Leadership is influence.
One classic example of the power of leadership is found in Acts 27 when Paul the prisoner took charge of a Roman sea vessel while in chains. His influence is remarkable.
Prisoner Paul tells the sailors what to do and they do it. Even his courage to eat causes 276 souls on board to do the same. There was a captain of the ship and even a Roman centurion on board. But when it came to the crunch all heads turned to the man in chains.
Why? Because Paul had a vision of the future and knew the way to get there.
# 2 What is Leadership?
by Phil McCallum
Read on to find what leadership is all about.
Others will sense a leader’s gift to lead often before he will.
Leadership has little to do with official position. As the hero of Braveheart, “Men do not follow titles, they follow courage!” If you are a leader you will find yourself leading with our without a leadership position.
Example is a leader’s most powerful tool of leadership. His actions and words set the tone for those who look up to him. As leaders we ought to be regularly asking the Lord to give us an example that if others follow it they will end up seeing and being like Jesus.
Have you considered that you are a leader? You may not perceive yourself to be a leader. But if you have been given the responsibility to lead a small group that is exactly what you are. Your choice is either to be a good leader or a poor one.
Unless a leader leads nothing will be accomplished.
Whenever God begins something new he calls a leader to lead. Moses led the people from slavery to freedom. Noah led his family to safety. Abraham led over 318 male members of his household and descendants that outnumber the sands of the shore. Think of David, Nehemiah, Ezra, and Paul to name a few. If God wants to get something done he does not appoint a committee. He calls and equips leaders.
Leaders must lead for the good of the team. If the climate isn’t right, the leader must lead to change it. If direction isn’t on track, the leader must take responsibility to alter it. To lead we must choose to lead.
Good leaders often fail to do the things required because they are reluctant to lead. Some assume that someone who steps to the front to take direction has a heart problem. Godly leadership however is built on the humility of being led by God for the good of others. We do not lead because of personal privilege or prominence. We lead because we are responsible to encourage God’s people to do God’s will.
Saul’s fatal flaw as a leader was his reluctance to lead. What appeared to be humility was in fact pride and self-centeredness. He wanted to do what he wanted for his own benefit. Often in the face of enemy forces his troops were demoralized by his refusal as a leader to lead. His son Jonathan stirred the hearts of the men by taking action. (1 Samuel 14)
But it was David who won their hearts by stepping out and taking responsibility. (1 Samuel 17) David facing Goliath is again demonstrates that leadership has nothing to do with position, but with our willingness to take responsibility to lead.
A leader can lead because he has first led himself.
Daniel was destined to outlive three dynasties of the greatest empire the world has ever known. He would advise Nebuchadnezzar, Belteshazzar and King Darius. But before he could begin his work as Secretary of State, Daniel first had to conquer his own heart.
The test was the dinner table. Would he eat the vulgar food of the king or would he just eat veggies. Daniel “resolved” to do what was right. It was that choice to lead himself that made Daniel the backseat driver of a world superpower.
A true leader knows his own heart enough not to trust it. He has chosen to submit his will to God’s will. He doesn’t trust his limited understanding but draws from greater wisdom. A leader can lead himself because he is following God.
Leadership is servanthood.
The motive of leadership is not seeking a position to impress others but to serve to bless them. Leadership demands the surrender of our rights. Just as Jesus gave up all in humility and so has been given the highest place, so leaders must “give up to go up.”
When Irving S. Olds was appointed chairman of the U.S. Steel Corporation, he arrived for a stockholders’ meeting and was confronted by a woman who asked, “Exactly who are you and what do you do?” Without batting an eye, Olds replied, “I am your chairman. Of course, you know the duties of a chairman—that’s someone who is roughly the equivalent of parsley on a platter of fish.”
The humility principle of the word states that if we humble ourselves it will not go unnoticed by God. In due season he will lift us up. Do you want to develop your ability to lead? Then serve. To become a leader serve a leader. It is in the death of your vision to enable another’s to flourish that God will release you into the purposes he has designed for you.
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