Leadership: The Challenge

Leaderhip. Everyone experiences it, or the lack of it, in their daily lives. Those called to lead can find doing so a daunting task. Those expected to follow can experience frustration when their leader is unable to lead and their organization seems to be going nowhere. Struggling leaders may agonize in the knowledge that others resent them and blame them for their organizations failures. Countless discouraged leaders would probably quit their jobs today, but they need the income. Besides, they fear the same problems would engulf them in their new jobs. Discouraged, Christian leaders carry the added, albeit misguided, burden that they are failing not only their people but their Lord. They feel guilty because they lack the faith to move their organization forward yet the same fears prevent them from leaving their leadership positions for jobs where they might be more successful. Is there hope for the countless numbers of leaders who are not experiencing the fulfillment and reaching the potential God intended for them? If anything can revolutionize today's Christian leaders, it is when Christians understand God's design for spiritual leaders.

Our world craves good leaders. It would seem that effective leadership has become the panacea for every challenge society faces. Whether it's politics, religion, business, education, or law, the universally expressed need is for leaders who will rise to meet the challenges that seem to overwhelm many of today's organizations. The problem is not a shortage of willing leaders. The problem is an increasingly skeptical view among followers as to whether these people can truly lead. Warren Bennis warned, "At the heart of America is a vacuum into which self annointed saviors have rushed." People know intuitively that claiming to ba leader or holding leadership position does not make someone a leader. People are warily looking for leaders they can trust.
(excerpt from Spiritual Leadership by: Henry and Richard Blackaby).