CHRISTIAN LEADER 2

Characteristics of a Christian Leader – PART 2

The characteristics and requirements of a spiritual leader require more qualities than a natural leader. Other forms of leadership can be easily attained through change in style or method unlike spiritual leadership. Most people you are leading are there because they chose to and not being forced, therefore they can leave anytime for various reasons (like offences or disagreements). Spiritual leadership is not about how well you speak or present yourself but how you live. Characteristics of a Spiritual leadership therefore require:

     i.        Courage: You need to do what is right in the sight of God and not what people say. Gideon was asked to reduce his army to 300 men and that should be it. Saul was asked to destroy everything at war and that should be it and not what you or others think otherwise. What the Lord asks can be sometimes counter intuitive, does not make sense but you know that it is from the Lord. It is then your courage that will help you to follow through. Be courageous and trust the voice within.

    ii.        Boldness: Boldness means to be confident in what you do or say. Whiles courage speaks of character, boldness relates to your personality. In Acts 4, the apostles spoke with boldness after they have been filled with the Holy Spirit. You speak boldly when you know what you are saying comes from the Lord and this occurs when you have spent time building your life on the word of God, the Holy Spirit and prayer.

  iii.        Strength: People follow leaders who are stronger than they are. A growing spiritual life is constantly filled with stress and pressure, and it takes a stronger person to go through it. The growth of a flock depends on the personal spiritual growth of the leader. If the leader is not strong in facing challenges, the flock ceases to grow well.( read Josh.1:6; 1corin.16:13 and Eph. 6:10)

  iv.        Holy Spirit- filled: Unlike natural leader, every spiritual leadership requires the touch of God in your life because it is not your natural strength or speaking that will give you leadership. It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that helps you lead the flock. Believers who are discerning will sense the presence of God when you are leading the church and it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that gives you the authority to speak and continually speak into their lives. Without the presence of God, your words will be empty and your sermons become more like a classroom or a motivational seminar with no power to change lives. (acts 2:37-41).

   v.        Integrity: Prov. 22:1 says good name is better than riches. You have to be known as a man of integrity if you want to lead people with authentic spiritual leadership’. (1Tim. 3). Being a man of integrity means you do what is true and not just speak it (as the Pharisees and Sadducees did). Without integrity you lose credibility with your flock. A man of integrity watches his words carefully and makes sure what he preaches, he has already achieved. If you preach generosity, you should be a man with a generous heart.

  vi.        Dependability: He must be a man who can handle his own affairs as well as that of others and must be reliable, only then will they entrust their lives to him- sharing their problems and looking to him for advice.

 vii.        Humility: Humility is an essential quality to a church leader. Jesus says that he who desires to be the greatest in the kingdom, should learn to serve (Matt. 20:27). Humility is the acknowledgement that all the abilities and gifts you have are gifts from the Lord. A leader who understands this will not be proud or boastful but thankful and serve always. You may be smarter and able to speak better, but it doesn’t make you a better person in the eyes of God; It is God who gave them to you as HE is no respecter of persons (Rom.2:11; 1Corin. 1:27-29). Humility is also that you recognize your strengths and weaknesses and not afraid to reveal them before your flock.

viii.        Vision: Prov. 29:18a says that “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. A leader must always be ready to give direction to his followers. Most people are not sure about what God wants them to do or why they are part of the church. But a true leader will constantly give direction to his people through visions and goals so they will not forget about their purpose in God and why they are part of the church.

  ix.        Generosity: A true leader is generous with his time and money. John 3:16 says that “For God so loved the world that He gave”. A man can give without loving but he cannot love without giving. A leader must set example through giving. Giving of your time through visiting and exhorting/ counseling them and giving them financial aid when they are in need.

   x.        Spirituality: A Christian leader should be spiritual. Spiritual not in terms of quoting bible verses off your head or experienced in leadership but simply your relationship with God. A good leader teaches his followers how to seek God for themselves, which means that he himself should be in love with Jesus. A leader who speaks from his own wisdom and knowledge burdens his flock but when he speaks from a true relationship with Jesus, he creates thirst and hunger in his followers to run to God themselves.

End of PART 2

Hindrances to Good leadership – PART 3