Can You Follow?

“Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt.4:19).  In order for an individual to become a good leader, she must first become an effective follower. Jesus spent three years helping his twelve understand the concept of following.  West Point Military Academy develops good military leaders by teaching cadets how to follow.  This principle suggests that leaders, no matter their station, should seek to establish a relationship wherein they are a follower.  Wrestling with the issues of followership will crystallize the intricacies of leading others.

Equipping

“Their [spiritual leaders] responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12).  Spiritual leadership is about teaching, assisting, and motivation believers.  Paul writes that spiritual leaders are to equip (prepare) people for works of service.  The task entails imparting spiritual truths and guiding believers to understand and embrace their spiritual gifts, then unite them in service for the mission of the church.  It is a prime task of church leaders to attend to the varied details involved in preparing believers, then release them to become all that God intended.  Leadership that focuses on developing people has proven to be beneficial in the market place as well as the church.

The Decision Maker

Decisions:“You are a witness to your own decision,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:22).  Leaders are decision makers.  As decisions are made, people that are impacted should be able to take the decision to the bank; that is, be confident that there will be proper follow through.  Joshua reminded Israel that their word to follow the true God and reject all others would be tough; but he expected them to follow through.  He pointed out the many witnesses to their decision.  When a decision is made, there is a linked responsibility to walk the decision through to completion.  Witnesses validate the decision and make it binding.

Direction

“I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws” (Psalms 119:59). The Psalmist was at a critical crossroads in his life; he understood a need for new direction.  He gave his situation careful thought and headed toward God.  In leadership, carefully weighing a new direction is an important part of the process. Snap decisions will come back upon a leader and undermine his credibility. The word translated “pondered” in the passage is a weighty word. Its meaning suggests careful examination, similar to how an accountant balances a financial statement.  Leaders are called to provide new direction; however, each turn should be pondered, as the organization’s future could very well be in the balance.

Anger

“Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool” (Eccl. 7:9).  Feelings of anger are inevitable; however, supervisors would be well-served to find positive ways to manage their anger.  Leaders unable to control their emotions will become ineffective, as followers will lose respect for them.  Anger can be turned to an advantage, as it prepares a person for action.  That action should never involve emotional outbursts or behavior that insults team members or destroys relationships.

Boundaries

Boundaries:

“Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers set up by previous generations” (Proverbs 22:28).  Leaders are called upon to enter into agreements and contracts that establish boundaries for doing business.  On occasion, an agreement might take an unexpected turn and become a less-than-desirable situation; some problematical contracts or agreements may have been forged by a predecessor; nevertheless, leaders should heed their stipulations.  Godly leaders understand that both verbal and written contracts should be honored; they establish legitimate boundaries that carry authority in their lives.

Authority

Authority:

“When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice.  But when the wicked are in power, they groan” (Proverbs 29:2).  Solomon understood that a leader’s authority should work for the benefit of others. It is wrong for a leader to use his position as leverage to infringe on the rights of others, or scheme to accumulate ill-gotten gains. Those in authority are obligated to clearly say what they mean and mean what they say, not manipulate situations and people. Leadership finds its authority in God and should be administered in a way that pleases Him and accomplishes His purpose.

The Booty

Ephesians chapter four catalogs five ministry gifts represented by Paul as the booty collected by our victorious Lord.  Following the resurrection, those gifts were manifested within believers for providing spiritual leadership for His church.  For that reason believers no longer look toward one prophetic voice or rely on supernatural events for their guidance or deliverance, as recorded throughout the Old Testament.  The New Covenant brought forth a people already free, a people joined with God. The Church is a spiritual reality only prefigured by the former things.

God gave specific spiritual endowments to the church for the task of leading people to their spiritual land of milk and honey.    Paul explains, “…He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers…” (Ephesians 4:11).  They are released through a variety of people and function with the explicit purpose of preparing a mature and equipped church.

I have the opportunity to interact with a variety of church leaders, and it seems one of the most challenging tasks for established ministers is to identify, equip, and release new leaders. The biblical model for leadership involves walking out the call in a manner that prepares tomorrow’s church.  The wise leader will raise up spiritual sons (similar to Paul with Silas, Titus and Timothy) to secure a prosperous future.  Spiritual sons increase the leader’s influence within the fellowship, and with the opportunity to observe and serve, gain skills for future leadership positions.

