"Leadership"
By Christopher J. Hardwick
1. Leaders Lead!
It’s going to be hard to call you a leader if you never step out in anything! If you’re going to lead, you must lead. Many people will have a task from the Lord to do, but they’re afraid to step out. This is where the Lord has to bring us to the point to be delivered from our fears. Let’s face it, the only reason we won’t step out, is we’re afraid of something. The Bible states “Fear Not” more times than any other term in the Bible. This is for good reason. Our biggest enemy will be the spirit of fear.
By Christopher J. Hardwick
1. Leaders Lead!
It’s going to be hard to call you a leader if you never step out in anything! If you’re going to lead, you must lead. Many people will have a task from the Lord to do, but they’re afraid to step out. This is where the Lord has to bring us to the point to be delivered from our fears. Let’s face it, the only reason we won’t step out, is we’re afraid of something. The Bible states “Fear Not” more times than any other term in the Bible. This is for good reason. Our biggest enemy will be the spirit of fear.
2 Tim 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. NKJV
The way to really tell, if you are under the effects of the spirit of fear are contained in this verse. Do you feel powerless? Do you feel not loved? Do you feel like you’re losing your mind? If you are experiencing these kinds of symptoms, then you are feeling the effects of the spirit of fear.
1 John 4:18-19 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us. NKJV
The solution is to get closer to him! Then let this revelation sink down into your innermost being: We love Him because He first loved us! He loves you just the way you are! He made you the way He wanted you! You are His creation and He made you great! He will be with you when you step out, because it’s about destiny! Yours! Great Leaders know who they are and where they’re going! Leaders lead, so step out today!
2. “Leader’s Inquire Of The Lord”
Whenever I face any problem that I need a strategy for, I always inquire of the Lord. After all He understands how everything works!
James 1:5-6 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. NKJV
When you need to know what to do in any given situation, ask the Lord for wisdom. He will freely give it to you. A lot of times I will come up against a problem and ask the Lord for wisdom. Sometimes I don’t get the immediate answer, so I just set the problem aside and a little while later; the answer just comes to me! This is especially important if you’re in leadership and responsible for whole groups of people. I’ve learned some really hard lessons, when I just assumed some direction in ministry and didn’t inquire of the Lord. Now let’s look at King David when he did inquire of the Lord.
1 Sam 23:2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And the Lord said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah." NKJV
Faith is not blind. According to scripture, it comes from hearing God. This means you are in the mode of inquiring from Him. If you get a “check” in your Spirit, do not continue in the direction you are headed. God wants you to proceed in faith! And Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Good leaders will inquire of the Lord. Because after all, the battle belongs to Him!
Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. NKJV
3. “Leaders Are Decisive”
Leaders must be able to make a decision and stick with it. One of the main strategies of the enemy is to paralyze us in fear to keep us from making a decision. He knows is if we stay in a state of fear and confusion, we are defeated already! This is why we must inquire of the Lord and when he gives us the wisdom, we must make up our mind to do it! Do not let circumstances lead you, you must make a decision and go for it! Even if it’s the wrong decision, God can steer you properly and get you on the right track! However no decision is always the wrong decision and God can’t steer no parked car. Over the years I’ve paid a great price for not making a timely decision’s.
Matt 5:37 But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. NKJV
Indecisiveness is from the evil one and so is not sticking with the decision. Once you made the decision, don’t revert back to wishy-washy! Not everybody will agree with your decision, but if your in charge, that is what you must do to lead. People will feel secure in someone that can make a decision. Decisions, planning and strategies go hand in hand. God wants us to know what to do in the circumstances we are in.
1 Chron 12:32 of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do NKJV
We have got to become like sons of Issachar in the coming days. So inquire of the Lord and then make a decision to do what He says and stick with it no matter the cost. He created us and knows how things ought to be done. So make a decision today to become decisive, because leaders are decisive!
4. Leaders Have Integrity.
Integrity 1 the quality of being honest and morally upright. 2 the state of being whole or unified. 3 soundness of construction. Whole. Let’s look at honest. That means the ability to tell the truth. Now one of the most difficult things over the years is to tell facts without exaggerating. It is easy to add a slight variation, to work for my benefit. I try very hard not to do this, because in reality it’s dishonest. So I just want be true & upright. Another Integrity issue, related to honesty is when we tell people were going to be at a place at a certain time and don’t show
up or don’t call. Now I believe this is a serious problem in the Body of Christ. I do my best to keep the commitment I’ve made to other people. If I can’t make it, I call and make other arrangements. What I’ve noticed in our area are people who say the Lord is leading them to do something and for whatever reason (or excuse) they just don’t keep their commitment. This I believe is an Integrity issue. We must keep our word, no matter what! God keeps his promises and we must too! If you’re a leader and other people are depending on you, then you must have integrity! We all may find ourselves in a situation, where life and death are in the balance and our integrity may just be the difference between life and death!
