Romans 13:1: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."
Today a short piece I recently read (not my original thoughts) on leadership. If you hold a leadership position or a position of following the leading of another, meditate on what God might have for you in your current situations.
Meditate On This!
The leader guides all the members in the community, since all of the senses, sight, hearing, touch and so on, are provided with all the necessary knowledge. The directions the leader gives enforces and relaxes the rules of the community and are like the coordinating functions of the body's nervous system. The bodily head is not confined to any single specific activity so that it can take care of the needs of all the members. The leader is the head. (Hebrews 13:17; Matthew 6:34)
The leader has scarcely enough resources to take care of all that is needed. If we spend ourselves on pointless tasks or on things alien to our kind of life, we have therefore neglected the most useful things and the better things. We apply our energies to many different projects, some of which are wasting our energies. We need to set careful limits both on our business affairs that let the community take up energy and on the degree of involvement in such affairs he permits.
Titus 1:6: "If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly."
The above verse and those that preceed and follow it are important verses for us all in any type of a leadership position. They are God's qualifications for elders, Those who would lead his church. In some sense, all of us that proclaim Jesus as savior should strive for these qualities. This is especially true when in Christian leadership.
The one quality I want to focus on in Titus is "be blameless". Some translations say "be above reproach". One definition of this...no handles for others to grab onto to disqualify from leadership. We all understand that to be an almost impossible criteria...we all sin.
But leaders need to remember they are under a higher standard. Many people are looking to and at them. It is unfortunate that both in business and sports, there can be a comprimise of integrity for those who are gifted. May this not be the case in the body of Christ. May integrity be the higher goal!
Meditate On This!
How can you become blameless? Confession of sin...righteous living...spirit led obedience. Remember, your children, your church, your neighbors, your co-workers and even the unbeleiving world are learning from you what a Christian looks like. Pray that you might exhibit full grace to others and an attitude of unwavering obedience in your personal life.
That may sound like a heavy, but it is an extra responsibility to leaders. We may feel we are able to get away with certain attitudes and actions. Unfortunatley we have a tendency to pass these attitudes and actions on to the ones we lead and love the most!
Pretty sobering!
1 Thes. 2:3: "For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guilt."
"...the supreme quality for a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office. If his associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other. The first great need therefore, is integrity and high purpose."
Dwight D. Eisenhower "Leadership" Quote Unquote p. 177
Hebrews 13:7: "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith."
The Scriptures are full of commands to follow those in leadership, but this one has a little different twist. Notice it says those "who spoke the word of God to you". The leaders mentioned here are those preachers in your life who have taken the time to encourage and teach you in the Word of God. Many people do not understand the dedication it takes to be a pastor. Most pastors have spent three to five years past their college days being educated in the "school of personal hurt" by others, and tremendous pressure from many angles. Besides the pressures of the people in the church, there is the pressure from the evil one. In this passage the believers are cautioned to remember their leaders continually, and obey and submit to them.
Meditate On This!
As you think of your pastor, do you feel he is meditating with joy or with grief? So many pastors are being burned out, not because they dont have the knowledge of the Word of God or the love to share it with the people, but because the people do not hold them in esteem and with reverence. They are not perfect, but they have been chosen to be shepherds.
As you meditate this week, why not come up with something to do each day that would encourage your "shepherd". Most people probably take them for granted until there is a death or some tragedy in their life. Why not bless them today. You both will be better for it, and the Kingdom of God will see a man that has more joy than grief.
