To me in the business world it means these are a people that have more seniority than the people who are more qualified that are in leadership roles. I'm sure everyone has ran across these leaders before. You usually find them sitting behind a desk in an office somewhere while the team members are doing all of the work. Any positive feedback received they take all the credit for it. Self-indulgence is what I call it. Do as little work as possible, then take all the credit. But wait! The moment things go wrong, this type of leader becomes hostile and then starts micro-managing. It is never a pleasant experience for anyone.
Even worse than that are the leaders that are on so called power trips. These leaders do not take suggestions from team members. Everything has to be done their way at a certain time. Similarly there are team members that are set in their ways and only do enough to make themselves look good. When it comes to helping other struggling team members, these people will lay blame on those struggling and throw them under the bus when confronted by management or supervision.
Real leaders don't have to be in a leadership role at all. Real leaders work for the greater good for all. Supervision and management work in developing team members and strive to identify those who are showing leadership abilities. These team members often mentor other team members and develop them to be better. In Mark 10:43-45, "43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
I was fortunate to see real corporate leadership in action recently. Many of you that are friends with me on Facebook knows that my mother has been in and out of the hospital for over two years now. Recently doctors have transferred her to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia. Here is where I see true leadership. Before the doctors enter the rooms, they meet in the hallway to discuss vitals, treatments and plan their next action. Once everyone is satisfied they enter the room. This is not like other hospitals we've been to. There is genuine ownership and a bias for action. Even the nurses are in on the discussions and know exactly what is going on. True leadership like this is indeed hard to find.
Spiritually, there are many similarities to both good and bad leadership. I truly wish I could say that all of the pastors/ministers whose churches I have attended have been examples of real spiritual leaders, but I can't. The Bible states in many places that there are many false prophets. I have been to churches where the minister is a Saint, but outside of the church they are a totally different person. This is not limited to pastors or ministers but also from those who call themselves Christians. It is the "Hey! Look at me!" on Sundays and Church events but are vile and rude outside of the church. Let's face it we've all done it. This is why we are all sinners. We must developer our relationship with God and rely on him daily.
God also identified real leaders throughout the Scriptures to lead his people. These leaders are people like Moses, Gideon, David and Paul. These leaders suffered serving God's demands while remaining obedient. Moses story is quite well known. Moses did not want to be a leader due to his speech impediment, but God chose him to free the Israelite's from slavery in Egypt. Although Moses lead the Israelite's for 40 years but he was not permitted to enter the Promise Land. God did allow Moses to see the Promise Land before he died.
Gideon was the 5th Judge appointed over Israel. An angel appeared to Gideon to empower him to take a Stand against the Medianite's 135,000 man army, who were invading their land. Gideon answered the Angel's demand with humility to lead an army to force the Medianite's out. God told Gideon to use a small 300 man army. Fiercely outnumbered, Gideon trusted God and went into battle. God showed up and the fighting happened between each other in the invading army. Gideon army never been engaged in the fight. As a result of this Gideon's army won the battled which cemented the respect for Gideon throughout the Hebrew nation.
David began his life as a Shepard boy tending sheep. His love for God was so genuine he wrote most of the book Psalms. Growing up, Israel was ruled by Saul. David was instructed to take food to the army on the front lines of the battle against the Philistines. The leader of the Philistines many know as Goliath. Goliath would stand out in the middle of the valley and call out Israelite's to fight one on one. David wanted to take him on but Saul and his army said David was too small. Goliath after all was a giant. Saul offered Davis his royal armor. David could not move due to the weight of the armor, so he took it off, picked up a few stones and ran toward Goliath trusting that God would help him fight the battle. As every child should know David was victorious by putting a rock in his sling and killing Goliath. David was a hero who quickly gained favor with the Israelite's and with King Saul. David learned from Saul but never wanted to rule, until God anointed David to rule over the Israelite's. Then handing off the Tribe of Judah to his son Solomon, who we know built the temple David wanted.
Paul's journey started with him being under another name, Saul, not to be confused with King Saul during David's time. Saul was probably the most vocalist person that persecuted Christians. One day Saul was on his way to Damascus when he was blinded by a great light. God himself asked Paul why he was persecuting the church and the newly risen savior. This experience left Saul humbled, blind and obedient. Once he was led to Ananias, he was healed and began preaching in the synagogues. During this time he began to be known as Paul. Paul is what we would know to be today as a missionary. He went out to preach the Gospel and developed relationships with my of the churches. Most of his letters take up a good size portion of the New Testament.
True leaders are really true servants, humble and obedient. Moses, Gideon, David and Paul became servants to become true leaders. Do you have what it takes to be a true leader or are you going through life serving God without true obedience?
God has been working on me for nearly 40 years now. I remember a song we sang in children's Church, recorded by the Gaither Vocal Band called He's Still Working On Me. The song focuses on God being the potter and I as the clay. My walk with God has not always been close. I grew up in the Church but when I left for college I became defiant and resisted God and going to Church. In true prodigal fashion I went off into the world stomping my own path. It was not until I met a fellow low brass person who was orchestra director at Highlawn Baptist Church in Huntington, WV. He encouraged me to come play tuba in the orchestra. Highland Baptist was THE Church to go to in the area. The seed was planted. It would take a few more months for my seed to sprout and bring me back to daily walking with God. Am I the perfect Christian, NO, I sin every day but I am trying to become aware of God's presence and make good choices.
B & C. As you begin this study, what do you understand as the primary qualifying traits of Godley leadership? How are you affected by the closing warning in this chapter?
I understand that the qualities for Godley leadership is humbleness, ambition and an understanding of consequences for my service to God's kingdom. Being saved and being a Christian is great, but it is developing your relationship with God is where you have to humble yourself down and obey. We must remember that ambition can be good or bad. It depends on why you are doing it. I felt the need to start this Bible and book study through this blog to reach out to those with busy lifestyles who cannot make it out to traditional corporate Bible studies. The response has been positive although no one is commenting on the posts. That does not concern me because I am not doing this for personal satisfaction or to gain attention. There are about 15-20 different people visiting this blog daily. The seeds are being sown. If it reaches only 1 person it is a success.
Next week we will discuss Chapter 3 - The Master's Master Principle. Below are the pre reading questions to think about when reading.
1. How would you describe "servant leadership" to a young successful entrepreneur who recently became a Christian?
2. How would your Church be different if it identified, encouraged and expected the spiritual leadership described in this chapter?
3. What is the most significant insight about spiritual leadership that you have gained by reading these first three chapters?
4. What personal ambitions for leadership do you need to restrain? Which needs reinforcement?
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