Still Want to be a Leader?

I’m the first to admit that I’m not good at a lot of things.

I can barely hang a picture. Well, really I can’t hang a picture and stay in fellowship with the Lord Jesus.

I’m lousy at small talk. No, it’s worse than that. I suck at small talk. I marvel at people like our assimilation pastor, David Anderson, work a room and make everyone smile.

I have no idea how I made it through the general education science classes at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Maybe it had something to do with the braniac dude I chose as my lab partner. We fully admitted our codependence. He couldn’t tell a verb from an adjective, and I couldn’t find the spleen on that frog to save my life. “You do the experiments, Buddy. I’ll write ‘em up”

But when it comes to leadership, I just get it. Always have. From the fireline to the tank platoon to the local church, I’ve always been a leader.

So when I was preparing my sermon from 1 Peter 5:1-4, one of the classic leadership passages in the New Testament, the guys on staff asked me to “give my speech.”

“I don’t know. That’s a pretty in-your-face speech. May overload people a little.”

“Come on, Ed. This is an in-your-face paragraph. And so many church leaders don’t have a clue about leadership. They’re reading books and article written by people who have never led. It’s all theory.”

I had to admit that 1 Peter 5:1-4 is counter-culture to most church leaders’ expectations to leadership. So many church “leaders” view themselves as entrepreneurs, administrators, Bible teachers, or visionaries. What they never seem to get is that none of those terms describe a New Testament leader. Really, in my opinion, they don’t describe a leader in any arena. The problem with these words is that they all drip with an expectation that leadership is about getting other people to do what you want them to do, to follow your plan, to build your empire or church.

True leadership is about giving your life away to those you lead to release their giftedness and to guide them toward a common goal. It’s all about personal sacrifice and hardship to encourage, guide and release others.

This is why Peter chooses the verb “shepherd” to exhort the leaders of the church. “Shepherd the flock,” Peter says, “willingly, enthusiastically, and by example—because Jesus will reward faithful undershepherds when He comes” (1 Peter 5:1-4).

The more I studied the paragraph, the more comfortable I felt sharing the speech I give to every prospective leader at Church of the Open Door. So, if you’re a leader, buckle your seat belt, and hear me out:

• Don’t thwart the ministry of the Holy Spirit in these people’s lives.
• Have you counted the cost of discipleship—everything— in Luke 14:25-35?
• Do you trust grace enough to risk letting go of your dreams and plans for these people so that you can embrace God’s dreams and plans for these people?
• It’s never about you; it’s always about Jesus.
• It’s never about you; it’s always about team.
• It’s never about you; it’s always about the sheep.
• It’s never about your giftedness; it’s about releasing the giftedness of others.
• Finally, when it comes to the hard things—you go first. But when it comes to the good things—you come last.

Still want to be a leader?