Leading the people, Managing the ministry.

There can be tension between being a good leader in a ministry and managing the
processes to get the job done. Results are part of our credibility and witness and as
Christians do we deliver what we promise? How do we deliver these results and lead
as Christ would have us to? Many organisations are founded on volunteers who
willingly and sacrificially give so much; how do we lead those whom we have
become dependent on and expect results? In these sessions we will look at the
dynamics of leadership that take the people with you so that they willingly deliver
these results.

Session 1 – Legitimacy of Leadership

A question: How does a leader motivate people to action?

Today I am looking at the dynamics of Spiritual Leadership and not

just leadership. We are here to extend God’s Kingdom and we
believe that the vehicle or way God has asked us to do it is
through the media. But the mission stays the same – so it is about
Spiritual leadership not just any form of leadership.

So, who/what gives you permission to manage the ministry you are
part of? The board, the donors, your boss? Anyone of these can
give you permission to manage the ministry and, sorry to burst the
bubble, but anyone can be asked to manage the ministry. A
certain skill set can be learnt, or even hired in. If you have the
money you buy it. You see you can manage things, you manage
processes, you manage systems but you lead people. You don’t
manage people unless you want them to be like inanimate objects,
part of a process, programmed. And when it comes to Spiritual
leadership no one can give you permission to lead. You are called.
And if you are called then you had better learn very quickly how
God would have you lead. He trained Moses, David, Nehemiah,
Paul, Peter and Jesus himself. They were tried, tested, tempted
and if you want people to add value to the organisations you are
part of, they are to be led. And as we are here by God’s
command, they had better be led the way God wants them to be
led, not the way you want to or the way of the world. You can not
just lead in a way that seems right to the world and ask God to
bless it. You need to lead as God requires and because of
obedience to Him, you will be in His blessing.

Imagine if Moses tried to manage the people out of Egypt –

actually Jethro had to help him with some management skills. He

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led them and he made mistakes. David did not become a man
after God’s own heart because of his management skills – he led
his own life first and in so doing gained immense influence with
others. Joseph was a good manager and leader and this was
recognised by Pharaoh. Did Jesus manage or lead? He lead and
then he managed what was happening – sit down in groups so that
we can feed you, who has food here – ah a few loaves and a few
fish, great. Boys, feed these hungry people!

You can not manage your way to become a leader, you lead the
way and then learn to manage, or get help. And we quote Click
Mark 10:43-44 43But it shall not be so among you. But whoever
would be great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever
would be first among you must be a slave of all.
But I see it so seldom – a serving servant. Leadership to so many
of us carries with it the idea that we have arrived at some place
and that we can get others to do some of the stuff because I am
too busy. I have no problem with delegation and I believe God
requires this of us, but when we get to a certain position and stop
serving the workers, the people, the workforce, those that are
‘lower’ than us. When we stop noticing those that are sad and
need help – when we stop noticing them as people and ministering
to them and we treat them as employees, workers who are here
and I am the boss – Jesus says don’t expect to be 1st or great.

It is interesting that the term leader is only used 6 times in the King
James Version of the bible. Servant is used far more – we don’t
read Moses my leader, but Moses my servant. You see according
to Christ’s teachings the Kingdom of God is a community where
every member served the other. Paul writes in Click Galatians
5:13 (ESV) 13For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not
use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love
serve one another.
This scripture is not just for church. Who are you serving at work?
Those below you – if the Son of God can take up the basin and the
towel, you and I are not above serving those we lead.

Before we look at Power vs Authority I want to touch on the Spirit

of Servanthood, and we see such a good example from Jesus.

Dependence – being a servant means you are totally dependent

on God. You are here to fulfil the masters’ wishes. Are you
prepared to be vulnerable and dependent?

