Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 18 & 19 - The Art of Delegation & Replacing Leaders

One of the key qualities of good leader is to identify the strengths of others. There is an old fast food saying that fits this mold, "Put the aces in their places." With everyone working to their strengths, productivity increases. The mark of a good leader is to train a member or members to the point that if the leader was to leave, someone would be ready to take their spot. Delegation is a very useful tool to stretch someone's ability. This can push someone out of their comfort zone, but will always strengthen them. Coupled with the leaders support, these stretch opportunities empower the people doing the tasks to confidently accomplish their goals.

Exodus 18 is listed as an example of delegation. Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, noticed that Moses was becoming overwhelmed by dealing with problems from sunrise to sunset as the acting Judge of the new nation. Jethro convinced Moses to appoint several leaders from his camp to assist in the daily work. This greatly improved Moses's effectiveness to lead the nation of Israel.

The biggest test of an organization is how it operates when the leader is absent. This makes me think of the phrase, "when the cats away, the mice will play." If a organization is ran by an effective leaders this scenario should never happen. We as leaders must never forget that God is always at work preparing people for leadership. God's greatest gift to Israel was not just the Promised Land, but it was Isaiah, Moses and David. Only after a leader is removed, is where the next true leader emerges. The cream will always rise to the top. The departure of a leader also allows room for development of the emerging leaders.

Since our leader, Jesus, conducts his work with the power of the Holy Spirit, He will be the same yesterday, today and forever. We should not let any changes in human leadership to shake us.

Chapter 20 & 21 - Reproducing Leaders & The Perils of Leadership - Pre-Reading Questions

1. What dangers does popularity potentially hold for a leader?

2. How do you deal with people who believe that they are never wrong?