2 - SERVANT LEADERSHIP

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1 Developing Servant Leaders Full of the Holy Spirit & Wisdom. 2 - SERVANT LEADERSHIP KEY SCRIPTURES - Exodus 33:12-23; Matthew 20:20-28; John 13:1-17; Acts 6:1-7 INTRODUCTION 1. Without a it is impossible to become a Godly leader. Because it is not our natural behavior to serve, it requires a personal transformation (salvation and baptism in the Holy Spirit) to become a servant leader. 2. In Matthew 20:20-28, Jesus confronted the disciples view of power and authority and turned leadership upside down, challenging secular norms with Kingdom principles. 3. In John 13:1-17, Jesus modeled servanthood by washing the feet of the disciples. With a towel and basin He established the preeminence of others instead of self and challenged us to follow His example. CHARACTERISTICS OF SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP Read Acts 5:1-7...Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;... And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. 1. Spiritual leadership always begins with God s call. (Read Exodus 3:4; Joshua 1:6-9; Nehemiah 1; Isaiah 6:8; Jeremiah 1:1-10; Matthew 10:1-4) Leadership Development is a Ministry of Christian Life Center Discipleship Institute A Foursquare Church, 9085 California Avenue, Riverside, CA info@clcriverside.org Jack & Jane Lankhorst, Pastors Christian Life Center Leadership Development 1

2 2. Spiritual leadership can be exercised only by spirit-filled people. (Acts 6:3) 3. Spiritual leadership reflects the of God and seeks His favor. (Numbers 12:3) 4. A spiritual leader hungers to know God s, not just His power. (Psalms 103:7) 5. The faithful spiritual leader of today has not been a but someone who faithfully and gladly worked in second place. (1 Kings 19:21; 2 Kings 3:11-12; John 10:11-14) 6. Without the leader will never achieve his or her highest potential. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) 7. The servant leader must have a God-given vision: insight into spiritual matters and foresight to be able to guide Biblically and accurately. (Exodus 3:10; Proverbs 29:18) 8. A spiritual leader seeks wisdom: the ability to make the best use of knowledge, right judgment concerning spiritual and moral truth. (1 Kings 3:16-28; Colossians 1:9) 9. When all the facts are in, the ability to make decisions is crucial. In Hebrews 11 we read about people who understood what to do, counted the cost and acted upon it. (1 Chronicles 12:32) 10. Courage is the attitude which enables leaders to encounter difficulties with confidence in God s ability. (2 Chronicles 32:7-8; Nehemiah 4) 11. A crucial quality is, the ability to wait upon the Lord and act in a proactive manner when everything dictates to act impulsively. (2 Timothy 2:24-26) 12. A leader loves people without preferring one over the other. (James 2:1, 9) 13. A leader must correct and guide without being. 14. The responsibility of a leader is to him or herself. A leader must devote time, energy and resources to training emerging leaders who may even supersede the mentoring leader. (2 Timothy 2:2) MOSES MEETS WITH GOD Read Exodus 33:12-23 Then Moses said to the LORD, See, You say to me, Bring up this people. But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight. Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people Servant leadership is first based upon a relationship with then. Christian Life Center Leadership Development 2

3 2. Servant leaders seek the favor of God above all else. 3. God called Moses to serve Him by. A. Others God called to lead: Joshua 1:6-9; Isaiah 6:8; Jeremiah 1:1-10; Ezekiel 22:30; Matthew 10: God s servant leaders do not lead in but desire to lead through relationships of mentoring and partnership. (2 Timothy 2:2). Examples include Moses & Joshua, Elijah & Elisha, Barnabas & Saul, Paul & Timothy, etc. A. The Jethro Principle from Exodus 18:17-26, the Seventy in Numbers 11:16-17 and the Apostles in the early church in Acts 2: Proper stewardship of God s people is knowing that they! A. 1 Peter 5:2-4 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 6. Answer the question that applies to you in this season... A. If God has called us to lead, what is hindering us from taking the leadership plunge? B. Are you a team person or do you do like to do everything yourself? Do you want to be the leader or are you comfortable facilitating a team? JESUS GAVE US THE MODEL FOR LEADERSHIP Read Matthew 20: But Jesus called them to Himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:41-45) 1. Jesus based effective leadership upon servanthood,. A. A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to lead, but is forced into a position of leadership by the inward pressure of the Holy Spirit and the external situation. A.W. Tozer B. God s leadership principles are different from those used by secular organizations. Worldly leadership in the church brings strife because it is usually based on position and human abilities. Leadership in the church begins from a foundation of serving Christ and self-sacrifice and originates from a humble, Spirit-led position. Christian Life Center Leadership Development 3

