Leadership has become an overused buzzword and topic of conversation from boardrooms and strategy sessions to the pulpit. The demand for leadership is great because the supply is lacking. Books, seminars, conferences, sermons and college degrees try to teach leadership by reducing it to a shopping list of characteristics and qualities. If it were that easy then we wouldn’t need it so desperately.
The political parties have died because of a lack of leadership. National powers have shifted because of the absence of leadership. The health of families has declined because of a vacuum created by the lack of leadership in the home. Corporations have shorter life spans while they search to find and nurture leaders. At a time where so many are espousing leadership as a ‘to do’ list there is a dearth of true leaders. Could it be the world is looking in the wrong place for the wrong thing?
At the most basic level, leadership is identifying a goal and modeling the way to get there. Leadership requires explaining the purpose and vision for positive growth and change to provide a future that is in the best interest for those involved and affected. We want a leader who is right and not wrong. We want a leader who can make the tough calls in the interest of those being led. Does this sound about right? I ask because it’s starting to sound like we need a savior and not just a leader.
Christian leadership was described by Paul in Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others as better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” If this is a job description for a leader it’s no wonder there’s not an abundance. Real leadership is not a road to personal glory or an outline for a best selling book. Leadership has an attitude, but it’s not one of power and control. Paul went on to describe the attitude of a leader in verse 5, “Your attitude should be that of Christ Jesus.”
Let me paraphrase the attitude of Christ that Paul described in Philippians and how it is the role model for what leadership needs to resemble. Leadership is tied to serving those you lead. A leader should purposefully make himself less than those he leads. A true leader takes on the nature of a servant in leading those for which he is responsible. A leader needs to humble himself. Why? Because if he or she is successful at leading, vanity and a promotion will likely follow. In fact, dying to yourself is a good idea. The world craves leadership so desperately that success can serve the leader and not those you are called to lead. Leadership is not a ticket to a better life, it’s a way of life. Good leadership should and will be rewarded, but maybe not here and now.
Christ was sent to destroy the devil’s work. When his time had come, Jesus modeled a radically different type of leadership than was currently being practiced. The government leaders in Jesus’ day and age were dictators. The civilian leaders took advantage of the systems just to enrich themselves. The religious leaders were legalistic and used the rules to enslave men and not lead them. A change in leadership style was needed to break the mold of sin in the leaders of Jesus’ day. The same is true today. Leaders in 2017 need to follow Christ’s model and not lead from a position of power and prestige to win a popularity contest.
Servant leadership is the model Christ used then and what we need to use today. Servant leadership is easier preached than practiced because the results don’t always benefit the person leading. Christ didn’t look very successful from an Earthly perspective and the world believes leadership results in looking good and being successful. Christ’s model for leadership didn’t use control measures or best management practices. Sending out only twelve guys in groups of two isn’t the most efficient use of time and resources. We need to shed the earthly perspectives on excellence if we are going to practice true servant leadership.
Christian leadership as opposed to worldly leadership is the 10,000 pound gorilla in the room. Christian leadership is what the world needs but not necessarily what is sought after and rewarded in 2017. The church can not be run like a business targeting numbers and events at the expense of spiritual maturity that can’t be measured with those metrics. Corporations can’t target being the ‘best place to work’ if quarterly or annual profits are the ultimate measure of success. The priority of Christian leadership is Matthew 20:28, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Leadership is not measured in an opinion poll.
Christian leadership comes in red letters not a list. “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:37. God put man at the top of the food chain to lead and He gave us Jesus as the example of how to do it right. Christ led by example and the earthly result was a short life and career. Christ’s leadership style was to focus more on leading others to the goal and not his career as a leader.
Christian leaders in 2017 need to be led by the Spirit, confess their mistakes and serve everyone in the organization. Leaders must be courageous and committed to sacrifice themselves with eternity and posterity as the measure of their success. The job description might not be attractive, but the benefits and rewards are out of this world.