What is a Leader? Biblical Leadership
Notes
Transcript
What is a Leadership?
What is a Leadership?
When we think about “leadership” there are several things that come to my mind. First, I think about leadership on the job—like a boss, supervisor, foreman, or employer.
Yet, when I think about leadership, I also think about church staff and leading God’s people.
Finally, when I think about leadership, I think about the family, as parents lead their children as they grow and mature.
Obviously, we could keep this list going. We could thing of militaries, or governments, various organizations—really the list could go on and on.
As we begin our times together, here’s the question that I want to pose to you tonight. How do you define leadership?
Merriam Webster Dictionary gives us three ideas or definitions of “leadership.”
The act or instance of leading. Now that’s helpful (not). Nevertheless, it has the idea of molding people into a team through some leaderships style.
The office or position of a leader. That is, the leadership of a company.
The capacity to lead. We’ve all known people who lacked leadership—lacked the ability to lead.
Humanists, and those who follow after existential ideology focus on leadership as it empowers individuals. Look at this quote from Gary Bredfeldt.
Existentialists/Humanists Leadership Theory equates leadership with the empowerment of individuals and communities. Existentialist leaders value individual freedom and see the worth and dignity of the individual as the single highest attribute of an excellent organization.
Gary Bredfeldt
Honestly, the idea of individualism goes against the Biblical idea of leadership. The Bible teaches that being a leader, and leading people comes from God and is given for some select and specific purposes.
So leadership is not based on charisma, charm, or slick words. It is based on the authority of God to fulfill God’s purposes in the lives of those around us.
Characteristics of a Biblical Leader
Characteristics of a Biblical Leader
In his book, Being Leaders: the Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership, Aubrey Malphurs gives several distinctives of the Christian Leader.
A “Christian”
A “Christian”
It might go without saying, but the first distinctive is that the person knows Jesus. Check out the Romans Road! (Rom. 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-10, 13, Eph. 2:8-9, 1 Jn. 1:9).
A Committed Follower of Christ!
A Committed Follower of Christ!
Yet, it is more than simply know Jesus. You see there’s a lot of people who say they are Christians, but they lack the committed deep relationship with Jesus. So, the first distinctive of a Biblical leader is that the leader is a committed follower of Jesus Christ!
A Seeker of Diving Truth
A Seeker of Diving Truth
It should come as no surprise that God desires to lead us and guide us, and He does this through His revelation. There are two specific types of “revelation.”
Special Revelation
Special Revelation
This kind of revelation begins with God’s Word—The Bible
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
Special Revelation is also seen in the Life of Christ. Look at:
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Then special revelation comes to us through the form of God’s unique or special grace! Check out Titus 2:11.
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
And finally, there is special revelation through truth. God’s truth! Look at John 8:32.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
And how about 2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
General Revelation
General Revelation
The second source or kind of divine revelation is referred to as general revelation. It is truth that is found in nature, history, and other sources. Check out some of these verses:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
And finally, Acts 17:22-31
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
This general revelation comes to us through the ordinary or common grace that is seen in Matthew 5 45.
that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Full of Godly Character
Full of Godly Character
The world around us does not believe character is very important. But for a true leader nothing could be farther from the truth! Character matters!!!!
Howard Hendricks rightfully assessed, “The greatest crisis in the world today is a crisis of leadership and the greatest crisis of leadership is a crisis of character” (Interview with Dr. Howard Hendricks, Dallas, Texas 2003).
I cannot tell you how many “Christian” leaders I’ve see fall because of a lack of character. When these leaders fall because of faulty character the fallout with followers is great! And the cost to the Kingdom of God is devastating! Don’t fall for the lie of the enemy that character doesn’t matter, because it does!
In 1 Timothy 4:7 Paul showed Timothy how important character is.
Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
So what does godly character look like? Well, there are several passages we could go to, but for the sake of time let’s look at one. Let’s look at Galatians 5:19-21
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The Acts of the Flesh
The Acts of the Flesh
Sexual immorality—that is any kind of sexual relationship outside of marriage.
Impurity—Impure motives, or immorality.