4 Authority is submission with responsibility. Notice the Centurion s response to Jesus in Matthew 8:5-10 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. 2. True spiritual leaders are secure, serving as Christ exemplified. John 13:3-17 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him... Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. A. They know. Their identity is firmly rooted in the fact that they are His, eliminating the need to prove themselves! B. They know. They realize that by His grace and power, God has delivered them from death to life, from darkness to Light! C. And they know. Their home is in Heaven and they understand that God receives all the Glory! THE PRIORITY OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP Acts 6:3...seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, Acts 9:26-27 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 1. Servant leaders equip others to take part in the work of the Kingdom. (Ephesians 4:11-16) 2. Identify emerging leaders who are people of. (Acts 9:26-30; 11:25-26; 13:1-3) 3. Look for the evidence of and humility rather than human charisma and ability. (Luke 14:7-11; Acts 6:3) 4. Look for rather than social prominence, etc. (Acts 4:36-37) 5. Look for rather than knowledge and a willingness to learn rather than only experience. Christian Life Center Leadership Development 4

5 DIGGING DEEPER Read Mark 10:35-41 and on another sheet of paper, answer the following questions. 1. What was the request of James and John? 2. What do you think prompted their request? 3. What did the request of James and John reveal about character? 4. What was the response of the rest of the disciples? 5. What was Christ s response? 6. What are the key ideas taught by Jesus in this passage? 7. Give the purpose for authority from the following passages. A. 2 Corinthians 10:8 and 13:10 B. Ephesians 4:11-12 C. 1 Peter 5:1-5 D. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 E. Acts 20:28-30 F. Galatians 6: Other thoughts Christian Life Center Leadership Development 5

6 GREAT LEADERSHIP QUOTES 1. Where there is no prophetic vision, the people cast off restraint (perish). Proverbs 29:18 2. A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to lead, but is forced into a position of leadership by the inward pressure of the Holy Spirit and the external situation. A.W. Tozer 3. He who has learned how to obey will know how to command. Solon 4. Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. Warren Bennis 5. Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. Jack Welch 6. You don t need a title to be a leader. Multiple Attributions 7. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. John Maxwell 8. The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born, that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born. Warren Bennis 9. He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander. Aristotle 10. Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position. Brian Tracy 11. I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. Ralph Nader 12. Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. Publilius Syrus 13. You don t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case. Ken Kesey 14. When I give a minister an order, I leave it to him to find the means to carry it out. Napoleon Bonaparte 15. A leader s courage comes from passion, not position. John Maxwell 16. A leader should be slow to punish and swift to reward. Ovid 17. No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it. Andrew Carnegie 18. Leaders talk about the solutions. Followers talk about the problems. Brian Tracy 19. To lead the orchestra one must turn his back on the crowd. Max Lucado 20. As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others. Bill Gates 21. Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. Stephen Covey 22. Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand. General Colin Powell 23. Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of strengths. John Zenger Christian Life Center Leadership Development 6

7 24. If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing. Benjamin Franklin 25. If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams 26. In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson 27. It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself. Latin Proverb 28. It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. Nelson Mandela 29. Lead and inspire people. Don t try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be lead. Ross Perot 30. Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. John F. Kennedy 31. No man is good enough to govern another man without that other s consent. Abraham Lincoln 32. What you do has far greater impact than what you say. Stephen Covey 33. Whatever you are, be a good one. Abraham Lincoln 34. A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit. John Maxwell 35. I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn t. Dee Dee Myers 36. My responsibility is getting all my players playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not the one on the back. Unknown 37. The supreme quality of leadership is integrity. Dwight Eisenhower 38. High achievers, despite weaknesses and limitations, do enough things right to gain recognition in their fields. Eugene Griessman 39. What happens in you is more important than what happens to you. John Maxwell 40. Love everyone. Give yourself to the top 20%. Christian Life Center Leadership Development 7

8 LESSON 2 - ANSWERS 1. serving heart 3. character 4. ways 5. hireling 6. personal discipline 11. patience 13. offensive 14. reproduce 1. God people 2. Leading His people B. isolation 5. belong to Him 1. not position A. who they are B. where they ve come from C. where they re going 2. faith and vision 3. submission 4. character 5. obedience Christian Life Center Leadership Development 8