Leadership development

One of the greatest temptations a leader faces is to live for the applause of people. We long for recognition and seek affirmation. Leadership can easily descend into a popularity contest. Particularly in a digitally connected world, increasing followers on social media seems to preoccupy many a would-be leader (now termed influencer). This often comes at the expense of truly leading. Perhaps this is a contributing factor to the epidemic of leadership bankruptcy seen in the world today.

I have observed that the struggle for popularity often comes from a place of insecurity. Leaders can find their sense of self-worth in their position, title and influence over others. Many leaders, therefore, exert effort in the struggle to maintain power to feel secure in themselves, their vocation and their prosperity.

Christian leaders are not immune to these temptations. Unless our leadership is framed and formed by the cross of Christ, we can operate from a place of insecurity. And insecure leaders can be dangerous to themselves and their followers. They may exert a huge effort to maintain power, not for the good of others, but to fulfil their own lofty goals and ambitions.

In other words, insecure leaders struggle for security.

In this series of articles, I’ve been espousing a counter-cultural approach to Christian leadership that I call the effortless paradigm. In previous articles, we’ve seen that biblically-focused leaders can experience exponential impact as they work while waiting and strive from a posture of surrender.

Effortless leadership does not mean there is no effort. Rather, the effort is applied in a spiritual and biblical direction, enabling the Lord to bring about an abundant harvest which is disproportionate to our effort.

However, that does not mean there is no struggle, but the struggles that Christian leaders face emanate from a position of security, rather than insecurity. The security of Christian leaders is in the knowledge that God so loved them that he sent his Son to die on their behalf and, through believing in Jesus, they are eternally secure. This does not mean that life will be a bed of roses. Struggles will still come. Just because we are Christians doesn’t mean we are immune from the trials of life. The differentiating factor is that the struggles we face are not to maintain power or influence over others. Rather, the struggles are what form us to become more like Christ. And as Christ’s character is formed, then we become more fruitful in our life and leadership.

The best that insecure leaders can hope for is fruit proportional to their effort. They can struggle and toil and perhaps see some fruit for their labours. But at what personal and relational cost?

On the other hand, effortless leaders, secure in their salvation, struggle in a godly manner with things that have immediate and eternal consequences. They are therefore positioned to see fruit that is disproportionate to their efforts which brings much glory to God.

I want to close this mini-series of articles by looking at Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:1) and the prime example for Christian leaders. There is no person in history who has had a greater impact on the world than Jesus Christ. His life, death and resurrection continue to have exponential fruitfulness around the world.

So, what was Jesus’ secret? Remember, he had made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant (Php. 2:7). He was like us in every way… but one. The struggles Jesus faced in his life eclipse anything that we face. From the temptations of the devil, the persecution of religious authorities, the betrayal of his friends, and his death on the cross, Jesus’ life was not free from struggle. Indeed, the bible tells us that he “endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2). This was no walk in the park.

As we consider him, I feel that the key to Jesus’ endurance was that he was perfectly secure in his Father’s love. This security meant he could face and overcome the struggles. Take some time to read John 10:25–30. Jesus concludes that section by stating, “I and the Father are one”. Jesus did not have an identity crisis. Nor did he suffer from an insecurity complex.

One of the greatest demonstrations of servant leadership (and on the eve of his crucifixion) was when Jesus washed the disciple’s feet (this story is the basis of my book, Grab a Towel). John introduces that amazing story by stating:

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist” (John 13:3–4).

Jesus’ assurance that his Father was with him and that he was returning to the Father meant he had the strength to serve his disciples, and the resilience to face the ensuing events from Gethsemane to Golgotha.

Jesus also had a perspective beyond the struggles. He anticipated the exponential fruit that would be the result of his endurance. Listen to his words in John 12:24: “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” As the author of Hebrews stated, it was for the joy set before him, that he endured the cross.

As followers of Jesus, do we lead from that same sense of security? Do we lead as secure children of God not swayed by the opinion and opposition of men and women?

I believe this is make or break for us in terms of our effectiveness as leaders. Insecure leaders will constantly fight the wrong battle and struggle for the wrong things. Secure leaders will be able to follow Christ’s example and have a perspective that looks beyond our immediate struggles and sees the fruit that can come through faithful endurance. That perspective enables us to perceive our efforts and struggles as insignificant in comparison to the fruit that will result in our own lives and in the lives of others.

