By Rev. J. Loren Russell
“If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” (Romans 12:8 NLT).
Leadership is not for the timid. Leaders must understand that nothing comes easy in leadership; that those who oppose them outnumber their supporters. They must recognize that the rules change almost on a daily basis, and they can never be sure if the one who had their back will now put a knife in their back. It takes something special to be a leader.
Sometimes they have to wrestle with the same one who put them in leadership, and many times they come out of that scrimmage with a limp.
Leadership in the church presents additional challenges; chief among them being being the path to success is on your knees. Dr. Dan Allender says in his book, Leading with a Limp, that those who have not learned to confess their capacity to mess up, teach cowardice to their followers who then grow more self-committed, closed-minded and manipulative.
Inept leadership makes followers look out for themselves…, not for you, their co-laborers, or the cause of Christ. They must come to the understanding that in the church, the way up is down.
The text found in the 12th chapter of the book of Romans, is one of the most practical expositions of Christian doctrine found anywhere in the Bible. Paul focuses his attention on the conduct that the followers of Christ needs to exhibit throughout their life, especially those who are called to be leaders.
He tells us that leadership is a gift. He does not tell us how to do leadership like the gift of encouragement, or the gift of giving, or that of kindness. Paul says if you’re given the gift of leadership, especially in the church, you have to take it seriously.
People with the gift of leadership cannot be timid. In everything leaders do, they are to do it with sincerity of heart because it’s not just the lives, but the eternal souls of people that are at stake.
I just love the way the Spirit-Filled Life Study Bible says “All leadership gifts are given by Christ as Lord of the church to equip (that is, to mend, prepare, and enable for function) the whole body of the congregation.” It goes on to say that leadership is a call to “mentoring, training, imparting, and discipling — all aimed at preparing the body for stability and increase.”
Leadership is not for the timid!
Be Blessed +++
Rev. J. Loren Russell is an associate minister at both Goodwill and The Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx, President/CEO of The JLR Company for Church Financial &. Strategic Consulting, and hosts “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Soul 1 Radio, Mondays 8:00 – 10:00 PM. Listen by phone at 626-226-1448. Be sure to Friend “Matters of Faith” on Facebook and email us at mattersoffaith.mof@gmail.com. Order your copy of Matters of Faith: The Book at Book Blues.
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