Kingdom Leadership – Part 2
by Duane Huck
- In this session we will continue to look at some of the key attributes of Kingdom Leadership
- Last time we talked about how, as leaders, we are influencing those around us and that we want to make sure we are having a positive influence on those we are leading
- And we talked about as kingdom leaders, we need to have Godly character…and that our character is further defined each time we make choices in life.
- When we are faced with adversity or tough situations, will we make the right choice and refuse to compromise? Even if it’s not the popular choice or if it’s a choice that will cost us?
- Kingdom leaders refuse to compromise and in particular they refuse to compromise the truth of God’s word and what He has to say about the particular situation you are dealing with.
- I believe another key element to Kingdom Leadership is Servanthood.
- When the world thinks of Servanthood, or the condition of being a servant, they often think of someone in a lower level position serving someone in a higher ranking position. And while this is certainly one aspect of serving, it’s not the only form of it.
- Jesus teaches us about Servanthood in the book of Mark when two of his followers, James and John, came to him with a request to sit in places of honor next to Jesus on his glorious throne…and Jesus basically said, “You’ve got it all wrong”.
- Picking up the story there in the book of Mark, we read this:
41 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- And so we see Jesus saying, if you want to be a leader, start serving those around you, those you are connecting with.
- Jesus modeled servant leadership during his ministry on earth. He was always looking for opportunities to serve and pour into the lives of those around him.
- Jesus’ words to his first followers, Peter and Andrew, were “Come follow me, and I will SHOW you how to fish for men.”
- Jesus was saying I’m going to share with you what I know; I’m going to teach you, I going to help you understand how to live the abundant life that God desires for you, so you then can pass this on to others.
- Servant leaders stay in tune with those they’re leading, are aware of their needs and desires, and are available to help them or get them help when needed…and they do this without expecting anything in return.
- When serving others, don’t look at it as just an act of helping someone else, but also see it as an opportunity to connect with that individual and further develop your relationship and influence in their lives
- Sometimes leaders, especially those of us who are task oriented like myself, can miss the whole point of servanthood. We can just go through our daily “to do” list and check things off and feel as though we’ve accomplished everything and in the process we’ve served those around us as well.
- We need to broaden our focus to be not only on the tasks but also on the people we are leading…allowing time for those divine appointments.
- Servant leaders are willing to do anything and everything that he/she would ask those they are leading to do…and they’re not only willing to do it, they actually do it.
- They don’t just say things like, “Well I could do that, but that’s why I’ve got you.” – Instead they recognize opportunities to “pitch in” and help others when they need it.
- Status and position are unimportant to a servant leader, and a true leader has a desire to serve others and put their interests ahead of his own…they serve out of love for others…servanthood is not motivated by manipulation or self-promotion.
- A servant leader will not use or abuse power to advance their position in an organization.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
- Servant leaders are always finding ways to make sure others know they are valued, appreciated, and important by being willing to serve them and meet their needs.
- Leaders are able to serve others because they are secure with who they are…they are able to love others because they love themselves.
- Insecure leaders are continually looking for validation, acknowledgment, and love...and they become wrapped up in this cycle of trying to find security, rather than instilling it in others.
- Insecure leaders have a hard time celebrating the successes of others and giving power to others.
- On the contrary, leaders who are secure are able to believe in and bring out the best in others because they believe in themselves.
- Servant leaders are good listeners; as John Maxwell states in one of his books on Leadership: “A good leader encourages followers to tell him what he needs to know, not what he wants to hear.”
- A secure leader is not afraid to hear the truth and make adjustments when necessary to better serve those they are leading.
- Servant leaders go out of their way to connect and listen to what their followers have to say and in the process a relationship of mutual respect is developed.
- Secure leaders are not concerned with getting “credit” for successes and are willing to support and encourage the ideas of others…and they give credit where credit is due.
- The great Industrialist Andrew Carnegie said this: “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.”
- Kingdom leaders are first and foremost concerned with giving God credit…giving Him the glory that is due, recognizing that He is the one that brought the idea that led to the success in the first place.
- And if an idea that someone else has is put into place and it fails, the Kingdom leader is quick to extend grace…not blame, not pointing a finger…but rather, they’re able to say, “You know what, that didn’t work out so well, but at least we know what not to do next time!”
- Kingdom leaders refuse to “throw others under the bus” for the sake of saving their own reputation…they’re willing to take responsibility, even if they’re not at fault…they’re determined to put things in place so that the same failure doesn’t keep happening again and again.
- Kingdom leaders are able to make others accountable and hold them responsible for their actions without condemning them…they do it in a loving, restoring manner…they don’t discard others when mistakes are made, but rather come alongside them and help them move forward.
- Kingdom leaders serve other well when they don’t make excuses and they never embrace a victim mentality…they recognize that each individual chooses whether to be responsible and accountable for their actions.
- Responsible leaders are willing to “go the extra mile” to get the job done…they are motivated by excellence, which means doing things to the best of their God-given ability…and they finish what they start...they persevere to the end.
- Just as our heavenly Father refuses to leave us in the state that we’re currently in, and is constantly leading us to grow and mature, Kingdom leaders refuse to leave others in their current state…they are always looking for ways to further develop those they are leading.
