The Gift of Leadership

Worship Articles by John A. White Contributing Writer May 25, 2002

Introduction

Have you ever wondered what makes a good leader? The makings of a good leader are many, and vary based on the context of the position. In business, a good leader is one who maximizes profit and shareholder value without depleting company resources. In the home, a good leader is one who focuses on the well-being of the family; profitability is not a concern. In the Church, a good leader is one whom the Lord uses to build the body of Christ, prepare people for service and good works and to positively affect the world for Christ using the Church’s and the Church’s community human and physical resources.

So far we’ve identified leaders by what they do. However, this tells us nothing about what personal characteristics make good leaders. In this section, we will attempt to define, and certainly will emphasize, Christian leadership based on personal character and characteristics rather than activity. The premise is that leadership is borne from the leader’s character and characteristics, rather than their activities. In other words, God’s leaders are defined by who they are in Christ and not what they do. Allow me to illustrate my point.

The Gift of Leadership

Every neighborhood has a leader, though it is not clear why a particular person is singled out as the leader. In my neighborhood it was Gary. Gary was not smarter, better looking, older, a better athlete or kinder than anyone else on my street, yet every day after school and on the weekends, everyone would meet at his house to participate in the next “great adventure,” which usually was not even Gary’s idea. No matter what the circumstances, even when the group was in trouble and was confronted by a respected authority figure (such as a parent or law officer), the kids looked to Gary to validate and approve what the authority figure said. Gary had a leadership gift, which manifested itself in a charisma and charm that attracted the attention and respect of the neighborhood kids. Some leadership experts say this kind of charisma may be the most important gift for effective leadership.

Now let me tell you about Zack, whom I met at a young adult Bible study. Zach had a flare and background that was similar to Gary’s. However, unlike Gary, Zack was aware of his leadership gift and calling. Every week, you would find Zach serving members of the church, his family and his friends. Zach’s commitment to serving and helping people extended into his personal evangelism as well. He would help strangers in need, all the while sharing Christ with them and inviting them to church. Zach not only had a similar personality and charisma as Gary’s, but he also earned the respect of the church by his committed service, his leadership, his personality and his integrity.

These two examples show that leadership can be considered a personality trait. We say “trait” because we can’t really put our finger on exactly what spawns leadership activity. That is because leadership is deeply imbedded into the leader’s personality. In the cases of Gary and Zach, their leadership was a

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