A Servant’s Heart: True Leadership

What make a great  leader? Is it Rank, Status, Celebrity, Clout, Style.  Is leadership automatically bestowed by a box on an organizational  chart?  No! I submit to you that  leadership demands Service, Sacrifice and Selflessness. A proud and self-promoting person is not, cannot and will not be a good leader no matter how much clout he/she has. The greatest leaders will have a servant’s heart. They will exemplify sacrifice. These are not characteristics that most people associate with leadership but they are absolutely essential in order to influence people and establish trust.   Intelligent people will not follow people they do not trust. A true leader inspires followers.

Again, I maintain that leadership demands a servant’s heart. Let me be clear. It is by no means the case that everyone with a servant’s heart is thereby a leader. To put it simply, leadership is influence. The ideal leader is someone whose life and character motivate people to follow. The best and greatest kind of leadership derives its authority from the force of character and example,  not merely power, prestige or personality. Real leadership seeks to motivate people from the inside, by an appeal to the heart not by external pressure and coercion. It is because of this that I believe leadership is not about style or technique. It’s ALL about character. Character yields trust. Trust allows you to positively influence others.

In my life I have had the privilege to work under several great leaders. I have compiled a list of characteristics that I believe were crucial to the effectiveness of their leadership. They are as follows:

A Great Leader:

1.       Is Trustworthy

2.       Takes the Initiative

3.       Uses Good Judgment

4.       Speaks with Authority

5.       Empowers Others

6.       Strengthens Others

7.       Is Optimistic

8.       Is Enthusiastic

9.       Never compromises the non-negotiables (His/her Values)

10.   Leads by example

11.   Cultivates Loyalty

12.   Pays attention to the details

13.   Has empathy for others

14.   Maintains a clear conscience

15.   Is Decisive

16.   Does not abuse His/Her authority

17.   Does not abdicate their role in the face of opposition

18.   Knows His/Her Limitations

19.   Is Passionate

20.   Is Resilient

21.   Is Discerning

22.   Uses Time Wisely

23.   Is Disciplined

24.   Knows How to Delegate

25.   Demonstrates care for His/her followers

These are not in any particular order but all are character traits that allow leaders to influence others. To those of you who aspire to any type of leadership, Take heed. It is your character that gives you entrance to the place where you can lead others.

#WhenIRuletheWorld

Those of you who follow me on Twitter know that I use a hashtag called #wheniruletheworld. When I use it it refers to something that I see in our world that needs changing. While in my study recently, I began to reflect upon my life. Upon that reflection, I saw my accomplishments and failures. But what troubled me most were the things that I could have done. The things that were within my grasp that I gave up on because of fear, lack of effort, time etc. These thoughts were with me for days. I found it interesting that I often consider what I would make others do when I rule the world when of far greater importance is what I am doing to rule my OWN world. Thinking more about this, I realized that the question really is "Am I willing to put forth the effort? Am I willing to do that which is necessary to effect the change I want to see in my own life? With the realization that there are likely more days behind me than ahead I've decided to go for it. I'm determined that I will make the maximum effort, to do that which is required, to ask and answer is it "I can't" or is it "I won't". I'm determined to overcome the obstacles. I'm determined not to run but to stand my ground before my fears and fight the fights that need fighting to reach the place that I want/need to be. I feel like Rocky training for one of his fights (they always look soooo painful).

I'm beginning a new journey and I'm excited by it.

I'll let you know #whenIruleMYworld.

SLOW BLEED

"Sometimes I fall asleep and then I lose control. I try to find my way out without letting go...."

My brothers and sisters in Christ. My greatest failures have often come on the heels of my greatest victories or after some blessing. Sound familiar? Yep, probably does. So many of us have this sad testimony.  Because so many have reported this to me, I have discerned a principle : "Failure Rides On The Wings Of Success"

The ground is fertile for this when we begin to smell ourselves and think how brilliant we are, become charter members of our own fan club and ignore the biblical principles that brought success in the first place. I must confess that 90 per cent of the problems in my life I have caused myself. These messes rarely occurred all at once but in hind sight, I discovered that they were the result of slow, imperceptible changes that I call Slow Bleeds. Their inevitable result is to leave me saying" How did I get here?" "How did things get so bad?" To make matters worse, far more often than not, when I try to fix my messes, I make matters even worse.  Through hard, painful experience I learned that when I fall victim to the Slow Bleed I must give to God the messes they inspire because I will only make a bigger mess of things.

The nature of our humanness causes us often to wander from the God who is our source and strength. This is fertile ground for Slow Bleeds. They deceive us into thinking we are two steps ahead when we are really five steps behind.

Slow bleeds are just that....slow.  but their life wrecking results can be just as deadly as a bullet to the head. The key is to keep our eyes focused on King Jesus. When He is enthroned in our lives we will avoid the destruction, despair and pain so often caused by the Slow Bleed.