Debauchery—lustful pleasures
Idolatry—putting ANYTHING above our relationship with the Lord.
Witchcraft—sorcery, can include drugs that alter the state of conscientiousness.
Hatred—hostility toward a “enemy.”
Discord—quarreling, fighting, selfish ambition.
Jealousy—wanting things that belong to another, especially talents or abilities.
Fits of Rage—angry outbursts.
Selfish Ambition—self-seeking, looking out for number ONE!
Dissensions—discord, or forcing people to take sides (us against them).
Factions—once dissensions have taken place factions or the separated parties come into play. This has a particularly strong religious implication—religious divisions that keep the spread of the gospel from happening.
Envy—ill-will against another. Wanting what they have or what they can do.
Drunkenness—being controlled by spirits rather than by the Holy Spirit.
Orgies—wild parties, often where sexual caution is thrown to the wind!
And the like—a catch all for any other ungodliness you can think of.
The Fruit of the Spirit
The Fruit of the Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Love—unconditional love.
Joy—delight in the Lord which brings about a contentment that is inexpressible.
Peace—the calm assurance that God has everything under control and NOTHING has escaped His view.
Forbearance—patience, the ability to keep on keeping on!
Kindness—being kind.
Goodness—has the idea of generous.
Faithfulness—trustworthy, dependable.
Gentleness—being gentle with people, has the idea of care and compassion.
Self-control—mastery over one’s self!
Understands the Importance of Motives
Understands the Importance of Motives
The next distinctive of a Christian leader is their motives—why do they do what they do?
Paul describes his motive for preaching the gospel. Look at 1 Corinthians 9:16.
For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
He was compelled by the power of the Holy Spirit in him so that he had no other choice.
In 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul tells his reader that one of his motivations was to see God’s power rest on the people.
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
This also brings us to the next distinctive of a Christian leader.
Serves through the Power of the Holy Spirit
Serves through the Power of the Holy Spirit
We saw this in our last verse (1 Cor. 2:1-5). But Paul also challenges us to live the same way. Look at Romans 8:5.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
In the Old Testament book of Zechariah, Zerubbabel receives a word from the Lord.
So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
Practices Being a Servant
Practices Being a Servant
The final distinctive of Biblical leadership or of a godly leader is that they practice servant leadership.
The days that Jesus lived in were not that much different from our day. People in His day wanted to be a leader so they would have the place of prominence or prestige. But Jesus turned everything upside down! In Matthew 20:25-28 He wrote these words:
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Then, the night that Jesus was betrayed, He demonstrated this very principle. We read the story in John 13, but allow me to just share it with you.
As Jesus and His disciples entered the upper room to celebrate the Passover meal, the disciples hurried off to get to their seat, each one hoping to get a good seat near Jesus. In the rush, none of them thought about the custom of the day.
You see, someone, usually the lowest person, should have gone around and washed everyone’s feet. But they were consumed with getting a good seat and jockeying for position that NO ONE took upon themselves the task of washing feet.
That’s when it happened! Jesus got up, went to the back of the room, took off his outer robe, wrapped a towel around His waste and systematically began to wash each of the disciples feet. After the protests, and the washing, the stunned disciples heard Jesus say these words:
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Servant Leadership
Servant Leadership
If you and I are going to lead—lead in our homes, schools, work places, churches, civic groups—wherever; if we are going to lead the way Jesus wants us to lead we must have these qualities. We must:
Be a “Christian.”
Be a committed follower of Jesus. We need to make sure that NOTHING separates us from spending time with the Lord in Bible Study, prayer, Scripture memory, and going to church.
Be a seeker of divine Truth—we must seek God’s Truth and not be deceived by all the ideas and teachings of the world.
Full of godly character—being like Christ in all we do and how we live.
Understand the importance of motives—Have godly motives—everything that we do should be motivated by the Lord and led by the Holy Spirit.
Serve others through the power of the Holy Spirit! “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
Serves others!—rather than seeking glory and honor, seeks to be the least by serving others!
In our session tomorrow we will look at a practical passage to help us understand what this actually looks like.
Let’s Pray!
