leader.

This has been playing on my mind for a while now. What makes a good (Christian) leader? There's enough material on this subject to write hundreds of books on leadership (as evidenced by the hundreds of books on leadership available) but the following is a mix of what I've read on leadership, what I've seen in leaders I respect, and what I've learnt from leaders that I struggle to respect. I'm obviously no authority on leadership by any stretch of the imagination, but here are my thoughts. And here I will also take the liberty (granted by Jessica Smith) to demand and expect more from my leaders :P

One my pet hates is hypocrisy. Worst thing is that I've probably been guilty of it myself too many times to count. (I'm working on it). But here's the thing - I cannot respect a hypocritical leader. How dare you tell me to love others yet I see you treating other people like they're worth nothing? Integrity, to me, is one of the most important characteristics in a leader. I struggle to respect and follow a 'leader' who tells me to do one thing, yet I see them doing the exact opposite. I encountered this most unfortunate flaw in one of my youth leaders several years ago. Her instruction to wear skirts/shorts no higher than the knee to church or youth because it was inappropriate and may cause the boys to ...think impure thoughts, was completely blown to pieces when she turned up to youth in short shorts, and to a church Christmas function in a tiny little dress. I've also had issues with being warned not to gossip and to speak to HER if I had any issues about what she had said to me previously, only to hear about that very person throwing a tantrum behind my back about what I had said to HER previously. (Incidentally, it was the same leader).
A leader needs to have the highest possible standard of integrity. Not only because of how much you mess up your followers when you fail to practise what you preach, but because God Himself holds you to a higher standard. Mark 9:42 says, "If anyone causes one of these little ones - those who believe in me - to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea." People will NOT follow or respect a leader who says one thing but does another.

Another very important trait of a Christian leader is the ability to be a shepherd and exercise pastoral care. Jesus tells Peter in John 21:17, "Feed my sheep." With the world and the church in the state they are now, we need more than ever to LOVE each other enough to not pass by a broken heart. I've been told that sheep are very dumb animals, unable to fend for themselves, vulnerable at the best of times. Obviously humans aren't this dumb, but we need strong leaders that love us, are able to build relationships with us, are able to hold us accountable, and able to communicate effectively. A few of the leaders in my life that have hurt me, possibly the most, are those who knew I was struggling with something, yet did nothing about it. It can be so damaging to someone's self worth if a leader who is meant to take care of them, knows they're hurting, yet pretends like nothing is happening. It was certainly damaging to mine. Am I not important enough for them to want to help me? Is something wrong with me? It's possible they were praying for me, and yes, prayer changes things, but it would have been so much easier for me to overcome my battles if they were actually there with me, asking how I was going, being available for me to talk to when I needed. The leaders I respect now are those that take a genuine interest in my life and my struggles, even the things I don't struggle with (like study). Jessica Smith said that 'shepherds always smell of sheep'. A leader needs to be involved in the lives of their people, having meaningful relationships with them, being supportive and encouraging always.

On that note of building relationships, I know that it's not going to be as easy to build a deep and meaningful relationship with one person as it is with another. Personality differences, distrust and guardedness, underlying issues can make it difficult to get close enough to someone to pastor them. I suppose if personality clashes are an issue, pass them on to another leader if possible. But I think that the best way to break down someone's walls is to love them. In the interests of keeping this blog entry under thesis proportions, I'll not harp on about love here. But it's so important that a leader love his/her 'sheep'. Bram Manusama says that a leader is not fit to lead a people he doesn't love. So I suppose if you don't genuienly love me (and show it), then don't assume that when you look behind I'll be following you. I don't know how else to say it. A leader needs to love their people.
This also leads into the concept of servant leadership, the prime example being Jesus himself. In John 13, Jesus washes his disciples' feet. All throughout the gospels we read of Jesus performing miracles, which can be considered as a service to the broken and needy around him. A leader sees the needs of the people and rises up to meet the need (within limits, of course. It would be somewhat unreasonable to expect your leader to buy you a house).

This entry is getting rather lengthy; I think I'll stop here. There's definitely more to say about this subject but I'll save it for another day.