Calling & Commitment
Discerning Jesus’ Call and Mission for a Leader
The Call to Serve
- Am I loving and leading like Jesus because Christian leadership is first and foremost about Character?
- Work for those who “work” for/with you.
“You should be the first assistant to the people who work for you” (Steven B. Sample, The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership)
- The Inverted Leadership Model
Our org charts are often “top down” (imagine a pyramid). What would happen if you flipped it upside down? What if your goal as a leader was to not only collaboratively provide vision and strategy, but ultimately to serve, empower, and equip the people on your team?
Draw your org chart “from the bottom up.” Share this with your team. Talk about how it changes our outlook and roles as leaders.
Recruit or hire great people and then release, encourage, equip, and inspire them to do what God has called them to do.
The Call to Sacrifice
“Nearly every act of leadership requires suffering—and often for the leader a choice between one’s personal success and safety and the greater welfare of others.” (Kouzes & Posner, A Leader’s Legacy)
- Am I willing to do the hard work of leading? What keeps me from making the sacrifice to lead?
The Call to Follow
- Am I fully committed to following Jesus and building the kingdom of God?
- Am I fully committed to following the vision, mission, & direction of the team/church/organization that I’m a part of?
This is a critically important question to ask your team. In ministry they can be committed to Jesus and to their calling in ministry, but ultimately they must answer whether they are called to the unique vision and mission of the team/church/organization. If they aren’t, help them find a place where they can invest wholeheartedly.
Great Resources
A Leader’s Legacy – Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner
The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership – Steven B. Sample
Effective Pastoring – Bill Lawrence
Good to Great – Jim Collins (especially Chapter 2 – “Level 5 Leadership”)
