Recently I've attended a series of training sessions for those working through the church in women's ministries. While at one of these sessions, I was amazed when a friend told me that she did benefit after all from a leadership training session, even though she doesn't see that as her real gift. I guess it surprised me because I can think of few things more interesting than the topic of leadership; it's truly one of my passions.
This week at Kingdom Bloggers we're talking about Leadership. In my post today I've answered some questions that I then turn around and ask you:
How has God changed the way you look at leadership?
How has God taught you about leadership?
What's He taught you about leadership?
I'd be interested to hear your responses either here, or over at Kingdom Bloggers. If you go over there, you can see my answers to these questions in my post.
6 comments:
god teaches us that women should not lead men. It's in the Bible.
The eternal question: are leaders made or are they born that way?
It is obvious that for some leadership comes naturally. They have the self-confidence to motivate and to direct people in certain directions and towards certain goals. But in order to have effective leadership there should also be willing followship.
People should be willing and able to accept leadership and to follow it. Otherwise everyone will want to be a leader and the resultant chaos will lead to nowhere fast.
I've seen it often in business. Or if you prefer a Biblical example - Moses led the Jews in circles in the desert for forty years. Perhaps he should have bought the latest satellite navigation system!
On a separate matter: thank you for your visit to my Blog. I have responded to your comment there.
God bless you Tracy.
Hello Tracy! I know it has been a long while for me. This is an interesting post. I wish I could have attended the seminar sounds great!
In response to your questions, I think that we often confuse things in regards to leadership. I have found that many confuse arrogance with confidence and ambition with knowledge.
I try to sift my decisions with the Word but that does not always happen. I think that mulling over a decision is a good thing provided you mull it over with God. God has taught me that leadership is not always forceful or easy. You are dealing with a lot of personalities and you have to adjust your approach accordingly.
God has taught me leadership by helping to eat my words as it were. "If I were in that position I would do so and so." Well, I have been in that position and it isn't always so cut and dry. So now, I try to take into consideration the many variables that may have been involved in the decision making process.
Leadership, in my mind, requires gaining peoples' trust. If you don't have their trust, they won't follow you even to a land of gold; but if they have your trust, they'll follow you to hell and back.
I think there's a lot packed into "trust". Keeping one's word, doing the right thing, keeping your opinions about others to yourself (otherwise they'd know you'll one day be talking about them, too), etc.
Victor - I think we're born who we are but we can develop those intrinsic talents/proclivities. I also have seen that good leaders are those who can follow as well.
Inge - I know only too well the feeling of thinking I know it all until I'm in the situation and see what it's really all about. I also have found that, although my goals and the direction we're heading is the same, I also have found that the approach for effectiveness changes with different people.
Mike - Really good word. If I'm not trustworthy, why should anyone believe me or follow. So true about keeping one's opinions to oneself (I confess I have to bite my tongue a lot of times) about others.
GCT - I know we had this discussion in great detail when I posted on the question of If women should be Ordained as Ministers: http://abundantliving-tracy.blogspot.com/2010/01/recently-i-watched-movie-entitled.html#comments.
In general, main stream, Christianity you've got 2 camps of thought:
1. Those who say yes that women should be ordained as ministers and lead both men and women. This group looks at passages such as Galatians 3:28 and say that scripture says there's no male or female in Christ. They look at 1 Corinthians 12 and say that the ministry gifts are not gender specific. They point to the women in ministry that we see in Acts 18:18-26 & Romans 16:1. They "explain away" 1 Timothy 2:11-13 by saying it's just a cultural thing for that time.
2. Those who say that women are meant to minister in the body of Christ but that women are not to lead over men in the church. This group says that Galatians 3:28 is not referring to ministry but to our standing before God in Christ. They look at 1 Corinthians 12, Acts 2:1-24, Acts 18:18-26, & Romans 16:1 and say that yes women are blessed with God's Holy Spirit the same as men and are meant to minister for Christ - just not to lead over men. They point out passages such as 1 Corinthians 11:3-16 & Ephesians 5:22-23 and say that the Bible says in marriage the man is head over the wife, and that the body of Christ/the church is the "bride" of Christ where Christ is that head, but that then men come next in the church. I fall into this group simply because I can't hang with the cultural explaining away of 1 Timothy 2:11-13 - to me it clearly states that in the church, a woman should not teach or have authority over a man.
But both of these camps of mainstream Christian thought are only talking about in the marriage relationship and in the church. No one in mainstream Christianity is saying that women can not lead other women or children or that women can't lead men outside of the church. (That's not saying that there aren't those on the far end of the bell curve who say women should be submissive to men in all places. I'm just talking the main groups of Christian thought).
So I would reply to your comment that I believe the Bible says women should not lead men in church settings or in the marriage relationship. But in any other sphere, I do not see the Bible saying that.
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