Leadership can be a lonely place. There are times you have to make decisions without being able to tell people why because of the confidential nature of a situation.
It’s at those occasions you need to know why you are a leader.
It’s been said by me and others that God really isn’t interested in your gifting, after all the gifts you have and use come from Him. He is really interested in your character. Is your character strong enough to support your gifting?
Over the years we have got to know many where this wasn’t the case and as a result when their character came under pressure they lost their way and despite being incredibly gifted people lost their roles as leaders. Such a waste.
It comes down to the call of God. What do I mean by that? Well what has God told you to do? What is burning deep inside your spirit? Many of us have all been to meetings where a visiting preacher has prayed amazing things over our lives: prophesying that we are called to the Nations...called to an international ministry..called to do great exploits..
The trouble is that often this is not from God or if it is, its time sensitive. We hear it, get excited about it and wonder why it’s not happening or worse still we rush out and try and make it happen right now. So many people rush out and start a ministry, give themselves a title and role but often lacking the gifting to make it happen our the character to see it through. God has not called you to be the next Matt Redman if you can’t sing.
For nearly all of us there are two distinctive calls from God. The first is the ‘Big Picture’. Where we will one day be:- Leading a church, preaching at conferences, leading worship for hundreds.
Moses was to lead 1-2 million people out of Egypt across a desert for 40 years. He started by leading sheep for 40 years through the same desert. It was only after that the God said “What have you got in your hand” The answer was his shepherds’ staff. This was more than a piece of wood. Shepherds carved their staff with little maps to the best pasture. Reminders of their successes and failures. Every time he touched it, it reminded him where he had been and what he had done and what God had done for him.
So don’t be in a rush. You see there is the other call of God. That is where he has placed you now. What are you doing NOW for the kingdom? Are you prepared to lead sheep? Clean the church toilets? Stack chairs?
Some years ago I helped head up an evangelistic team. One young man came from abroad to join us. He thought he was a great worship leader. I set him on with stacking chairs into a trailer so we could go out to do a tent crusade. After an hour or two he walked away saying he had come to lead worship not stack chairs. Guess what he went home. Years later I found out that he had become that worship leader but he had had to learn some hard lessons on the way.
What is God calling you to do today? Do it with all your heart. Learn from leading sheep because one day God may call you to lead a nation. But it will only happen successfully if your Character has developed.
