Leadership Continued...

My assumption is that leadership happens. You get a group of people together and, depending on what is happening, a leader emerges. I don't think that any one person is destined to be a leader in every situation. I see the Spirt giving gifts as they are needed. God should be the source of all leadership in the context of gatherings of Christ followers. The question is: Do we understand Biblical leadership?

Clawson says that a good leader "clarifies what others can contribute." Being a secular leadership book I find Biblical points of view all through it. He suggest that bureaucracies begin with job descriptions and try to shove people into the pre-designed mold. This is dehumanizing and frustrates those who are truly creative (which is a Godly character trait). Additionally, it suggests that "management knows exactly what needs to be done, that people can behave in robotic ways, and the environment will be stable enough to avoid the need for quick response time and creative employees." The alternative is to assume that people have talents, can learn new ones, and have a basic desire to do well.

What do we see in the Institutional Church (IC)? Exactly what Clawson says is not a healthy model of leadership. EVEN SECULAR PEOPLE CAN SEE THAT THESE ASSUMPTIONS ARE NOT HEALTHY! NOT THE IC, OF COURSE! In his book, The Jesus Style, Erwin points out that religious structures are carbon copies of secular business structures. They wind up being a "pyramid shaped, lord-it-over" type of system. Jesus' style was completely different!

Mat 20:27-28 Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served--and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage."

In the kingdom of God, the power structure is turned upside down, so that authority is on the bottom, not the top. Jesus served people because he knew their value, not because they would help the organization meet its goals. We need to recognize that each Christian has a direct, unique, relationship to Christ. God is working in each of us to do his work, for his purposes. God is our ultimate leader, creatively giving gifts to individuals for the good of the Body.

There is no organizational chart of how the Holy Spirit gives gifts. There is no manipulation or coercion to make people serve. Manipulation forces us defensively into a mold that someone has chosen for us. Freedom allows people to choose, change and grow.

Erwin says, "A servants job is to do all he can to make life better for others - to free them to be everything they can be." Biblical leadership is servanthood! It is valuing others so highly that I unknowingly wind up last.