The Art of Leadership
The leadership of Jesus had turned nonentities into great achievers! Through the influence of Jesus, they laid the foundations of the Christian Church with their very lives. Most of them died in the process of laying the foundation of the Church. In the verse below is a list of men who were going nowhere until they met Jesus. He led them until they became anointed. Today, many centuries down the line, we still make references to them.
And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canannite, And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.
Mark 3:13-19
If God has called you to lead, do not see it as just YOU accomplishing great things. See it as an opportunity to help others to accomplish great things for God and for themselves. See it as an opportunity to lead a number of people to great heights! Remember that leadership stems from the heart. The Bible teaches us that the heart is the footing for all the things that men do.
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Proverbs 4:23
Leadership comes from your heart! Leadership comes by having the right heart! Do you have the heart of a leader? When you have the right heart, you do the right things. Jesus wanted his disciples to do greater things than he himself had done (John 14:12).
I often pray for the junior pastors around me that they would achieve great things for God. I keep encouraging them and praying for them that they would rise up mightily in ministry. I see some people with gifts that I do not have. I want my interaction with these people to help them accomplish great things for God.
Every leader should have great goals for the people around him. If you do not have these goals I seriously doubt if you are a leader.
A Leader’s Goals for His Followers
- A leader wants his followers to do well financially.
I have a strong desire for the people who follow me to do well financially. It is my vision that everyone who works in my organization should have his own house, the cars that they need and enough money. This vision is steadily coming to pass. Jesus thought about the financial state of his followers. He wanted them to have houses, lands and enough money. Many people don’t know that Jesus actually promised that his followers would have these things.
And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Mark 10:29,30
- A leader wants his followers to do well physically, socially and maritally.
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
3 John 2
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:23,24
Why did Jesus want the joy of his followers to be full? Because a good leader wants his followers to be happy in every aspect of their lives. A group of discontent followers will surely lead to a distraught leader. Be like Jesus and history will remember your followers as great men.
- A leader wants his followers to fulfil their ministry.
My greatest passion is to see the ones I have raised up fulfilling their ministries. Every father wants his sons and daughters to fulfil their ministry. If you are a leader, your vision and passion is not for yourself but for the ones you lead.
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
2 Timothy 4:5
A leader is someone who thinks about others. A leader is genuinely concerned about his followers and the people around him. He has great hopes for their lives; that they will do well. Do you help people to accomplish great things with their lives?
theaol@ymail.com
By Dag Heward-Mills