GODLY – Resembling the heart of God the Father and the modeled life of Jesus. This is my personal, simplified definition.
LEADERSHIP – According to John Maxwell, “Leadership is influence.” (this is my favorite definition) And then there’s Peter Drucker who says that, “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers.”
Now, I fully agree with both of these guys. If you’re not familiar with them you need to check out their books!
I am blessed to work in a Christian environment at a 501c3 where I live. Having mostly worked full-time in churches for over 25 years, I couldn’t have made that same statement about all the places I’ve worked. Recently, I heard someone at work state, “He’s such a godly man.” The person she was talking about was a leader too.
Allow me to make a statement from the opposite perspective. It is entirely possible to lead well even if you are not godly. You see, leadership also includes things like character, abilities, vision, morals, and discipline. And for most of us, becoming a strong leader is a process…it takes time.
For example, I’ve known many board members and volunteer leaders in the church who had incredible hearts for God. They genuinely loved the Church, God, and others…BUT they were terrible leaders. This issue boils down to one simple fact.
Not everyone is called to be a leader.
I’ve witnessed the Church, with good intentions, put way too many individuals in leadership positions simply because they were willing and exhibited Godly character. The problem is that if they are not called by God to lead in the Church, we are usually doing the Church and that leader a tremendous disservice.
What do you think?
Aside from godly character, what are other traits seen in solid leaders?
