Lasting Success - Quality Decisions, Relationships and Untamed Emotions

Definition: Leadership is taking responsibility and maintaining the initiative according to God's Word. Seeing those who are in their care do what is right because they want to is the desired result of leadership. Some biblical principles of leadership are as follows:

Divine leadership - God is the Supreme Authority (Ps. 149, 2 Tim. 3:16). God is the Legislator and Judge; we submit, obey, and administer authority as He directs.
We are created to be under authority (Eph. 2:10, Rom. 13:2). Submission to authority is not being under domination; it is being under the protection of authority (Heb. 13:17).
When there is not a "thus saith the Lord" about a particular issue, seek a Spirit-led consensus. "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14).
The context for leadership is a select group, a body, a living organism empowered by God's grace (Acts 9:31; Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:1-6; I Cor. 11:3).
God teaches leadership in stages that cannot successfully be altered or bypassed. Stage 1-Leadership of self (Joshua 1:8; 2 Tim. 2:22; Jer. 17:9; Eph. 6:1-3). Stage 2-Leadership in marriage and in the home (1 Tim. 5:8, 17, 18; Prov. 22:6; Deut. 6:6-7). State 3-Leadership of others.
True leaders do not lead for the sake of being the leader; they lead because they care. They want to protect and help others. Except for the reward of serving God, they can proceed in their ministry unrewarded (1 Thess. 2:7-8).
Leadership preparation includes the experience of disappointment and hardship for the development of endurance and patience. Failure is not failure; it is an opportunity to grow. Leaders learn to avoid getting too far ahead of their people and yet maintain a belief in their potential (Titus 2:2; Gal. 5:22; Rom. 2:7; Luke 8:15).
As leaders develop, they go through an arduous and painful process of overcoming the fear of people, the fear of failure, and the fear of excessive self-consciousness. They eventually make the transition to multiple adoptive management styles essential for coping with different human problems.
We earn the right to lead in the sense that we must lovingly and firmly establish our turf. We take the time to develop relationships (prior understanding and agreement) and maintain relationships. We take the time to continually teach to reduce the confusion about the role of leadership and leadership support. This is the essence of leadership and is universally essential in order to protect the group from itself and maintain a group dynamic. "These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee" (Titus 2:15). The right to lead is set on firm footing. Successful leaders are characterized by the following:
1. They know how to get along with people.
2. They are examples of integrity, exhibiting no double-mindedness, fraud, greed, insincere praise, undue use of authority, or idle talk (Gal. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:3-5).
3. They form no coalition or alliance with individuals who compromise their loyalty to God's principles. They are impartial in their exercise of authority, following truth and the leading of God's Spirit.
4. They are firm and trustworthy in God's principles but kind, loving, and considerate.
5. They can plant ideas, but they are not manipulative. They help the group to see that new initiatives come from the people. They also stop to make sure the people are well established in what God wants them to do before proceeding.
6. They humbly submit to truth that God gives through others, without relinquishing leadership turf.
7. They are called and equipped by God.
Successful leaders teach their people to respect and follow God's corrective procedures (Matt. 18; Gal. 6:1; Phil. 2:3; Matt. 5:9, 16; Heb. 3:13, 14; I Cor. 13:1). Leaders welcome critical insights given respectfully in private, without feeling threatened. Such encounters are not personal affronts; they are vital for self-improvement.
They exude confidence and optimism. They teach confidence in God's Word and keep the home alive.

Lasting Success.