by Susie Battle, Director of Ministry Teams @ MBC Loudoun

My husband and I were talking with our cousin Tim recently about leadership. Tim is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, and he is full of wisdom and humility (though he would deny it J). Some of the things he mentioned about leadership have really resonated with us, challenged us, and inspired us to be more godly leaders. Below are excerpts of what he shared with us in his words (well, God’s Words, and then Tim’s comments):

Hebrews 13:7 “Remember ??those who led you, who spoke ??the word of God to you; and considering the ??result of their conduct, ??imitate their faith.”

Leaders don’t lead because of gifts per se, but because of character and a modeling of faith in God. Leaders must believe God, always. They must show the way. When leaders do that, they give those they lead something to imitate. Followers are not to imitate leaders’ behavior, style, practices etc. Rather, they are to imitate their faith, i.e. trust in the Almighty God.

Numbers 20:12: “But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “??Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

In other words, leadership is about believing God, about treating God as holy in the sight of the people. When we cease believing God and treating Him as holy before those we lead, we often forfeit our position to lead as a result.

That’s a powerful charge. I’ve read each of these sentences multiple times. Consider doing the same while asking the Lord to challenge you in ways you can better honor Him as you lead others: Lord, am I treating You as holy before those I lead? Is my faith and trust in You worth imitating? Am I believing You? Even in the details and little things, am I believing You in obedience? (Remember – Moses’ disbelief and his resulting forfeiture of leadership was the difference between speaking to a rock as the Lord commanded to bring forth water (Numbers 20:8) and striking the rock (Numbers 20:11)). Does my life show others the way to You?

For more on leadership that honors God, Tim suggests the following:

A very helpful resource on this kind of training comes from Bill Lawrence, former spiritual formation professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. His site is www.leaderformation.org.