Leadership

I have had the good fortune to be able to lead several ministries over the past thirty years! First as a middle school teacher and coach, then as a middle school pastor, high school pastor, family and men's pastor and finally as a Lead Pastor. These positions included leading numbers of adult volunteers, thousands of students, and several staff members as well as hundreds of congregants. The past few months I have reflected on what it means to be a leader, whether it's the leader of a church as I was, the leader of a family, the leader of a committee or the leader of an athletic team or any other group or organization! We see and hear much today about leaders and leadership. Tim Tebow, the quarterback of the Denver Broncos has been described as a leader. Much has been made of his prayer pose on the field but he tries to let his abilities speak for themselves on the field with his team. Certain politicians in the GOP Presidential race have been trying to stand out as the right leader for their party. CEO's of major corporations have been branded as poor leaders of failed institutions. We could go on! As I have reflected on what it takes to be a leader today in any setting, I have noticed certain qualities that arise from those who have set the standard of leadership. Moses, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa and Truett Cathy are just a few great leaders who come to mind for me. I'll let you read up on their own personal qualities if you don't know their stories. I'll post a couple of these qualities here today for your consideration and a few more in later posts. To be a leader requires first and foremost humility! It's not about having a great vision or being relational or having a dynamic personality. Those things are fine but they are not the most important essential. It has to start with humility. I think humility is missing in many who call themselves leaders today! Jesus said that he who would be great must be the least of all. In other words, if you want to be a great leader, you must first learn what it means to be humble. Jesus said of Moses that he was the most humble person who ever lived. He was referring to Moses leadership. He was strong but tender. He knew that great leadership was about knowing from where one came and the great responsibility that comes with the job. Humility has been described by some as power under control. It's likened to a wild horse that's been broken and tamed. There can be no room for arrogance or ego or feeling as if you're above everyone else! To go up one must first go down. It was the epitome of how Jesus lived his life! If you think you're a leader or if you want to lead others, take on the attitude of humility. Humility enables one to see that leadership is hard and tenuous and requires an understanding heart for others who lead! Humility doesn't take pot shots at other leaders. Humility enables one to come alongside of other leaders to help and encourage and not tear down, because they sense and understand the difficulty of leading. Humility is never mentioned in most leadership books. It's usually about being strong and tenacious and driven and having a plan. But plans and goals mean nothing if you're not humble. Don't say you're a leader if you're not willing to humble yourself! A second quality of leadership that I believe is essential and the last we'll touch on here in today's blog is submission. Leaders aren't born and they don't assume leadership just because they may want to lead. There must be a willingness to submit to someone, to some group or to a process that channels people into leadership. They show by example that one can lead by the things they do (attitude-humility) and (action-submission) and prove that they're worthy of a leadership position. The best leaders at home are the ones who serve the rest without complaint. Jesus said he came to serve and not be served. Remarkable if you think about it. I mean, after all, he was the Son of God. He could have chosen to set up his throne and government right in the heart of Jerusalem. Yet he chose to lead in an upside down way that is contrary to what we usually think of leadership. In other words, he wasn't here to lord over others by strong arming and controlling. Leadership is born out of service to others and the willingness to do any and every task that may seem a long way from being the top dog, but it's the only way to leadership. Some of the greatest CEO's and president's of great companies started in the mail room or as a clerk or swept floors before they were ever appointed to the top. But they were willing to submit to a process that can take time and patience but in the end lead to places of leadership that was never imaginable. Many today have plans, ideas and visions that sound great. They're good people with great ambition. But they often try to assume leadership and leapfrog over the hard work of submission that's required to learn to lead. When Moses was young, you may remember he saw how his adopted nation of Egypt was mistreating his own people of Israel and he thought he could take matters into his own hands and kill an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite slave. He ran over and killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. He began looking for more of these opportunities to end the oppression of his people. He was looking to be a self-promoted leader. But it wasn't the right way or the right time. God wasn't ready for him to lead yet. Moses needed to learn humility and submission. Guess what happened to him. He spent the next 40 years on the back side of the desert herding sheep. Then after years of silence and solitude and hanging out with sheep, God was ready to let him lead. He learned the two greatest essentials of leadership. For all who yearn to lead, who may even have the biblical gift of leadership, check everything else at the door and let God work these two essentials deep into your character and life. Then and only then will you be ready to lead!