Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Right Thinking On Christian Leadership (6)

by Rev. James Wong
What I learn from the Leadership of Jesus

I have talked about the five DNAs of Christian leadership. They are (1) Having a serving and giving attitude like Jesus Christ according to his life mission statement recorded in Mark 10:45. (2) Christian leadership must be founded on one single motivation: Loving God wholeheartedly and loving people fervently as this is the summary of all the laws of God (Mark 12:30-31). (4) A humble learning attitude which is the attitude of Christ in Philippians 2:5-7 (4) Faith in God’s providence to move mountains (Mk 11:22-25). (5) A forgiving heart which helps you to rebound in healing when you are hurt leading God’s people (Matthew 18:21-22).This week we will continue to talk about the following Characteristics of Christian Leadership.

(6) A Team Player. Successful leadership in the church depends on having a team. All great leaders are great team builders. An authoritarian leader is someone who makes unilateral decision without reference to the team. In the end, the team abandons him. In fact, if you don’t have a team, you are not a leader. You are a loner. Jesus had a team of twelve. Everything he did in ministry he did it with a team (Matthew 10:1). It is the teamwork spirit that sets apart a spiritual leader from a common leader. We see Paul’s team spirit when he said: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6-8 NIV). There was no problem for him to team up with Apollos in the work of the gospel.

(7) The Spirit of Excellence. Good leadership demands hard work as well as continuing learning to operate on our level best. Paul said: “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, ...” (1 Corinthians 3:10 NIV). You know the difference between a common builder and an expert builder. An expert builder is a person who operates above the average. In the information age, the new rules of the game is not what you know but how fast you learn. What you know could be outdated long time ago. How can I polish my leadership skill and what are the new things I need to learn to be an ‘expert builder?’ Ecclesiastes 10:10 says: “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.”


(8) Sharing A Common Vision. Jack Welch, a highly regarded figure due to his innovative management strategies and leadership style said: “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” Jesus gave a very clear vision to his disciples to continue his work. He said: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, …” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV). Christian leadership in its totality must be very focused in accomplishing this Great Commission. Anything that hinders the accomplishment of this vision must be reviewed and subject to change. May God bless your leadership.

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