NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

Day 357 - Leadership

Having a Heart in a Sometimes Heartless World

Scripture focus: Don't imagine us leaders to be something we aren't. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God's most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes that judgment. 1 Corinthians 4:1-4

We’re concluding a year of devotional studies where we’ve repeatedly returned to this point: how indeed do we grow big hearts during challenging times? Little did we know at the start of the year that our economy would tank with such a fury. Few suspected on January first of 2008 that their investments may be lost, or their jobs eliminated. This has been a good year to grow a big heart.
While our hearts are growing, they’re also equipping us for leadership. Using today’s focal passage, let’s take a look at the qualifications of a leader from Paul’s perspective.

* A decent leader is a servant of Christ; he/she follows the Master, and imitates his ways.

* Historically, religious leaders of Jesus’ day acted not as spiritual guides, but as guardians of political and social power. No more of that nonsense – according to Paul. Leaders in the kingdom of God learn how to be servants of all.

* Good guides are reliable and acquire accurate knowledge.

* Effective spiritual leaders must care more about what God thinks than garnering popular opinion. Spiritual leadership is a sacred trust.

* Paul is a big believer in ditching the typical urge to compare and compete with each other. What freedom and opportunity! We can pull for each other rather than wrestle among ourselves – but don’t miss the subtle warning either. We do have a heavenly supervisor who assesses our progress.

Books have been written instructing us about the nature of effective servant leadership. For sure – decent leaders will need a big heart. And, if I can add my two cents worth, the best way to lead like Jesus is to do so from a position of quiet strength, built on the firm foundation of personal life satisfaction. If we can’t figure out what it means to live satisfactorily as kids of The King – it seems to me that it will be almost impossible to cheer our fellow sojourners on along their own pilgrimage.

Recommended reading: Zechariah 4 and 5 in the morning; Revelation 14 and Psalm 122 in the evening

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