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4 Steps to Strong Christian Leadership
by
Sean Mize
We need more Christian leadership! These days it seems
like Christians simply aren’t willing to stand up and lead. Even
Christian leaders seem to be afraid to exercise true Christian
leadership, often kowtowing to the whims and feelings of those around
them.
1. Know your beliefs and purpose. True Christian leadership involves
standing up for beliefs and leading others in the direction of truth. To
do that effectively, the Christian leader must first of all know what
his beliefs are and what direction he is leading Christians. The Bible
tells us to “study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (II Tim.
2:15, KJV) Before we can lead others effectively, we must have firm
knowledge of the truth of the Bible.
2. Lead with love and fairness. Christian leadership also involves
leading with love and justice. Paul admonished us: “I therefore, the
prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Eph. 4:1-3, KJV) When we
exercise Christian leadership, we must operate in an attitude and spirit
of love and patient guidance. Christian leadership should not be a
dominating, aggressive, attacking sort of leadership, rather it should
be full of grace and encouragement.
3. Delegate effectively. For effective Christian leadership, effective
delegation is necessary. You need to place the right task with the
correct individual. Learn what the current skill sets and skill levels
are of those you are leading. Effective Christian leadership involves
asking questions, watching closely, and evaluating wisely before giving
tasks to those being led. If you give people tasks to which they are not
well fitted, you set them up for failure and you will tend to receive
mediocre results. By knowing before delegating tasks what the skills are
of those you supervise or lead, you can more effectively match tasks
with skills.
4. Get involved. Be willing to help with the task at hand. Many times,
especially when volunteers are utilized, effective Christian leadership
involves getting in and starting the job for the volunteer. A volunteer
(or paid worker) often responds positively to the leader who is willing
to do the same work he is delegating. Once again, having a humble,
patient and understanding demeanor works wonders when delegating work.
Although the workers may all be on the same “team” (they are all working
because they want to and want to further the cause), they may not want
to be led by someone who either has never performed the task at hand or
is unwilling to do some of the work.
In summary, Christian leadership not only involves some of the same
skills non Christian leadership employs, but also brings into play a
non-tangible element, that of the expected attitude of the Christian. In
the non Christian leadership roles, we may feel we can tell people what
to do and simply expect it to be done, but in a Christian leadership
role, volunteers or workers may have an added expectation of a Christian
leadership environment within which to work, including additional
“niceties” from you, the Christian leader.
About the Author:
Sean Mize is a Christian Entrepreneur and Christian Leadership author, and the author of “The Christian Guide to Maximizing Your Time”, which can be ordered via
Christian Success Network
He also co-publishes a Christian Article Directory. To read articles or submit articles for inclusion in the directory, click here:
Christian Article Bank
You have my permission to reprint and distribute this article as long as it is distributed in its entirety, including all links. © Sean Mize 2006
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