Gifting Not Position

Many leaders covet the power that their position gives them. The enjoyment of wielding influence and making decisions that shapes the lives of others can become an intoxicating drug. This can lead to an improper degree of control, of concentrating authority in the office of leader.

Christian leaders need to develop the necessary personal strength to lead out of their leadership gifting. Since it is may be unlikely that the leader will be the only person in the organisation to have been given the gift of leadership, we need to accept that those gifted with leadership don't have a monopoly on leadership within the organisation. This is particularly likely when we consider that leadership is only one of many attributes considered in selection of candidates for church leadership. As a result, leaders need to actively seek others to adopt leadership roles whenever it is appropriate for them to do so. Charles Handy compares this model of distributed leadership to a rowing team. "In the race, it is the little person at the back of the boat, the one who can’t row, who is in charge. He, or often she, is the task leader. But there is also the stroke, who sets the pace and the standard we all must follow. Off the river, however, the leader is the captain of the boat. He or she is responsible for choosing the crew, for our discipline and for the mood and motivation of the crew, but on the river, the captain is just another member of the crew. Finally, there is the coach, who is responsible for training and development. There is no doubt who is the leader when the coach is around."

It is undeniably challenging for a leader to stand back and allow others to take on leadership role. Yet what God seeks is the motivation of our heart, rather than the external actions witnessed by others.