There is no pragmatic way to go about defining or refining someone into a Christian leader. To be honest, it is actually much simpler than a step by step process, in term of characteristics. However, when it comes to the road of a Christian leader it is far longer and far more difficult than most.
This may seem like common sense but it really is not when we dive into it. In order to be a Christian leader you must…be a Christian. You may have just had a “duh” moment but I want to clarify. You will not be able to be an effective Christian leader if your relationship with God is lacking or lackluster. Our leadership is really servant hood to the God of the universe and if we cannot follow Him than how can we lead His people. Therefore, if you are still burping in your roommates face and sleeping through classes you are not a leader. If you search your heart to find college football more important than the Gospel than you are no Christian leader. If boys make or break your attitudes and desires you are not effective leaders. This is not a legalistic approach to leadership but a vital indication of your ability to lead and exposes what is important to you. I have to be as blunt as possible and say that if you know more about Jon and Kate and their 8 kids than you do about Christ than you are very well not a Christian leader. A clear compass will point to what is important to you by where you spend your time, money and words. If you spend your time picking up People magazine and choose to sit and read and chat about the hottest boys from the O.C. than I can easily spot where your importance lies. So, consider your priorities and treasures and see where they align. If your priorities align with the Gospel of Christ and his story then you are stepping in the right direction. Are you using your gifts, studying and applying scripture, living out the Gospel, befriending pagan friends, spending money with an eternal perspective in mind?
The last indicator of effective Christian leadership is your ability to lead. I was reading a quote from the Manager of the Saint Louis Cardinals today on his future as the manager of the team. He said that his return was based off the formula as to whether the team responds to his leadership. He never said, “I am a great leader and these guys should follow what I say and do.” One agent of leadership that I have to dispel is that popularity and leadership are not synonymous. People may like to be around you but that does not make you a leader. It has been my experience that you are more than likely the court jester and not the ruler. Your culturally cute looks do not make you a leader. Your parent’s income does not make you a leader. Your ability to lead comes from the gifting of God and your ability to recognize and utilize that very gift. I played the popular game all through school. I wore the clothes, stole my parent’s cash, said the right words, drank the right alcohol and dated the right girls. What I did not know is that only a small group of people loved me and the rest despised me. It was not until my junior year in high school that I started dating a Christian girl and realizing a whole other world of influence. I maintained my friends in the “popular” group but ventured out and started to see the value in people I was unlike. Soon enough I experienced a different kind of popular and influence where my name and worth exceeded social and economic boundaries. I found that people valued me because I valued them. Really take a look at if people follow you and you serve them. There is little worse than a person that is in “leadership denial”. They believe they are a William Wallace when they are a nobleman because they have a fantasy of living an epic life. These people somehow become managers and bosses that cultivate a team of disorganization and terror.
As simple as it seems, you need to check your life. Are you moving in the right direction with Christ at the forefront? Do you lead and serve? If you answer yes or want to answer yes than you may very well be an effective Christian leader. If you answered no that is not a bad thing. There is just as much a place for leaders as followers. So, leaders learn that you do not have it easy. But, when has easy ever been rewarding.
Jason Marshell
I was born to a renaissance father and an outspoken mother in southern Missouri. I was accompanied by a comedic and crude older brother who I love dearly and gave me a very funny nephew and adorable niece. Now, I am married to an amazing woman and travel all over the country recruiting students for my alma mater Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City, OK. I have been kicked out of school, played left field in the Little League World series and sang with a choir at St. Peter’s Basilica. More than that, I have experienced the regeneration, mercy and love of Christ. I love anything BBQ and quite conversely I love sushi? My life’s mission is to serve and train leaders but I am not sure how that will play out just yet. I will actually cry when The Office is taken off the air so do not call me for a week when that happens.
