Over the next couple weeks I will be throwing out some thoughts on leadership. I of course have a lot of different thoughts so this will be simply me throwing out whatever thought comes to me at the point of writing. They will be somewhat random, straight to the point and hopefully helpful for you – although you may be the one that should be writing these instead of me.
Todays thought comes from the apostle Paul and understanding a bit about his ministry. For me, one of the biggest things that pops out about his leadership is the fact that he “lived among” those he served. See Acts 20:17-21 for an example. You can also see this phraseology throughout the book of 1 Thessalonians.
You might say Paul’s leadership was “down to earth” and there is a beauty to leading this way. He didn’t lead from a position, he led from his life. In Acts 20:17-21 alone we see those he led could attest to at least the following things:
1. his humility. Can we look at those we lead and say to them that they can attest to our humility?
2. his compassion for them as human beings. Do we actually love people or just say we do?
3. his own trials in life. Do we allow those we lead into even the difficult aspects of our lives?
4. his commitment to speaking truth. Do we love people enough to tell them the truth?
5. his consistency between public and private settings. Are we consistent in character regardless of where we are?
6. his unchanging message. Are we committed to telling everyone about the gospel?
It seems as though Paul could answer all these positively, which is partly what made him such a powerful leader. I hope to be able to do the same.
