WHAT IS EFFECTIVE,
SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP?
I.
Introduction:
A. Effective spiritual leadership begins with the feeling of a burden and is carried out by the desire to serve.
i. "The church is the most leadership intensive enterprise in society," according to Bill Hybels.
B. Illustrates this by comparing the difference between secular and spiritual leadership.
i. In the secular realm such as a business the playing field is clearly defined and has enormous leverage with its employees.
1. You do your job or you are fired.
2. Sports world, you follow the coach or sit on the bench.
3. Military, if you don't obey the commanding officer you are going to be punished.
II.
Spiritual Versus Secular Concepts:
A. Spiritual leadership is more complex.
B. This working relationship is ultimately accepted and executed voluntarily (Eph. 5:21; Psa. 110:3; 1 Pet. 5:5).
Ephes. 5:21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Psalm 110:3 Your people will offer themselves freely
on the day of your power, in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.
1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
i. Can you imagine saying,
1. "You teach a Bible class, or you are dis-fellowshiped!
2. Attend this meeting or we will kick you out!"?
C. The work in the church is completely altruistic for Christ.
D. If you are leading a business, you begin with a dream, develop a product or service, and hire a staff to work.
i. You say, "Here are your salary, your perks, your car, and your secretary.
ii. Work hard and you get profit sharing and stock options.
E. Now compare this to the church.
i. We say, "You are a sinner who's going to hell unless you get right with God! And that's the Good News!
ii. Now, we're going to ask you to commit to five to seven hours a week of service, training and discipleship.
iii. You must unquestioningly submit to the authority (that is, opinions) of the elders and give liberally of your income.
iv. You get no perks, no parking place, and not special privileges. However, when you die it will all be worthwhile. Trust me."
F. Spiritual Leaders must have:
i. an internal desire to work.
ii. a sincere commitment to Christ, such blind commitment .
G. Spiritual leadership is different from authoritarian leadership in the secular world.
H. You can't run the church and exercise spiritual leadership in exactly the same way.
Matthew
20:25-28
But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
I. Dictatorial, authoritarian leadership is "neither biblical nor beneficial".
1 Peter 5:3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
III.
Study Biblical Leadership Examples:
A. Out of many fine books that teach leadership, the very best source is still the Bible!
i. The examples of God's great leaders teach us unchanging principles we can apply today.
1. From the apostle Paul we learn that a great leader doesn't lose heart, but presses on.
2. Moses demonstrates the impact of a clear vision sustained by God's power.
3. David inspires us to face giant obstacles with faith and courage.
B. However I will focus on Nehemiah.
i. He is one of the great leaders of all time.
C. Concerning Nehemiah's background.
i. Judah fell captive to Babylon in 586 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem.
ii. In 536 B.C. Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland.
iii. In the first group Zerubbabel led the way in rebuilding the temple.
iv. The second group returned in 458 B.C., as Ezra the scribe was instrumental in restoring the law.
v. In 445 B.C. Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, returned with a third group.
vi. His mission was to lead in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.
D. He was also a leader in moral and spiritual reform.
IV.
Nehemiah's CHARACTER For Effective Leadership:
A. He Manifested Genuine Concern For The People's Welfare:
i. In chapters 1,2, we observe several references of his concern for God's people.
ii. He asked about the people who returned (vs. 2).
iii. He sat down and wept for many days about their plight without a city wall (vs. 4).
iv. He expressed his concern to the king (2:3).
v. He asked if he could return to rebuild the walls (2:5).
vi. Even his enemies observed this concern.
B. Leadership begins with feeling a burden.
i. It is a desire to serve, help, and minister to others. Preachers, teachers, elders, and deacons must realize the old axiom, "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."
C. Good elders care enough to be with and communicate with the flock.
i. in order to discern and fulfill their
spiritual needs
John
10:3-5
To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. [5] A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit as made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
D. He Was A Man Of Intense, Heart-felt Prayer:
i. When you read the prayers of Nehemiah you cannot help but be impressed with his reverence toward God.
ii. We constantly hear him praising and thanking God in a spirit of humility (1:5; 2:4; 4:4,5,9; 5:19; 6: 14; 13:14,22,39).
E. Leaders are people of prayer.
i. The authors of The Issachar Factor wrote, "Church growth flows from church leadership.
ii. Congregations follow the leaders and prayer is no exception."
iii. Spiritual leaders are leading examples of constant prayer
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
F. He Exhibited Keen Foresight:
i. Consider the specific things did prior to the project.
1. He secured the favor of the king
2. Asked for a letter to the governors whose territory he was to travel through.
3. Requested letters from the keeper of the forest to obtain timber (2:5-9).
ii. Nehemiah did not return on a whim with no plan.
iii. He possessed vision to accomplish this daunting task: "Let us arise and build" (2:17,18).
G. Spiritual leaders today need foresight and vision.
i. Winfred Newman said, "Vision is the world's most desperate need.
ii. There are no hopeless situations; only people think hopelessly."
iii. Our hope of the gospel, it's power and promises should fuel our vision and create the energy to lead in the Lord's work.
iv. Church growth expert, George Barna, observed, "Vision for ministry is a reflection of what God wants to accomplish through you to build His kingdom."
H. Qualified elders in the church, by "loving what is good" (Titus 1:8), must be at the forefront of scriptural progress
--Ken Weliever in Biblical Insights, Vol. 4, No. 4, April 2004