True Leadership

Leadership is not putting someone in their place. Leadership is putting yourself in someone else's place. Try to relate and connect. Motivate and encourage growth. Leaders BUILD! Everyone who desires to become a leader, must first learn how to follow. While this may sound like a cliche, it stands true. We cannot lead anyone to a place where we have not been. There's a leader inside us all. But when we self-assert ourselves, laying hold of a position that we haven't been trained for, matured or called to, we will be ineffective, inconsistent and will inevitably fail. "But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." (Matthew 23:12)

And we do not lead with instructions, we lead by example. God not only told us to live holy and to love one another, but He became flesh (Jesus Christ, God incarnate), lived among us and showed us how it's done! L.B.E. = Lead By Example. "Therefore, it was necessary for him [Jesus] to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people." (Hebrews 2:17)... A leader doesn't just dictate and give orders. A leader is one who seeks to relate, placing themselves in others' shoes, then showing them how it is done. A leader LEADS. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one [Jesus] who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15)... A leader doesn't just critique and give orders. A leader is one who can be/have been placed in a situation, but will show the PROPER way how it is done. L.B.E = Lead By Example. 

(Philippians 2:3-11) "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." ... CHRIST's EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY. CHRIST's EXAMPLE OF LEADERSHIP!

Philippians 2:1-11 talks about Jesus (adorned with all glory, majesty, power and authority) fashioning Himself as a mere man so that He might redeem mankind. Jesus came down from His 'high place' to get those who were in a 'low place', to bring those from their 'low place' up to His 'high place'. This is the true example of leadership! But the problem in society today is that most of us are unwilling to leave our 'high place' to help those currently in a 'low place'. We feel that it is beneath us to help the less-fortunate. Or we justify our snootiness by feeling as if "they deserve it." Well we deserve some stuff too! But Jesus' love and compassion toward us prevents us from getting what we justly deserve. Christ's leadership was/is governed by love. Want to be a leader? Learn to love people! 

We live in a society that is filled with self-proclaimed leaders. But true leaders lead their followers FROM something and INTO something. Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Martin Luther King, Jr. lead African-Americans out of racial oppression and into equality. Jesus leads His followers out of darkness and into His marvelous light ...... So if you were to tell me that you're a leader, my questions to you would be: "What are you leading me FROM?" and "What are you leading me INTO?" ... Establish answers to these questions, and then we'll talk leadership...