Dave Kraft’s added points are helpful in the linked article. Marcus Buckingham’s description I guess kind of fits a worldly mindset of what a leader is, but it falls way short of a Christian leader. It doesn’t touch on the servanthood, humility, sacrifice, and spiritual sensitivity necessary for a Christian leader. A leader leads-they go first; you can rally from behind, you can rally without ever being vulnerable or making the journey yourself. In other words, you can rally and watch.
In the Church, unless a man is intimately in touch with Christ he is going to try to lead out of natural abilities rather than radical dependence. This is where many churches go wrong, the pragmatic solution is not always the path of Christian obedience and natural abilities create a dependence on men (or worse, a single man) rather than God’s revelation.
But there is some truth in Marcus’ definition, unfortunately many men will be lead astray by the promise of a brighter future. History is full of movements which chased after empty promises (in and out of the Church.)
Show me the servant who goes first and I will follow him.
Well said Steve… I have been in ministry for over 20 years and I have read many books, been to many conferences trying to be a better leader. What I have learned over the years is that the stronger my (presumed) leadership is, the more dependent people become on me which results in burn out and much disappointment. When I stopped saying, “Jesus help me build your Church” and started saying, “Jesus help me to help You build your Church”, I realized that as a servant leader I only have to do what my Savior is asking me to do. I serve… My greatest role as a leader is to help Jesus build bridges so people can get from one place in their life to another.
Dave Kraft’s added points are helpful in the linked article. Marcus Buckingham’s description I guess kind of fits a worldly mindset of what a leader is, but it falls way short of a Christian leader. It doesn’t touch on the servanthood, humility, sacrifice, and spiritual sensitivity necessary for a Christian leader. A leader leads-they go first; you can rally from behind, you can rally without ever being vulnerable or making the journey yourself. In other words, you can rally and watch.
In the Church, unless a man is intimately in touch with Christ he is going to try to lead out of natural abilities rather than radical dependence. This is where many churches go wrong, the pragmatic solution is not always the path of Christian obedience and natural abilities create a dependence on men (or worse, a single man) rather than God’s revelation.
But there is some truth in Marcus’ definition, unfortunately many men will be lead astray by the promise of a brighter future. History is full of movements which chased after empty promises (in and out of the Church.)
Show me the servant who goes first and I will follow him.
Well said Steve… I have been in ministry for over 20 years and I have read many books, been to many conferences trying to be a better leader. What I have learned over the years is that the stronger my (presumed) leadership is, the more dependent people become on me which results in burn out and much disappointment. When I stopped saying, “Jesus help me build your Church” and started saying, “Jesus help me to help You build your Church”, I realized that as a servant leader I only have to do what my Savior is asking me to do. I serve… My greatest role as a leader is to help Jesus build bridges so people can get from one place in their life to another.
Bingo. I wish this wasn’t such a tough lesson to learn. I wish I would have caught on a whole lot faster too.