Spritual Leadership #1 - Sanders
My staff and a men's leadership development group I am leading are reading Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders. It is a great book on the subject and in the days to come I will be sharing some information from the book and giving some of my own comments.
I read this book several years ago and I may be getting more out of this read than the last. Although pastors and lay leaders are addressed directly throughout the book, I believe it is a must read for all Christ-Followers. If one of the definitions of leader is, "a leader is a person of influence," and if we are all given the power to witness (Acts 1:8), then it is a must read.
At the beginning of ch. 1 Sanders writes, "Most Christians have reservations about aspiring to leadership. They are unsure about whether it is truly right for a person to want to be a leader"...they think, "is it not better for the position to seek out the person rather than the person to seek out the position."
As I stated earlier, I believe we are all as Christ-followers leaders due to the influence we have on others. The question is, "do we want to accept our biblical responsibility to influence?" Since we are empowered by the Spirit to influence, we are influencing whether we accept the responsibility of it or not. Are you influencing people towards Jesus, or away?
Now when we accept a role of teacher or leader as part of God's church, it even puts us at a higher level of accountability and is honored by God. God says, "Way to go son or daughter."
It is true that if a man wants to be a church leader, he wants to do a good work. 1 Tim 3:1 (NLV)
Why you want to be a leader is important, and as with all other decisions we make, God looks at the heart. Sanders writes, "Our Lord never taught against the urge of high achievement, but he did expose and condemn unworthy motivation....Jesus taught that ambition that centers on the self is wrong...Ambition that centers on the glory of God and welfare of the Church is a mighty force for good."
"We must aim to put more into life than we take out."
"Because we children of Adam want to become great,
He became small.
Because we will not stoop,
He humbled Himself.
Because we want to rule,
He came to serve."
I read this book several years ago and I may be getting more out of this read than the last. Although pastors and lay leaders are addressed directly throughout the book, I believe it is a must read for all Christ-Followers. If one of the definitions of leader is, "a leader is a person of influence," and if we are all given the power to witness (Acts 1:8), then it is a must read.
At the beginning of ch. 1 Sanders writes, "Most Christians have reservations about aspiring to leadership. They are unsure about whether it is truly right for a person to want to be a leader"...they think, "is it not better for the position to seek out the person rather than the person to seek out the position."
As I stated earlier, I believe we are all as Christ-followers leaders due to the influence we have on others. The question is, "do we want to accept our biblical responsibility to influence?" Since we are empowered by the Spirit to influence, we are influencing whether we accept the responsibility of it or not. Are you influencing people towards Jesus, or away?
Now when we accept a role of teacher or leader as part of God's church, it even puts us at a higher level of accountability and is honored by God. God says, "Way to go son or daughter."
It is true that if a man wants to be a church leader, he wants to do a good work. 1 Tim 3:1 (NLV)
Why you want to be a leader is important, and as with all other decisions we make, God looks at the heart. Sanders writes, "Our Lord never taught against the urge of high achievement, but he did expose and condemn unworthy motivation....Jesus taught that ambition that centers on the self is wrong...Ambition that centers on the glory of God and welfare of the Church is a mighty force for good."
"We must aim to put more into life than we take out."
"Because we children of Adam want to become great,
He became small.
Because we will not stoop,
He humbled Himself.
Because we want to rule,
He came to serve."
posted by Royal | 11:33 AM
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