Leadership is God given: People in my community.

Leadership is mostly taking up responsibilities and exercising authority which comes down from being leading oneself in personal life, home life, work life, church life and community life.

The kingdom is about building one another up together, not about trying to get ahead of one another and that is why as a leader; parts of our responsibilities are to be servants, shepherds and stewards.

Leadership is of God and is passed down to us so that we can know it, do it, live it and teach others to do it as well. The roles of a leader are broad, taskfull and that’s why the following kinds of leadership would help others who desire it to better understand:

1.       Dynamic Leadership.

2.       Visionary Leadership.

3.       Team Leadership.

4.       Accountable Leadership.

5.       Leadership from the front.

6.       Relational leadership.

Is okay to desire leadership because it is something that God wants us to be involved in, not because we want it for our own benefit or reasons. I believe knowing God’s will is not enough as regards to leadership but knowing his ways in that call is very paramount so that we will not mislead our followers.

Since as leaders we are not leading only ourselves; therefore we should lead by example for those who are dogging our footsteps. We should work towards perfection by the grace and strength of God through faithfulness and perseverance in the following:

1.       Our life and faith.

2.       In service to God and people.

3.       Our finance.

4.       Our punctuality.

5.       In flexibility.

6.       In ministry.

7.       In family life.

8.       In prayers.

If you are already a leader, remember you don’t graduate from following despite your involvement as a leader because the more you lead the more you learn and that makes you a follower. Therefore, “be a follower you want to have.”

Our commitment and patience are needed for God to guide us in his way and exercising authority without implying it as superiority to our followers is an act of God and the reason we should let Him lead us.

Also submission of our followers should be seen as obedience and respect to God and not inferiors. Avoiding putting blames on followers that are helping us when things go wrong is a good move towards taking responsibility also.

Embrace people that are trustworthy and share the common goal of the kingdom culture so that you can entrust them with responsibilities for our main call into leadership is to multiply and continue to recruit more leaders to do the same. An example is Apostle Paul {Barnabas –Apollo -Timothy}.

May be this scripture would change the way you think of a leader close or far to you :{ 1 Corinthians 1: 27-29}

“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.

So that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

Finally, “as I work in the quest and if I meet an extra hand in the nest with genuine heart, I’d call it love from above.”

By Olagunju, Success Taiwo.

Adapted from The Heart of Leadership.

©2016, Cornerstone Church Johannesburg.