The way to really tell, if you are under the effects of the spirit of fear are contained in this verse. Do you feel powerless? Do you feel not loved? Do you feel like you’re losing your mind? If you are experiencing these kinds of symptoms, then you are feeling the effects of the spirit of fear.
1 John 4:18-19 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us. NKJV
The solution is to get closer to him! Then let this revelation sink down into your innermost being: We love Him because He first loved us! He loves you just the way you are! He made you the way He wanted you! You are His creation and He made you great! He will be with you when you step out, because it’s about destiny! Yours! Great Leaders know who they are and where they’re going! Leaders lead, so step out today!
2. “Leader’s Inquire Of The Lord”
Whenever I face any problem that I need a strategy for, I always inquire of the Lord. After all He understands how everything works!
James 1:5-6 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. NKJV
When you need to know what to do in any given situation, ask the Lord for wisdom. He will freely give it to you. A lot of times I will come up against a problem and ask the Lord for wisdom. Sometimes I don’t get the immediate answer, so I just set the problem aside and a little while later; the answer just comes to me! This is especially important if you’re in leadership and responsible for whole groups of people. I’ve learned some really hard lessons, when I just assumed some direction in ministry and didn’t inquire of the Lord. Now let’s look at King David when he did inquire of the Lord.
1 Sam 23:2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And the Lord said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah." NKJV
Faith is not blind. According to scripture, it comes from hearing God. This means you are in the mode of inquiring from Him. If you get a “check” in your Spirit, do not continue in the direction you are headed. God wants you to proceed in faith! And Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Good leaders will inquire of the Lord. Because after all, the battle belongs to Him!
Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. NKJV
3. “Leaders Are Decisive”
Leaders must be able to make a decision and stick with it. One of the main strategies of the enemy is to paralyze us in fear to keep us from making a decision. He knows is if we stay in a state of fear and confusion, we are defeated already! This is why we must inquire of the Lord and when he gives us the wisdom, we must make up our mind to do it! Do not let circumstances lead you, you must make a decision and go for it! Even if it’s the wrong decision, God can steer you properly and get you on the right track! However no decision is always the wrong decision and God can’t steer no parked car. Over the years I’ve paid a great price for not making a timely decision’s.
Matt 5:37 But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. NKJV
Indecisiveness is from the evil one and so is not sticking with the decision. Once you made the decision, don’t revert back to wishy-washy! Not everybody will agree with your decision, but if your in charge, that is what you must do to lead. People will feel secure in someone that can make a decision. Decisions, planning and strategies go hand in hand. God wants us to know what to do in the circumstances we are in.
1 Chron 12:32 of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do NKJV
We have got to become like sons of Issachar in the coming days. So inquire of the Lord and then make a decision to do what He says and stick with it no matter the cost. He created us and knows how things ought to be done. So make a decision today to become decisive, because leaders are decisive!
4. Leaders Have Integrity.
Integrity 1 the quality of being honest and morally upright. 2 the state of being whole or unified. 3 soundness of construction. Whole. Let’s look at honest. That means the ability to tell the truth. Now one of the most difficult things over the years is to tell facts without exaggerating. It is easy to add a slight variation, to work for my benefit. I try very hard not to do this, because in reality it’s dishonest. So I just want be true & upright. Another Integrity issue, related to honesty is when we tell people were going to be at a place at a certain time and don’t show
up or don’t call. Now I believe this is a serious problem in the Body of Christ. I do my best to keep the commitment I’ve made to other people. If I can’t make it, I call and make other arrangements. What I’ve noticed in our area are people who say the Lord is leading them to do something and for whatever reason (or excuse) they just don’t keep their commitment. This I believe is an Integrity issue. We must keep our word, no matter what! God keeps his promises and we must too! If you’re a leader and other people are depending on you, then you must have integrity! We all may find ourselves in a situation, where life and death are in the balance and our integrity may just be the difference between life and death!
Heb 6:17-20 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.
5. Leaders Are Responsible.
This principle is one of the primary definitions of leadership.
Responsible: 1 having an obligation to do something, or having control over or care for someone. 2 being the cause of something and so able to be blamed or credited for it. 3 morally accountable for one's behavior. 4 capable of being trusted. 5. (responsible to) having to report to and be answerable to.
In reality the Leader must take responsibility, when things go wrong, but they must be credited when things go right. This is why the other leadership principles are so important, because the leader is responsible. It takes followers to achieve the goals of any leader. It is absolutely a team effort to accomplish those goals. But someone has to lead the team! This is where many conflicts break out in many organizations, companies etc…. If you were running a company that had set goals in mind and everybody were doing their own thing with no regard for the set goals or standards, the company would be in a mess in no time. So the leaders job is to motivate each individual to a team effort in the spirit and goal of excellence! Every person is different,
so what motivates one may take a whole different approach with another. But In a spiritual sense our motivation should come from wanting to please God! Some people have trouble committing to the goals or standards of any kind of leadership and will in a short period of time walk away. I’ve seen many with great potential walk away because lack of commitment. (There are lots reasons for this) Leaders must give clear guidelines to everyone, because when it is all said or done, good or bad, they are responsible!
