Leadership: You Can Do It Jesus Way! Kelly Durant 5-7-2017
Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
2. It has been said that a leadership is like a rope: When
you pull it, it follows, but if you push on it, it goes nowhere! Just this
simple concept explains much about the world today and all the problems in the
home, in the community, in the churches, in the nation, and in the political world!
Today, sadly, few good leaders who show the way exist
anywhere! Everyone has a different idea of what a leader is, but honestly there
are certain standards. We all can agree in general certain people placed in
positions of power as leaders are not real leaders at all but rather arrogant
nobodies that use and abuse the people under them. Do certain people and countries
come to mind? A leader should be a motivator, but everyone always internally
questions, what is their motive? Do they empower the righteous or do ‘good
works’ (for Jesus)? Or do they prepare “yes men” to surround their selves so
they can gain personally and be self-serving? When do you take the initiative?
In the world bad leaders are violent oppressors like wolves, they
stalk, kill, and eat the sheep, and then they may fight other wolves and kill
each other! Any leader, be it the man of the home, the elected official, the
pastor in a community, all have the “rope” equation, they are either trying to manipulate
and command, dictate and impose, and control by fear and manipulation, or they
are leading by example showing the way by sweating and doing the work inspiring
others remaining humble following God’s principles of righteousness. It’s not the
“push” but the “pull” that matters! Do you inspire or by your tongue uninspired
others?
3. This Corps is not led just by Officers but by each person
here! Each one must lead but also they must follow! Many people don’t want to
be leaders and I don’t blame them! Who wants the frustration of trying to lead
a bunch of belligerent, ‘I-know-what-to-do’ people provoking frustrations and dysfunctionality?
Many people who have been bosses often have the perception that there is more
blame coming their way than glory for doing a good job! Many men (and women) later
in life just give up in frustration and stop leading altogether and disastrous
consequences are reaped when people give up! For God’s work we must never give
up or stop!
We all know we cannot make everybody happy, and we may not
like those we serve with either! Don’t worry, be happy! Unhappy people can
often drive you crazy as they can be the loudest voices diverting all the
attention to themselves when they should just be trusting God! Often loud ones
are people jealous of the power of others because their envy makes them want to
have all the power. All of us who know how our carnal human nature is agree
that power to all must be limited! Some people just want to just grab positions
of power from others Instead of earning the leadership by production of good
works leading a team. When you see a leader, ask yourself, “How did they get
there?” Was their pursuit of power for Jesus and the good of “others”, or is it
for their own ego ambitions, and pride appetites? If it is for Jesus all things
will flow smooth with the oil of the Spirit!
Leaders are needed in the world, in the workplace, in the
churches, as well as in the nations! But people who lust for power shouldn’t
have it! Sad but true, ambitious aggressive people have an advantage over others.
Jesus disciples had conflicts of power amongst their selves; think of the Zebedees and their mother wanting Jesus to put
her sons on His right hand in heaven. Men and women lust for power! And how
were Peter, and Judas as leaders?! Look
at all the embarrassment and breakings Peter had to go through to learn how not
to be proud claiming he was the best one, the most loyal. Never boast about
your importance.
4. Why do I even care about the leaders here anyway? Because
those in this Corps will have to lead even more now in this transition of us
being absent with new Officers coming in. Jesus teaching His disciples was all
about training leadership: a leadership done by example, humility, and love!
Some people lead too little in the church and in the world. In ignorance some think
Christians are ‘not of the world’ and should not be concerned to be leaders
anywhere in society. Some Christians think we shouldn’t be involved in the
world, in politics, or anything. But if you have an indifference to the influences
in this world, then you are in effect letting the world go to hell by pacifically
going along with the established powers that be with their evil leaders!
We, as our past forefathers, must offer resistance to
oppressions and injustices. The entire book of James, which we can study later,
addresses power abuse, and the solution is always to be a leader by example according
to God’s word. Christian leaders must be persistent, patient, and take the
initiative when others won’t. They must be peacemakers getting along with all
being wound healers with the power of the Holy Spirit! Does this describe you?
Or not yet? Pray for it or you are not maturing as God desires! The Bible has
much to say about leaders. Proverbs 29:2 When the righteous are in authority,
the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. Do
people love or hate working with you? Have you ever asked yourself that
question? (repeat)
In the Old Testament we observe God wanted just judges and
obedient holy leaders to be the ones in power. Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon,
all of them were leaders because they lived by the Holy principles of God. What
was their leadership quality? The discernment of what is good and what is evil
and speaking up about it with God’s truth! Psalm 15:4 In whose eyes a vile person
is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord.
5. Be a leader here at the Corps because here you can make a
difference! If you feel you cannot influence the leaders in the government and in
this community, you are not alone! The common person usually never gets
attended to by the rich and powerful, so all of your tax money sadly is in
essence not paying for a community servant leader but rather a despot. So what
should leadership in the church look like? We need leaders here and in the
churches more than ever!
