Be A Life-Giving Leader!
I’m not sure if it was Maxwell who originally coined this simple definition of leadership or not, but it’s a good one. “Leadership is influence.” It’s true. If you are in a position of influence, you are a leader. It may not be good leadership, but it’s leadership nonetheless. Everyone on some level is a leader because they have influence. The kind of influence you have on a person defines your leadership. You can be a positive influence or negative influence. You can have a positive impact on people or a negative impact on people. You pick! You can be a life-giving leader or a life-sucking leader (one who sucks the life out others). Be a LIFE-GIVING LEADER!
When it comes to Ministry, leading can be overwhelming. There’s the pressure to perform, the pressure to please, and the pressure to program. We’ll talk more specifically about those pressures in another post. Today, I want to give you “5 Essentials of a Life-Giving Leader.”
Pursue with Passion
You don’t have to be a “Type A Personality” to lead with passion or to be enthusiastic. The reason I know this is because the Word of God and the Power and Fruit of the Holy Spirit transcends personality types and traits. Two verses come to mind, Romans 12:11 and Colossians 3:23. To the Romans Paul wrote, “Do not be slothful in zeal, but fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” - Romans 12:11. I love the words zeal and fervent! You can substitute those words with words like passion and enthusiasm. To the Colossians, Paul wrote, “Whatever your do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” - Colossians 3:23. While those words were written in the context of worker's attitude toward his “boss,” the principle has greater context in that what we do for the Lord is for the Lord and not for others. Yes, we serve others but it’s in our serve to others that we are actually serving the Lord.
Passion is essential to being a “Life-Giving” leader. We give life when others see our passion for the Lord, His church, and the work God has given us. It’s contagious! Let us serve others for the Lord heartily with zeal and fervency! Even if you are the “quiet type” you can still have a passion for what you do and it will be evident in your approach.
Develop Real Relationships
I’m reminded of Jesus’ words when He told His disciples that they would be known for how they love one another. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:35. Every life is a soul. As church leaders, we are in the business of souls. Every life matters and we have been called to love others. Jesus also said the greatest commandment is the “Love the Lord you God” with all that you are and the second greatest commandment is just like the first, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We’ve all heard the phrase, “Love God, Love People.” Those are good words to live by. Concerning our love for others, Paul admonishes us to, “Let love be genuine.” - Romans 12:9.
Real Relationships matter and the desire to develop those relationships is essential to being a “Life-Giving Leader.” We give life when we genuinely care and love others and it speaks volumes. For too long, social media and technology (smart phones is what immediately comes to mind) have infiltrated the hearts of many with unrealistic expectations and inauthentic relationships. Let’s be intentional about our love and care for others and purposefully develop real relationships.
Cultivate a Culture of Grace
Perhaps on the best things you can remind yourself of every morning is that everyone is in need of grace - EVEN YOU! It’s true. We are all on equal footing before the cross. We all stand in need of grace. Grace is what we desire when we most need it especially when we have messed up or hurt someone. However, grace tends to be difficult to give when someone else messes up or hurts us. While we long for grace in our lives, we lack a longing to extend grace to others. Seems hypocritical to me. Yet, if we’re honest with ourselves, I think we can all use a lesson on being a person of grace and if God extended His grace to me, we can definitely extend grace towards others. Several verses come to mind, but this one in particular hits from Colossians. “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know you ought to answer each person.” - Colossians 4:6.
Cultivating a culture of grace is essential to being a “Life-Giving Leader.” We give life when we speak and interact with others, may our lives exemplify grace… even in the hard conversations. Let’s emphasize grace and forgiveness and create an environment where people can discover their faith, share their struggles, and experience the same grace of God we all need!
Empower People
As pastors and ministry leaders we have been called to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.” - Ephesians 4:12. There are two things a play that I think we as leaders can fall prey to: there’s the temptation to do everything and the lie that tells us we have to do everything. I have felt both of those things BIG TIME! But the temptation and the lie is a slap in the face in how God has designed the church. I won’t quote the entire passage here, but 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 gives us God’s design for the church. READ IT HERE! God has set the members of the church. He placed them where they need to be and He has equipped them to serve the church in various capacities. Whether your church is big or small, God has given you what you need to function as a church.
Empowering others is essential to being a “Life-Giving Leader.” We give life to others when we assist them with discovering their purpose and developing their gifts — the purpose and gifts that God has given them. I emphasis the latter because it’s God — not you, who gives purpose and gives gifts and He does so for HIS GLORY and not yours. When these things happen, it spreads in the church and creates an environment of spiritual growth.
Embrace God’s Word
Aww… Pastor Pusch, shouldn’t this have been the first essential? Ok. Mark this as number one then. Maybe I put it at the end as the last thing you’ll remember from this post. O, the mind games!
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12
What more can you say about THE life-giving resource than what the writer of the book of Hebrews has declared. There’s all kinds of life in Hebrews 4:12. Friends, the Word is alive and active to change your live. The Word cuts deep; it penetrates down to your very bones — beyond your bones really. It cuts deep to the marrow where the blood cells of life are produced (I’ve learned a lot about marrow with my recent diagnosis). AND, because the Word is alive and active and because it cuts deep, the Word exposes us for who we are. It perceives or judges our thoughts and actions.
Embracing God’s Word is essential to being a “Life-Giving Leader,” because it’s where we learn about life itself. GOD’S WORD IS LIFE. We must start there and it must at the roots of all that we do in ministry.
No doubt there are more essentials when it comes to being a “Life-Giving Leader.” I think clothed in all of this is the spirit of humility that makes the best leaders. As a side note: sometimes these things are hard. I confess, I learn best through trial and error meaning I try a lot and I’m full of errors. However, these are the main essentials I desire to live out as a leader. I don’t always get it right, but I continue to enthrall myself into them. Also, remember that in ministry you will always have ”never-adopters.” While you always hope to have “immediate adopters” (those who get on board from the start) and even “late-adopters” who they will eventually get on board with you, sadly, you will always have “never-adopters” — those who will never get on board regardless. They are typically your constant pessimists who have the hardest time seeing the positive in anything. The best advice I can give you is to continue to practice the 5 Essentials of a Life-Giving Leader!
Want to talk about more about today's post? I would love to come alongside you in processing these essentials! CLICK HERE and let's talk soon!
Blessings,
PstorPusch
