For Christians, hope speaks of a desire that includes expectation. When considering the promises of God, Christians know there is fulfillment.
Spiritual leadership is about hope. Our leadership must be characterized by a strong desire with expectation.
Listening, confident, learning, and conscientious leaders provide hope.
The very idea of “spiritual” leadership should exemplify the hope Christ came to provide all who would follow.
The ultimate deliverance was accomplished by Jesus at the cross. The result brought deliverance from our bondage to the consequences of sin.
This deliverance is identified as salvation, forgiveness, grace, and the indescribable gift.
It is the result of God’s immeasurable patience and love. Consider the lengths taken by God to provide for our greatest need and think for just a moment.
Our spiritual leadership is defined by it. The souls all around us depend on it.
Every company depends upon physical, financial, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual contributions. Without these gifts, success is hindered.
The development of our spiritual leadership hinges on what we contribute to the work. Are we giving whatever it takes to the needs that exist? Will our contribution make a difference?
When we contribute to the spiritual development of God’s kingdom, we know God will take what we have planted and make it grow.
Make a contribution today that leads others to know Jesus better. It is a gift worth giving.
The most valuable commodity we have is time. The greatest gift we can give is our time. Leading people requires time. We all have the same amount. How we use it determines the difference we make as leaders.
Solomon said there is a time for everything.
From birth to death, Jesus was on God’s time. Paul wrote “in the fullness of time God sent forth His Son.” Approaching the final days of His life, Jesus prayed, “Father, the hour has come.”
Paul instructs Christians to use their time wisely because the days are evil.
In this crazy, busy, scheduled life we live, how are we using our time?
Compassion is best described as a feeling of sympathy aroused by the distress of others with a desire to get involved and help. It is easy to see how Jesus would be described this way.
The tougher an environment becomes, the more a leader’s need for compassion increases. During the challenges of life, an awareness to the needs of others becomes evident.
A leader’s senses must be engaged, observant to the surroundings.
Their hearts must be touched with the situation of others.
The hands of a compassionate leader must act to help.
Compassion is one of the unique qualities spiritual leaders must possess to emulate Christ.
In the Old Testament we find a great contrast between deliverance by the hand of the Lord and oppression by the hand of Israel’s enemies.
God’s hand holds both consequence and reward. While God’s hand creates fear, it also instills hope. “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Yet, Jesus sits at the right hand of the majesty on high and intercedes for us.
We are instructed to humble ourselves “under the mighty hand of God.”
The hand of leadership leads out of humility and provides hope.
We have an opportunity to make a difference with the use of our hand.
Problems arise when leaders abuse power, or base their power on an inward self-centeredness.
Spiritual leadership must be built on the power of God.
When our leadership turns inward and self-centered, it will fail.
True leadership is about the power that comes from our God through His gracious and indescribable gift, Jesus.
He is the power to save, to make all things happen, and to lead.
Paul wrote “no man has the power to lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus the Christ” (1 Co. 3:11).
Let us pray for His guidance and direction in our leadership.
Is it too much to ask for directions?
Jesus said, “I am the way.”
John the Baptist pointed people to Jesus. Why do more not point to Him?
Looking into the eyes of people around the world, including our own country, reveals the same.
We often see physical needs. We provide food, clothing, transportation, housing, or training to develop work skills.
No one is opposed to helping others with physical needs. Jesus provided an example.
However, there is a great imbalance in our approach to the physical versus spiritual.
We need to show people the way to spiritual and eternal life. This is the task of spiritual leadership.
Following the crowd, latest fad or trend are familiar ideas.
What is our leadership all about? Do we seek to fit in with what appears to be the latest and greatest?
When we lift up the Light of the world, we should stand out in a world of darkness.
Why is it important when it seems easier to follow the crowd?
Following the majority can have great consequences. Jesus teaches this principle in the Sermon on the Mount.
Our path is a matter of choice. The choices we make influence others. If it helps others get to heaven, then standing out in or from the crowd is worth it.
What makes leadership extraordinary?
Jesus put together a group of extraordinary men and entrusted them with a message that changed the world.
It was not their educational level, charisma, social standing, economic strength, or immeasurable talent that made them extraordinary.
They were selected because they believed in Jesus as the Christ and they were willing to submit themselves to His Lordship.
We need leaders today who do the same. We need leaders who willingly give their lives to the cause of Jesus, who will stop at nothing to carry out the work entrusted to them (us).
The result will be extraordinary leadership.