Christian Leadership

Leadership simply means a person who can take a lead on something. It could be anything in your life. It could be just taking the lead in having fun in a group. So lets take a look at what are the ingredients of leadership.

We can look at essential leadership skills by looking at the life of Jesus.

Clarity of vision.

The clarity of vision is the ability to understand and internalize the vision/goals and the ability to communicate them. If the person leading does not understand the goals then it is like the blind leading the blind. Jesus understood his goals very clearly. He was one with his father. He did not let the circumstances haze his vision. It is the number one jobs of the leader to keep all the followers focussed on the vision. This would sometimes means making the tough or unpopular calls. When jesus had to go to Jerusalem to complete his goal in this world, his disciples did not want to go. Jesus still made the unpopular decision to go and he found support from Thomas and the rest of the group followed.

Often times you might be taking the lead in a small area and the overall goal/mission might be much larger. In this case the leader needs to be in constant touch with the larger view and be in perfect sync/alignment with the person leading the bigger mission. Jesus did this by being one with the father. He spent every day praying and clarifying his mission. His disciples also did the same thing. You can also see this in the lives of Peter and Paul.

Communicating and ensuring that every one has understood it the way you intended it to be is a very difficult job. This becomes even more complicated when the goal or vision is too grand. In the case of jesus, the disciples were not even able to fathom the concepts. They struggled with the notion that the kind has to be crucified for the kingdom to be established. This was against all that they understood so far. Jesus recognized this issue and Jesus constantly corrected them when they strayed from the vision, clarified their doubts and explained to them the vision at their levels. He even appoints the holy spirit to keep them honest. When they understand the vision the result is unbelievable.


Influence Skills

A leader has to have followers and you should have the ability to influence the people following you. Leadership is always taken it is never granted. Most successful leaders have the ability to earn the trust respect and commitment of the followers. This skill is developed by the following attribute or character of the leader

a. Commitment to the vision: Jesus was committed to the goal. He was willing to lay his life for the sake of the goal. He was willing to go to Jerusalem, even though his disciples were not willing to do it. When the leader is not committed to the vision the whole group falls apart.
b. Integrity: Jesus lived a sinless life. He always walked the talk. He was not the person who only preaches for the masses. Unlike leaders of today where the preaching is only for other (For e.g. Elliot Spitzer). The leader also keeps all his commitments. Jesus kept all his promises.
c. Leading from the Front : Jesus was not the guy sitting in a palace and ordering his disciples to go around preaching. He was there doing all the work with them. He easily pulled his own weight.
d. Selfless Attitude. A good leader does not delegate all the dirty work to his/her followers all the time. This is one of the areas where a lot of leaders lose respect of the followers. Jesus did all the grunt work. He also backs the disciples when they need the support. He makes sure they are comfortable.

Training and Empowering the Followers

Jesus understood the strengths and weaknesses of his disciples. He provided feedback to them on their strength and weaknesses and helped them improve their execution and understanding. The prime example that comes to mind is Jesus exposing Peter’s weaknesses and teaches some valuable lessons. He does that in a way that he also highlights his strengths and the role he plays in the over all mission.

He constantly mentored them sent them on their own missions and empowered them. He kept them focused on the mission whenever they wavered.

The biggest testament of his training and coaching was that he had the second rung leadership in place when he was crucified.

Illustration
Now lets take this and apply it for something like a music ministry. What is the leader expected to do? -

1. Clarity of Vision
a. Understand the goals for the ministry.
- To Glorify God.
- To enhance the message in the service through worship
b. To be in constant touch with the pastor and be of one mind with respect to the needs.
c. Communicate the goals to the team and keep them focused on this. (Often times something else might take the front seat, but the team needs to be focused).
2. Influence
a. The leader should be committed to the goals. The songs picked should align with it, the music played, etc. should align with it.
b. The leader should be on time, should practice and keep his commitments.
c. The leader should make sure all the participants are comfortable and be willing to do the grunt work (like creating copies of the music, etc.). Should be willing to share the limelight and give credit where it is due.
d. The leader should have sufficient music skill or be able to bring in that value.
e. The leader should be flexible and accommodative of the group’s needs (like practice schedules, etc.)
3. Training & Empowerment
a. Identify and train second rung leadership
b. Understand people strength/weaknesses (Lack of timing, Inability to adjust on stage or showing off and forgetting that it is done for God, etc.) Talk to them about their weaknesses and help them out on those.