So far I have identified 2 critical components to spiritual leadership. The first was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second was to be a life long learner so that you can stay fresh with what you are teaching to those whom you influence. The third component that Moses implies in the Deuteronomy 6 passage is that of living an integrated life.
What does this mean? Moses tells his leaders to make sure that when you sit down, walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you get up you are teaching by example. It is clear that Moses knows that learning is at its best when caught than just taught.
It is obvious that those we influence are consistently watching our lifestyle and behavior. If our walk doesn't match our talk we nullify our ability to lead. Followers must see a cohesive message being sent by those who lead. That is what I mean by an integrated life.
So the question is this. Who is looking into your glass house? All of us live in a glass house to those whom we lead. What do they see?
So far we see 3 components to spiritual leadership: Loving, Learning, and Living an integrated life.
Until next time......
Monday, December 31, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP Part 2
Loving God with all our heart soul, mind and strength sets spiritual leadership apart from any other kind of leadership. We will have the greatest influence in the lives of others if we just start there. However the second component of spiritual leadership Moses tells the people of Israel is to impress upon the hearts of their children the commandments that were given. (Deuteronomy 6:7)
The word impress means to sharpen their children. Leaders are to be like whetstones that hone those under their influence. Just like sand paper, there are certain grades of whetstones. The finer the stone the sharper the blade.
What does this imply? Spiritual leaders should continually be learning and sharpening their own skills so they can "impress" those under their influence. Life-long learning is critical. A leader can't take those they lead any further than they have been.
This kind of learning doesn't stop with academics. It must include learning about ourselves; our strengths and weaknesses and becoming emotionally mature.
The bottom line is this. Besides loving God with all our heart soul mind and strength there needs to be a continual learning curve that never stops until we meet Jesus face to face.
The word impress means to sharpen their children. Leaders are to be like whetstones that hone those under their influence. Just like sand paper, there are certain grades of whetstones. The finer the stone the sharper the blade.
What does this imply? Spiritual leaders should continually be learning and sharpening their own skills so they can "impress" those under their influence. Life-long learning is critical. A leader can't take those they lead any further than they have been.
This kind of learning doesn't stop with academics. It must include learning about ourselves; our strengths and weaknesses and becoming emotionally mature.
The bottom line is this. Besides loving God with all our heart soul mind and strength there needs to be a continual learning curve that never stops until we meet Jesus face to face.
Monday, December 10, 2012
SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP part 1
For many years I have heard many women in the church say they wished they had more of a spiritual leader for a husband. In response to that I have had many men ask me over the years what does a spiritual leader look like? In the next several blogs I want to address this subject.
First of all, the simplest definition of a leader is "influence". All of us have a realm of influence. If we are a father, mother, boss, supervisor, small group leader, teacher, student, all have someone who are watching us and being influenced by us. So spiritual leadership is not isolated to just men. We all have to own the message of spiritual leadership.
So what does scripture say to us regarding spiritual leadership? Moses writes to those who lead, in Deuteronomy 6, that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart soul mind and strength. It is easy for some of us to love God partially. We can love God with our head or we can even perform for God with our strength but if our heart and soul are not in it then it is empty obedience.
The church at Ephesus was at risk of losing their influence for the kingdom because they had lost their first love. They had their theological thinking in the right place and certainly put their effort into working hard, but they lost their passionate unconditional love for God.
The point is this. What separates spiritual leadership from any other kind of leadership is the need to be "all in". There must be a holistic approach to loving God or our spiritual leadership becomes weakened and ineffective.
So when is the last time you told God how much you love Him? Where has your passion gone? Has it been stripped away by unconfessed sin. Has it become calloused and taken for granted because you have known God for a long time? Is it time to repent and do the things you did when you were first in love.
First of all, the simplest definition of a leader is "influence". All of us have a realm of influence. If we are a father, mother, boss, supervisor, small group leader, teacher, student, all have someone who are watching us and being influenced by us. So spiritual leadership is not isolated to just men. We all have to own the message of spiritual leadership.
So what does scripture say to us regarding spiritual leadership? Moses writes to those who lead, in Deuteronomy 6, that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart soul mind and strength. It is easy for some of us to love God partially. We can love God with our head or we can even perform for God with our strength but if our heart and soul are not in it then it is empty obedience.
The church at Ephesus was at risk of losing their influence for the kingdom because they had lost their first love. They had their theological thinking in the right place and certainly put their effort into working hard, but they lost their passionate unconditional love for God.
The point is this. What separates spiritual leadership from any other kind of leadership is the need to be "all in". There must be a holistic approach to loving God or our spiritual leadership becomes weakened and ineffective.
So when is the last time you told God how much you love Him? Where has your passion gone? Has it been stripped away by unconfessed sin. Has it become calloused and taken for granted because you have known God for a long time? Is it time to repent and do the things you did when you were first in love.
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