- Flood Church
- creating environments where people are transformed by the living God
Leadership is a word, theme, and idea that generates a lot of energy. There are gazillions of articles, books and conferences selling their formula for effective leadership. God has much to say about this topic. He warns us not to conform to the world’s ideas which are too often based on power and control. In the Old Testament, God’s people begin to cry out for a leader. Their rationale is simple: All the other nations have a king so we want a king! They desired a king who was of the same mold as the other nation's kings but God wanted to give them a different kind of leadership. God has given us the ultimate picture of leadership in Jesus Christ. God's goal for each one of us is that we begin to lead in the manner of Jesus. Whether you view yourself as a leader, or not, you ARE! Here's why. Leadership is all about influence.
Leadership guru and best-selling author, Ken Blanchard defines leadership as, "the process of influence." By this definition we are all leaders in some arena. Parents influence their children. Our roommates, friends, and co-workers influence us and we influence them. We are constantly in situations where we influence others.
Leadership is much broader than those who simply carry official leadership titles. We don’t have to be President to be a leader. You and I are influencing people all the time. The question is how are we using our influence? Are we influencing others positively or negatively? Pastor Erwin McManus has a helpful insight about influence. He points out that the middle of the word influence is the word flu. Just as the flu virus is contagious and gets passed unintentionally from person to person through such ordinary means as shaking hands, so people become influential in other’s lives in simple unintentional ways. People catch our values in the midst of our ordinary activities. I hope you can join us on Sundays as we journey through this message series and discuss what makes an effective, Godly leader.
| Follow the Leader: Learning to Live and Love Like Jesus - Leadership is Influence | by Matt Hammett | Jul 25, 2010 |
