a ransom for many ( Mark 10:42-45).
Leadership is one of the most
spoken and written about subject in the world. It spans across every sphere of
life. It is said that the world rises and falls on leadership. Every single
day, leadership occurs. J. Oswald Sanders in his book Spiritual Leadership wrote that
Real leaders are in short supply. Constantly people and groups search for them. Throughout the Bible, God[also] searches for leaders… The Bible shows us that when God does find a person who is ready to lead, to commit to full discipleship and take on responsibility for others, that person is used to the limit.1
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
If leadership is that important,
then it is crucial first to get a working definition of leadership: what it is
and what it is not. Various theories and definitions have been provided for
leadership. Let’s consider a few theories to assist me in my attempt to write
about leadership?
·Leadership is a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. – Martin M. Chemers 2
·Leadership is influence - John C. Maxwell.3
Jesus also
shared some insights on leadership without necessarily defining the subject.
When He told the disciples, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”, He
was talking about the subject of leadership - following, influence and
empowerment to achieve. When He also pronounced us as the light and salt
of the world, he was speaking about influencing and impacting our world.
From the two definitions
and Jesus’ words, it is clear that leadership is influence; influencing other
people towards achieving a common goal. If
leadership is influence, then it is possible to have bad influence and good
influence. This means we can have bad leadership and good leadership. In this post, we will concentrate on Godly leadership, ie good influence.
GODLY LEADERSHIP
As
Christians, it is important that we model our leadership according to Jesus’
leadership concepts and that is what I mean by Godly Leadership. Bill Hybels in
the book, “The call to lead” offers a strong advice on the importance of Godly
leadership. He wrote
Much of the published leadership literature these days has come from secular leaders in secular arenas. While we can learn a lot from people in business and athletics and governments and the military and so on, we cannot forget that, ultimately, Christians—in whatever arena they lead—are trying to build God’ kingdom. From time to time, leadership lessons from the secular world do not translate well into the arena of kingdom building, and … we must remember that our operating values and our ultimate marching orders come from only one book — a book that is God breathed, Spirit inspired, perfect in its content, unchanging in its ability to transform lives.4
In the next post, I
will discuss what leadership is according to Jesus Christ using Matthew
10:42-45 quoted above. I will then continue to briefly discuss what leadership
is not using the same scripture.
NOTES:
1. Spiritual Leadership: Principles of excellence for Every Believer. (USA: Oasis International) Pg. 17
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership
3. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johncmaxw380196.html
4. The Call to Lead: Following Jesus and Living out your mission.( United States of America: Zondervan) Pgs 29-30
-----Adapted from Godly Leadership: A Character Study of Joseph Copyright 2013 by Enoch A. Anti.
Follow link to access book https://www.dropbox.com/s/96o7qakd432kphz/GODLY%20LEADERSHIP%20A%20CHARACTER%20STUDY%20OF%20JOSEPH.pdf
-----Adapted from Godly Leadership: A Character Study of Joseph Copyright 2013 by Enoch A. Anti.
Follow link to access book https://www.dropbox.com/s/96o7qakd432kphz/GODLY%20LEADERSHIP%20A%20CHARACTER%20STUDY%20OF%20JOSEPH.pdf
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