A Big Mistake Any Leader Can Make...

You can talk to ten different people on the topic of leadership and get ten very different takes on it from each of them. I've been reflecting a lot on the topic of leadership a lot lately as the Lord continues to shape, mold and change me. Humbly I must say that some of my views on leadership have been wrong in the past and I definitely want to grow from the mistakes I've made. When Jesus came to earth, why did He come? The Jews wanted Him to lead and end the tyranny of the Romans. But Jesus came to love people. Yes, He did come to lead, but first and foremost came to love. If you want to become a better and more effective leader, study and follow Jesus leadership example. His leadership was one based on both love and servant leadership. Because He loved people, He served them. We live in a culture where leadership seems to be more about others serving leaders instead of the other way around. I'm continually challenged by Philippians 2:3-11 which shows us how Jesus led..."Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God,  he did not think of equality with God  as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,  he humbled himself in obedience to God  and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor  and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." I've experienced first hand how easy it is to focus more on a position or title. Being more focussed on others serving you rather than me serving others. An effective leader is full of humility and is always putting the best interests of others before their own. At times I've been a leader but haven't loved and that's a dangerous place for me to be. But thanks to several key people the Lord has recently put in my life, I see that leadership is nothing without love. And without love there will be no serving others. Love is the key ingredient to leadership. I can never forget the strong warnings and insights found in 1 Corinthians 13:1-7, "If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." NLT. In the season I'm personally in, I'm learning to become a better and more effective leader by following Jesus example of loving and serving others :)