Great Leadership

The book of Nehemiah (in the Old Testament) is always heralded as a study in leadership. Preachers take their congregations to Nehemiah and exalt his leadership style, strength, and of course his success. The story of this man’s twelve-year stay in Jerusalem and his leading the people of Judah in rebuilding the city walls is one of the Bible’s best known stories. No doubt generations after me will continue to look at Nehemiah in their attempt to understand … or perhaps learn to emulate great leadership.

You know, Jesus has also been heralded as a great leader in the Bible. Ironically His story doesn’t seem to have that leadership “brand” on it like Nehemiah’s does. But a number of preachers have examined Jesus’ ways and concluded that they exemplify great leadership. Books have been written and sermons have been preached on Jesus’ great leadership. Here too, modern aspirants turn to Jesus’ story in their attempt to understand … or perhaps to emulate great leadership.

I think sometimes that the world, at least in my time here, is chasing a leadership paradigm that doesn’t really exist. It is overwhelming the number of books that have been written on leadership. Even more overwhelming is the amount of money that has been spent buying those books! Of course there are the seminars, videos, and other media disbursements of leadership courses, lessons, etc.

Seriously, I think we could probably find some people out there for whom this pursuit of leadership is something akin to a false religion. They are so focused on leadership that they’ll spend any amount of money or any amount of time trying to acquire the skill, discover the secret and ultimately transform themselves into great leaders. And of course they have this belief --- that something they can purchase, learn, acquire, emulate, etc. will enable them to be transformed into great leaders. Let’s think about that though. Is that really true? Or is it a lie that they nonetheless believe?

We can look at Nehemiah and Jesus. We can throw in some other great leaders of the Bible. Moses. King David. Joshua. Solomon. Paul. Quite frankly, close examination of their leadership reveals some pretty basic and fundamental patterns. It would seem to me that the “secret” to great leadership is revealed in these fundamentals. Ironically, those fundamentals seem to get overlooked in much of the modern day leadership hype that we spend millions or billions chasing. Perhaps Nehemiah and Jesus exhibit them more clearly than the rest though. What are those fundamentals?

1. They walked with God. Nehemiah and Jesus (as well as those other great leaders I’ve mentioned above) had close relationships with the Father. They knew who God was and they knew who they were in the relationship with Him. Everything was in its right perspective. And it stayed in its right perspective because these men consistently sought God.

2. They started with prayer. Virtually everything we see Nehemiah and Jesus doing was prefaced with prayer. Each time they were confronted with a considerable challenge or wanted to accomplish something worthwhile, they turned to God. They asked Him for direction on how to proceed. They asked for His help. No matter what they had to do as leaders, they always started with prayer.

3. They were obedient. Nehemiah and Jesus did what God told them to do. While great leaders in the Bible (except for Jesus) made some mistakes, all of them sincerely wanted to do God’s will. They earnestly wanted to do things God’s way. They knew that submission and obedience were the foundation of any walk with God … the foundation of godly men (and women).

4. They expected God’s favor. These men moved forward with an expectation that God would be with them. Jesus performed many miracles. And He wasn’t surprised by any of them. When He went to turn the water into wine, for example, He knew it would work. He didn’t hope it would work. When they moved out, they knew that God was with them, that they had His power and strength to help them. They expected God’s favor in their endeavor and they expected to prevail.

5. They were bold and courageous. Nehemiah was a gutsy fellow. He boldly asks for things that no one in their right mind would dare ask for. That he got what he asked is probably the best indication that boldly asking was the right course to have taken. Nehemiah and Jesus, as well as other great leaders of the Bible, are seen acting boldly and courageously. And they did so even in the most intimidating of circumstances. Facing enormous threats that would scare the crap out of any of us today, these men laid their fear at the altar and moved forward. They didn’t allow fear, concern, or any of fear’s other relatives keep them from moving forward. Surely they must have known the risks they faced. They were not ignorant men. So you might say they did it afraid.

