QUARTERLY CONNECTION #1
WHAT IS A LEADER?
A leader is a person with God-given capacity and God-given responsibility, who is influencing a specific group of God’s people towards God’s purpose for that group.
At the heart of biblical leadership is the God-given capacity to influence God’s people towards God’s purposes (Romans 12:8).
Other examples: Hebrews 13:7-8, John 17:3-4
God-given capacity: gifts, passion, experience, spiritual giftedness, natural abilities, acquired skills
God-given responsibility: accountability to God for the call given a leader for the influence of others (i.e., how and where the leader leads people of God)
Influence: capacity to impact others to bring change or transformation in people or organizations
God’s people: those for whom we are the shepherds—not the owners, but stewards (Ezekiel 34:1-10)
God’s purposes: unique callings and biblical mandates that God gives the people
Leaders…
· Do the right things—lead out of their character
· Inspire, invite, and motivate God’s people
· Cast a vision others desire to follow
In his talk “How to Spot a Leader,” [1] John Maxwell names nine characteristics of leaders:
· Influence
· Self-discipline
· Proven track record
· Strong people skills
· Ability to solve problems
· Risk-taker
· Ability to see the big picture
· Ability to handle stress
· Positive spirit
LEADERSHIP LIMITATIONS
Even the strongest leaders can’t do everything.
There are two primary limitations for leaders: people limitations and personal ones.
People limitations:
· I cannot lead people longer than they are willing to follow.
· I cannot lead people farther than they are willing to go.
· I cannot lead people faster than they are willing to change.
· I cannot lead people higher than they are able to climb.
Personal Limitations:
· I cannot lead people beyond my leadership skills.
· I cannot lead people above my level of trust.
· I cannot lead people past my level of commitment.
· I cannot lead people around my undisciplined lifestyle.
· I cannot lead people without my willingness to serve.
DEFINING LEADERSHIP
Horst Schulze, president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotels:
“Leadership to me is a very simple thing. Creating consensus and aligning people behind a vision, not just telling them what needs to be done, but this is the key—why it should be done. Create an environment in which people WANT to do the job, rather than HAVE to do the job—that’s leadership.”[2]
Peter Drucker, management and business consultant:
“…leadership is not magnetic personality—that can just as well be demagoguery. It is not ‘making friends and influencing people’—that is flattery. Leadership is the lifting of a man’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a man’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a man’s personality beyond its normal limitations.”[3]
Henri Nouwen, Catholic priest and professor:
“The leadership about which Jesus speaks is of a radically different kind from the leadership offered by the world. It is servant leadership—to use Robert Greenleaf’s term—in which the leader is a vulnerable servant who needs the people as much as they need him or her. From this it is clear that a whole new type of leadership is asked for in the Church of tomorrow, a leadership which is not modeled on the power games of the world, but on the servant-leader, Jesus, who came to give his life for the salvation of many.”[4]
[1] John Maxwell. 1990. “How to Spot a Leader” (lecture). On INJOY Life Club:Vol. 5, Lesson 9. Quoted in Fred Herron, Expanding God's Kingdom through Church Planting (Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, 2003), 210.
[2] Horst Schultz. Quoted in EXPLORER 3 (January 31, 2000). http://media.leadnet.org/blog-content/leadnet/downloads/archives/EXPLORER_Archives.pdf.
[3] Peter F. Drucker, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (New York; HarperCollins, 1974), 463.
[4] Henri Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus (Chestnut Ridge, NY: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1989).