SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

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1 SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP In my twenty-plus years serving in Christian ministry, I have participated with and led many teams. I have observed various forms of leadership and have made my own share of good decisions as well as mistakes. These experiences have served me well as, through them, I have gleaned insights which have made me more effective in leading others. In addition to my experiences, I have scoured the Scriptures and studied great leaders to better understand leadership and, more specifically, Spiritual Leadership; how to join God in empowering men and women to accomplish His will together. The following document is a summary of what I have learned thus far about the topic of spiritual leadership and how God has wired me to faithfully serve Him and His church. HUMBLE, VULNERABLE SERVANTS I believe the chief difference between spiritual leadership and coveted leadership in the secular marketplace is that quality spiritual leaders live in and exude humility, vulnerability and joyful servitude. (Mark 10:42-45) Spiritual leaders live out of dependence upon God, ultimately being lead followers of God on mission. Such spiritual leaders wisely submit to God s wisdom and seek a posture to best receive and respond to God s leading and His desire to support hearts that are truly His. (2 Chronicles 16:9) Within this, they model dependence on God as they lead others into His unfolding plans. Jesus perfectly embodied this model when He took on flesh to dwell among us, pursuing not only His will, but the will of His Father. (John 4:34; 6:38) I believe humility, vulnerability and servitude are the character qualities that undergird true spiritual leadership. Though these are often counter to the celebrated values of secular leadership, I believe they are paramount to laboring in God s power and building spiritual community. Below are simple definitions of what I believe to be true about these qualities. Humility- A true and sober estimation of yourself. A joyfully honest assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, and a continual gratitude for Christ s love and sufficiency for you in every aspect of life. Humility positions us to rightly receive from and respond to God. (Psalm 138:6; Proverbs 3:34; Proverbs 29:23; Matthew 23:12; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5) Spiritual leaders model the humility they desire of and from others. Vulnerability- Vulnerability is the quality of transparency in relationships. It is evident in our honesty about our own weaknesses. It is in recognizing our need of God and allowing the input and participation of other people complement each other as we labor together. Vulnerability positions us to rightly relate with others to foster interdependence. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10; Romans 7:23-24; 2 Corinthians 4:7) Spiritual leaders model the vulnerability they desire from others. Servitude- Joyfully participation in the work of ministry. Servitude demonstrates a spiritual leader s love for his or her team and deep commitment to what they are building together. Servitude positions us to rightly build camaraderie with our team. (Mark 10:42-45; Luke 22:25-28) Spiritual leaders model the servitude they desire of from others.

2 GOD GIVEN PURPOSE In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul presents a simple analogy as a picture of the healthy functionality of Christian community. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:3-8) Paul continues this analogy in his letter to the church in Ephesus, stating that, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16) Similar to the human body, he paints a picture of gifted people within the church functioning within their design and working together under the headship of Christ. As a leader within the Church, I believe my role is to prepare God s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12-13) Breaking this down, it seems clear to me that the goal of spiritual leadership is to: prepare people for works of service, not works of service for people build up the body toward greater unity in faith and maturity Spiritual leadership is not managing the Church, but rather empowering people toward maturity, unity, and impact. As I have embraced leader development over the years, I have found success in helping others discern how God has uniquely wired them for His purposes. Most of us do not remember how we decided which hand we would write with or use to throw a ball, but, at some point, we clearly discerned that we had greater success with one or the other and have been doing it that way ever since. Within the development of people, I seek to help others discern what they are best at and how to work out of their design toward the greatest impact. I have found that when this occurs, work is Spiritual leadership is not managing the Church, but rather empowering people toward maturity, unity, and impact. energizing and people come alive! I am inspired by the beautiful statement from Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire when he stated, I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure. Nothing brings me greater joy than helping others feel God s pleasure in their service. Flowing from the human body analogy shared earlier, this begins with knowing what part of the body we are, then growing in our skills at serving out of our design toward God s glory and our joy! I have found that when we focus on preparing people for works of service, we end up accomplishing all that God has called us to, while empowering the right people to serve in the right places with joy. Their role becomes an environment for discovery and faith, creating excitement, commitment, and 2

