Passionate About Leadership

This past month I have been reminded why I am so passionate about leadership. I have been in ministry for over 15 years. During that time I have served in many capacities within the local church, and have seen both great spiritual leadership and poor spiritual leadership.
As I have watched a church transition from the leadership of a great spiritual leader and seen the various leadership styles and temperaments that have attempted to fill that void, I am reminded of something I wrote in the Introduction to Legacy Leadership, “One look at our culture and you become aware that we are in a leadership crisis. In almost every institution in our country there is a void of authentic leadership. Our government is full of people who are clouded by selfish motivation and controlled by opinion polls. Corporate America is littered with examples of leadership that lacks integrity and courage. Unfortunately, our churches are lead largely by people who are blown by every wind of culture and who are marked by reactionary methodology instead of biblical leadership. Most tellingly, our homes are simply un-lead. We have lost entire generations because of the lack of true spiritual leadership in the home.”
Spiritual leadership is not so much about who is out front or who is following as it is about where you are going and how you are going about getting there. Again, I would like to quote from Chapter 2, Influence from my book Legacy Leadership.
“There are few of us who view ourselves as leaders. There are even fewer of us who think of ourselves as spiritual leaders. When we think of the term ‘spiritual leader,’ we think of a pastor or priest, an evangelist or conference speaker, a worship leader or contemporary Christian artist. We see these people as different from ourselves, set apart somehow by their position, gift or calling.
In those ideas of calling, gifts, and position lie the root of much of our confusion. It is not the position of a pastor, evangelist, or worship leader that makes them a spiritual leader. Those titles are just positions that they hold, and while those positions do have certain requirements and qualifications attached to them, they bring with them only positional authority. That means the position has some inherent authority that comes along with it, like a police officer.
However, that positional authority does not make them spiritual leaders, only spiritual icons. Real spiritual leadership comes from being people with personal authority. Personal authority is the result of living a life of purpose, integrity, and vision that allows others to see God at work in you. Just like every one of us who is a believer in Christ has a spiritual gift, we each have a spiritual calling as well. That spiritual calling is to salvation by grace through faith in Christ, to go into all the world and make disciples, and to be an example of one who believes. Within that calling, God has a specific purpose for each one of us, but we all have a mandate to be and make disciples—a mandate to lead.”
I know that you will pray with me that God will raise up a generation of believers who will use their influence not just to make an impact in the short term but to leave a spiritual legacy that is generational and that glorifies God through its utter dependence upon Him. That is what we are about at Legacy Ministries and what I am about personally. Help us develop those leaders for the next generation through your prayers and financial support during this most difficult of physical and spiritual times.