Leadership is tough.
Good leadership is hard to come by.
Exceptional leadership is a near rarity!
And there are so few good, solid — exceptional models to follow… aren’t there?!
I love this passage from Eugene Peterson on the nature of human leadership!
It comes from his introduction of Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus in The Message translation of the Bible… Peterson writes,
Christians are quite serious in believing that when they gather together for worship and work, God is present and sovereign, really present and absolutely sovereign. God creates and guides, God saves and heals, God corrects and blesses, God calls and judges. With such comprehensive and personal leadership from God, what is the place of human leadership?
Quite obviously, it has to be second place. It must not elbow its way to the front, it must not bossily take over. Ego-centered, ego-prominent leadership betrays the Master. The best leadership in spiritual communities formed in the name of Jesus, the Messiah, is inconspicuous, not calling attention to itself but not sacrificing anything in the way of conviction and firmness either.
There’s A LOT to chew on there.
Leadership that doesn’t elbow its way to the front…
Leadership that doesn’t bossily take over…
Leadership that’s not ego-centered or ego-prominent… because it betrays the Master — wow.
Instead…
Inconspicuous leadership.
Leadership that does not call attention to itself.
Leadership that does not sacrifice firmness nor conviction.
I want to be this kind of 2nd place leader… don’t you?
What would change in our leadership if we were to more fully embrace this model?
How might it change the look and feel of our ministries?
How might it transform our students in the process?
2 thoughts on “2nd Place Leadership”
first off—glad you are back to blogging in 2012—I for one was missing you guys.
2nd, powerful lesson on leadership. I was in a convo the other day and the dude said—no where in the bible does it talk about leadership. I thought–thats kind of a morainic and stupid statement to make. But in the sense that the bible never talks about that 1st place leadership for man, I could see where he was coming from. All the biblical leaders we look to had an appropriate sense of who really was in charge and put God in that place. We can see from king Uzziah in 2 chronicles that appropriately putting God in his place allows him to receive all the glory but the fatal flaw of pride can quickly set in and destroy our ministry and our lives. GREAT REMINDER! thanks as always brother!
Thanks David!
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