ARE YOU REALLY A GODLY LEADER?
A leader is a person who has a God-given ability (anointing) and responsibility that can influence a group of people to achieve God’s plan and goals. You are a leader if you have influence over someone.
Here are four leadership thoughts:
1. A leader not only knows where he or she is going but also knows HOW to get there.
2. A leader finds the reason WHY we do what we do. He finds purpose and needs around them.
3. A leader follows the carpenter’s rule. “He measures twice but he saws once.”
4. A leader not only knows where he is going and how to get there, but he also takes people with him or her.
Nothing will happen without leadership. Judges 21:25 "In those days there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes".
I have seen churches with multitudes of people but they accomplish nothing or very little in the Kingdom of God. They have never even reached people beyond their own town or locality.
All great leaders share two common attributes:
(i) They know where they are going. Do you really know where you are going? Otherwise, you will never know when you're lost because everywhere is your destination.
(ii) They know how to convince people to go with them. Do you influence people or force them to follow you? You need to be a magnet that attracts the right people.
That’s why the test of leadership is somebody following. John Maxwell once said, “He who thinks he is leading and has nobody following is only taking a walk.”
Are you a leader? YES. What kind of people follow you? Imagine David fleeing to the cave of Adullam and 400 men in debt following him to be their leader. 1 Sam 22:1,2 “David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.” You don’t need to be rich for people to follow your leadership. You just need the character of a leader.
The foundation of leadership is character and not charisma. Heb 13:7 (AMP) 'Remember your leaders and superiors in authority (for it was they) who brought the word of God. Observe attentively and imitate their manner of living - the outcome of their well-spent lives – and imitate their faith.
You can follow the character but you will burn out if you try to imitate personality. Sadly, we see men and women of God imitating their spiritual fathers’ voices and gestures instead of their faith that works.
Bob Jones – Your character is what God knows you to be. And your reputation is what men think you are.
Three things that distinguish leaders with character:
1. They have a message worthy to be remembered.
2. They have faith worthy to be followed.
3. They have conduct worthy to be watched.
May the Lord open your eyes to see the potential in you and do what God created and designed you for. You are God’s masterpiece.
Dr Lawi Mshana, +255712924234; Korogwe, Tanga, Tanzania