6. Leaders Are Governed By Principles, Not Circumstances.
Many leaders lead by popular opinion and not principles. This is a recipe for error. Let’s look at this in the Bible.
Ex 32:1-4 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 2 And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" NKJV
Why was Aaron so easily persuaded? Maybe it was because he was afraid of the people. Or had short term memory loss or he was mad at Moses. But in reality, he was moved by popular opinion, rather then principles. The principles that were supposed to follow are what God has established. We are called to establish and implement the principles that He has already set forth in His Word! No matter how hard the circumstance or situation or intimidation that comes from people of enemies, we must stand on principles and not ever changing opinions, circumstances or situations. The truth never changes and is the only thing that sets people free when they come to know it. Leaders are governed by principles, not ever changing opinions or circumstances.
7. Leaders Must Have A Vision!
Hab 2:1-3 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. The Just Live by Faith 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. NKJV
It’s very important that your Vision comes from the Lord and not just from the arena of good ideas and man-made programs. Good ideas & programs can be good if they are given by God. However God has a specific plan for every situation. That means what worked in the last season may not work in this season. In order to receive this vision, we must stand watch in the High place and see what He will say to me! Yes we can hear his voice! My sheep hear my voice Jesus said. And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word (voice, Rehma ) of God! Notice in the above scripture it says that in hearing Him our vision will be corrected. Then it says the just shall live by faith! Faith is the confidence of things hoped for! How much easier to step out boldly when you know you’ve heard from God! The next verse says write down the vision and make it easy to read and easy to understand. Check to see how easy to understand the vision that you have is. Are you
able to communicate it to other people and they are able to easily understand it? Remember there is a timing appointed by God for this vision to come into being. Are you able to wait for it? Can you communicate to others that this may take a while? Leaders must have a vision and it must come from God.
5. Leaders Are Responsible.
This principle is one of the primary definitions of leadership.
Responsible: 1 having an obligation to do something, or having control over or care for someone. 2 being the cause of something and so able to be blamed or credited for it. 3 morally accountable for one's behavior. 4 capable of being trusted. 5. (responsible to) having to report to and be answerable to.
In reality the Leader must take responsibility, when things go wrong, but they must be credited when things go right. This is why the other leadership principles are so important, because the leader is responsible. It takes followers to achieve the goals of any leader. It is absolutely a team effort to accomplish those goals. But someone has to lead the team! This is where many conflicts break out in many organizations, companies etc…. If you were running a company that had set goals in mind and everybody were doing their own thing with no regard for the set goals or standards, the company would be in a mess in no time. So the leaders job is to motivate each individual to a team effort in the spirit and goal of excellence! Every person is different,
so what motivates one may take a whole different approach with another. But In a spiritual sense our motivation should come from wanting to please God! Some people have trouble committing to the goals or standards of any kind of leadership and will in a short period of time walk away. I’ve seen many with great potential walk away because lack of commitment. (There are lots reasons for this) Leaders must give clear guidelines to everyone, because when it is all said or done, good or bad, they are responsible!
6. Leaders Are Governed By Principles, Not Circumstances.
Many leaders lead by popular opinion and not principles. This is a recipe for error. Let’s look at this in the Bible.
Ex 32:1-4 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 2 And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" NKJV
Why was Aaron so easily persuaded? Maybe it was because he was afraid of the people. Or had short term memory loss or he was mad at Moses. But in reality, he was moved by popular opinion, rather then principles. The principles that were supposed to follow are what God has established. We are called to establish and implement the principles that He has already set forth in His Word! No matter how hard the circumstance or situation or intimidation that comes from people of enemies, we must stand on principles and not ever changing opinions, circumstances or situations. The truth never changes and is the only thing that sets people free when they come to know it. Leaders are governed by principles, not ever changing opinions or circumstances.
7. Leaders Must Have A Vision!
Hab 2:1-3 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. The Just Live by Faith 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. NKJV
It’s very important that your Vision comes from the Lord and not just from the arena of good ideas and man-made programs. Good ideas & programs can be good if they are given by God. However God has a specific plan for every situation. That means what worked in the last season may not work in this season. In order to receive this vision, we must stand watch in the High place and see what He will say to me! Yes we can hear his voice! My sheep hear my voice Jesus said. And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word (voice, Rehma ) of God! Notice in the above scripture it says that in hearing Him our vision will be corrected. Then it says the just shall live by faith! Faith is the confidence of things hoped for! How much easier to step out boldly when you know you’ve heard from God! The next verse says write down the vision and make it easy to read and easy to understand. Check to see how easy to understand the vision that you have is. Are you
able to communicate it to other people and they are able to easily understand it? Remember there is a timing appointed by God for this vision to come into being. Are you able to wait for it? Can you communicate to others that this may take a while? Leaders must have a vision and it must come from God.
