There is a need for leaders in every sphere of life. There is a need for genuine leaders in the secular world. There is a genuine need for leaders in the church world. Whenever there is a good leader, you will notice a great deal of development and you will notice prosperity. The absence of leaders can be seen clearly both in the natural world and in the secular world. When there is a lack of leaders in the secular world, there is poverty, instability, evil and the lack of basic necessities all around. You can also notice the absence of leaders in the spiritual or church world. When there is a lack of leadership in the Church world, you will notice the same signs of a lack of development of ministry, poverty, lack of teaching and a lack of knowledge, and the proliferation of sin.
There are a number of things that the leader must do to make it clear that he is the leader.
Ways a leader makes the differences clear
- Teach the people.
Jesus taught his disciples all the time. You ought to be ahead of someone to be able to teach him. When you teach someone, you establish the authority to lead him. The authority to lead is found in the ability to feed.
- Send the people.
Jesus sent his disciples on different errands. In the verse below, He sent them to buy food. Every time you send someone, you establish the chain of command. You emphasize the chain of command that exists within the structure. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat).
John 4:8
- Bless the people.
Pray for your followers and bless them. There is a faithful saying that the lesser is blessed of the greater.
And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
Hebrews 7:7
- Say who you are.
The leader ought to be able to say who he is. Jesus spoke of himself confidently. He said he was the way: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). He said that he was the door: “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9). He said he was the good shepherd:” I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). There are times I have had to declare that I am the leader and founder of my church. Sometimes, it is important for people to know that you know who you are.
- Do not be afraid of being different.
Jesus rode on a donkey whilst all his disciples walked. That was also a way to make the differences clear. Garments were strewn on the floor for him to walk on.
And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
Matthew 21:7, 8
Accept privileges that are exclusively yours. When you refuse to accept your privileges, you create anomalies and disorder. The Bible calls this an evil and an error (mistake) that emanates from the ruler.
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.
Ecclesiastes 10:5-7
- Allow yourself to be honoured.
Jesus allowed himself to be honoured by Mary. He permitted the expensive gift that was poured on his feet.
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
John 12:3
It is my prayer that God will raise you and many others up to be true leaders for your generation! Indeed, everything depends on the leadership! The toll on leaders is very high indeed. A leader will have a following which will include those around him whom he works with. As a leader makes the people around him feel important, he ought to also make the differences between him and the people around him clear. Not doing this can lead to presumption, familiarity and, sometimes, a breaking of the ranks.
They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march everyone on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
Joel 2:7
Culled from ‘The Art of Leadership’
www.daghewardmillsbooks.org
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By Dag Heward-Mills