How Is It Working For You?

 

We cringe at any hint that control is a function within the leadership responsibility. It is easy to make the case that the New Testament model for Christian leadership is never about controlling people.

But the effective leader must control the organization he leads or someone else will. One of the leader’s most critical tasks is evaluating the activities occurring within the organization and measuring them against the agreed upon goals and objectives. The leader who measures and evaluates the church’s outreach ministry, discipleship method, or youth endeavor is empowered to make quality decisions about how to grow more effective. Measuring is central to controlling the ministry activity within the church.

The control process involves two evaluating tasks: 1) selecting the appropriate criteria to measure, and 2) employing an accurate procedure for measuring. Selecting the wrong criteria will result in confusing and counterproductive consequences. This is true on a number of levels, the most compelling is that people will attempt to excel at one is being measured.

Feedback is vitally important to the leader and clear avenues for gathering information should be utilized. Methods such as numerical reports, personal observation, meetings, and written reports are important procedures for gathering data. As alluded to previously, the information gathered must be significant and relevant to achieving the goals and objectives of the particular group or ministry. Information for information’s sake will dishearten workers and erode trust.

How should a pastor evaluate the effectiveness of the small group ministry? What criteria should be measured and how can that information be accurately gathered. For the pastor seeking to evaluate the impact and influence of the Sunday morning service on visitors, what key activity, performance, or ministry dimension should be measured? What tangible, relational, and spiritual goals and objectives have been set forth as the benchmark?

Homework: This week focus on a department of your Christian organization. In your evaluation, jot down the agreed upon goals of that group. Identify methods that can be employed to measure their activities, methods, and strategies. That information will help determine how well they are moving the group toward their goals? Be careful to objectively interpret your data.

As a Christian leader, how can you bring control to that department so that everyone involved can more effectively achieve their personal and group goals?

Pointing The Way

              Several weeks ago we wrote that leadership involves four general areas of activity: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.  Before wrestling with topics of direction and controlling, perhaps a review of the first two activities might serve us well.

       We noted that planning can be identified as defining the ministry’s goals, establishing strategies for achieving those goals, and developing a detailed plan to implement and coordinate activities.  Planning is all about what is to be done, and how it is to be done. 

        Organizing is planning’s sister, but more structural in nature.  It involves defining the type of work individuals are given to do and establishing clear boundaries for discharging those responsibilities.

        Organizing is bringing together the people, programs and procedures necessary for an effective working relationship.  The value of organization was highlighted in last week’s blog as we reviewed the organizational leadership of Jesus for the 5K feeding project described in Luke chapter 19.  Another instructive passage can be found in the Old Testament where Jethro challenged Moses’ organizational structure:

       “What is this you are doing for the people?  Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these stand around you from morning to evening?”  (Exodus 18:14)     

         The third activity in leadership is directing. How should that look in the life of a Christian leader?  Simply put, directing has to do with keeping the group moving and together. Don Martin in his book Teamthink lists 10 things a leader should have in order to be effective.  Of the ten, vision, decision making, and trustworthiness relate most closely to the leadership function of directing.  People must be able to see where they are going, the decisions regarding the journey must be dealt with in a timely and decisive manner, and followers must trust the motivation and judgment of the leader.

         Challenging the status quo requires quite a lot of courage and it stands at the top of the list in the directing role.  Every organization will fight to maintain things as they are.  Program leaders and the ministries they oversee will fight to protect their place of power, budget, and activities.  Challenging the status quo involves debate, inspiration, and motivation. If direction is not provided by the leader, change will seldom take meaningful strides. 

         Directing without a clear destination will be frustrating to both leaders and followers.  There are at least five important facets to the vision component of directing. Note these involve both articulation and activity.                   

• Communicate and maintain the vision
• Personify the vision
• Guide the vision
• Repeat the vision
• Gather followers around the vision

Homework for the week: Which of your weekly activities provide direction for the ministry you lead?  Do you make timely decisions?  Can people trust what you say?  Is there a clear picture of where your ministry organization is going?

Personal Note:  Next week both my home and work office will be moving from Florida to Pennsylvania and I’ll need some down time.  My next blog should be around July 20. I’ll miss meeting you here!