Christian Leaders
It is time to stand up!

Christian, fulfil your leadership destiny!

"What no one ever saw or heard, what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love him." [1Co 2:9 GNB]

Demonstrate Christian leadership and
grab hold of your future!

"I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for." [Jer 29:11 GNB]

Become the Christian leader you are meant to be!

Christian leadership is more than a mere position or appointment.

Do you really know or understand what Christian leadership is all about? Few people do. There is much confusion regarding leadership and management. This is because managers are often, but not always, also required to lead and leaders are often, but not always, also required to manage.

Because of this overlap between Christian leadership and management, people are coming up with a wide variety of definitions for Christian leadership, most of which would not pass the test.

If I would ask you now to define the difference between
Christian leadership and management, what would your answer be?

Just to say that "a leader leads and a manager manages", is not an answer,
because you cannot define a word with itself!

Most attempts at an answer can probably be answered with:
"a manager also does that" or "a leader also does that."

I have heard it said that :
'Leadership is about people', whereas 'Management is about process.'
Not good enough! Managers certainly also work with people.
Christian leadership

Christian leaders lead people and managers manage resources.
Of this, the human resource (people) is the most important. People can therefore
not be made the differentiating factor between leaders and managers.

What then is the difference between Christian leadership and management?

Christian leadership is all about vision.

 For example, if a you notice an empty soda can littering the floor that needs to be picked up,
have a desire for a clean environment, decide to pick it up and throw it away  and follow through on your decision by actually doing it, then you are a Christian leader by being the first to do it.

Christian leadership is possible even without having followers. Being the first to do something does not necessarily imply that there will be a second or a third, but it still makes you a leader.
 Having followers does not make you a leader, it only defines a type of leadership.

As a Christian you should understand that there is no clear cut differentiation between Christian leadership and management, rather a continuum, but the following should serve as a clear guide.

Christian leadership is about activating vision.
Management is about process.
Both are about people.

Yes, Christian leadership is about leading people. The church is in dire need of leaders, but the church needs more than just people caring about people. The church needs Christian leaders that can receive a vision from God and bring it to fulfillment. What I am saying with my soda can example, is that Christian leadership is primarily about your leading, not about your followers.

Christian leadership starts with the conception of the vision, but only gets recognized with the birth (the activation) of it.

Moses - acknowledged as one of the greatest leaders of all time.

When did he become a leader?

Was it the day a million slaves followed him into the desert or was it the moment he confronted Pharaoh for the first time with the vision that his people should be free? My vote is for the latter.
Christian leadership starts at conception, not birth!

Jesus - certainly the greatest leader of all time.

 If His followers were to be the measurement of His leadership on earth, He was the utmost failure. His ‘followers' did not follow Him, they followed their stomachs!

"Jesus answered, "I am telling you the truth: you are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles." [John 6:26 GNB].

Surely, Christian leadership cannot be defined by using followers as a measuring standard.

He is the divine example of Christian leadership, yet even
those closest to Him were following their own dreams.

"He was teaching his disciples: "The Son of Man will be handed over to those who will kill him. Three days later, however, he will rise to life." But they did not understand what this teaching meant, and they were afraid to ask him. They came to Capernaum, and after going indoors Jesus asked his disciples, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they would not answer him, because on the road they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest." [Mark 9:31-34 GNB]

Only at Pentecost did the disciples start to follow where Jesus was leading them. They finally started demonstrating Christian leadership of their own.

Was this when the leadership of Jesus started?
I'd say no. His leadership started the moment He left heaven with the vision of giving
His own life for our sins. Christian leadership starts at conception, not birth!

Abraham - the father (leader) of our faith.

He followed God from Haran and his only follower was his nephew Lot.
If Lot was Abram's measure of leadership, he certainly was a failure!

Abraham, as father of our faith, gives us the very first example of Christian leadership. He received vision from God and acted on it by believing God.

"And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." [Genesis 15:5-6 GNB]

If followers were the measure for Christian leadership, Abraham would
have been a failure. Even his wife was not his follower.

She laughed at the idea of having children. "So Sarah laughed to herself and said, "Now that I am old and worn out, can I still enjoy sex? And besides, my husband is old too." [Genesis 18:12]

Yet Abraham is the leader of everyone today that gets saved by faith.

"You should realize, then, that the real descendants of Abraham are the people who have faith." [Galatians 3:7] 

Abraham had no followers in his lifetime regarding his vision, and no relationship with
the followers he has today, those who like him, received righteousness through faith. Yet, he is
the father of faith, and as such, still one of the greatest examples of Christian leadership.

Moses, Jesus, Abraham . . . were all great leaders.

Yes, they al ended up having followers. But even if they did not, it would not have diminished their leadership. God would have commended each one on his leadership, for they received His vision and acted on it. It is not always the best leaders that have the most or the best followers. Some of the best leaders today are still not being recognized. Christian leadership is not about recognition, it is about action!

Christian leader. Now it is your turn!

Before you ask "Am I doing the job right?" You must first ask "Am I doing the right job?"

Ask yourself. "Am I doing what I should be doing?"

When you reach the top rung of the ladder and look around, you don't
want to realize that your ladder was leaning against the wrong wall!

What you are doing . . .
Is it a good idea or is it God's idea?

You have a job that you should be doing. Are you doing it,
or are you maybe doing something you shouldn't?

The following prayer was first prayed by General Douglas McArthur for his son.
The words are adapted so that you can pray it for yourself.

If you desire to display Christian leadership in the true sense of the word,
take this opportunity now and pray this prayer.