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Click x 6
Approval – Isaiah 42:1 (ESV) 1 Behold my servant, whom I
uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; whose delight
do you seek? Be honest. Your boss, the board, the press,
statistics, listener figures
Modesty – Isaiah 42:2 (ESV) 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his
voice, or make it heard in the street; Do you try and be noticed
by those who are important?
Empathy – Isaiah 42:3 (ESV) 3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; No matter what
your position is, as a Christian this should always be part of your
character. Ah, but he is not like that - well then he is not Christ
like.
Optimism – Isaiah 42:4 (ESV) 4 He will not grow faint or be
discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; Where is
your hope? Can you keep going and inspire the souls of others
with your vision? Pessimism and leadership are at opposite ends
of life’s attitudes.
Anointing – Isaiah 42:1 (ESV) 1 I have put my Spirit upon him
Have you been called, do you long for His anointing and presence
– or are you so busy you are just getting on with the job?

“Spiritual leadership requires superior power, which can never be

generated by the self. There is no such thing as a self-made
spiritual leader. Click A True leader influences others spiritually
only because the Spirit works in and through them to a greater
degree than in those they lead.”1

If you compare natural and Spiritual leadership, we see how

different they are.

Natural Spiritual
Self-confident Confident in God
Knows people Also knows God
Makes own decisions Seeks God’s will
Ambitious Humble
Creates methods Follows God’s example
Enjoys command Delights in obedience to God
Seeks personal reward Loves God and others
Independent Depends on God

1
Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders. p. 28

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As A.W. Tozer wrote, “The true leader will have no desire to lord it
over God’s heritage, but will be humble, gentle, self-sacrificing and
altogether ready to follow when the Spirit chooses another to
lead.”2 Are you willing to follow if another is chosen to lead in your
position? If not, are you currently following the Spirit and serving
to do what God wants to gets done (vision) or are you doing a job
from a position of power.

When in Acts the church was growing so much that they needed to
choose leaders, the Holy Spirit instructed them to choose men
from among them that were full of the Spirit. So first and foremost
these leaders were full of the Spirit. It is not easy to define
Spirituality, but you can tell when it is present. The atmosphere is
influenced God’s way.

When we sign up to be a leader, we need to make another choice.

Are we going to lead by power or through authority? Many of the
traditional leadership roles come pre-packaged with power.

What do I mean by Power? “Power is the ability to force or coerce

others to do your will.”3 Do it or else! This may not even be said or
inferred, but because of position it is read into the relationship.

Authority on the other hand is the skill of getting others to willingly

do your will, because of your personal influence. Webster defines
it as, “I will do it for you.”

You see power can be bought or sold, given or taken away. Just
because you happen to my sister in law you can have a position of
power. If you were born with the right genes, you can be a prince.
If you inherit money, or get he largest share you have power.
History is littered with clueless rulers, Czars, kings and managers.

But this is not so with Authority. It is never bought or sold, given or

taken. Authority is about who you are as a person. You inspire
me, the person that you are. Authority is about character.
Legitimate leadership is built on Authority, not power.

Don’t get me wrong, power works. When I tell my son to clean up,
he does or the employee to sort this out otherwise heads will roll –
2
A.W. Tozer, in The Reaper
3
James C. Hunter, in The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principles. p. 53

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they do. But the downside to power is that it damages
relationships. And no matter what product or service your
organisation produces – you are in the relationship business. Your
business is a series of relationships and the only reason any
business exists is because it meets human need. Healthy
business consist of healthy relationships – with customers,
listeners, supporters, suppliers, employees, tax officials. The
Kingdom is about relationships.

I recognise that there are times that power does need to be

exercised, but this is a bad day as a leader because my authority
has broken down.

My mother could ask me to do almost anything, and I would not

think twice about it. Now, she did not have any power. I could run
faster than her, but she had a lot of authority. I would do anything
for her. Where did she get this authority from? What supervisor
skills course did she go on? What management book did she read
and apply? Mum Served. She influenced, she lead. And the test
of a good leader is whether people are better off when the leader
leaves than when they got there.

Legitimate Leadership must be earned. It does not come form a

job title, a nameplate on a desk or door, or special perks that
others don’t have access to. It will work for a short time, but it will
soon come crashing down.

