Healthy Leaders | Issue 23
Leaders: it's time to get moving!
Welcome to Issue 23 of Healthy Leaders. Leadership is not authority, power, privilege, or even servanthood. Leadership is movement.
Hello friends,
Welcome back to our ongoing conversation1 on healthy Christian leadership and leader development.
If the essence of leadership is movement, then when there is no movement: there is no leadership!
Paul’s vision for the leaders of the Ephesian church provides us with a prime example of leadership as movement:
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…”
Look at the movement here!
Let’s here from Malcolm on this:
Here are a few leaders you may have heard of who moved the people to accomplish God’s will:
Moses: In Exodus 3, Moses received the vision from God. Then he shared the vision with the people, and finally he led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness, overcoming many obstacles until they finally reached the Promised Land.
Joshua: In Joshua 3, Joshua had received the vision of crossing the Jordan and entering Canaan from Moses. Then he aligned the people with the vision in verses 2-4. Finally, he led them across the Jordan into Canaan in verses 5-17.
Jethro: In Exodus 18, Jethro had a vision for a better systrem of government within Israel. He shared the vision with Moses, aligning him with it in verses 14-23. Then Moses, motivated by Jethro, implemented the vision in verses 24-26.
David: In 1 Chronicles 17, David received the vision from God to build the temple. He shared this vision with the people so effectively that they willingly brought everything necessary for its construction in 1 Chronicles 29. Then Solomon actually build the temple beginning in 2 Chronicles 3.
All of these leaders — as well as Paul and Jesus Himself — share numerous characteristics, primarily that of dependence on God. But the results were all the same: movement!
We’ve recently heard about some massive movement going on in the life of a frontline leader in the Philippines named Zoe. If you’re looking for some inspiration to get you moving, check out his story.
Reflect
Consider a time in your own life when you were an effective leader to someone. Who did you lead? Where did you lead them to? What can you learn from this experience?
Now consider your current life and leadership. Who are you leading now? Where are you leading them to? How can you do it better?
We’d love to hear your reflections in the comments.
Until next time, we’re with you.
— Chris
Recommended Resources
Check out the Burst Leadership podcast by one of our leader care specialists, Brent Hoover.
For more resources, visit our new website.
Thanks to our friends at Fifty-Four Collective for putting together a comprehensive set of video courses for growing healthy organizations, starting with this series of courses on leadership by Malcolm. We’ll be using some of their videos and some of our own. Be sure to check out what they’re doing!