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Spiritual
Leaders
Leadership and Judgment
Two men once robbed a jewelry store.
One was a lawyer and the other was a high-school dropout. After being arrested
convicted
and sentenced
the lawyer received a ten-year imprisonment. The
dropout received three years. The counselors for the lawyer protested the harsh
judgment but the judge insisted that the lawyer was under greater
responsibility to be an example of the law.
In like manner are church leaders
under a greater responsibility to be living examples of the Lord Jesus Christ. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Leadership by Example
Shepherds of God’s flock
are not to lord it over the flock
but to prove to be examples. They are to
lead by their example. This is graphically illustrated in the U.S. Army. The
symbol of the infantry (footsoldiers who do most of the front-line fighting) is
a soldier with a rifle in one hand
helmet cocked
and head looking back behind
him. The rifle is pointing forward
the other arm is giving a “Come on ahead”
motion
and the leader is shouting back
“Follow me!” This symbol illustrates
leadership-by-example
as this soldier calls his men to follow him into the
heart of the battle. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Leadership
True leaders always rise to
the top
especially in difficult times. They are like beans in a jar of peas.
When you place peas and beans in a jar and shake them up vigorously
the peas
always settle to the bottom while the beans always come to the top.
So it is with godly men.
They can never be held down when shaken up. If they truly have leadership
abilities and a love for God
they will always rise to the top. ── Michael P.
Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
At one time Andrew
Carnegie was the wealthiest man in America. He came to America from his native
Scotland when he was a small boy
did a variety of odd jobs
and eventually
ended up as the largest steel manufacturer in the United States. At one time he
had forty-three millionaires working for him. In those days a millionaire was a
rare person; conservatively speaking
a million dollars in his day would be
equivalent to at least twenty million dollars today.
A reporter asked Carnegie
how he had hired forty-three millionaires. Carnegie responded that those men
had not been millionaires when they started working for him but had become
millionaires as a result.
The reporter's next
question was
"How did you develop these men to becomes so valuable to you
that you have paid them this much money?" Carnegie replied that men are
developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined
several tons of dirt
must be moved to get an ounce of gold; but one doesn't go into the mine looking
for dirt - one goes in looking for the gold.
That's exactly the way we
pastors need to view our people. Don't look for the flaws
warts
and
blemishes. Look for the gold
not for the dirt; the good
not the bad. Look for
the positive aspects of life. Like everything else
the more good qualities we
look for in our people
the more good qualities we are going to find.── Source Unknown.
Bruce Larson
in his book Wind
and Fire
points out some interesting facts about sandhill cranes:
"These large birds
who fly great distances across continents
have three remarkable qualities.
First
they rotate leadership. No one bird stays out in front all the time.
Second
they choose leaders who can handle turbulence. And then
all during the
time one bird is leading
the rest are honking their affirmation.
That's not a bad model for
the church. Certainly we need leaders who can handle turbulence and who are
aware that leadership ought to be shared. But most of all
we need a church
where we are all honking encouragement." ── Bruce
Larson
Wind and Fire.
It's those stately geese I
find especially impressive. Winging their way to a warmer climate
they often
cover thousands of miles before reaching their destination. Have you ever studied
why they fly as they do? It is fascinating to read what has been discovered
about their flight pattern as well as their in-flight habits. Four come to
mind.
1. Those in front rotate
their leadership. When one lead goose gets tired
it changes places with one in
the wing of the V-formation and another flies point.
2. By flying as they do
the members of the flock create an upward air current for one another. Each
flap of the wings literally creates an uplift for the bird immediately
following. One author states that by flying in a V-formation
the whole flock
gets 71 percent greater flying range than if each goose flew on its own.
3. When one goose gets
sick or wounded
two fall out of formation with it and follow it down to help
and protect it. They stay with the struggler until it's able to fly
again.
4. The geese in the rear
of the formation are the ones who do the honking. I suppose it's their way of
announcing that they're following and that all is well. For sure
the repeated
honks encourage those in front to stay at it.
As I think about all this
one lesson stands out above all others: it is the natural instinct of geese to
work together. Whether it's rotating
flapping
helping
or simply honking
the
flock is in it together...which enables them to accomplish what they set out to
do. ── Chuck Swindoll
letter
October
1991.
Perhaps you have heard the
geese honking as they fly northward in a "V" formation. They head
toward the grain fields of Canada and Alaska to spend the summer. Two engineers
calibrated in a wind tunnel why geese fly in formation. Each goose
flapping
its wings
creates an uplift for the goose that follows. The whole flock gains
71% greater flying range than if they journeyed alone. That's why the leader of
the "V" formation falls back periodically to let another leader take
the point
and why the rest stay in line. It is rough to be a leader. Even in a
flock of geese
leadership is a shared responsibility. Every disciple
at one
time or another
is called to "take the point."── Source Unknown.
Cal Thomas found himself
called a "Christian leader" by a leading Christian magazine and he
wondered what that meant. More speaking engagements? Perhaps an appearance on a
Christian talk show?
"It would certainly
give me the right to start putting Scripture references under my signed name in
books I have written. I would surely sign more Bibles
which I find a curious
practice since I didn't write that Book."
Thomas wonders if we have
reversed things. God's strength is made perfect in weakness. "In a church
I once attended
there was a man of tremendous faith. His wife is an alcoholic
His daughter has psychological problems. He was often poor in health. Yet
week
after week
he never complained. He always smiled and asked me how I was doing.
