The Gift Of Leadership
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If it is to lead, do it diligently.
Romans 12:8 NIV
The Unfolding Of Natural Leadership
Growing up, my mother owned a dance studio. As I got into high school, I became an assistant teacher for the baby ballet classes. It was so interesting to watch these young dancers develop bold personalities. One day of watching these kids, stands out amongst the others.
While putting on my ballet shoes, I watched the tiny ballerinas walk through the door in their pink leotards and tights. They came and sat on the stack of mats to put on their shoes. The murmuring of the students slowed as one of them stood up and commanded the other’s attention. She opened her backpack and began pulling out all of her treasures. With each item, she captured the others’ attention and held it until it was time for class to begin.
Transforming Gifts Into Powerful Tools In God’s Kingdom
I remember thinking this kid is a natural born leader. When we take these natural gifts and allow God to work through them, they become powerful in God’s kingdom. This can be more than leadership. It can be anything we naturally excel at. When we let the Holy Spirit have His way with these gifts, they become powerful.
As we have seen throughout history, leaders can make the world a great place, or they can cause turmoil. Leaders like Hitler were great at leading, but lead people into chaos and destruction. The Bible warns us of following leaders that will lead us down destructive paths. Then there are leaders like Abraham Lincoln, who lead people and brought them together for the greater good.
Some people want to lead because they like to be in the spotlight and boss others around. It takes a special person who can lead and lead well. There are many examples of great leaders in the scriptures, Moses, King David, many of the prophets, but Jesus had to be the best of all. He led the disciples and taught them everything they needed to do when He was no longer with them. In complete humility, He taught the disciples to pray, serve one another, heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, and so much more. He not only led them, He did life with them.
Jesus: The Epitome Of Servant Leadership
When we look at Jesus as the perfect leader, we find leadership is not about being in charge, but about serving others. Leadership, as a form of service, is a calling to use your gifts and abilities to help others achieve their goals. Whether you’re leading a team at work or a ministry at church, your primary responsibility is to enable those you lead to become the best selves they can be. Successful leaders empower others.
Effective leadership requires collaboration, communication, and support from the people you’re leading. As a leader, you need to be willing to listen to feedback, to delegate tasks, and to acknowledge the contributions of others. You also need to surround yourself with people who will challenge you, who will hold you accountable, and who will help you grow. While the gift of leadership may be something that you possess individually, it’s something that you can only exercise within the context of community.
Moving to various churches, I have seen good leaders and some that should never have been given the position. I have seen pastors that lead well, as long as no one gets in their way. And I have seen pastors who were extremely wonderful in leadership. I have seen elders get placed in leadership positions because they hold a leadership position at work. Just because someone is good in the business realm does not mean they will have the compassion needed for ministry. There are some who do not lead at work, but have the gift of leadership that needs to be exercised within the church.
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”
Romans 12:4-6a NIV
The Symphony Of Spiritual Gifts: Working Together In Unity
Again, this is why Paul emphasizes the need for many gifts. We all must come together like an orchestra, each using our God-given talents to become as effective for God’s purposes as possible. When we don’t work together, we have all seen what happens. We see churches and businesses crumble. When everyone works together with the sole purpose of growing the body of Christ, there is no end to what God can do with it.
As with all spiritual gifts, leadership is not a means to an end, but a journey of growth and learning. A journey that requires continual growth, learning, and self-reflection. We will all find obstacles when using our gifts, but when we press into the Lord and allow Him to use us how He chooses. Wow! We will see wonderful things begin to happen.
