Christian Leadership By: Dr. Clarita G. Adalem CWL National Auditor

What is a Christian? What is Leadership? Christian is one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

What is Leadership? Leadership is the ability to make goodness operate in the lives of others.

What is Christian Leadership ? What should a Christian be like? There is no finer example for Christian Leadership than our Lord Jesus Christ. He declared, “ I am the Good Shepherd”. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). It is within this verse that we see the perfect description of a Christian leader, He is one who acts as a shepherd to those “ sheep in his care.” The Good Shepherd always listens. Try calling to Him if you can’t sleep & He will indeed give you a good sleep.

Benevolent Compassionate Generous Devout Industrious Charitable “At Joppa there was a woman disciple called Tabitha, or Dorcas in Greek, who never tired of doing good or giving in charity.”(Acts 9:36)

Woman of wisdom Good homemaker Peacemaker Woman of great faith Great leader Woman of action Courageous Stouthearted At this time Deborah was judge in Israel, a prophetess.. And the Israelites would come to her to have their disputes settled (Judges 4:4-5)

Studious Evangelizer Knowledgeable Industrious Hospitable Spiritual Leader Give my greetings to Prisca and to Aguila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,who risked death to save my life. It is only I owe them to debt of gratitudes, all the churches among the pagans do as well. My greetings also to church that meets at their houses. (Rom. 16:3)

Successful & influencial Truth seeker Determined Woman of foresight Charming & persuasive Prayerful Indomitable courge Hospitable & generous Spiritual leader On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with women who gathered there. One of them, a woman name Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened to us, and the the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she was baptized, she offered us an invitation,” Ifyou consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us. (Acts. 16:14)

Ruth

What kind of Christian Leaders are we? We should be like Jesus who is our great Shepherd. The Shepherd is one who has several roles in regard to his sheep. He leads, feeds, nurtures, comforts, corrects and protects. The Shepherd of the Lord’s flock leads by modeling godliness and righteousness in his life and encouraging others to follow his example. Of course, our ultimate example and the one we should follow is Christ Himself “ (1 Corinthians 11:1) “The Christian Leader is one who follows Christ and inspires others to follow Him as well”

Just as the Shepherd used his crook to pull a wandering sheep back into the fold so the Christian leader corrects and disciplines those in his care when they go astray without rancor or an overbearing spirit but with a “ spirit of gentleness” “The Lord disciplines those He loves( Proverbs 3:12) and the Christian leader must follow His example.

Christian Leadership is a position of Humble, Loving Service. Christian Leadership is a Ministry not a management. Those whom God designated as leaders are called not governing monarchs but humble slaves, not slick celebrities but laboring servants. Those who would lead God’s people must above all exemplify sacrifice, devotion, submission and lowliness. Jesus Himself gave us the example when He stooped to wash his disciples feet. A task that was customarily done by the lowest of slaves.

If the Lord of the Universe would do that, no CWL Christian Leader has a right picture to think of herself as a “bigwig “ of a woman

1. Calling 2. Competence 3. Confidence 4. Character

1. Calling – Heavenly call from God, asking us where are you ? And we answer, “ Here I am Lord, I’m ready to serve for all the Glory of God. When we have the calling, we are doing What God wants us to do – or doing the will of God. As officers of the CWL, we received the call and do His will. In (John 4:34), Jesus said to His disciples, “ My call is to do the will of God who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” The first order for a Christian Leader is to comply with the will of God. If one of your goals is to feed the malnourished, give food, water and clothing, then everything will be for Him.”

2. Competence – a good Christian Leader must be competent. As CWL officer, you should be knowledgeable in our mission and vision and all the services we ought to do for our term 2014 – A Competent Leader must be: a. Christ oriented – it imitates the leadership of Christ, who is the model of leadership. b. Service oriented- there is authority but it is used to serve the needs of the community. It does not emphasize authority, status or power,. c. People oriented- It gives more importance to people than to the task or to achievement. d. Others oriented, not concentrated on self. Leadership is for others.

The Motto of a Christian Leader is “ J O Y” J - JESUS O - OTHERS Y – YOURSELF e. It is Prayer oriented- A leader has the most important role in the determination of the direction, vision or decision of the group. For this, he needs prayer so that he will be opened to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

3. Confidence – Even if you have the Calling, and Competence, success may not occur to the level that it could if the leader lacks confidence. You are Competent- when you know how to pave the way to the right direction then you as a leader can be confident to share, to work together without being timid or slow.

“Peter said to Him,” Lord if you command me to come to you on the water, I will” and He said “ Come !” Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus, but seeing the strong wind, he became frightened and when he was beginning to sink, he cried out, “ Lord save me.” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him and said, “You of little faith, “why did you doubt?”

4. Character – Leaders with strong Character got High EQ a good leader should have high Emotional Quotient. 1. Emotions are what make us uniquely human. Intellect is present even among animals. 2. Emotional relationships are the lifeblood of our organization the CWL. 3. We work more effectively with people we like- we like them for how they make us feel good. At a glance, these are the highlights of relationship EQ: 1. Empathy – is the starting point, the ability to understand and appreciate the feelings of others. You feel what your followers feel, if somebody looks worried you should bother to ask. If you know your CWL members full of priorities, you ask how you can help. If your members are happy spend time to be happy with them.

2. Adapting to people means non- judgmental. As a good leader you should know that everyone is different. You should not entertain too many or too high expectations because you will just be frustrated. You simply take every member as she is. You respect differences and you adapt. 3. Assertiveness – a good leader is assertive not aggressive. You can express your feelings, beliefs, and thoughts and defined your rights in a nondestructive way. Never step on other people’s toes, You should maintain goodwill. 4. Celebrate and enjoy- Learn to celebrate your achievements pause and celebrate the completion of a project before you begin another or just pause during each project and praise yourself for what you have done well.

5. Proper Delegation – if you delegate, make sure she’s really assigned to a job she can do well. It requires EQ to delegate well. You imply that your trust her when you delegate and you enhance her self – esteem. The IQ self explanatory guide to delegation has five ( 5 ) steps: 1. Select the right person for the task. 2. Define what is to be done and achieved. 3. Keep communication lines open. 4. Monitor to the extent necessary and appropriate. 5. Reward person when the task is done well.

The EQ guide however centers on humility, trust and optimism. You’re a humble leader, if you’re not a perfectionist. Despite the influence of Superwoman, Batman or Spiderman stories, you can’t do them well, even those heroes have their moments of weaknesses.

Let us thank the Lord for all the trials we overcome in the practice of leadership. They do not only make us better and strong persons they also help us build good character that makes us usable to work for all the Glory of God ! As good leaders no matter how large is our CWL organization we are called to shepherd people.

“ Leaders with a heart for people are called Shepherd Leaders “ – Are you one of them? The Answer is Big Yes……..

Thank You and God Bless You!!