Leadership is often defined by position—the person in charge is the leader. Leadership, however, is not a position. Rather it is the qualities of a person to motivate and inspire others, to have a clear vision and path to realize it, and the ability to support and encourage others to grow in their own capacities. If that sounds complicated it is because leadership and being in a leadership position are two entirely different things. The former leads while the latter simply makes decisions.
A person’s leadership capacity is built on three key metrics. First, their clarity of thought and communication. Next, their judgment and capacity related to people. Finally, their personal integrity. These areas combine to form an opinion as to the leader’s overall trustworthiness.[1] If you have the trust of others and know where you are going, you may have the ability to lead others along that path as well.
There is a marked difference in leadership and faith-centered or Christian leadership. A leader who lives by faith in Jesus Christ has an overarching purpose to their life and leadership which goes beyond communication, judgement and integrity. Christian leadership is that which has as its highest aim to glorify God by guiding others to grow in faith and service to God. You cannot be a faith-centered individual and separate that aspect of your life from your leadership. In fact, the opposite is true. Faith enhances and strengthens your leadership and increases your opportunity to impact others in a meaningful way.
Christian leaders prioritize people. An anxiom for the Christian is that all ministry is relationships. A Christian leader puts people first in every facet of life and work. A Christian leader desires to see people grow and flourish. Jesus commanded every faith-centered leader, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This Great Commission should be at the center of Christian leadership. Elements of disciple-making, including building strong, positive relationships, mentoring, teaching, care and concern, empathy and support, permeate the life and actions of the Christian leader. Loving people genuinely is in obedience to God. 1 John 4:7-8 teaches, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Christian leaders have underlying purpose. A faith-centered life looks beyond the bottom line of the organization to a greater reason for living and leading. Whatever our own plans or goals, they stand below God’s own purposes. Proverbs 19:21 reminds us, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” Jesus summarizes this greater purpose in one sentence: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). The Christian understands his life is to be lived putting God first, and in doing so loving people as God does.
True faith is “baked in”. When you bake a cake, you combine individual ingredients—flour, sugar, salt, vanilla, baking powder, butter, milk. But something happens in the oven. Once these elements combine and bake, they become something different—a cake. They cannot be separated. You can’t take a finished cake and remove the flour from it, for instance. This is the essence of faith for a leader. Once a person surrenders their life to Christ, faith and leadership cannot be separated. It is “baked in”. The difference in Christian leadership is that faith takes point for the leader. It influences his attitudes and actions at work, at home, in marriage and in the community.
[1] https://www.ycombinator.com/library/3j-how-do-you-measure-leadership
Whoever thought that “what is a man?” would be a controversial question in our culture! Male messages pull in opposite directions—some encouraging passivity and disengagement, others promoting dominance without character.