So You Want to Lead

So You Want to Lead

Subject: Developing Leaders in the Church

by Rick Welborne

1. Introduction to Christian Leadership

--We will be speaking of Christian Leadership (Overflows into all areas). Our Christianity was never intended to be isolated to just the church. Leaders lead wherever they are.

--Christ is the Head of His Church (He is Lord and the One to Whom we answer). If we lead like Christ led:

Phil 2:5-8 (NKJV)

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 

6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 

7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 

8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.   

--Christian leadership is having the mind of Christ. Thinking and acting like Jesus.

--Christian leadership is abandonment of your reputation (absence of fear of what others think of you). It is not about you...it is about God and others. The acronym…JOY – Jesus first – Others second – Yourself last. 

--Christian leadership is being a servant and identifying with other people and their felt needs.  (Our style here is servant leadership) Some like idols. Example: Falcon 1 to falcon 2.

--Christian leadership is humility (not humiliation) before God and man.

Isaiah 57:15 (NKJV)
¹⁵  For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 

James 4:6-10 (NKJV)
⁶  But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
⁷  Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
⁸  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
⁹  Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
¹⁰  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. 

--Something for all of us to be aware of: I am your servant but you are not my master...Jesus is my Master.

Luke 4:8 (NKJV)
⁸  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "

--Christian leadership is obedience to the point of death (our desires and will). Listen to the Apostle Paul!

1 Corinthians 15:31 (NKJV)
³¹  I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

--Christian leadership is taking up our cross and following (Discipleship). This is especially foreign in our American churches because leaders want to be honored and respected. SE University – Master’s Program

Luke 9:23 (NKJV)
²³  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

2. The Law of the Lid (John Maxwell).

Definition: Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness.  The lower an individual’s ability to lead, the lower the lid to his potential.  The higher the leadership, the greater the effectiveness.  

--To give you an example, if your leadership rates an 8, then your effectiveness can never be greater than a 7.  If your leadership is only a 4, then your effectiveness will be no higher than a 3.  

--Your leadership ability—for better or for worse—always determines your effectiveness and the potential impact of your organization. Example of the pastor who bragged about not having formal training. 

Example of the Law of the Lid - Dick and Maurice

–In 1930 they moved from New Hampshire to Calif. looking for their American dream. They tried opening a theater in Glendale but could not make it work.

–In 1937, they opened a small drive-in restaurant in Pasadena - very successful. In 1940, they opened a larger facility in San Bernardino...business exploded.

–Annual sales reached $200,000 and they found themselves splitting $50,000 in profits every year - found themselves in the town’s financial elite.

–In 1948, they did away with carhops...serving walk up customers only. They went from glass to paper and streamlined the process of preparing the food for speed. Fast food! Actually a joke now!

–By the mid-1950's their annual revenue hit $350,000...now spitting $100,000 each year. They doubled what they had been making previously. Very successful.

–Who were these guys...On their sign in front of their restaurant in San Bernardino it simply said McDonald’s Hamburgers...these guys hit the American jackpot and the rest is history, right?  Wrong!

–The McDonalds never went any further because their weak leadership put a lid on their ability to succeed.  Were they financially secure?  Yes! Could they have done more? Yes!

–To make a long story short...a partner of theirs bought them out for $2.7 million dollars. Obviously his lid was much higher than theirs. By 1998 Ray Kroc had opened over 21,000 restaurants in 100 countries.

–What’s the point...leadership ability or more specifically the lack of leadership ability put a lid on the McDonald’s brother’s effectiveness.

3. Increasing Our Leadership Ability.   

--So how can we as Christian leaders increase our leadership ability? Through Discipleship - Becoming a follower and a learner.

Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.   

Prov 3:1-6 (NKJV)

1 My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; 

2 For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you. 

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, 

4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. 

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 

--We all can increase our knowledge by reading and becoming a student of the Word of God and by reading good leadership books. In my Master’s program we had to read 80 books. Some Christian and some secular.

--We can go to classes, seminars, or listen to good teachings from leaders. We can further our education. We can learn God’s laws and leadership principles, and then, He directs our paths.

--We can grow through Mentorship - Following and learning from proven leaders. This can be done personally in our churches or it can be done through podcast and other means. So much available if we want to grow.

1 Cor 11:1 (NIV)

1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.   

--We all should be looking for someone who will stretch us and make us grow. Why I am constantly reading. Not everything I read is good so I eat the meat and spit out the fat.

--We must be careful not to place ourselves too high on the totem pole. We all can learn from those around us.

Also, mentorship implies accountability - someone to answer to in our walk.

--We can increase our leadership ability by learning through Life Experience. Even when we mess up and fall. 

Psalms 37:23 25 (NKJV)

23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. 

24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. 

25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.   

--How sad it is when we do not learn from our mistakes and failures. We should also be learning from the life experiences (mistakes, failures, and successes) of others. How dumb are we when we don’t? My brothers.

Insanity - It is continually doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Do what you have always done and get what you always gotten. 

--We can increase our leadership ability by a genuine encounter with God. Wait a minute...lots of people have encounters with God and are obviously not leaders. Correction – we are all leaders at some level. 

--Some who have encounters with God discover what His divine purposes are for them. (Examples - Moses, Noah, Jacob, Isaiah, the disciples, Paul).

--The God of this universe will sometimes disrupt our lives and call us to a divine destiny that has leadership written all over it. Our part is to experience God and obey...Isaiah said, “Lord, send me!”

--Look at the God encounter of the man named Saul who become Paul:

Acts 9:15 17 (NKJV)

15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 

16 "For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake." 

17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 

--Saul’s genuine encounter with God was such that Paul would be thrust into God’s work (leadership) of preaching the gospel. None of us should fear having encounters with God. It helps us find our destiny.

--Even with this encounter and with proven leadership (Pharisee)...Paul did not start his ministry immediately:

Gal 1:15 18 (NKJV)

15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, 

16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, 

17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 

18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.   

--Through the Baptism in the Holy Spirit we increase our leadership ability.

--When Ananias laid hands on Paul, it was so he would receive his sight and that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit. He fills us with power but He is also our teacher, our comforter, and our guide. Personal mentor.

--How can we lead others unless we are being led and empowered by God? Leadership is not just learning and techniques. It is divine empowerment.

--The apostles learned at the feet of the greatest servant leader ever for three and one-half years and still could not stand under persecution. What made the difference?  Power from on High! Holy Spirit!

--Peter could not be a leader to a servant girl or anyone else until he was filled with the Holy Spirit. On the Day of Pentecost after he was filled with power:

Acts 2:14 (NKJV)

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 

--All of the training, all the mentoring, all the life experiences were magnified by the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Summary: To be a leader in the Kingdom of God we must:

1. Be a servant to God and to one another.

2. Be willing to raise our lid by being a disciple learner.

3. Be willing to raise our lid by being mentored and by mentoring.

4. Be willing to raise our lid by learning thru our life experiences and others.

5. Be willing to raise our lid by seeking for an encounter with God.

6. Be willing to raise our lid by being baptized in Holy Spirit.