Heart and Soul of Christian Leadership: Part Six

Christian leadership is marked by faithfulness. I would describe faithfulness in terms of executing our mission. God has "called" every person to participate in His mission of loving others and sharing Jesus. When I survey the Christian landscape for leaders that is a characteristic that is non-negotiable. Mission is more than a catchy slogan that is easily remembered. It is a passion within us that is expressed through life. It is more than certain actions or behaviors, though they provide evidence. Real mission consumes us. That sparks execution. I love to read about the first century followers of Jesus who responded to those who ordered them to cease from executing the mission of God. What was their response? "We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). They were consumed with the mission of God. Christian leaders execute the mission.

Heart and Soul of Leadership: Part Five

Christian leadership requires endurance. The Gospel according to Mark includes a parable of soils as told by Jesus. Jesus described what happened to seed that fell on different types of soil. Some of the seed fell on "stony ground" (Mark 4:16-17). The initial burst of growth was not an accurate indicator of future life. It was short-lived because the plant lacked roots. The plant lacked the capacity to endure. Is it possible to develop endurance? I believe it is. The plants in Jesus' parable lacked roots. To me, our root system symbolizes our sustained thirst for God. Our endurance increases when we seek God and acknowledge our dependence upon God for strength. Endurance is more than strength to carry on. Endurance is enriched with the presence of God. When John was exiled on the isle of Patmos, he greeted his brother and sisters in the churches with a reference about endurance (Revelation 1:9). But John recognized that his endurance was attached to Jesus.

Heart and Soul of Leadership: Part Four

Leadership is a labor of love. Actually, due to the foundational aspect of this statement this could have been my first post about leadership. However, I chose to begin by pointing out that leaders know they need God's help. We cannot lead in love without God's help. I can say that with confidence because of the enormous challenge that love presents. We underestimate how taxing it is to lead in love because our definition of love often does not resemble God's definition. Remember God loves the world. The love of God was evident on the cross when Jesus was pleading for forgiveness while being tortured and ridiculed. That's leadership. That's love. Admittedly, it's a different picture of courageous leadership than what is portrayed on the bookshelves in the business section at Barnes and Noble. But, for a follower of Christ He is the measure. Without love leadership is a masquerade. We may be very good at disguising our selfish pursuit of power and influence as something more noble. But it will never be true Christian leadership.

Heart and Soul of Leadership: Part Three

So far I have suggested that Christian leaders know they need God's help and Christian leaders want to be with God. There is a deeper issue. It has to do with whether or not our hearts are given to God for His purposes. By definition, the life of a Christian (with or without the descriptor of "leader") is to be an expression of Christ. In the words of Dallas Willard:

"Spiritual formation in the tradition of Jesus Christ is the process of transformation of the inmost dimension of the human being, the heart, which is the same as the spirit or will. It is being formed (really, transformed) in such a way that its natural expression comes to be the deeds of Christ done in the power of Christ."

Although it is important to be guided by core values and critical goals, the real measure of whether or not leadership is "Christian" or not is whether or leadership expresses Christ in the power of Christ. The "north star" of Christian leadership is much more personal than values or goals. The Christian heart is redeemed, transformed and surrendered to God. That reality permeates every aspect of life for the Christian leader. I'll summarize my third mark of Christian leadership this way: Christian leaders follow God not their own selfish heart.

Heart and Soul of Leadership: Part Two

It may seem obvious that a Christian leader needs God's help to develop. Anyone who has attempted to be a true leader recognizes that it is extremely difficult. In fact, one of my favorite leadership authors, Ron Hefeitz, points out the dangers of leadership. According to Heifetz, "you appear dangerous to people when you question their values, beliefs, or habits of a lifetime. You place yourself on the line when you tell people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear" (Leadership on the Line, Heifetz and Linsky, 2002). So, you want to be a leader? It's not surprising to learn that many describe leadership as lonely endeavor. That brings up my second mark of Christian leadership: Leaders want to be with God. It's not just that a vibrant relationship with God is the answer to the loneliness that so often accompanies living a disciplined and principled life. It is much more than that. God is our source of direction. Before a leader can become an effective change agent, there must be a vision of a better future. Change begins within. Mature leaders are lifelong learners. The purest way to develop self-awareness and recognize the changes that are necessary is through a personal relationship with God. God knows us and loves us like no other. The best leaders I know seek God because they want to be with God. They cherish God's presence.

Heart and Soul Part One: Leaders Need God

For the past few weeks I have been exploring the "heart and soul" of Christian Leadership on Sunday mornings. For the next few posts I want to reflect on the main points. My goal in sharing these messages with the church has been to develop a keener sense of how we view leadership within the local church body. It is far too easy to fall prey to leadership models that do not reflect Christ. We live in a time when it is commonplace to justify the "means" of achievement, by "results". This has not been an easy 1-2-3 leadership recipe. Honestly, that has not been my goal. Instead, I want to continually increase my accountability to the One who matters most. The initial challenge helped me articulate my first mark of leadership: Leaders know they need God. Too many leadership models encourage a path toward greatness that resembles a climb up a ladder of ego and selfish-ambition rather than a humble journey that is utterly dependent upon God's providence and provision. The need for God never ends. Our need for God never diminishes. We need God to shape us despite the temptations that success brings. We need God to sustain through the challenges that failure delivers. Leaders know they need God and they never hide their need for God.

Silence Speaks

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I have chosen to leave the radio off (no sports talk radio) in the car in an effort to spend more quiet time with the Lord. The value of silence is amazing and frightening. Speaking of the value of this "spiritual discipline", Dallas Willard writes that silence cuts us off from this world and "leaves only us and God". Willard points out the frightening aspects of silence with a question and an observation. First, he asks, "What if there turns out to be very little to just us and God?" Then Willard challenges us to think about what it says about the inward emptiness of our lives if we must always have noise. Yes, silence speaks. Silence reveals. Silence critiques the quality of our relationship with God.