Leadership Thoughts #3 - Who is really leading?

I have been getting a lot out of the book,  Leadership as an Identity, by Crawford Loritts. Today as I read a few quotes struck me. Here is the first:

When a leader gets to a point at which he or she trusts more in skills, abilities, or experiences to accomplish God's assignments, then he has just walked away from the place of God's blessing and His enabling power.

This quote is frightening, because it is just so easy to rely on past experience to fulfill today's challenges. Most often, things in leadership can become urgent, and so the easy and quick thing to do is to just do it, instead of rely on God through prayer and giving your life over to the Spirit's guidance.

Related to this, Joseph Stowell, former President of Moody Bible Institute says that "leaders fall when they stop following". Loritts, the author of the book I am reading comments on this and says:

Think about that. When a leader shifts his focus from dependably following Christ and begins to think that it is his vision, his idea, his mission that must be advanced, then he has ceased to be God's leader. And, frankly, it's dangerous to follow such a person. At this point there is nothing supernatural about what he does; he is merely a strong personality who can get things done by the force of his will. He may try to camouflage it with a few Bible verses and Christian clichés, but pride and self determination are what drive him.

That last line that is in bold (my emphasis) is a killer! I see myself in that line. It is easy to throw in a verse or cliché, but that does not mean it is from God. I want to be a man that leads people only as I am following Jesus.

For you Christian leaders out there, is this something that you struggle with?

How can we grow in making sure we are only leading as we are following Jesus?

Leadership thoughts #2 - I am inadequate

I was reminded from the book that I am reading that I need to feel a sense of inadequacy in leadership. In order for me to be successful, I need to rely on God to lead me. I can have strengths and gifts, but it will always be God that causes the growth.

It seems the longer a person is in leadership, the easier it can get to rely on self, rather than God. "After all, look how long I have done this? I have experience and have seen it all before. I can take care of it." I desire to be a leader for the long haul, and it is important for me to be reminded that the more leadership I get, the more I need to feel inadequate, and rely on God, who is adequate for all things. 

Leadership thoughts - I can't do it

I am starting to read a book today called Leadership as an Identity, by Crawford Loritts. I was given this book by my boss as a gift.

A quote from the first chapter stood out to me. The author is talking about the Great Commission, and then comments:

Have you ever considered that you don't have the power to make even one disciple, let alone disciples in all the nations? Have you considered that you can teach someone al the Scripture, help him grow in his faith, and model what it's like to walk with Christ, but you don't have the ability to make that person follow God?

This is critical for me to ask as my whole job revolves around making disciples of Christ. But I have no ability to do that. I cannot do my job. It is a strange thought that causes a few reactions from me:

Scary - I have no ability to cause someone to follow Christ
Relief - God has the ability to do this, and wants to use me to help people follow Christ

What I desire is that God would use me to help change the world by helping students discover Jesus. Because of my inability to do this, I need to rely on God, and constantly ask him to change the hearts of the people I work with. And I need God to work on me, so that daily I become more and more a faithful disciple of Christ.

How do you trust God to help you make disciples?