For me, the first question for empowering a leader is this,
can evidence be observed that this person is obeying the commands of Jesus like
this one? “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me.” If a person, or your own self, is not sacrificial, not
under the humble authority of the cross of Jesus, not being a follower servant
worker of Jesus to the death, then they are not what the church and the people need.
Pray to change!
Leaders in the church may have different gifts that are
needed for all our operations, but if a person is going to often be the more
‘full of their selves than Jesus’, then better it would be to let that one come
to Bible classes and do personal study for a while longer until they learn what
a Biblical leader is.
6. When I decided to follow Jesus, I was confronted and
convicted with “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow me.” and I asked myself, ‘Do I have what it takes to
submit to follow the lifestyle of Jesus? Can I in essence conform to not being
who I am naturally and to die to myself carrying the weight of the cross that
Jesus assigns me? Would I be able to endure an entire lifetime to attend to the
suffering and pain out there preaching Jesus always? Would I be able at times to
endure humiliations under not so good leaders, while at the same time showing
only Jesus’ happiness to others while living a life of altruistic fulfillment
with eternity at its end? With God’s help I have done it so far, and if I can,
you can too! It does hurt as you feel God chisel away on you to reshape you,
but if He doesn’t cut away, you remain as a worthless hunk of rock instead of
becoming a statue of David!
There are no true leaders except those that are submitted to
Jesus! As often stated, ‘A good leader must be a good follower’! So who do you
follow? I know some people have a hard time following certain leaders, and often
there is good reason! But there is no excuse to not lead as much possible like
Jesus did.
A true Christian must be submitted totally to God’s will above
all, and sometimes another man’s will may not always fall in line with what
God’s will is for you, but you still may have to grin and bear it. How many of you
have had to endure verbal humiliations just because you are not conforming to
another person’s way of doing things? I have had to endure these things and God
knows I hate it, but I pray and chose to be a peacemaker instead of causing all
hell to break lose. Leaders are humble and work with others no matter how bad
they may behave.
7. Another case concerning leadership is that some people
often have the tendency to want to submit to a person instead of to Christ himself,
and why? Because it is easier to pass the responsibility buck! Knowing God’s
will for your life takes work, spiritual work, and many people do not know how
to lead their own selves so they just want another to tell them everything to
do. Abuse by governments and churches
happens due to ‘yes men’ who worship people in power instead of worshipping the
one with the maximum power, the King of kings, Jesus!
Please do not fall into this trap: I Cor 1: 12 Now this I
say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of
Cephas; and I of Christ.13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or
were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
You or I may admire, respect, or may even submit to certain
Godly leaders on earth but this does mean that we should be idolizing them or
man-pleasing their particularities. No one should be a fanatic of any man! We
are servant leaders only when we are obeying Christ’s teachings. It’s ok to
respect and admire a leader but never okay to worship them. It’s also wrong to
not respect them.
8. Military structures by design are created so that man must
submit to man but it is for the greater good because victories are accomplished
mostly by armies working in harmony. This is God’s Army and it is working very
well for 152 years. Mavericks and lone heroes are rare and should be few. We
serve each other together in The Salvation Army and it serves as a great
structure for church leadership. I will pray you can led more and work as a
team for the good of all!
The general idea is that anyone being a part of this “Army”
is here for the cause of serving Jesus and battling against the evil in the
world. Isn’t that a noble cause? I have met a lot of old vets in my time doing
disasters, and one of their sayings is, “I’m in the saving “Army” now, not the
killing “Army”. I am amazed how many people adore structure. Don’t we all prefer
structure to everyone ‘doing as they please’? Real leaders work in teamwork!
For me, and for Jesus, please always work together, it is God’s design. The
disciples went 2 by 2 and they grew to big numbers and revolutionized the world
for Jesus!
Reflecting on these old vets, any Christian denying their
self and their free time to serve those in need doing it for Jesus, is in
essence taking up the cross! The ultimate denial of self is to not do anything
for your own benefit or praise, but you are motivated by the love of God and to
glorify Jesus preaching Him by good deeds as well as words. Loving leaders who
care has always been God’s way!
9. One more last verse, John 15:16 ‘Ye have not chosen me,
but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth
fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the
Father in my name, he may give it you.’
Some of you here over the years have tried to lead and
brought new people and some here have never brought anyone. What really is your
fruit as a leader? Taking up the cross may mean God wants you to evangelize
more, or teach children, or teenagers. A leader sees where the gaps are and
fills them in.
Pray and ask God to help you respond to the call to become an
even more dedicated servant leader for the cause of Jesus Christ in your
personal life and for this Corps! There is a place of leadership for everyone,
so please lead on! The sacrifice we do of denying ourselves, denying our time,
treasure, and talent for God’s service, will have eternal lasting rewards! Let’s
pray now to be more of a leader Jesus’ way, amen?
