A conversation I had with a sister stays vivid in my memory because the comment she made baffled me. "I see you as a leader," she said. It doesn't take someone to know me well to assess that I do not fit the stereotypical characteristics of a leader: a go-getter, passionate, motivator, team player. I will also add that she said this moments after I was crying in the car. I saw myself as overly emotional, sensitive, a people pleaser, and terrible at setting boundaries. So here I was wiping tears in her car, feeling weak and poor in spirit, and she suddenly throws out that she sees me leading something? I casted that comment aside thinking that she must've said that to make me feel better.
Fast-forward two years later, I find myself in a leadership position with the church as a part time intern for our campus ministry. I wrestled with insecurity and wanting to prove myself worthy of the position through my achievements. The job I once found excitement and joy in slowly morphed into fear and anxiety. I knew I had to take a step by and ask myself, "what is leadership to God?" These are His people and not mine. If I wanted to be a good steward of His people I had to ask - What does it mean to be a leader? Why does God even appoint people into leadership positions? What are my responsibilities?
I was at a Christian bookstore to buy a Bible for a friend who recently became a disciple. That was the only thing I planned to buy, but as my eyes darted across the bookshelf a book that read "LEAD" stood out to me (maybe because of the aesthetic art). It was a God-sent book because it opened my eyes to what God intended leadership for his kingdom to be. This blogpost will probably be heavily inspired by that book, Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church by Paul David Tripp, but it is more so my own meditation and application than a review.
How do You View Leadership?
Let's take a step back and see how the world views leadership.
The Word of God : Alive and Active
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11 NIV)
A Leader is Consistent
A Leader is a Gardener
Conclusion...for now
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:1-8 NIV)
Beneath the event planning, group gatherings, Bible talks, and studies; the community service, late night talks, and new friends... I've learned leadership is simply being the best example of a servant. If you find yourself in a leadership role, count it as a blessing to learn more about the servanthood of Christ.
