Servant
Leadership School
March 16, 2003
Small Groups
Accountability – I asked you last week to do two things besides the reading
and homework. Break into small groups and share.
Quiet Times – What are you reading
in your Quiet Times? How many times this week did you have a Quiet Time?
Serving – Share one thing that you
are doing to serve in the church
John
Teach for 5-10 minutes
Chapter 8 – Essential Qualities of Leadership
(pg. 51) “God prepares leaders with a specific place and task in mind.”
Discipline
Before we can conquer the world, we must first conquer the self.
Those who rebel against authority and scorn self-discipline – who shirk the
rigors and turn from the sacrifices – do not qualify to lead.
Vision
“Seers” – people who have seen more and farther than others – persons of
faith, for faith is vision.
Vision involves foresight as well as insight. Seeing what lies ahead.
pg. 56 – “I find that the constant inspiration gained by looking at the
goal is the chief thing that helps me to persevere.” – Thornton
Vision includes optimism and hope (not pessimism).
Vision leads to venture – taking steps of faith.
Study Question #2 How can vision
create problems?
If a vision isn’t practical. If a vision is too far ahead of the people and
the leader isn’t patient. If all there is are ideas without any sense of
implementing the vision.
Wisdom
Heavenly discernment. The right application of knowledge in moral and
spiritual matters.
Decision
When all the facts are in, swift and clear decision is the mark of a true
leader. A visionary may see, but a leader must decide.
The spiritual leader will not procrastinate when faced with a decision, nor
vacillate after making it.
Illustration: A young man
beginning his work with the Coast Guard was called with his crew to try a
desperate rescue in a great storm. Frightened, rain and wind pounding his face,
the man cried to his captain. “We will never get back!” The captain replied,
“We don’t have to come back, but we must go out.”
Courage
That quality of mind which enables people to encounter danger or difficulty
firmly, without fear or discouragement.
(pg. 60) Not everyone is courageous by nature. Some people are more
naturally timid than Luther. But whether we are bold or reticent, God calls
leaders to be of good courage and not to capitulate to fear.
The Holy Spirit gives us courage.
While others lose their heads, leaders stay the course. Leaders strengthen
followers in the middle of discouraging setbacks and shattering reverses.
Humility
Humility is the hallmark of the spiritual leader.
A leader’s humility should grow with the passing of years.
Being able to handle comments like when people call you “great”.
Robert Morrison of China
(pg. 62) wrote, “The great fault, I think, in our missions is that no one likes
to be second.”
Integrity and Sincerity
Paul spoke of his failures and successes with an openness few of us are
prepared to copy.
Transparent character.
Illustration
Heart transplants and commitment
Pope John Paul II was needing a heart transplant. There was much concern
throughout the
Roman Catholic world. Everyone gathered outside of the Vatican
screaming and waving their hands. “Take my heart, Pope, take my heart!” Well,
the Pope didn’t know what to do, so an idea popped into his head. He asked
everyone to please be quiet for a few minutes and he told all of them that he
was going to throw down a feather. Whoever the feather landed on, he would take
their heart for the transplant. Pope John Paul II then threw the feather down
upon the people. Everyone was still screaming and waving their hands, “Take my
heart, Pope,” but with one difference: they were leaning their heads back and
blowing the feather back into the air. “Take my heart, Pope (blow), Take my
heart (blow).”
A leader needs to mean what he says.
Follow through.
Chapter 9 – More Essential Qualities of Leadership
Humor
Humor is a gift from God which should be controlled as well as cultivated.
We can grow in humor, but we need to be careful to use it appropriately and
carefully.
After being criticized for including humor in a sermon, Charles Spurgeon
replied, “If only you knew how much I hold back, you would commend me.”
For me, the temptation is to throw in every joke I hear. But if the joke doesn’t fit the place in the
message, you have to take it out.
Sometimes a joke will fit a point, but the joke comes at a time in the
message where humor doesn’t seem appropriate, you have to can it.