6. They loved the people that they led. Really. Jesus’ love for His disciples was overwhelmingly evident and, of course, perfect. But even a more human leader like Nehemiah exhibited the exact same kind of love. Nehemiah’s love for the people he led was profound in two specific ways. First, he noticed the suffering of the poor and the oppressed – and he took a stand to help them. Second, he noticed the bad behavior of people – and he rebuked them, speaking the truth in love and calling them to change their ways.

7. They themselves did what they ask others to do. You can call it servant leadership or whatever you want to call it. But the fact of the matter is these leaders got their hands dirty. They worked right alongside the workers they were leading. They never asked anyone to do anything that they weren’t willing to do themselves. They waded right in and lent their own hands to the effort. They never saw themselves as being above the people that they led. (This is most remarkable in Jesus’ example of leadership – because He actually was above everyone else – He was God!)

As I look at these fundamentals, these basics, and as I pray about my own leadership, God has consistently taken me back to the basics. I've been told I'm a good leader. People who work for me or serve under me often give me words of affirmation for my leadership. I'm aware that God has cast me in the position to be a leader. I lead my family. I lead in my church and community. I lead at work. When I reflect on leadership, God tells me to learn from the basics that I see in these great leaders of the Bible. Specifically, God says if I want to be a good leader, I must do the following:

1. Seek Him first.

2. Pray about everything and everyone.

3. Obey God and His ways.

4. Expect God’s favor.

5. Be fearless.

6. Love the people I lead.

7. Get your hands dirty.

So there you have it. The fundamentals of great leadership. It's really pretty simple actually. And I haven't had to read any book, attend any seminar, listen to any tapes, or go through any class to get this timeless wisdom. God was happy to give it to me Himself --- when I asked.

The thing is that great leadership is not a skill or a tool. It’s not a character trait or a spiritual gift. Rather great leadership is the by-product of men and women who seek Him first, pray without ceasing, make obedience a priority, have faith in God’s promises and refuse to be intimidated by their fears. And the fact of the matter is there is great leadership potential in each and every one of us.

The only question is whether we’re willing to act in the ways that allow God to produce that great leadership in us.

Achieving Leaders

Achievements are simply examples of what God can do through someone's life. The most effective leaders spoken of in the Bible, for instance, had little awareness of the impact of their lives on others. They were too busy obeying God to keep track of their own successes.

Ezra is a man who did that. He focused on obeying God. As a result - and probably to Ezra's surprise - God used him in mighty ways. I want to be a man who fits that description like Ezra. I sometimes pray that God will help me to get so focused on Him and His will that I lose all track of my success and my failures.

People like Ezra - whom God uses to do great things - all seem to do three distinct things that seem to be fundamental to their overall success.

First, they dedicate their lives to personally studying God's Word. They don't outsource their knowledge of God and His ways to anyone else. They have firsthand knowledge of God and His will.

Second, they intend to apply and obey personally the commands that they discover in God's Word - no matter what they are.

Third, they are committed to teaching others God's Word and its practical applications in every day life.

So it seems that God uses just about anyone from any walk in life. But the common denominator is this pursuit of God and His Word and this commitment to discipleship.

Why then do we keep talking about leadership? How is it that zillions of dollars are spent by seemingly intelligent and sincere people pursuing an understanding of leadership. We all want to learn how to be leaders. So many of us can talk about types of leaders or styles of leadership. Seriously, is there such a thing as leadership? Isn't it a by-product of character?

I'm convinced that the we should be not be pursuing leadership and trying to take certain virtues with us into it. Rather, we should be pursuing the virtues and expecting leadership to develop. At least historically, that's when worthwhile things really do get accomplished!

Leadership Advice

Have you ever considered where the world goes for wisdom? I mean, who do we listen to when we think the topic is important? It seems that there are some pretty notable regulars that show up ... giving business and leadership advice ... on a regular basis. And we listen to them. In fact, we spend quite a bit of money listening to them. (They are paid well to advise us!)

Tom Peters, John Maxwell, Larry Ellison, Jack Welch, Jeff Bezos ... they're all in some sort of club. Most of them have had some measure of business success of their own.

