Leadership Lessons

I don't consider myself some master leader or some leadership guru, but I can tell you that I am committed to becoming the most effective leader I can be for the glory of God. I have always heard that leaders are learners, so I have always tried to strive to learn more about what it means to be a leader and how to effectively lead people on to God’s agenda. I have read several books on the topic of Leadership, some of the books were excellent and some, to put nicely were CRAP. But without sounding too “churchy” the best place I have discovered leadership principles from have come from the Word of God. This morning was no exception. I was reading in Deuteronomy chapter 20, and in this chapter God out lines for His people the guidelines for going to war. In verses 2-4 it states the priest would stand before the army and give them a word of encouragement. In these verses I found the first of two principles that God revealed to me about strong leadership and it was this...

Strong Leaders Speak Vision and Courage into The Hearts of others...
This is what the priest would say..."Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."
I love this! The priest speaks to the very core of the heart of the men in this army. He challenges them to not be afraid. He doesn't rebuke them for being afraid or invalidate their feelings of fear, he simply directs their attention to the One who is greater, stronger and more powerful than their fears. You see great leaders will have the right words to move people forward, to inspire people to do more than what they ever imagined could be possible. Great leaders will have the right words because their words will reflect God's Truth, God's nature, God's power, God's love and God's promises. How can a leader find these words? They only come through intimacy with God. Now surely we can give fluff to people, "you can do it", "I believe in you", there's nothing wrong with that, but great leaders speak words that have true power because they are God's Words and God's Words are void of fluff!

Here's the second thing I discovered this morning from verse 8 and it is this...

My demonstration of faith or lack of will have a huge impact on those around me...

After the priest speaks it is now time for the officer of God's army to speak and he releases certain men from the battle. Men who have just gotten married, men who have just built a home or had a child etc. He says to them go home and enjoy those things because you just might die in battle. Then in verse 8 the officer says this..."Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that the others will not become disheartened too." Beyond my words my countenance, my faith, my own personal outlook and disposition will speak loudly to those around me. As leaders we need to be aware that our lack of faith will have a detrimental impact on those around us. Does your life SPEAK to the fact that you believe that with God all things are possible? Or does your life look more like a wave that is tossed to and fro at the first sign of wind?

Leadership is not reserved for business leaders, or business owners or even pastors. In some ways all of us are leaders. All of us have been given great opportunities to influence the lives of others for the cause of Christ. My prayer is that we will maximize our God-given influence to the fullest. Just another rambling. God Bless!