A.E.Norrish: “You will never lead others far without the joy of the Lord
and its concomitant, a sense of humor.”
F.J.Hallett: “the most successful leader is the one who possesses a keen
sense of humor combined with a clear sense of God’s grace”
If you don’t have grace, your sense of humor can be used to hurt rather
than help people.
I think one of the things we need to be able to do is to laugh at
ourselves:
Illustration
Eggs and Sermons
Note: What’s the point of telling this story? Don’t take yourself too seriously!
Anger
Study Question #4: How can anger help a leader? How can it hurt?
Anger at the right things for the right reasons can do good. People need to see that you will take action
at the things that need taking care of. If I am angry at the hurt others face,
and I’m seeking God’s best, then it can be good.
Anger is dangerous when I’m the cause of the anger.
Anger should be at injustice and abuse that dishonors God and enslaves the
weak.
Holy anger is open to abuse.
Anger is sinful (pg. 69-70) when:
(these are good!)
1.
To favor a
resentment or feud, we imagine an injury done to us
2.
An injury
done to us becomes, in our minds, greater than it really is
3. Without
real injury, we feel resentment on account of pain or inconvenience
4. Indignation
rises too high, and overwhelms our ability to restrain
5. We
gratify resentments by causing pain or harm out of revenge
6. We
are so perplexed and angry at sin in our own lives that we readily project
anger at the sin we find in others
(Why we need to learn grace …)
I’m considering that before someone is allowed into a leadership position
over a ministry at the church, they have to pass a test: They have to have gotten mad at me for
something, gotten over it, and have continued in the church!
Patience
Toughest in personal relationships
A leader shows patience by not running too far ahead of his followers and
thus discouraging them.
Not being impatient in weakness (GRACE)
Waiting for others to come on board with your ideas:
(pg. 71) D.E. Hoste:
“I shall never forget the impression made upon me by Hudson Taylor in
connection with these affairs. Again and again he was obliged either to greatly
modify or lay aside projects which were sound and helpful but met with
determined opposition … Later, in answer to patience continuance in prayer,
many of these projects were put into effect.”
Friendship
Leaders can be measured by the number and quality of their friends.
Drawing the best out of people requires relationship – that requires
understanding friendship.
Tact and Diplomacy
Tact: The ability to deal with people sensitively, to avoid giving offense,
to have a feel for the proper words or responses to a delicate situation.
Understanding how people feel and react.
Inspirational Power
Inspiring others to service and sacrifice.
Churchill to his cabinet after France
fell to the Germans: “Gentlemen, I find this rather inspiring.”
Executive Ability
Learning to organize, keeping things methodic and orderly.
Careful planning
The Therapy of Listening
Genuine listening seeks to understand another without prejudgment.
Leaders who want to show sensitivity should listen often and long, and talk
short and seldom.
The Art of Letter Writing
Letters that are encouraging, gracious in compliments, rich in sympathy,
but also faithful to correct faults.
The danger is the lack of tone, the dangers of e-mail, people
misunderstanding what you’ve written.
Study Question #6: What leadership qualities do you think are in
most short supply among Christians?
Chapter 10 – Above All Else
Spiritual leadership requires Spirit-filled people.
Selection of kingdom leaders must not be influenced by worldly wisdom,
wealth, or social status. The prime consideration is spirituality.
The warning of not having spiritual people – a corporation that loses it’s
CEO because the board slowly begins to take control and thwart his efforts. The
Holy Spirit is our CEO.
All the leaders in the Book of Acts were Spirit-filled.
(pg. 81) “Because they had surrendered their own wills to the Spirit’s
control, they were delighted to obey his promptings and leadings.”
The Holy Spirit makes us leaders. He is the one who puts us into ministry.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Small Groups
Study Question #9: Give yourself a report card on your
leadership qualities. Where have you
made improvement recently? Where do you
still need some more work?