"Life is like a dog sled team. If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes."
  -- Lewis Grizzard

As you should know by now (if you've been reading my articles) I am fascinated by leadership ... it's a mystery and an adventure! John Maxwell says, "Everything rises and falls on leadership."  Any 'organism', be it home, company, business, non-profit or church, will only grow to the level of it’s leadership – and in the church that is not just the pastors, but everyone in the church.

You may be thinking to yourself, "I have no aspirations for leadership. I don't want to be a pastor, mayor or governor. So why is Mick boring me with a message about leadership?" Because, as I've said before: “Everyone in life is called to be a leader.” Everyone leads someone in one way or another. The question is what degree of influence does our leadership exerts. In every classroom around the world, leaders are emerging. Some children give mostly dubious fashion leadership to the class, others exert peer pressure to lead our kids astray, and a fast declining number lead their peers where they should go. (More about children and leadership next month.)

One of my passions is to infect everyone with a genuine desire to be a great leader. This applies to women as well as men. Brothers and sisters lead each other.  Mothers and fathers lead each other and their children. Friends lead other friends, and co-workers lead their associates. The ultimate fruit of leadership should be that people are experiencing all that God planned for their lives, and that God is glorified.

Joshua's life is a great example of the development of 'leadership by example'. Joshua was a man with a compass in his head and a magnet in his heart. He had a strong sense of where he was going and the people were prepared to follow him. My deep desire is and the thrust of my purpose is that God would implant a powerful compass in your head. Then everyone in your sphere of influence would say, "Mary knows where she’s going, and who she’s following."

The first mention of Joshua is in Exodus 17:8-16. The Amalekites had attacked the Israelites. "Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands. So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered." (Ex. 17:9-10) Moses gave an assignment and Joshua carried out the assignment. That's how you learn and teach leadership. Not very profound but very powerful. Joshua developed a strange attitude toward authority. Today he would be considered 'weird'. "As the LORD commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses."  (Joshua 11:15 NIV) "Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried o ver." (Joshua 4:10) They all followed as instructed - weird indeed!

These verses highlight why we have so few great leaders today. Every great leader was first of all a great follower. Until you learn how to follow you will never learn how to lead.

I pray that, as you learn to follow Christ, the magnet in your hearts would be so powerful that people would be irresistibly drawn to our Savior in you. That's what Christian leadership is all about. Leadership is a wonderful, rewarding ministry: leading people down the the right path brings deep gratitude and satisfaction. The ultimate test of leadership is, "do you know where you are going" and "who is following you?"

Great leaders are comfortable both in and under authority. Truly great leaders reproduce, developing other leaders. Being a great leader always begins with a decision. The decision is different for each one of us, but it's important that we make it today. Decide to become a leader - just do it!

"The first task of a leader is to help define reality. The last is to say ‘thank you.’ In between, the leader is a servant." -- Max DePree

More next month ...                                          ~ Leadership ~