He faithfully brought to church a young blind man who had no transportation. He
always sat with the blind man
helping him sing the hymns by saying the words
into his ear. That man was a `Christian leader' if ever there was one." ── "Dear God
Please Don't Let Me Be a
Christian Leader
" Fundamentalist Journal.
There is a new leader for
Atlanta's Roman Catholic community
Bishop James Lyke
and he is calling for a
renewal and revival of the church which locally has been rocked by a sex
scandal. More than a third of Roman Catholic Priests in the United States are
sexually active. The American Psychological Association meeting in Boston hears
of Johns Hopkins' research indicating that 20 percent of priests are
heterosexual
10-13 percent homosexual
and 6 percent involved sexually with
minors. This 25 year study
by the way
was conducted by Richard Sight
who
left the priesthood to marry. Catholic officials say that his study is not
scientific. ── Associated Press
August
13
1990.
Leadership
Stay one step ahead of your
people and you are called a leader. Stay ten steps ahead of your people and you
are called a martyr! ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
In this Age of Self
the
language is filled with phrases that glorify personal choice above all other
values: self-determination
self-knowledge
self-esteem
self-help even
do-it-yourself. In this climate
no doctrine is safe
no dictate accepted
without scrutiny....The touchstone of belief today is the individual
not the
institution. Priests.
like precinct captains
have lost authority. The same
voters who talk back to their political leaders on call-in shows and town
meetings are talking back to their religious leaders at parish council meetings
and Communion breakfasts. While 85 percent of American Catholics look up to the
pope as a moral leader
4 out of 5 say they follow their own conscience
rather
than papal authority
on moral questions...The phrase "cafeteria
Catholics" describes those who pick and choose among church teachings. But
in religion
as in politics
the more appropriate analogy for modern mores is
to fast food rather than to cafeterias; as the slogan for one hamburger chain
puts it: "Have it your way."...How do leaders lead when followers
don't want to be led?── Steven
V. Roberts
"Leading the Faithful in an Age of Dissent
" U.S. News
and World Report
August 23
1993
p. 6.
Myron Rush identifies
tough issues facing every Christian leader in The New Leader. We are wise
to ponder them slowly.
- You must be willing to
stand alone.
- You must be willing to
go against public opinion in order to promote what you believe.
- You must be willing to
risk failure.
- You must become master
of your emotions.
- You must strive to
remain above reproach.
- You must be willing to
make decisions others don't want to make.
- You must be willing to
say no at times
even when you'd like to say yes.
- You must sometimes be
willing to sacrifice personal interests for the good of the group.
- You must never be
content with the average; you must always strive for the best.
- People must be more
important to you than possessions.
- You will have to work
harder to keep your life in balance than people do who are not leaders.
── Paul
Borthwick
Leading the Way
Navpress
1989
pp. 177-178.
The world needs leaders...
who cannot be bought;
whose word is their
promise;
who put character above
wealth;
who possess opinions and a
will;
who are larger than their
vocations;
who do not hesitate to
take chances;
who will not lose their
individuality in a crowd;
who will be honest in
small things as well as in great things;
who will make no
compromise with wrong;
whose ambitions are not
confined to their own selfish desires;
who will not say they do
it "because everybody else does it";
who are true to their
friends through good report and
evil report
in adversity
as well as in prosperity;
who do not believe that
shrewdness
cunning
and
hardheadedness are the
best qualities for winning success;
who are not ashamed or
afraid to stand for the truth
when it is unpopular
who
can say no with emphasis
although the rest of the
world says yes.
── Paul
Borthwick
Leading the Way
Navpress
1989
pp. 19-20.
Don't take a position of
leadership in church unless you are prepared to be honest
pure
and loving in
your lifestyle. Leadership is a privilege
and with privilege comes responsibility.
God holds teachers of His truth doubly responsible because we who lead are in a
position where we can either draw people toward Christ or drive them away from
Him. This is illustrated in the life of the famous author Mark Twain.
Church leaders were
largely to blame for his becoming hostile to the Bible and the Christian faith.
As he grew up
he knew elders and deacons who owned slaves and abused them. He
heard men using foul language and saw them practice dishonesty during the week
after speaking piously in church on Sunday. He listened to ministers use the
Bible to justify slavery. Although he saw genuine love for the Lord Jesus in
some people
including his mother and his wife
he was so disturbed by the bad
teaching and poor example of church leaders that he became bitter toward the
things of God.
Indeed
it is a privilege
to be an elder
a deacon
a Sunday school teacher
or a Bible club leader. But
it is also an awesome responsibility. Let's make sure we attract people to the
Savior rather than turn them away.── Source
Unknown.
Leadership in the local
church should be determined by spirituality
not notoriety.── Tony Evans.
The following principles
of leadership emerge from biblical teaching:
1. Christian leaders should
be certain that their goal is to serve God and others
not to receive the title
or honor that comes with leadership.
2. Leaders should not use
their position for their own advantage or comfort. No task should be
"beneath" them--although some tasks may be delegated. They should not
ask others to do what they are unwilling to do themselves.
3. Leaders will seek to
distinguish their own preferences from the will and welfare of the group as a
whole.
4. Normally the position
should seek the leader. There may be some situations in which persons may apply
or volunteer. Nevertheless
when someone strongly desires a particular
responsibility
his or her motivation should be carefully examined.
5. We must learn to see
each other as valuable to the Lord and basically equal in his sight.
── Millard
J. Erickson
The Standard
May
1982.