Some have had other non-traditional successes in life. They may be best-selling authors. It doesn't seem to matter whether what they write is true or not, or even if it's useful. If it's best-selling, it's deemed to be valuable. Worthwhile.

Or they may be religious, political or military leaders. Bill Hybels and Joel Osteen are notable preachers. They're paid well for their advice on leadership (amongst other things) because they are the heads of some of the biggest churches in the world. We don't measure the quality of their church for example. (Bill Hybels publicly admitted that his church was spiritually weak.) The fact that they're big churches seems to make whatever their leaders have to say that much more relevant.

Perhaps they're military leaders. Colin Powell is making a ton of money speaking on leadership nowadays. He successfully lead the first assault in the 90's to free Kuwait from the hostile invasion by Iraq. And he was a decorated military leader otherwise as well. Now we aren't sure if his leadership style was successful. But his superiors seemed to think so at the time. And the fact that he had the world's largest military arsenal behind him in his "shock-and-awe" strategy with Iraq seems to have been all he needed to become a credible author of leadership principles.

Or maybe they're political leaders. Bill Clinton took an interesting foray into leadership principles. He was, by most measures, a decent President. Never mind the personal scandals that rocked his presidency (and his family). We look at people like Mr. Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and already Barack Obama ... and we conclude that they are exemplary leaders. So society concludes that they have something important to say about leadership. Are there metrics to measure the success of any political leader? Or does the fact that they were elected and served make them great leaders?

Do all these people have something important to say about leadership? Frankly, I wonder. John Maxwell wrote a book, called "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership." It's been widely read; it's a best-seller in both religious and secular circles. Some churches even use it to train what they hope will be great spiritual leaders. Frankly, this alone should make us pause and question what voices we're listening to and why.

Mr. Maxwell is a Christian preacher-turned-management consultant. When I read his book, I expected to be profoundly influenced. I wasn't. Instead, I came to the conclusion that the book was a load of hooey - a waste of time. It didn't offer any real insights into how someone could be an effective leader or a more effective leader. Rather it seemed to expose realities or facts ... based on observations of good leaders in action.

So what's wrong with realities or facts? Well, for starters, they are not necessarily truth. Maxwell, for example, doesn't cite much Scripture in his 21 Irrefutable Laws. Call them principles, rules, standards or whatever else you want to call them - but don't call them Biblical. They're not. It's not that they're necessarily unbibilical either. Rather it's a case of there being nothing particularly wrong with Mr. Maxwell's laws ... but there isn't much about them that's particularly right either.

Now I'm not picking on John Maxwell today. His is just a poignant example of the problem though. Let's consider Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric (GE). At one time, he was called "America's most-admired CEO," whatever that means. He became most known for his habit of firing the lowest performers in his company on a regular basis. So he took good, decent, hard-working people ... and fired them ... because 80% of the other people were performing better than they were. It didn't matter if they did their job or did it well. If someone else did it better ... you were fired.

Of course, in his personal life, Mr. Welch took up with one of his employees, then divorced his wife of thirty some years and married this woman half his age. (Apparently that's leadership in America.) Today, Jack and Suzy Welch (his new wife whom he plucked from the ranks of his staff) co-author and speak on leadership. And we pay handsomely to listen to what they have to say.

So what's my problem with all these notable experts on leadership? Why do I think it's a travesty that we pay tons of money to hear what they have to say? Why do I think they're such a poor place for the world to be seeking wisdom? It's simple really. They aren't really experts. Their measures of so-called success ... which apparently form the basis of their qualifications ... are not the measures God uses. And what they're saying doesn't line up with Biblical truth.

The Bible tells us that we are to test everything we are told or taught against the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 5:21). So, for example, if I test John Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership - or I test Jack & Suzy Welch's views of successful leadership in business - I don't seem to find it aligning with Scripture. And therein lies the problem. If it doesn't line up with Scripture, God says it isn't worth anything. Where, for example, is firing the bottom tier every year in the Biblical principal of loving others the way you would like to be loved yourself - or the way that Christ loves you? (I'll give you a clue: it isn't there!)

