THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF LEADERSHIP
There are so many books written on leadership and so much good advice on how to become a great leader. Yet, so many of them bypass the simplest and probably, best way to become a leader. In the Bible, in the book of Luke, there were some very ordinary men, fishermen, tax collectors, etc., who became leaders in the birth of the Christian church. That is a pretty big deal, right? The Christian church has been going on for 2,000 years consistently. People have given their lives for the cause of Christianity. Currently, there are over 2-3 billion Christians worldwide. Let's read how it got started,
Jesus said to Simon, "There is nothing to fear. From now on you'll be fishing for men and women." They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them, nets and all, and followed him. - Luke 5:10-11
After this he went out and saw a man named Levi at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, "Come along with me." And he did—walked away from everything and went with him. - Luke 5:27-28
Leadership is action, not position. ~Donald H. McGannon
SHOWING UP GETS NOTICED
What hit me was this...Peter, James, John...all those names we know so well, were just ordinary men who were living ordinary lives. They were chosen by Jesus to follow Him. This scripture makes it plain...they left all of that, to FOLLOW JESUS. They walked away from their family business. They walked away to become a disciple. They were exemplary followers. They showed up.
At about that same time he climbed a mountain to pray. He was there all night in prayer before God. The next day he summoned his disciples; from them he selected twelve he designated as apostles... - Luke 6:12-16
These disciples had no promise they would be chosen to be in Jesus' inner circle when they left all they had. They were asked, COME, FOLLOW ME. That is all the information they received, and they followed. They left everything; a warm bed, safety, financial security, friendships, and acceptance. They weren't chosen into "leadership", they were chosen to be followers. Jesus summoned His disciples - the apostles HAD to come from the group of self-sacrificing disciples who were willing to walk away from everything they loved. You will notice, Jesus didn't go to all the influential people in town who weren't willing to follow him - I am sure their would have been those who would have followed if they had been promised a position among the twelve of the inner circle. But, they probably wouldn't have lasted when the going got tough...and it got really tough.
I have known so many people through the years that have big dreams. I love big dreams and dreamers! The ones that frustrate me, though, only have dreams for the future. Service in the right now? Nope, it's is beneath me. Maybe, the task is too small, maybe it has no glory, no one will see me doing it, or maybe we just selfishly don't want to grow someone else's ministry. If you have never served, then you will end up with no experience. If you have a dream, you are going to need experience. Your entire life can become a learning experience, if you allow it, and you will become wiser because of it.
You can't lead anyone else further than you have gone yourself. ~Gene Mauch
This is where leaders are drawn from:
Who is currently faithful?
Who is currently giving?
Who are currently the EAGLES who already serving in the ministry?
Who currently has a heart and passion for what they are doing?
The bigger the dream, the longer the process to get there. Allow God to choose your path and trust Him to promote you. Remember, the writers of the following scriptures were writing from experience.
James 4:4 The Message
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter v. 6
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter v. 6
Kristen
*** However, it is now impossible to say with any certainty, as, while practising Christians have been in decline in some Western countries, there has been a recent surge in 'membership' in parts of the West, and in the East the numbers who are becoming new Christians daily is astronomical. There are estimated now nearly 100 million Christians in China (compared with just 5,000 in the 1960s) and in South Korea, churches regularly have tens of thousands of members each. In one church, the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, there are over 800,000 members who meet each Sunday in several sittings in a vast hall. So, whilst it is difficult to give a definite answer to the actual number of Christians in the world (estimates range from 2 - 3 billion), Christianity remains the most dominant of the world, and is still growing at an astonishing rate.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_Christians_are_there_worldwide#ixzz1PS9I4LWu
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