Leadership

Certain people are born to be leaders.  But nobody is born with the inherent skills to be leaders.  It requires learning, training, and selective counsel to be effective.  It does not surprise me that God didn't put these skills into people.  If you were born with this skill, you probably would feel that you would have no need to rely on God.  We love God and thank Him for assigning leaders in this world.  But what does His Word teach us about leadership?  What solid principles can we take from the Bible to running a business, campaign, fundraiser, or organization?  I have allowed the Holy Spirit to deal with me on this subject and have put together a list of seven principles extracted straight out of the Bible that can be used to apply to leadership.

1. Pray.  In Exodus 19, Moses consulted with God on everything in his leadership over the ancient Israelites.  Everything he spoke to them was an echo of what God had told him.  Establish a meeting time and a meeting place to talk with God and listen to God on everything in your ordained leadership.

2. Have a written plan.  In Habakkuk 2:2, God instructed the prophet Habakkuk to write down every vision that God had given him and to make it plain and understandable.  Life gets busy; don't depend on yourself to remember and apply every vision that God gives you.  Write them down.

3. Have a written budget.  Luke 14:28 reads, "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?"  You would be surprised at how many people try to lead an organization, a business, a church, or any other influential group of people with no written cash flow plan.  Many of you know this as a budget.    There are even some people who go on social media and promote managing money with no budget, claiming that it only adds stress to your life.  Don't do this.  Christ told the Disciples to count the costs of every thing being built.  He further suggested to them that construction with no counted costs leads to unfinished work.

4. Seek spiritual counsel.  Psalm 32:8 says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; I will counsel you, with my eye on you."  Before moving, be sure you get a strong source of spiritual counsel.  This doesn't downplay your ability to hear God; it promotes spiritual unity and confirms that you are on the same spiritual page with fellow Disciples.  Christ said in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."  If the Holy Spirit is really dealing with you on your leadership, that spiritual unity will be evident in the hearts of like-minded believers.  Nathan was a prophet and the spiritual advisor to King David.  Find your Nathan.

5. Seek professional counsel.  Proverbs 11:14 states, "Where there is no counsel, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety."  Common sense keeps an organization while professional sense builds one.  There are people in our world who are nerds at what you have been called to do.  Certification, education, and figuring out answers to your questions is their vocation.  Do not let your pride cause you to dismiss expert help that can jumpstart you in your leadership skills.  Let God's ordination on others be an influence on your ordination.

6. Respond slowly.  We do not see any cases throughout the entire Bible where God responded to something immediately.  From people doing wrong to answered prayers, God has had a habit of sitting with things before responding to them.  As a leader, take the Godly approach to dealing with problems - try sitting with issues for at least twenty-four hours before choosing to respond.  Not only will it give you time to calm down but will give the Spirit of God a chance to come down.  Better decisions are usually made slowly and with proper counsel.  And God wants to be our Counsel.

7. Integrity.  Every great leader I know has integrity; the rest of them - as my grandmother would say it - pour out with the wash.  Everything about Moses, Jesus, and every other great leader highlighted in God's Word had a lot of integrity.  If you are a leader and you are reading this, you are no exception.  You either rise by honesty or fall by its counterpart.  There is room on both ends for you, but where you go will depend on your decisions and your integrity as a leader.

When God lifts up leaders, He lifts up tools needed for those leaders thrive.  If God has called you to leadership, today can be a day for you to choose to give your gift back to Him and allow His Word to shape you and mold you to be the best version of what god has assigned you to.  The Word works - if you work it.

By: Minister Micah