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Who is Fit to Lead?
God called Gideon to lead. God said, “Gideon, it doesn’t matter that your family is poor in Manasseh, or that you are least in your father’s house. The point is not who you are, but that I will be with you. It is not your weakness that we must dwell on, but My strength. I will work through you.”
The greatest preparation for David’s leadership as king was his time spent alone with God as a shepherd boy in the Judean hills. Years alone with God prepared David for leadership under God.
Do you recall the last orders of the Lord Jesus Christ to His followers? “Go and make disciples of all nations.” Accompanying that charge to them was the promise, “I am with you always” (Matt. 28:19–20). God is still giving us the same basis for serving Him with confidence that He gave to old-time heroes of the faith: I am with you.
So when God calls us to a task, let neither a sense of inadequacy or a “poor background” hinder you from following His lead. “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2:13).
Why Some Leaders Excel
Excellent leaders are marked by a life of JOY: Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last.
To serve God we must serve others, as Jesus did. Leaders must offer their own lives on the altar of God to be consumed in the flame of God’s love, in service to others. Leaders must be sensitive to the needs of the people and compassionate in their dealings with them. One thing they must do above all else: get to know them as individuals.
Leaders who stand out share these characteristics:
- A servant heart
- A sensitive spirit
- A spirit of excellence: Too often Christians misunderstand this emphasis and associate it with fleshly effort and worldly ambitions. This is not so! Throughout the Scriptures we observe a constant emphasis on emulating God, being like Him. The desire to do things with excellence is Christlike. It was said of Him, “He has done everything well” (Mark 7:37). Our only hope of achieving a Christlike standard of excellence is to completely relax in the arms of Jesus and let Him live His life through us.
- Initiative: Leaders don’t wait for things to happen; they help make things happen. They must ask questions. They must be willing to learn from others. Initiative is the spirit needed to originate action.
Hezekiah demonstrated making an impact for God:
- Wholehearted commitment to God: Anything less, and the nation could not have turned from its sins in such a remarkable fashion. It was his leadership that showed the way and set the tone for the behavior of others.
- Single-mindedness: He got to the main job and stuck with it. The world nags at us to become ensnared with this or encumbered with that, but the Word of God calls us to lay aside every weight and press toward the mark. Single-mindedness is not easy, but it is necessary.
- Fighting Spirit: In spite of unbelievable odds, he pressed ahead with enthusiasm and faith. Leaders will constantly face problems and difficulties from others, but often their main battles are with themselves. It is not a brilliant mind but a fighting spirit that will keep them going when all semblance of order has crumbled around them.
How Leaders Get More Done & Make an Impact
To walk humbly before God (as Micah 6:8 says), a leader needs to live a life of genuine praise. In heaven the beings who surround the throne of God cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty” (Rev. 4:8). If leaders live in that spirit of praise, they will be reminded of their own sinfulness and weaknesses. In addition, they will get their eyes off themselves and live for others.
To get things done, Eims suggests a four-step plan for leaders, using the acronym POLE:
- Plan: You must think it through and make a plan.
- Organize: Then you must organize it so that every member of the group knows what his or her job is and whom he or she reports to.
- Lead: Then the leader must lead. Leaders must set the example. They must roll up their sleeves and get into the action.
- Evaluate: A periodic evaluation may lead to a midcourse correction. At the end of the job, it is good to sit down and evaluate the whole project to see where things could have been improved. This leads to better planning for the future.
The real test of your leadership is whether or not other leaders are developed as you lead the way. Are their spiritual lives deepened as a result of your leadership?
How do leaders make an impact for God? Eims suggests three things:
- Do it now.
- Trust God for the help you need.
- Focus on objectives, not obstacles.
Let’s look at the advice Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, gave to Moses when Moses was overwhelmed with the leadership role God had given him (for more on this, check out my blog post from earlier this year on Jethro–3 Lessons from the World’s First Management Consultant):
- Moses’s number-one priority as a leader was to pray for the people under his charge. “You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.” You therefore, as a leader, must make this your number one task.
- Moses was to teach the Word of God.
- Moses was to be a visible example to his people. He had to “show them the way to live, and the duties they are to perform.” People don’t learn that from lectures and sermons. They must be shown.
- Moses was to delegate his responsibilities. Jethro finally got to the main issue. He told Moses to share the load with other men.
Like Moses, we as leaders must face the fact that God is more concerned with our completeness (maturity) than our comfort. It is His desire that the many facets of the beauty of Christ may shine through our lives.
So when you find yourself troubled or perplexed or persecuted or cast down, rejoice! God is building endurance and hope. “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4).
And as God continues to build you as a leader, keep in mind a lesson that sums up the message of this book. Not that we are competent to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor. 3:5–6)
May you Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be, as you shoot for the stars!