into a new season. Do not hang or cling to the old season. He makes all things new. To be in His presence is to follow Him in the now.There is a season for everything and we don't always know the why or even the how....
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens, and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
-Isaiah 55:8-11 (AMP)
I Got Angels On My Side
You know the saying Rome wasn't built in a day? Well Rome also most certainly wasn't built alone. Even Jesus relied on the father, had a close inner circle & prayed with those he loved. Since Jesus is our true super model we need to do the same. As leaders we need to spend time leaning into God, praying and interceding for those we serve and also building a team of support. Developing your prayer force & team of intercessors (people praying and petitioning God on your behalf for protection, guidance, wisdom and Gods will in your ministry) is critical. We need these life lines interceding for us.
Many pastors, preachers and Christian speakers do not even begin their messages or step onto the stage or up to the pulpit until they have had Gods angel armies commanded and the presence of the Holy Spirit going before them. I am not saying that our own prayers are not powerful and effective but the bible clearly says that when there are two or more gathered in His name that He is in our midst. Also, again if Jesus did it, and He's the ultimate super model for leadership, then we should as well.
Be Rooted
We don't have to get it right. We do not produce the 'good' works, therefor neither can we take credit for the successes or perceived failures.
Philippians 1:6 AMP
"And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you."
Be attached to the mission of serving God, not the path...remaining flexible to Gods call, timing and plan means that we don't get attached to the ministry, the team, the structure of how we serve God but remain poised to hear Gods voice and willing to respond. Do not remain out of season....Gods call can not be revoked...
"Don't imagine us leaders to be something we aren't. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God's most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes that judgment. So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the "Well done!" of God. All I'm doing right now, friends, is showing how these things pertain to Apollos and me so that you will learn restraint and not rush into making judgments without knowing all the facts. It's important to look at things from God's point of view. I would rather not see you inflating or deflating reputations based on mere hearsay. For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn't everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what's the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you're sitting on top of the world—at least God's world—and we're right there, sitting alongside you! It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We're something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We're the Messiah's misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we're mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don't have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, "God bless you." When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We're treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture's kitchen. And it's not getting any better. I'm not writing all this as a neighborhood scold just to make you feel rotten. I'm writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can't wait to tell you what you've done wrong, but there aren't many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was as Jesus helped me proclaim God's Message to you that I became your father. I'm not, you know, asking you to do anything I'm not already doing myself. This is why I sent Timothy to you earlier. He is also my dear son, and true to the Master. He will refresh your memory on the instructions I regularly give all the churches on the way of Christ. I know there are some among you who are so full of themselves they never listen to anyone, let alone me. They don't think I'll ever show up in person. But I'll be there sooner than you think, God willing, and then we'll see if they're full of anything but hot air. God's Way is not a matter of mere talk; it's an empowered life. So how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who makes you toe the mark? Or as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? You decide."
1 Corinthians 4:1-21 MSG
Follow Jesus closely and be rooted deeply in God and in faith, then Gods word says: And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].
-Psalms 1:3 (AMP)
No Christian-ese Please
There are many different amazing leaders out there that God uses impact-fully for the kingdom. Each of them are like a different flavor of ice-cream with their own unique little twists...mint coconut chocolate chip, almond health bar Oreo, chocolate banana crunch. Understanding that not everyone knows, understands or relates to Christian-ese is important and understanding that God gave you your special unique voice is important. Love and honor the flavor ice-cream you are! God gave us each a very unique personality and very unique testimony. God asks us to be a good steward of what is in our hands, to use what is in our hands and not what isn't. So be real, be transparent and use all the ingredients that make up you for serving the Lord in God's divine purpose, calling and season.
So to wrap it up, you who wish to lead, SERVE! True leaders are true follows of Jesus! Become experts at serving, get a masters degree in serving...in short get in the mud, roll up your sleeves and get dirty! Follow Jesus!