What are the most important Biblical truths about leadership ... which the entire world (including Christian churches) seems to be missing? The first one is to put God first in everything you do. The second one is to love everyone else the way you would like to be loved if you were in their shoes. (Both are found in Mark 12:28-31.) These two principles are the foundation on which all successful leadership rests. There are no others. Everything about good, solid, godly leadership in politics, business, religion or anywhere else rises and falls on just these two principles.

Isn't it time that we put away all this malarkey that the talking heads are spewing? Isn't it time that we quit wasting boat-loads of money on leadership advice ... and start listening to God's truth about leadership wisdom? And isn't it time that we stopped being consumers of leadership styles, tips and strategies ... and instead become practitioners of leadership truth?

Christian Leadership

So I'm browsing through this giant Christian bookstore, which appears to have everything but a cappuccino bar. And I notice there is a plethora of books on leadership. It seems to be the mantra of today's Christian culture (at least in America.) I seem to recall my own church has a huge focus on leadership. It even offers special training for those who would be leaders.

There is strong evidence in this Christian bookstore that my church is not alone. It seems that many churches are espousing leadership in one form or another these days. At least as many of those churches are actually purporting to instruct on leadership.

It seems we have instructed the church today in nearly everything ... but becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. (Who could forget the "Women Thou Art Loosed" Cook Book?) We have filled the people with doctrines for success ... but not deity. We have given the Christians manuals in the form of self-help for marriage, diet, child-raising, relationships, therapy, physical exercise, careers, etc. But we haven't given them Emmanuel.

I was asked the other day the difference between Baptists and Presbyterians. It is not difficult to recognize someone from the different traditional church backgrounds. Nearly every congregation seems to develop a particular slant or system of traditions. And while most of those are Christ-based, some of them ultimately obscure the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. In other words, they don't make you like Jesus. Rather, submit yourself to their way of thinking and you will become like them. (I thought the goal was to become like Jesus!)

Is this wrong? Maybe not, but for us it should never be enough. As true Christians, we should be seeking to be like Jesus --- and not like men (or women) whom we think are righteous and holy. We want the kingdom of God --- and not the kingdom of American Christianity. (Or at least I think we do.)

The thing is we all need to be vigilant to submit ourselves exclusively and diligently to the Holy Spirit, the Words of Jesus Christ and the will of God, our Father. We should be constantly striving for the standards of the kingdom of God. What is the character and nature of God? Shouldn't those be considerations in all of our decision-making? Any focus or goal other than Christ Jesus would seem ripe to become a source of potential deception down the road somewhere.

The Bible says that in the last days, even the very elect will be deceived (Matthew 24:24). Who are the "very elect?" Aren't they the contemporary leaders of today's churches and para-church ministries? Aren't they those we would consider to be spiritually mature? Aren't they the authors of today's Christian books? And if they can be deceived, what is the source of their deception? Wouldn't it have to be a focus on something other than Christ Jesus?

Look at what Jesus did with common men. In just over three years, He transformed very average men and women into fearless disciples, who were literally filled with the Spirit of God. They were so filled, in fact, that they did not wince at suffering; they did not withdraw from sacrifice. They were fearless warriors for the kingdom of God. Isn't that where you and I want to be?

These ordinary people were equipped with spiritual authority over demons and they exercised power over even illnesses. They were living proof that Christ transforms ordinary people into extraordinary disciples. Couldn't three years of undiluted Jesus transform you and me the same way? These men were as average and as human as we are today. The difference between them and us is simply Jesus ... or rather the amount of Jesus. He is the only difference.

Of course one might argue that things were different in Bible times. After all, that was over 2,000 years ago. But God is unchanging. Jesus Christ is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). Physically seeing Jesus isn't required --- or He would have stayed on the earth in His human form. No, the same Spirit that worked through Jesus to transform people then is the one that is poured out on you and me today. Said differently, we have everything we need to become as passionate and effective as the men and women who actually walked with Jesus over 2,000 years ago.

