On Leadership

Recently we've been having many discussions about leadership at Hope Church.  What does it look like to be a leader and what does service to the Lord really entail?  I know many of you have much more wisdom on the subject than I do, but I thought I would share some of the conversations that we've had.  Leadership is meant to influence.  Some of the most valuable things we can influence others with is hope.  Leaders know that every move they make is watched by others and they seek to make each move to glorify God to influence others to walk with the Lord, to bring hope into their lives.  They must be people of integrity, who speak words of life because people listen when they speak.  Leaders take responsibility, they don't cop out when the people they are leading mess up.  I mean check out Moses when the Israelites made the golden calf, he says to God, "if you don't forgive them, please blot my name out of your book."  How is that for leadership?  He wasn't even there when they sinned and yet he takes responsibility for it.  He stands in the gap for them and puts his own life on the line to defend them even when they've royally screwed up.  Leaders stand their ground when things get hard.  They persevere under trial because they know that the testing of their faith produces endurance.  They find their strength in the Lord and they know that they must be refreshed in Him daily if they want to survive in the positions they have been assigned.  Leaders don't lord it over the people they lead but instead seek to serve them.  They know that "Whoever seeks to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for my [Jesus'] sake shall find it."  They don't seek a title or a position but push others toward greatness and seek to be surpassed by their peers and the ones they mentor.  So are you really a leader?  Am I?  I think by the grace of God we all are called to be and by His strength we all can be.
Grace and Peace.
Rose