My thoughts on Leadership

i enjoyed reading a lot on leadership lately because of the course material i am doing. So i have attached a chapter for myself as well as all of you who wish to learn something new about leadership.

Leadership Paradox by Denny Gunderson
1 Servant – Diakonos; through the sand- The background to this word revolves the story of servant standing in the way of the sand storm to protect the master.
2 Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant” (Matt20:26)
3 The test of our spiritual life is the power to descend…. – Oswald Chambers
4 The human obsession for control and the sincere desire of a true leader to serve are mutually exclusive.
5 The test of fading influence
- how did John the Baptist cope with his decreasing influence with the advent of the Messiah?
- is leadership a position or a role?
Formal leadership overly emphasised followership
Matt 20:25-26; ….not so with you
Jesus clearly and unequivocally denounces as worldly any talk or practice that establishes hierarchical orders?
(i understand the drift of the author on the hierarchical orders but i am not sure if i can fully endorse this position....still thinking...Jethro's advice to Moses was definitely a hierarchical structure. it was meant to make things more manageable for Moses. i tend to see that the verses in Matt 20 refers to the abuse of structure rather than attacking the structure.)
Jim Peterson …..
”Thus, in doing this, our church Fathers neatly and permanently divided
God’s people into two castes; laity and clergy. We have lived with this
caste system ever since, even though the bible teaches otherwise.”

Who do we spend the most time with? People in influence or People in need? Who would Jesus spend the most time with?

Charles Colson
“The pastor or Christian leader who is constantly the object of adoring
crowds soon cant live without it and often unconsciously, begins to shape
his message to assure continual adulation.”

When ministry (noun) takes priority over minister (verb), servanthood is squeezed out.
Ministry of God does not mean my ministry; I cannot lay claims to its effectiveness or lack of….It belongs to God ultimately..
My identity should not be wrapped around my position as a leader.
Embracing one’s own failure and expendability is a major step of liberation away from the bondage of self-interest.

M Scott Peck
“The need for control – to ensure the desired outcome – is at least
partially rooted in the fear of control.”

- A true servant leader
… relinquishment of a prized position, leaving the security of a solid financial “power base”, or
voluntarily minimising one’s own importance so that someone else can have an opportunity
to rise to a place of prominence.
With nothing to prove and no vested interest, take joy in seeing others grow beyond himself.
Henri Nouwen
– The beginning and the end of Christian leadership is to give your life for
other.
Jesus Christ
“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28)
The goal of a leader is to work himself out of a job.
A commitment to planned obsolescence may produce inferior automobiles, but it makes for
great servant leaders.

- Questions to think
Are we willing to embrace God’s will even when His will appear to hold a deterioration of our personal place of importance as a leader?
Is our identity so wrapped up in our leadership position that the loss of position causes us deep emotional trauma?
Can we make John the Baptist’s choice to decrease?