So what will make the difference? If the need in us is for an undiluted, uninhibited Jesus, all we need then are hearts that will not be satisfied with something ... or someone less than Him. You see, if we focus on the differences in the Christ-based religions, we can readily miss the point. The true purpose of any church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Those disciples should look like the ones raised up over 2,000 years ago too. God doesn't raise up denominations or ministries. Rather He raises up slaves of Jesus Christ.

When we recognize that the goal is not ministry or church growth .... but slavery, we can finally begin to see the power of Christ restored in our churches. So the pattern for leadership is really pretty simple. Leaders must be individuals whose burning passion is conformity to Jesus Christ. The issue is not one method or tradition over another. The only question is whether we can fill our churches with people who are sincerely seeking, with burning passion, Jesus Christ in all His fullness.

God can use just about any church structure if the people in it are genuinely seeking Him. But I would argue that there is no form of Christian leadership that can ultimately prevail without a singular focus on Jesus Christ. Now, how can I wade through the plethora of Christian books on leadership and church models to find that?

Christian Leaders

Christian leaders cannot claim to serve Christ faithfully if we allow believers to remain on the wrong track. It is our responsibility to address their ignorance and their sin. It is our responsibility to lead them to better conclusions about themselves, about God and about the world in general.

This is what I believe, and find to be the most Biblical view of Christian leadership's role.

So why is this noteworthy today? I suppose it's on my mind because I find so few Christian leaders who seem to share the belief. So many of them seem content with one-way broadcasts of information. Churches describe their educational "offerings" and assume it is up to the people to sign for this class or that class.

The leaders of the church don't seem to accept much responsibility for the ignorance and sin of the people in the church. Is that really appropriate? I know - we can't control the attitudes and behaviors of people in our church. But when was the last time someone was disciplined in a church for not living to a certain standard of righteousness? How well do churches confront sin among their people? I think we've swung pretty far below a happy medium here.

People come into churches to seek God. That's what we'd all like to believe. But the fact of the matter is that some of them aren't seeking God at all. They're seeking to feel better about themselves. They're seeking relief from emotional or spiritual pain they may be feeling. They're seeking companionship or fellowship. They're seeking an emotional experience. Some of them are seeking education.

The point is that people who come into our churches probably need to be taught to seek God. It may never have occurred to them that they should "seek Him first." Even if it did, they don't know of a practical way to put that into application in their lives. Perhaps the most frightening thing is that the behavior of the churches could mislead them in this way. I've seen many people who think that taking a class at their church is the way to seek God. It's a tool that can be used of course, but it is not the way.

So how can Christian leaders take more responsibility for the spiritual maturity, world view and sin of the people in their churches, cell groups, etc.? What do church leaders do with the ignorance of the people in their charge? How much of that ignorance does God expect the leaders to own? Can that ignorance be addressed in a Sunday sermon and an occasional class?

I once had a job as pastor of "spiritual formation and ministry development." I found that spiritual formation efforts were the ones I liked the most. Oddly, I found an incredible dichotomy between spiritual formation and ministry development. I wasn't too keen on ministry development ... because I couldn't see where it did much to form the character and nature of Christ in the people (i.e., spiritual formation). How strange.

Let's face it, our people are ignorant because they don't know. Perhaps they are even content with their ignorance - and don't have a desire to know. Are we teaching them the value of knowledge? Are we teaching them how to learn? Are we modeling a teachable spirit for them ourselves?

Our people sin because it is who they are. They won't stop sinning unless they are confronted and led to righteousness; led to a better conclusion. Even if they want to stop sinning, our people often don't know how to repent. They think that repentance is the same as guilt and shame. (It's not.)

You know, I think there is a dirty little secret in American churches. It is that they are not very effective. They don't take irreligious people and turn them into fully-devoted (i.e., obedient) followers of Christ. They may be big, large, financially sound and hip or successful churches. They may be popular churches. They may have a TV show, radio broadcast or other impressive ministries. But let's get honest here ... that's not the definition of an effective church.

So Christian leaders, what can we do to be more effective? How can we do a better job of leading people to fully submitted lives under Christ? And there it is, the million dollar question.