Theme Three: God is Over Human Leadership
The Lord God, being the cause of everything that is seen and unseen, is in complete control of everything. He created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He created man in His image. While man is like God, he is not God. While man has a free will and can freely choose what to do, or not to do, he functions within the domain that God has created. And since God sees all from eternity past to eternity future, He is not surprised by anything. His plans will ultimately prevail over anything man does or does not do. God places people in authority that He sees fit to. He also removes those from authority that He deems need removal. It is an illusion for people to think that they have control over their promotions or positions.
When Yahweh places an individual within a position of leadership, He has expectations of that person, generally and specifically. His specific expectation of that individual will be what He wants them to do, which is in accordance with how He designed them as an individual, conforming to His master plan. His general expectation for all of His leaders will be that of moral purity. He will hold His leaders morally accountable. Based on how God dealt with His leaders in the pre-exilic Minor Prophets, He demonstrates that failing in a strategic sense is not as paramount an issue as failing morally. Moral failure is sure to incur the wrath of God.[1] Yahweh abhors corruption in leadership and a callous disposition toward social injustice.[2] As evidence of how much the Lord hates these things, during the pre-exilic Minor Prophets’ time, He raised up the Babylonians, a vicious pagan nation, to attack His own people as punishment.[3] Fuhr states, “The history of eighth and seventh century Israel and Judah demonstrated God’s hatred and judgment of leadership that fails to practice truth and justice empowered by the knowledge of God. In the present, we can rest assured that God does not turn a blind eye, and that he will judge those ‘heads’ who do not acknowledge him in what they do as leaders.”[4]
As can be clearly seen, God hates corruption and a callous, indifferent attitude toward human suffering among His leaders. Both of these traits do not reflect the character of God. Jesus also never demonstrated either of these while living among us. He routinely cared for and had compassion for the suffering. If one is to be a servant leader of Jesus, they must do as He did. There is no place for corruption or indifference to the plight of others. A higher standard is held and expected to be reached continually by His leaders. Especially in the modern world where social media exists, and everything that happens can be disseminated around the world within a matter of minutes. How a Christian leader behaves and what they say reflect back to Christ. Christian leaders are His ambassadors. They are either enhancing His image in the minds of others or maligning it. Therefore, leaders that are truly living a life for Christ in every way consistently can greatly impact the world for Christ.
Theme Four: Depending on God Alone
As a Christian leader, there is nothing else to depend on but God. It is only logical that if one is a leader of the King that they must depend on Him for His wisdom, understanding, power, and courage.[5] Considering that He, the God that the leader serves, is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, it would thus be ludicrous to assume that they can go and do whatever they think is right in their own eyes regardless of whether it is intentional or unintentional. If one is to be a servant leader of God they must be following His plan and purposes. To determine what He wants, they must abide in Him daily and must deny themselves their desires and will in any matter and do what He wants.
Blanchard & Hodges use the acronyms EGO and EGO to refer to Edging God Out and Exalting God Only. Edging God Out means that the leader has replaced God as the object of their worship, the source of their security and self-worth, their audience of one, and their ultimate authority and judge with any or all of the following: (1) pride, (2) fear, (3) promoting self, and (4) protecting self.[6] Exalting God Only means that the leader has placed God as their object of worship, their source of security and self-worth, their audience of one, and their ultimate judge and authority.[7] The result is humility and confidence placed in God.[8] This is a good summation of what occurs when one does not depend on God and how it happens and how one can place their dependence on God and what happens as a result.
In John 5:19-20, 30, Jesus demonstrates His reliance on the Father for guidance and the source of everything.[9] If He modeled the necessity for dependence on the Father and servant leaders are to model Him, then it goes without saying that a leader also needs to depend on the Lord as their source for everything. Self-dependence will cripple a leader and hurt those under them. But, a God-dependent leader will have wings to soar because they are not held down by fear, pride, self-promotion, and self-protection. By the servant leader submitting and letting God take the lead through their lives, He will protect them and uphold them. The servant-leader can lead with courage and security because they have chosen to place their self-worth in the Lord and have walked away from fear by understanding and acknowledging that God knows the future and is in control.
Conclusion
Humility seems to be the key to all of the themes that have been discussed, except perhaps the theme of God being over human leadership. Though, if a leader were to remind themselves of this fact, it would help instill humility in those that need it and increase it in those that already have some measure of it. God lifts up the humble but tears down the proud. He promotes the humble and demotes the arrogant and proud.
A humble servant leader realizes that they are not doing ministry on their own under their own power. They are partnering with God in His missio Dei to accomplish His will. Because He created everything ex nihilo, He is in absolute control of it all and knows everything and everyone perfectly. He also controls the outcome. The humble leader can find comfort in the knowledge of knowing that and derive a sense of peace and security in it, as well. Part of the equation is also depending on God for everything; wisdom, knowledge, understanding, the next steps in His plan, etc. And as the servant leader’s season of leadership influence draws to a close, they have already planned for, trained, and appointed a successor to carry on the work of the ministry and the advancement of God’s kingdom and His plans.
The greater one aspires to be as a servant leader, the greater they must be in their humility. It seems like a paradox. However, that is how it works in God’s kingdom. And if one is to be a servant of King Jesus, they must humble themselves to the point that they are a servant to all. Also, when leaders humble themselves, they, in a sense, step aside and let God take over, and His power is made more evident. A humble leader is a more usable vessel that the Lord can use in even greater ways. Paul’s humility is abundantly evident in a number of verses in the New Testament, and Moses was renowned for his humility, and God used them to perform mighty works for Him. The same God that Paul and Moses served is the same God today. And He is looking for people that are completely sold out to Him that are ready, willing, and available to be used by Him.
[1]. Fuhr, Alan R., “King Yahweh: Leadership in the Pre-Exilic Minor Prophets,” in Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. by Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2017), 211. [2]. Ibid., 207, 210. [3]. Ibid., 211. [4]. Ibid., 214. [5]. Allen, Mark and Dickson Ngama, “Power That Prevails: Leadership in Daniel,” in Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader, ed. by Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet Roden. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2017), 245. [6]. Blanchard, Ken and Phil Hodges. Lead Like Jesus. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 48-49. [7]. Ibid., 64. [8]. Ibid., 66. [9]. Ibid., 65.
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