Spiritual Leadership

God calls us all by His Spirit to relationship, to surrender, to love and to be His vessels of grace and mercy to the world. It is His Spirit at work within us that brings true and eternal life. But we do not receive only to hoard and gather to ourselves. Jesus said: “Freely have you received, freely give”. As such we are called to live in and by His Spirit and we are called to bless and serve others. Together these two things are Spiritual Leadership. We 1) serve, bless, and lead others 2) by His Spirit and for His glory. We each will serve in different contexts (home, church, community, marketplace, etc.) but the calling is the same. 1 Timothy gives us a very thorough explanation of what spiritual leadership is no matter the context:

(feel free to read all of 1 Timothy in conjunction with this list)

• It is according to the call/command of God
• It is not getting caught up in endless theological debate or getting angry and debating worldly matters
• Instead Spiritual leadership is prayer and godliness
• It is learning in quiet and reverent submission to God
• It is allowing God to develop your heart and character
• But we must be careful not to fall away
• Rather we must be attentive to the development of our spirit
• Furthermore we must receive what was/is given by the laying on of hands
• And lead others gently through purity
• We must take care of all of those in our charge
• And live a holy life worthy of our calling
• We must teach and preach the full gospel of God
• While constantly attending to our heart, mind and spirit
• And always guarding what as been given to us and not going astray

What a beautiful picture of spiritual leadership! What if each father, mother, employee, employer, pastor and politician followed these Words from God? What if we saw our role not as “putting food on the table” or “pursing a dream” but rather as a calling, privilege and opportunity to serve/lead others by the Spirit at work within us? What if we allowed the Holy Spirit to lead us in every decision, every behavior, every thought, every attitude so that we might be a blessing to all those around us? What if when people dared to follow us they might find themselves at the feet of Jesus and find themselves being transformed into His likeness and image?

If this ignites a burning, a passion within you, maybe, just maybe God is calling you to Spiritual Leadership and if you pray and seek His face, He will use you to bless the world around you!