A Wise leader knows he cannot not lead.
Whether he
realizes it or not, in very subtle ways a leader casts a mold for all those
under his leadership.
Christ’s example: “I am the way, the truth
and the life” (John 14:6)—not just what He said, but
everything about Him.
Jn 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.
A Wise Leader is a servant.
Authority does
not exist for its own sake, but for the sake of those under that authority. Leaders
exist to meet the needs of those they lead.
Christ’s example: Christ was the supreme example of
authority for service since He forsook heaven to die for us (Phil
2:1-8).
“But he that is the greatest among you shall be your
servant” (Mt 23:11).
Mt 20:25-28 Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion
over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall
not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your
minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even
as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give
his life a ransom for many.
Also: I Peter 5:3
John 13:12-17
Mt 16:25
A Wise Leader is loyal.
A leader
should foster loyalty at every level, not just from the people to the leader,
but from the leader to the people.
Christ’s
example: He kept God’s promises to His people. “That the Gentiles should be
fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of
his promise in Christ by the gospel:” (Ephesians 3:6)
Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD
require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
thy God?
Also: Ex 20:6
Joshua 2:12
Ruth 3:10
Ps 42:8
La 3:22-23
The Hebrew Old Testament uses the word chesed as a characteristic of God. This word does not
translate easily into English. The King James Version translates this word as
“mercy” or “loving kindness.” The term implies a reciprocal, loving loyalty. We
see a picture of this loyalty in the love that Ruth had for Naomi and that Boaz
had for Ruth. Jehovah has chesed for His people. It
is of the Lord’s mercies [chesed] that we are not
consumed (Lam 3:22).
A Wise Leader binds himself to law.
For the sake
of those he leads, a wise leader commits himself to
open expectations.
Christ’s example: “I am come that they might
have life” (John 10:10)—He
had a specific purpose.
Mt 5:17
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Ge 9:11And
I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any
more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to
destroy the earth.
Ge 17:7
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and
your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the
God of your descendants after you.
Ex 2:24
God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with
Isaac and with Jacob.
Ex 4:31
For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or
forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.
Je 31:33
But this shall be the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel;
After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law
in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and
they shall be my people.
A Wise Leader has dirty hands.
A leader will
get his hands in the work, not to Lord it over the people, but to understand
what must be done.
Christ’s example: “After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the
disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.” (John
13:5)—He was willing to pay attention even to the disciples’ feet.
The
Hawthorne Effect
In the 1920’s the people at the Hawthorne
Plant of the Western Electric Company near Chicago
had a puzzle to solve. They wanted to see if better lighting conditions would
improve worker productivity. But changes in lighting didn’t seem to have any
effect on productivity. They couldn’t figure out why. They called in some
researchers from Harvard who found something intriguing. The biggest factor
in making the workers more productive was the attention they received from
the researchers. Observation by the research team, visits to the company
doctor, interviews with the top executives convinced
the employees that something unusual and important was going on and they were
a significant part of it. Even under poor lighting conditions, longer work
days, fewer breaks, the workers in this study continued to increase their
productivity.
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A Wise Leader makes great work of weakness.
Christ’s example: “He is despised and rejected of men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our
faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah
53:3)
I Cor 1:27 But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty
Eccl 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is
not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise,
nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour
to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to
them all.
Zec 4:6 Then
he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel,
saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith
the LORD of hosts
Prov 10:19 In
the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he
that refraineth his lips is wise.
Prov 12:23 A prudent man keeps his
knowledge to himself,
but the heart of fools blurts out
folly.
Prov 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath:
but grievous words stir up anger.
Prov 17:27 He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of
an excellent spirit.
Prov 17:28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of
understanding.
Prov 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in
pictures of silver.
Prov 25:15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
A Wise Leader will embrace dissent.
Since a leader knows
his limitations, he will listen to those who disagree with him. Dissent between
brothers can be healthy.
Christ’s example: Luke
9:49 And John answered
and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him,
because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto
him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against
us is for us.
Acts 15
Prov 27:6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are
deceitful.
Prov 27:17
Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth
the countenance of his friend.
Prov 28:23
He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth
with the tongue.
Pr 29:12 If a
ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
Eccl 7:5 It is better to hear
the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
A Wise Leader builds leaders not followers.
A leader should lead people to grow and mature, from milk
to meat, instead of leaving them babes. Because each believer is a priest,
leaders should encourage and equip those they lead to reach his full potential
for the Lord’s sake. Every person is a source of ideas and initiative.
Christ’s example: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep
in the midst of wolves” (Mt. 10:16)—There
was no difference in the way Christ trained preachers or believers in general.
Eph 4:12 for the perfecting of the saints,
unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:
2 Ti 2:2 And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same
commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
I Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar
people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light.
Also: Ex 19:6
Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6
Rom 12:1
Eph 4:12
A wise leader is an architect.
Christ’s example: “I am
the vine; ye are the branches” (John 15:5)—He said that
we are part of a system. Compare Romans 12 and I
Corinthians 12—we are the body; He is the head.
Systems
and Life
Systems are all around us. Weather systems. Stereo systems. Manufacturing systems.
Any organism is also a system. What’s important about a system is that you
can’t really understand the parts without looking at the whole. The whole is
greater than the sum of its parts. When Paul says that we are parts of
Christ’s body, he is saying that we are part of a system. No single part is
more important than another. All the parts work together toward a single
purpose. The systems that we create in the church should imitate the divine
system that Christ has created. We should create structures that allow many
different parts to work together toward a single whole.
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A wise leader is a poet.
A wise leader is a storyteller.
A wise leader is a preacher.
A wise leader is a lover.