Last month, I wrote on the reason to become a church member, and now I want to encourage you to see yourself as a Christian leader in the church and in the community.
All Christians begin and continue as followers of Jesus (Matt. 4:18). This is the definition of what it means to be a Christian, namely someone who follows Christ, but in following Christ, we are all also called to be on the mission of making more Christ followers (Matt 28:19-20). This is not just my job as the pastor, but rather is the responsibility of everyone who decides to follow Jesus. Therefore, we are all in positions where we are or should be leaders of one type or another, and this article will focus on the various ways in which we, as Christians, can be leaders.
First, all of us should see ourselves as leaders to those non-Christians around us. Through our love and our witness about Jesus, we should be encouraging friends, co-workers, neighbors, and family to also follow Jesus. Our attitude should be, come follow Jesus with me, and our lives should reflect this as well.
Second, almost all of us have or will and can fill roles where we are responsible for leading others. Here are some leadership examples from everyday life: young ladies leading VBS singing; life guards at the pool; parents; bigger siblings; starters and upper classmen on a sports team; managers / bosses / owners in a business; teachers at school or church; older kids in a neighborhood; older / more mature friends in a group. There are many and varied opportunities for us to be in positions of leadership in life and they come to us almost everyday.
Third, every Christian is given gifts (Ephesians 4:7-16) to be used for building up the body. Some of those gifts are defined as leadership gifts, but all the gifts are meant to serve one another. As we become proficient in using our gifts, we help others use their gifts and we can also teach those with similar gifts to become more effective in using their gifts. For instance, the gift of helps or service (Romans 12:7), may not seem like a leadership gift, but it is essential for those people who need help and to help free up other leaders to do that which they are called to do as is shown in Acts 6:1-7.
Fourth, in relationship to the church we have some specific leadership roles defined by scripture and some that are defined by the structure and needs of our congregation. Next month, I will spend time talking about those roles and who can and should fill them. If everyone begins to see themselves as leaders we will have many more people ready and willing to fill specific positions for the church when they become available.
Here are some ideas to help you prepare yourself for leadership. First, every Christian needs to be sold out and submitted to their leader, Christ. Spend time daily in His Word and in prayer. If you don’t know how to start, contact me and I will help get you a plan for reading and studying and some simple ways to begin to pray. Next, begin serving somewhere. Go where you see a need, go where you hear about a need in the church, and go where God puts a need in front of you. In the process you will begin to see where you are effective and learn what gifts God has given you. Along the way, examine your heart and actions and pray that you will be continually transformed into the image of Christ. If you see yourself as a leader then you will understand the need to have the character of a Christian leader. It is not just the Pastor and elders that the world is seeing as an example of what a Christian should be. While never perfected in this life, every Christian should be changing for the better as the Holy Spirit works in and through us.
As we grow in Christ, we will together help lead many others closer to Him, both those in the church and those who do not yet know Him.
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