by Linzy Slayden
Most of us are familiar with the quote, “Leadership is influence.” I heard it attributed to Lee Roberson. Some folks today think John Maxwell first spoke those words. But what makes a leader? Rank? Celebrity? Financial ability? Style? Vision? Personality? Is leadership automatically bestowed by a box on the organizational chart? Where do position and power figure into the formula for leadership? And what is the ideal model for leaders? Is it the corporate CEO? The military general? The political leader?
Jesus answered all those questions in a few words. His views on leadership are conspicuously out of step with conventional wisdom. Our Lord told us “…whosoever desires to become great among you, let him be your minister…the Son of man did not come to be ministered unto, but to minister…”
According to the Lord, the truest kind of leadership demands service, sacrifice, and selflessness. A proud and self-promoting person is not a good leader by Christ’s standard, regardless of how much clout that person might wield. Leaders who look to Christ as their leader and their model of leadership will have a servant’s heart.
I realize those are not characteristics most people associate with leadership, but they are essential qualities of a biblical approach to leadership, which should be the only kind we are interested in. There is a crucial reason for this: Christian leadership always has a spiritual dimension. The duty of leading people carries with it spiritual obligations. Furthermore, leadership is not about style or technique as much as it is about character. There are different styles of leadership displayed in the scriptures — Elijah the loner, Moses the delegator, Peter the brash, and John the tenderhearted. Paul, for example, was a dynamic leader, even when being carried about in chains. He influenced people primarily through his words. Styles varied but all were true leaders.
When Teddy Roosevelt was President, if he read about a need in a certain part of the country, he would go there. When he arrived he would simply ask, “What can I do to help?” He was not there to take over but to assist as a servant-leader. Wouldn’t it be great for our country if our politicians had that mindset today? What if our Fellowship pastors had that mindset today, reaching out to that pastor brother who is discouraged, or helping our Fellowship schools become strong and healthy, or supporting our missionaries who are carving out a work in another culture? Imagine what could happen in the BBFI if we all asked, “What can I do to help?”
Our world cries out for pragmatic solutions, easy formulas, or programs to answer every human need. The Lord’s leadership model is as practical and biblical as possible. J. Oswald Sanders once said, “True greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others. We must aim to put more into life than we take out.”