Leadership

Thursday 1/15/09
1. Kinds of Leadership
Leadership is a position in which one manages, guides, or directs. It can often be viewed as a characteristic or quality of an individual. Leadership in theory is a set of behaviors that a person has. The unfortunate fact is that in a deprived world not all leaders are good or perform the task of directing others well. For instance, I consider Hitler a leader and he was actually a very successful at leading others. The fact is he lead them cruelly and abused his power.
The perfect leader for humanity to look to as an example is Jesus Christ. Good leadership can be defined by observing his life through his servant leadership attitude. He reveals what true leadership should be. A leader should have a vision or mission that benefits those around them, and they are willing to passionately seek this vision through self-sacrifice. Leadership needs to involve love, mercy, grace, confidence, persistence, and determination. Outstanding leaders are role models to their followers and build their followers self-image. They can motive and encourage those around them at a level that will challenge them to become better people. Through a Christian perspective, leaders are those who are furthering God’s kingdom through the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance.
There are many different kinds of leadership in the Bible. The first type of leadership one can see are those positions in which God chose specific leaders for specific tasks He had planned for them, but these positions did not seem to have a definite title. For examples, Noah was called to build an ark and save come of God’s creation during the flood, while Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to enter the Promise Land.
The Bible portrays leadership through the prophets and priests. Elijah and Elisha were prophets. They were a mediator between God and His people and spoke what they heard through the inspiration of God. The tribe of Levi became leaders as priests after the Exodus. They lead by interceding on the behalf of the people, so the people could be brought to holiness and righteousness. God also ordained kings as a mediator of the judicial and executive power of God among His people. Saul, David, and Solomon are the most known kings throughout the Bible. In the New Testament, the disciples and early church founders become prominent leaders, but once again Jesus is the ultimate definition of leadership found in the Bible.