3 fruitfulness in their activity. I strive to walk with people toward greater freedom and empowerment within their various roles while embracing my role; caring for the oversight of how we are working together in unity and purpose. LEADERSHIP VALUES In teams I lead, there are consistent values I seek to cultivate within our working dynamics. In order for these to become the norm for our team culture, I have learned that I must articulate our shared values, but most importantly I have to model them consistently as well as humbly confess when I have stumbled in living up to the values I have invited my people into. My values for team dynamics are: Spiritual Heath- I want my people to live and serve out of an intimate relationship with God and His empowerment. (John 15:5) I strongly encourage my team to practice spiritual disciplines both personally and leading them within our group dynamics. Safety- I know that ministry (and life) can be lonely, so I seek to show my team that they matter more to me than what they produce, while I help them move toward greater success in their pursuits. Approachability- I highly value relational connections within my teams and abhor barriers that often exist in superficial positional leadership (structural authority). Though there will be some limits of accessibility within any organization, I seek to intentionally connect, receive input, and encourage people throughout my leadership structure. I have found this to help stimulate camaraderie, but it also helps me to keep the pulse on our organizational health in order to serve more purposefully within my role. Honesty and Vulnerability- Being transparent with ideas, struggles and questions is the greatest sign of trust and unity. Teams that are healthy are able to love each other through differing ideas, deep questions, and the struggles of life and faith. I celebrate humility and graciously call out harmful pride as it will stifle honesty and vulnerability on the team. I have greatly valued most of my mistakes as a leader, as they have proved to be opportunities to exercise humility, which God has used to foster greater trust and vulnerability with those around me. Resolutions- When conflicts arise, I value short accounts and resolution. I seek to find the best way to work through problems, and preserve safety, love, and unity of the team. Spiritual Discernment- I am fascinated with the process of discerning God s will. I love Jesus picture in John 3, that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. Though God has made us as wise and logical creatures, I long to continually grow in the skill of discerning His ways and purposes that will far exceed ours. I believe God continues to direct us as we join Him in His work and discerning what He is saying is key to our joy and fruitfulness in moving forward. In practice, I have found that every person on my team can participate somehow in the spiritual discernment process. I believe the Holy Spirit speaks through all of us, and we are wise to listen intently to hear Him within our leadership community. Though I may be called to pull the trigger, others can help me discern the best shot. Answering the WHY - Even from my youth, I have embraced the need to identify the why behind any pursuit. The why clarifies purpose, stimulates motivation, and provides a clear picture of what we are building. This allows us to evaluate success or to make future modifications to our how as we move forward. In leadership I have learned that answering the why is a foundational idea that, once understood, sets people off toward amazing success and fruitfulness. Audacious Dreaming & Faith- I encourage radical dreaming and exercising faith as we lean into God more fully. I love Walt Disney s story of how he, with his Imagineers, built a culture to consistently 3

4 dream and create ideas that become tangible and mind blowing realities. Since our God is such a creative Being we, as His children, should continually press into creative ideas He invites us to pursue. This requires freedom, trust, and what the Imagineers call blue sky dreaming, embracing that nothing is impossible. (Matthew 19:26) Healthy DNA- A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. (Luke 6:40) I firmly believe that our teams (and organization) will embody the spiritual and relational DNA of their leaders. In this, I value the intentionality of how we relate to one another, realizing that we will ultimately create disciples (good or bad) that look like us. Fun- I love to laugh and encourage a child-like playfulness with my teams, firmly believing that laughter is one of the greatest signs of health in a family or team. LEADERSHIP TYPES I have witnessed and experienced various models of leadership over the years. In the following synopsis I am purposely avoiding terminology, such as visionary leader, relational leader or encouraging leader which often come pre-loaded, already meaning something to different people. Simplified, I prefer to graphically illustrate leadership as where the leader might fit within the team they are leading. At the end I will explain where I fit in this graphic structure. Leader in front of the team In this model the leader platform is primarily in front of the people calling, inviting, and sometimes dragging them toward a destination. This leader s primary message is I will get us there. Leader within the team In this model the leader is amongst the people they are leading. Following this leader makes people feel that we accomplished this together. Leader behind the team In this model the leader is behind the team, encouraging them, and ultimately allowing them to arrive first. This leader builds confidence in the team as they communicate look what you accomplished. 4

5 Though different tasks may require different approaches, I find that I lead consistently from the front of the team. I am a visionary leader, holding to the why and what of our mission, then purposefully directing our how as we move toward completion. The message that flows from my mantle is I will align our efforts and resources to get to our preferred destination together. I have a great deal of personal drive, but equally enjoy working and inspiring others. In addition to completing the task at hand, I have learned that others within the team will often help me better discern nuances I may not see, and they will often sharpen my skills even while I am leading them. It has been affirmed over the years that I am wired very uniquely as a leader. I am very strategically minded leader and also highly creative. I love to dream and create, but can also lead a process with others for creative ideas to become tangible realities. This wiring has allowed me to make great contributions on both the abstract (vision) side as well as the practical (implementation) side of projects. The analogy that best illustrates my leadership is that of an air traffic controller. I am great at helping projects and teams take flight as well as land with purpose and intentionality. I enjoy the pursuit of leadership and working with teams for many reasons. On the surface, leadership and people get things done. Though I value quality results, I am equally excited about what happens below the surface of healthy leadership and teams. God s will is spiritually discerned- Those involved grow in their awareness of God s speaking presence and how to discern and walk with Him. People are challenged- Once we discern what God wants to accomplish, we are confronted with a crisis of belief to trust God s ability to provide the resources needed to accomplish it. Faith is grown- As we walk on, we see God move and are encouraged to trust Him even more our next adventure. Gifts are cultivated- People working together learn what they are made of and how to work most effectively with the gifts and abilities they have been given. Interdependence is celebrated- We learn to appreciate the abilities of others and what they contribute to our shared work. God is glorified- His will is accomplished, people are developed, unity increases, and excitement is cultivated within the body of Christ! 5