There are many definitions of who a leader is, but one of them is that a leader is a person who has followers. A leader is the one who sets a vision for a group or the followers and leads or guides them towards that goal. So, who is the Christian leader? The Christian leader is a leader appointed by God to lead His people. In this article, I will talk about the role of a Christian leader.
1. Set the Vision: The leader must have a vision for the followers. This vision should be prayerfully received from God. It is God who should set the pace for His people and it is the leaders responsibility to find out what plans God has for His people. If there is no vision, the people perish and nothing gets done because there is no direction. The followers will just be blown and tossed around by the wind if there is not direction. It will be like driving in the wilderness in search of water and not not finding any or searching for a needle in the hay stack without and strategy. So having a vision is very important. Vision is the GOAL and how you are going to achieve the goals is the mission.
2. Formulate a Strategy: The leader after setting the vision must come out with the mission leading to the goals. Once the mission is set up, the leader must figure out how to accomplish the mission. The leaders must figure out any challenges that he/she may encounter and develop plans ahead of time as to what can be done to circumvent these issues. If this is done on the drawing board before the implementation of the mission, a lot of time will be saved during the implementation process because there is already a solution for the problem encountered. A good leader is someone who can quickly think and offer an alternative solution to a setback.
3. Cast the Vision: A good leader should be able to cast the vision for the followers to grasp. The leader must be able to paint an end picture of the vision or what he/she wants to achieve. The followers must be able to see the light that lies at the end of the tunnel.
4. Alignment: The leader must be able to bring the followers in alignment with the vision. To align is the ability to bring together all the people needed to accomplish the mission. The leader should create an atmosphere of teamwork. There must be a shared responsibility and ownership of the same goals. This can be compared to the sailing of a ship. All the sailors must work together to get the ship to go towards its destination. This calls for the delegation of responsibilities. A leader cannot do all the work alone. A the followers must be persuaded to get on the team.
5. Motivation: The leader should be able to motivate. Motivation is the ability to keep members on the team on track when the going gets tough. What are the characteristics of a good motivator?
- Credibility: The leader must be trustworthy. He/she must be found to be truthful. The leader does exactly what he/she says.
- Passion: The leader must be enthusiastic about the vision and mission of the organization.
- Empathy: The leader must show empathy to the followers. It is important to understand the needs of the followers and to appreciate what and why they do things in a particular way. Empathy will help you to understand why they behave in a certain way and you can then respond appropriately to them.
- Determination: The leader must be determine to get the vision accomplished in spite of perceived or actual challenges or threats. The leader must be resilient. This means he/she should be able to bounce back immediately after a set back.
But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. 1 Corinthians 9:15
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." John 4:34
"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me."
