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Leadership ... not management!














Leadership and Management

The difference between a leader and a manager is an important one to ponder on and much has been written about it in a wide variety of books.

I read this the other day which is a very real, and sobering, challenge to anyone who has a position of leadership - particularly for those who take on the responsibility, before God, for any group of people within the body of Christ.

"A leader leads if the followers can see that he or she is out in front of them in the revelations and activities of the Spirit. That is why we should downgrade titles and human pedestals for our leaders, so that, if they haven't got what it takes, they will in due course become dagons and find their own level."

Of course, if we live amongst the fellowship of people we eventually come to lead it makes it much easier to demonstrate that in advance, by our faithfulness in serving and following. When we are appointed from the outside it is much harder to know in advance that our leaders are indeed leaders rather than good managers or fine orators. Testimony is crucial.

However, it is not a static process but an ongoing one, a leaders walk before the Lord should be his/her primary focus of energy. It is all too easy to lose sight of this as the responsibilities pile up. Then, even as we continue to have the title we cease to lead by the fact that we cease to seek and follow the Lord.  How important it is for leaders to have encouragers around them to keep them focussed on their relationship with the Lord - far more important than whether or not we have kept to a budget, deadline or target.

The picture above is the start of the process - Great leaders do start off as great followers but I would go further and say that great leaders must always be great followers in as much as they are looking to the Lord and following hard after Him.

If you're a leader, don't let your responsibilities take precedence over your relationship with the Lord. 

If you're following someone, love them enough to encourage them and pray for them that they will keep close to the Lord.

Press on!
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  1. UnknownFebruary 3, 2014 at 11:10 AM

    Show and Tell
    Jesus said : ABIDE IN ME , AND ( I ) WILL
    ABIDE → IN YOU ←
    Jesus said : to His disciples
    Read what Jesus said in MATTHEW 16:v24
    After reading that please TURN to JAMES
    1:v22
    Read from the NIV-BIBLE
    Read from the AMPLIFIED-BIBLE
    now as a new born child in faith through
    Our Lord and God Jesus Christ . Live you're human life here on earth ( in )
    The WORD = Jesus , and recognize TRUE
    PURE TRUTH given From GODS WORD
    IJN AMEN

    ReplyDelete

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