LEADERSHIP IS TRUST.
Leadership trust is based on three legs: Character, competence, and communication. Of these three, character seems the most obvious, and the one that is most often singularly equated with trust. Yet, it is the hardest to assess. Character can be defined as a leader’s sense of moral fortitude, an inner compass that determines how a person acts when no one else is looking. That was our emphasis last month.
We live in a world of dissonance, cover-up, and propaganda. Leaders appear to be what they are not. Leaders like Christ are not expected to be just a collection of mirrors, reflecting only people’s expectations. When that characterize your life, it will lead to spiritual pathology whereby you never become outstanding but only a copycat.
Let us use Samuel to explain further on the three leadership legs.
1 Samuel 12:1-5 “Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right.” “You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.” Samuel said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is witness,” they said.”
How did Samuel arrived at this level to set integrity questions for himself in the presence of the whole nation of Israel? Can those of us that occupied leadership position today attempt to sit for this kind of examination among the people we lead?
Samuel exuded integrity and honesty in every area of his life. People trusted him and knew that he had Israel’s best interest in mind. They considered Samuel utterly trustworthy and depended on him to intercede for them with God. He knew how to connect with people, he spoke their language. He expressed compassion for their predicament and brought courage to their pursuits.
Fortunately for us, the formula for Samuel’s success still works today. Competence plus character plus communication equals to influence.
Most of us view success as fame, accomplishment, and acquisition. Christian leader’s success, however is built on character, not personality or skills. The great qualities in life are involved in the character of a person, such as wisdom, integrity, honesty, loyalty, faith, forgiveness, and love.
2. LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTER.
Whoever aspires to be a leader desires a noble task- One thing a leader desire is security.
EPHESIANS 4:15-16 “Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under His direction the whole body is fitted together perfectly, as each part does its own special work, it helps the other part grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
Leadership trust is based on three legs: Character, competence, and communication. Of these three, character seems the most obvious, and the one that is most often singularly equated with trust. Yet, it is the hardest to assess. Character can be defined as a leader’s sense of moral fortitude, an inner compass that determines how a person acts when no one else is looking.
At its root, the word character reflects the idea of engraving, something that is deep, it not only identifies a person but also defines a person.
Many leaders and organizational systems allow the other legs of trust, competence and communication, to stand in for character. But while doing so may result in short term success, eventually an individual’s true character will surface, and that revelation will not only erase many of those successes, it can potentially ruin that leader’s reputation.
Because he must know who he is_ he is a leader like Christ. And what is his value_ to lead his people to Christ. That leader like Christ that shows integrity takes time out for self-reflection. So that events, crises and seemingly necessities of the day do not determine the course of his moral life. He stays in control and like Christ focus on and only on the will of his Father.
Integrity is one of the greatest requirements in the church today. The church and para-church organizations and Christian development groups need leaders like Christ that are not hypocrites. The church’s greatest need for integrity in leadership is directly related to the need of our lost world. For the world longs for liberation from dishonesty. Our leadership is directly tied to the gospel of Christ which is the power of God to save men.
Romans 2:19-24 “If you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark,an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles (Unbelievers) because of you.” WANTED!!! LEADERS LIKE CHRIST.
3. CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP, A FORM OF WORSHIPPING CHRIST.
Romans 12:8 —if it is leadership, let him govern diligently—.”
Leadership is often a difficult, thankless and heart breaking experience. Yet men and women spend great sum of money and efforts to attain leadership position. Why do we strive for what might destroy us?
Basically, it is the desire to dominate that exerts its pressure on the human mind and soul. It causes men and women to take undue risk to dominate others regardless of how insignificant the leadership position desired might be within the overall organizational structure or context.
Everyone has the desire within his or her nature to dominate and that is the key drive in reaching out and striving for position of authority. In other words, the spirit of leadership is birthed in the womb of personal revelation within the leader and manifest itself in specific and characteristic qualities.
Man is essentially a spiritual being, and the nature of a person’s spirit dictates the nature that he manifests. This means therefore that leadership actually begins in the spirit of the leader. Genuine leadership is one’s internal disposition, which relates to a sense of purpose, self-worth and self-concept.
Therefore, Christian leadership is an art form of worshipping Christ, a teaching and serving process that envisions, influences, shapes and enhances so that both leaders and followers realize God’s goal for change within their environment.
4. IF IT IS LEADERSHIP, LET HIM GOVERN DILIGENTLY.
Romans 12:6-8 “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”
Life is full of choices; being responsible means being in charge of our choices. It means being accountable for what we do and who we are. Christ like leader is responsible and accountable, pursuing excellence and exercising self-restraint. They live up to expectation.
While moral soundness is basic to Christian leadership, we must note that the moral life is more than simply being a good person. Along with the healthy, wholesome of virtue, a consistent method of doing things is needed. To character and its virtue must be added conduct and its values; the perspective, obligations and aspirations that guides the Christ like leader is making right choices.
Character acts as a multi-level filter through which to process decisions, respect, responsibility, fairness, and caring. So being trustworthy is not enough- we must also be caring. Adhering to the letter of the law is not enough- we must accept responsibility for our action or inaction.
If it is leadership, let him govern diligently; the safest path to good choice is the path Christ took, the path of humility. Even in this period as we commemorate his birth, let our choice for Christian leadership be humility like Christ in leading people to God in our God given capacity.
Never are men more unfit than when they think themselves most fit and never more fit than when most humbled and ashamed under a sense of their own unfitness.
It takes Christ to make a leader absolutely his; that he will not desire to be noticed.
5. A SECURED LEADER.
“Finally, here is a trustworthy saying, whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.” 1 Timothy 3:1
One thing a leader desires is security. A secured leader is an asset to the organization he/she is leading. If a leader is not secure, he/she don’t even delegates and cannot serve properly because of unwholesome complexes. Most leaders search for security in the followers. But look at the model of Christ, his security was on God and when his followers deserted him during his trial and death, he still had the heart of gold to tell Mary on the resurrection morning, “Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am ascending to my father and your father, to my God and your God” John 20:17.
Hmm, his brothers indeed. Jesus a great leader and a model.
Psalm 127:1 says it all, unless the Lord is at the center of your efforts, you labor in vain. Wherever we are leading, we cannot fight, build or plan well enough to gain anything permanent. Smart leaders not only include God in their strategies, they placed him at its center. He alone can provide leaders with security. We cannot get it from followers.
John 5:30 “By myself I can do nothing”. Is this uttered by a frustrated man who has given up? Is this spoken by a man beaten down by life and whose confidence is shattered? No, this was spoken by the son of God, Christ a model of leadership.
Consider the following list of rules regarding security and people.
People cannot provide permanent security for a leader. Leaders should never put their emotional health in the hands of someone else. Spiritual and emotional health requires the truth. Leaders must remember that hurting people naturally hurt people and trouble arises when leaders depend on people to do only what God can do.
Security is found in the Lord, not in followers.
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