Whether it is a family, a Boy Scout troop, or a nation, leadership is one of the key's to peace, for unity, and for success. People need to be led. I'm not talking about having or being a boss. There are plenty of people who love to be 'in charge' because they like having power, who are not really leaders. It is easy to confuse holding an office with exercising leadership, but they are not one and the same. Observing any organization or group, we will find that there are bosses who claim to be 'in charge,' and leaders who really make the group function. Often they are not the same person or people. "How can they lead without having authority?" you might ask. Real leaders don't order people around, they spread influence! A leader is one who influences others - for good, perhaps, for bad!
If you're a leader, remember this -- leaders need to be led, too! A rogue leader who lives without a network of accountable relationships, who is not allowing herself to be positively influenced, will almost always eventually self-destruct and/or destroy the organization she leads as she begins to use more and more of its resources for her own purposes.
In the book of Judges, which tells stories from the earliest days of the Israeli nation's formation, two of the final chapters open with this line: "In those days Israel had no king." Both chapters recount events of social and spiritual chaos, of horrific crimes and recrimination. The message is - without leadership the people did not become who God wanted them to be. There was no one inspiring them to reach higher, to live better, to restrain the impulses of sin. To underscore the message, after these stories of spiritual failure, that book closes with this statement: "In those days Israel had no king, so the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes." (Judges 21:25, NLT)
In the era of the Church, God calls men and women into leadership, giving them spiritual gifts that enable them to inspire His people with vision, to call His people to purpose. Here's how Ephesians talks about those leaders and their function: "He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13, NLT)
Do you see anything in that passage about being 'the boss?' Neither do I! Church leadership is about helping others succeed, inspiring people to look past their self interest to see the whole of God's work and to come to a state of unity. Leaders, both those who are 'in office' and those who influence and inspire without an official title, are called to focus on creating an environment where God's people can become giants of faith; deep and mature in spiritual things, Christ-like in character. That's a high calling and it sounds like a lot of hard work, doesn't it? Those called by God to lead His Church, are called to something far more important than managing church work, which is what often passes for church leadership.
Are you called to leadership? Then serve well, humbly, and for eternal purposes, remaining under Christ's authority.
Are you being led? Make the work of those in leadership a joyful task. The Word requires this of each one of us. God says, "Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit." (Hebrews 13:17, NLT)
Let the chaos and misery of the time of the Judges be a lesson of what happens when there are no leaders. Pray that God would call godly men and women to provide visionary leadership to His Church - and if he calls you - respond humbly, "Lord, here I am, use me!"
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