Spiritual Leadership

  • Derek Staples
  • | Jul 13, 2009
  • | Series: Monday Morning Manna

MONDAY MORNING MANNA

“SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP”

“And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.”  (Ezekiel 22:30)

In his book Spiritual Leadership, Henry Blackaby states in the preface, that the Scriptures identify several clear, biblical principles that lead to spiritual leadership.  His concern is that many pastors are reading secular books on leadership that teach the keys to the corporate CEO status instead of the Biblical call to be shepherds after the order of Christ.  Blackaby says much of what is out in the form of leadership direction is contrary to the Scriptures.  He states, “They leave God out!”

In fact, Blackaby’s book, a gracious gift to me from our Tuesday morning’s men’s Bible study group, is a great read for all believers who fill any role of spiritual leadership in the church.  Here are a few thought provoking statements from Blackaby to whet your appetite:

…Holding a leadership position in a Christian organization does not make one a spiritual leader. 

…Spiritual leadership is not an occupation; it is a calling. 

…Only when we understand leadership in light of God’s calling on our lives will we be equipped to lead effectively.

…God is not looking for leaders.  He is looking for servants.

…When God finds men and women willing to be molded into His servants, the possibilities are limitless.

…People will follow spiritual leaders who understand God’s agenda, and who know how to move them on to it.

I have been blessed to camp out in the pages of Blackaby’s book, challenged by his straightforward look at leadership in the church.  Over the next several weeks, we will walk through the Biblical principles that must be identified in all who would fill a leadership position in the church.  Let’s dive in to the first mark of leadership: The Leaders Challenge.

The task of leadership is a daunting one to those in places of leadership in the corporate world, the political world, and the life of a local church.  Blackaby notes that countless discouraged leaders would walk away today, but they need the income.  There are hundreds of pastors today that are made to feel the burden of failing their church and their Lord.  They lack the ability, the maturity, or the clarity to lead, and most not from the standpoint of the pulpit but from the corporate church CEO boardroom.

Blackaby asks:

“Is there any hope for the countless numbers of leaders who are not experiencing the fulfillment and reaching the potential God intended for them?  If anything can revolutionize today’s Christian leaders, it is when Christians understand God’s design for spiritual leaders.”     

If you walk into any Barnes and Noble, you will immediately sense two things: hot coffee…and limitless books on leadership success.  After all, what leader does not want to improve and sharpen their skills?  The world craves good leaders and the problem is not a shortage of willing leaders.  Blackaby says the problem is “an increasingly skeptical view among followers as to whether these people can truly lead.” 

According to George Barna, “The American church is dying due to a lack of strong leadership.  In this time of unprecedented opportunity and plentiful resources, the church is actually losing influence.  The primary reason is the lack of leadership.  Nothing is more important than leadership.”  To Barna I would stand in agreement, but with this caveat: there is a world of difference between corporate leadership and Christian leadership.  While I agree that corporate principles can and do apply to the church, I would add that any leadership principle for the church must proceed from the timeless precepts of God’s Word.

Blackaby’s objective is not simply to make effective leaders.  He states,

“Hitler was an effective leader.  The world needs people in business who know how to apply their faith in the boardroom as well as the Bible study room…The world needs religious leaders who are on God’s agenda and not their own…Christian leaders who know God and who know how to lead in a Christian manner will be phenomenally more effective in their world than even the most skilled and qualified leaders who lead without God.

So, our challenge today as leaders is to be keenly aware of those leadership principles that are worldly based and fad driven from those that are Biblically based and timeless in their effectiveness.  The Bible is our guide in the boardroom as well as in the pulpit.  Our calling as Christians must permeate every area of life. 

Together, let’s glean these Scriptural truths about leadership in the church and the world.  Let’s challenge one another to Biblical faithfulness in our leadership responsibilities.  Let’s “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”  Let’s lead in humility.  Let’s walk in our integrity.  Let’s serve wholeheartedly, as unto the Lord.  Let’s seek the daily filling and anointing of the Holy Spirit.  Let’s make a difference in our world, not as corporate CEO’s, but as “Shepherd’s after the Order of Christ.” 

Until Next Week,

Dr. Derek