As God prepares his people to respond to His voice and commands, He often uses people to articulate His message. These people are seen as leaders; whether Esther, Nehemiah, or Paul, they all led God’s people in a particular way and at a particular time. If you are reading this article, you are more than likely leading or will be leading people. Maybe you have a title, maybe you don’t. Either way, someone perceives you as a leader. You must steward leadership diligently.
Paul wrote several letters to the church in Corinth. In the letters, he comforts and confronts the church. He comforts with the statements, “you are sanctified” and “saints in Christ.” Nonetheless, he confronts with the sobering reminder to consider their calling. “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But 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” (1 Corinthians 1:26-28 ESV). God is into choosing leaders like Esther, Nehemiah, and Paul, all for His glory.
Leaders must remember from whence they came. Leading with grace is easier when we remember our pre-conversion status. Therefore, leaders often reflect on their status when Jesus called them. As we lead with humility, we can see those we lead more clearly. Yet, leaders do not stagnate in reflection but use the truth of sin and grace to propel. Leaders pray, pursue, pardon, and exercise patience.
Prayer
Prayer is often overlooked as a means of grace. If we seek the LORD continually, we see those we serve more like us than not. Nations are dust, as are we. Prayer causes us to esteem the Lord. Prayer causes us to depend on the Lord. Through prayer, we see our frailty and dependability on Him. Not only do we pray for those we lead, but also for the people we serve. We pray for the institutions we serve. We pray the classroom–whether in a building or outside–is conducive to spiritual learning and maturation. We pray for efficient and effective environments. Leaders pray.
Pursuit
We should also be in pursuit of the people we lead. The LORD pursues us, and if we are His and He is ours, we seek to be more like Him daily. We pursue people and advocate for their God-honoring desires. Leaders also pursue the hearts of those they serve by both genuine concerns for the people they lead and their families. Tony Dungy states, “Every year, the topic of my first talk at training camp is family. I want each guy to understand that his family is his first priority.” Dungy went on to have Family Nights and practices open to families. With this philosophy, Dungy won a Super Bowl and has mentored many of the NFL’s greatest coaches.
Patience
Leaders are patient. Leaders must lead without giving themselves over to anger when personnel or parishioners are offensive. Patience keeps leaders walking with integrity and fairness. An inherent result of patience is grace. We see the Lord’s patience with Israel time and time again and we, too, should walk in patience.
Pardon
Leaders pardon because they are pardoned. Unsurprisingly, the people we serve alongside will miss expectations, deadlines, and goals. As this occurs, we should pardon as much as possible. I am not saying a person habitually neglecting their role should not receive consequences. The LORD himself brings consequences to those who neglect His insights. However, as we go through this next unit, you will see how leaders could be disappointed in the people they are leading.
We see these actions and attributes displayed clearly in Christ. He prayed continually, pursues us to this day, is patient in His pursuit, and gives us pardon by His blood. We praise God for the love of Christ and should make every effort to remind people that God will make good on His promise and will redeem all people that come to Him.
Kevin M. Jones Sr. serves as the Dean of the School of Education at Cedarville University. In addition, he serves as the Managing Editor of The Gospel Project. He started his teaching career as a first grade teacher in Lexington, Kentucky. He and his high school sweetheart, Demica, have three children: Kennedi, Kevin Jr., and Karsynn. He serves as a lay pastor at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio, where they live.