It is important to realise that authority is not about manipulating,

persuading or pressuring people for personal benefit. “Leadership
is influencing people for mutual benefit. Leadership is the
willingness to extend oneself and meet the needs of another
human being. The choice to seek the greatest good of those one
leads is a choice that is freely made and freely given, Leadership
is the choice one makes because it is the right thing to do,
regardless of the return that may or may not come one’s way as a
result.”4

In a relationship that is build on authority and discipline is required,

all the leader has to do is look the person in the eye and say “I am
disappointed in you.” In a relationship built on authority the
follower would probably prefer to be yelled at or given a written
warning than to disappoint the leader.
4
James C. Hunter, in The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principles. p. 68

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Let’s take a few moments to look at what Authority looks and
sounds like and what Power looks and sounds like.

Authority
Legitimate leadership is built upon service and sacrifice. For
example. If I had a huge tree in my back that has been dead for
ages and I would like to have it removed , but I can not afford it at
the moment. And one Saturday morning your neighbour, the one
who really bugs you and you don’t really like, shows up with a
chainsaw and says. “lets take this big fella down. You and me,
now”. He spends the entire weekend sawing, cutting, cleaning up,
stacking and racking. He helps you dig out the stump and make
the ground level. Now it is Sunday evening and you are sitting
together in the garden having a drink – how do you feel about him
now? Service and sacrifice influences others.

I am sure that every time you go past his house or hear him in the
garden, you will be looking to see how you can help him. You will
look for ways to serve him. He will sow what he reaped. Your
leadership will be defined not by what you accomplish, but by what
gets accomplished through others.

But you will always get the 10% - they will not respond to authority
and they will try and sabotage you and whatever you are trying you
build. My advice to you is get them out of the organisation as soon
as possible. And like one Christian CEO says when he fires
someone, “I love you, and I will miss you. Goodbye”

Any time we extend ourselves, sacrifice and serve others, Click

we build authority and influence. But how do we extend ourselves:
Click
• Treat others like important people
• Take a little more time to listen to others
• Be a bit more trusting and less controlling
• Lend a hand and help them become the best they are
capable of
• Become genuinely interested in them
• Sacrifice your ego
• Sacrifice the desire for power
• Sacrifice your pride and self interest for greater good.

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 • Avoid conflict, trying to always be right, to have all the
answers
• You forgive, you apologise
• You give others the credit
• You will be rejected, unappreciated and even taken
advantage of and unfortunately for too many this price is too
high to pay.

Peter Drucker says, “No leader is worth his salt who won’t set up
the chairs.” Ann Frank, who died in one of Hitler’s death camps
said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
before starting to improve the world.”

Power
If you want to understand what the basic nature of human beings
looks like, observe a two year old. The character is summed up in
2 words, “Me First”. I have spent many hours with executives and
mangers who have never got over the ‘terrible twos’. And we see
this come out when position or title is given and power is used. It
is about ‘me first’. And it becomes about my needs, my wants, my
insecurities, my desires, my issues, how I am treated – me, me,
me, me.

Look at Saul in the OT, or Pharaoh, or Korah in Numbers with 250

other leaders who said to Moses Num 16:3 says: , “You have gone
too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and
the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above
the assembly of the LORD?”

In other words you Levites are not special or different – I want

recognition.

To become an effective and legitimate leader one has to get over

the ‘me first’ problem. It affects your marriage, your parenthood,
your work – your whole outlook on life. God is able to look after
you, Jude 24 says He is able to keep you from falling and to
present you before his glorious presence without fault and with
great joy

The French general Napoleon Bonaparte put it this way,

“Alexander, Caesar and I have founded empires. But on what did

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we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ
founded his empire upon love, and at this hour, millions would die
for him.”

“The spiritual tone of your organisation will be a reflection of its

leaders. Water rises to the level of its source. The spiritual health
of the leadership group should be a top concern among higher
echelon leadership.”5
One has to grow up. W.H. Auden, the poet, once wrote, “We’re
here on earth to do good for others. What the others are here for, I
don’t know.”

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Everybody can be great because

everybody can serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul
generated by love.”

5
Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders. p.112

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