Six Qualities of Christian Leadership
John Stott
- The Christian leader has a clear vision.
* Vision is a deep dissatisfaction with what is and a clear grasp of what could be. It begins with indignation over the status quo and grows into the earnest quest for an alternative. - The Christian leader feels deeply about his vision.
* It is not enough to see the present situation as displeasing to God and to discern how it could be changed. We must also feel both indignation and compassion. - The Christian leader seeks support from both God and human beings.
* Nehemiah is a good example… He was neither so super-spiritual that he cried only to God and considered human help superfluous nor so super-confident in human resources that he considered prayer to God unnecessary.
* Prayer and action are not alternative options. Nor are they incompatible with each other. They belong together, and either without the other is dangerously unbalanced. - The Christian leader develops a realistic plan.
* The dreams of the night often evaporate in the cool light of the morning. So dreamers have to become thinkers, planners and workers. People of vision need to become people of action.
* Thus in true leadership vision and action, a dream and a plan go together. - The Christian leader attracts a following.
* The authentic leader inspires people to follow his lead, for he sees his task as a cooperative enterprise. - The Christian leader refuses to be discouraged.
* Once a work of God begins, opposition can be expected. The forces of reaction muster, and hostility comes out into the open.
* Discouragement is the chief occupational hazard of a leader.
* Derision and slander are poisonous weapons in the hands of the enemy. But the true leader refuses to give in. He or she perseveres.
1 comment:
Good thoughts, harder to emulate. What is our vision at SVCC??
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