- Servant leaders must be aware of burn-out…where they are constantly giving, serving, and pouring out into others, but never really taking time for themselves…just as everything else in life there has to be balance.
- If you’re constantly serving others while neglecting to take care of your own needs, then eventually you will burn-out, your passion to serve will dry up, and you’ll have nothing else to offer.
- Jesus understood the danger of burn-out during his ministry on earth…we see in Luke chapter 5, after Jesus had healed the man with leprosy and large crowds were gathering around to hear his teaching and receive healing, that Jesus found time to get away…
16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
- If Jesus “got away” often, then this means it was important to him and he understood the need for times of refreshing, of renewal, of receiving from the Father.
- And so Jesus once again is our example of how to maintain balance in our lives as servant leaders.
- Servant leaders inspire those they are leading to serve others as well…to see the best in people, to help them reach their God-given potential…to make a difference in their families, their organizations, and their communities.
- Respect is earned when a leader keeps the interest of others in mind…when a leader’s focus is on what can be put into his people, rather than what can be gotten from them, they’ll not only respect you, they will be better positioned to help you and your family, your business, your church, or whatever it is you’re leading reach its full potential.
- Serve… Lead…Influence
"Recovering the Prophetic Company in the Movement of
Hope"
by Eric J Lynch
2 Kings 6:1-7 states, "The company of the prophets said
to Elisha, 'Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let
us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place
there for us to meet.' And he said, 'Go.'
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your
servants?” “I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them. They went to the
Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree,
the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was
borrowed!” 6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the
place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 “Lift
it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
We discussed in the last RISE conference call the importance
and role the prophetic company plays in the movement of hope. However, we must
go beyond talking about its importance, and begin restoring it within the body
of Christ.
In 2 Kings 6, we see a company of prophets who are in need
of a more spacious meeting place, so they set out to begin building. While
chopping wood, an axhead flies off the handle and into the water. Similarly,
the body of Christ has recognized the need to build up a larger movement of
hope, however, in the process it seems the axhead of the prophetic and true
prophetic companies has become lost. It has been lost to pride, it has been
lost to new age mysticism, it has been lost to pastors who refuse to embrace
its full operation within the church. Despite all of those things, in this hour
God is desiring to recover the axhead of true prophetic ministries/companies in
the body of Christ, and the movement of hope.
A crucial part of seeing anything restored requires
something to be built and constructed, so I want to discuss for a moment how to
establish and construct prophetic companies.
The general structure
of the prophetic company includes anywhere from 5 to 15 leadership and service
positions, and I have selected 6 to highlight in particular:
1. Apostles
2. Senior Pastor
3. Overseer of the Prophetic Company (the prophet who is
most matured and experienced)
4. Staff Prophets (the company of prophets)
5. Prophetic Worshippers/Singers (those who are gifted to
prepare at atmosphere of worship, where prophecy can flow easily)
6. Intercessors
When structuring a prophetic company, it is important that
the number of service positions and prophets is proportionate to the level of
ministry work needed. If the ministry assignment/mission is smaller, then
having around 9 prophets on staff (for the purpose of being able to rotate from
service to service in groups of 3) is sufficient. The main thing is that you
don't want the company to be so large that it ends up taking away from the
effectiveness ministry that could take place.
Next, I want to discuss preparing an individual to serve (in
some capacity) on the prophetic company:
1. Training: Once an individual is selected by the existing
senior leadership (i.e. apostolic leadership, senior pastor, or the prophetic
company overseer) they need to begin taking whatever prophetic
training/teachibg that church or ministry has in place.
2. Teamwork Mindset: Becoming a part of a prophetic company
requires that each individual be willing to set aside being a loose canon, and
wirk in unity with the rest of the company.
3. Accountability & Screening: The integrity of the
prophetic ministry taking place is non-negotiable.
Therefore, those who are
serving as staff prophets, as well as the prophetic worshippers and
intercessors, should be willing to share the words God gives them with the
senior leadership before releasing them in a corporate setting. This helps
protect the integrity of the whole team.
Lastly, when we talk about constructing a prophetic company,
I want to briefly outline the general responsibilities the team/company carries
out:
1. Prayer: The prophetic company coming together for regular,
set times of prayer as a group is very crucial to its ongoing success and
effectiveness as a ministry team.
2. Counsel: As a part of the initial training, each person
serving on the prophetic company should be equipped to help counsel various
members of the congregation they are serving. This prevents all the
responsibility for counseling falling onto the senior pastor or apostolic
leader's shoulders.
3. Mentoring: Each member of the prophetic company should be
equipped to both identify potential individuals who could serve on the company
in some way, and help mentor those who come onto the team (i.e. current
intercessors helping mentor new intercessors, current prophetic worshippers
helping mentor new prophetic worship leaders etc.)
4. Prophetic Ministry: I believe it goes without saying that
being that it is a prophetic company, each service position whether an apostle
or intercessor, prophet, or prophetic worshipper should be trained and equipped
to know how to tap into the prophetic and prophesy whenever and wherever.
God is restoring the axhead of tge prophetic company and it
begins with being willing to take the time to establish a well-trained and
mature prophetic company. The prophetic company is essential to the movement of
hope, and it is time for prophetic companies to take their place again within
local church bodies across the nation and the world.
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