Very specifically, there are three struggles that all Christian leaders will face. We will struggle with sin. We will struggle with spiritual opposition. And we will struggle with self-centredness. The only way we can hope to survive and thrive in our leadership is if we are secure in our identity as new creations in Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17).  Then we will find we do not need to succumb to sin for our loving Father will always provide a way out (1 Cor. 10:13). In our struggle against spiritual attack, we can stand firm and resist evil (Eph. 6:13). And in our struggle with selfish ambition, we will find that we are able to put others first (Php. 2:13).

This is counter-cultural leadership. And the beauty of it is that it’s effortless. When we truly find our security in Christ, it radically shifts our view of success. When the struggles come, our task is primarily to be faithful and obedient to him. We depend on his grace and can leave the results to him. If our struggle results in us dying to ourselves (Gal. 2:20), then we are truly able to see exponential fruit in our lives and leadership. And, with Paul, we’ll be able to say, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17).

I hope you have enjoyed the Effortless series. I hope to explore this topic further so I would welcome any comments or feedback. To make it an effortless experience, click here to send me a message.

I believe that Christian leaders can live with impact beyond their human effort because of the power of God working in and through them. When their focus is on glorifying God, Christian leaders can experience exponential fruit. As we are seeing in this series of articles, it is often in the tension of seeming paradoxes that we find the key to leading with exponential impact.

Luis Palau (1934-2021) was an Argentinian evangelist who shared the Gospel with more than 25 million people in over 70 nations.[1] He embodied the effortless paradigm: he had an exponential impact beyond his human effort which brought much glory to God. In his 2019 book, effectively a memoir written in conversation with Paul J Pastor after he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Palau speaks of a point early in his ministry when he had almost burned out and was seeing his labours no longer bear fruit. He shares:

“I had reached the end of my efforts, knowing that for all my trying, I was not really pleasing God. He wanted more than just my natural gifting or commitment. He wanted me. For the first time in my life, I thought that I knew what it might mean to surrender to Him.”[2]

The point where Luis Palau’s ministry began to have an exponential impact was when he reached the end of his own efforts and completely surrendered to God. Surrendering is not normally an image associated with leadership. Surrender is usually seen as a sign of defeat. Modern leadership gurus are reluctant to speak about defeat. This would be seen as a weakness. However, within the effortless paradigm of leadership, we see that surrendering is the key that unlocks true spiritual strength.

Another Christian leader who has a global ministry is Nick Vujicic. Uninhibited by having no arms or legs, Vujicic’s ministry, Life without Limbs, estimates that they have shared the gospel with more than 733 million people since 2005. In his book, Unstoppable, Vujicic helps us understand why surrendering is so critical for Christian leaders who seek to operate in the effortless paradigm:

“Surrendering is about giving up the illusion that you are in the driver’s seat…it is an illusion to think you can determine what happens to you and around you… I believe that when you surrender your life in full, with complete trust and patience, there is another great reward that comes your way: God’s strength… surrender brings strength.”[3]

Therefore, a biblical view of surrendering is that it’s not a passive act of defeat. Rather, it is an active choice to commit oneself fully to Christ. The decision to surrender fully to Jesus is the means through which we receive spiritual strength. As Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Mt. 16:25).

It is in Paul’s example of leadership that we learn what it means to truly live a surrendered life. Paul was totally surrendered to Jesus. He wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Yet in surrendering, he was far from passive. In fact, we could argue that he was the most active Christian who ever lived. From this platform of surrender, Paul was 100% committed to the cause of the gospel. He was driven by the mission God had given him to see the church established and grow in cities across the world, no matter the extreme personal cost.

In Colossians 1:29 Paul says, “To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily” (NKJV). The word translated “striving” is ἀγωνιζόμενος (agōnizomenos) and means to contend and struggle. It is a word denoting competitiveness, taken from the Greek gymnasium and is a root of the English word agonize. This is effort on steroids as Paul contends for the emerging church to come to maturity in the faith.

The harmonising of surrendering and striving fully comes to bear when we understand that Christian striving is not for self-gain but for the cause of the Gospel. Christian leaders’ lives are surrendered to a cause beyond themselves, and they strenuously pursue this mission. Heidi Baker, a missionary to Mozambique who has had an exponential global impact through her ministry, says,

“None of us should want to build our own ministries – that is the opposite of what God called us to. We are called in love and meekness to establish God’s kingdom on Earth.”[4]

Contemporary secular leaders may strive for personal success or even a worthy cause. They may make tremendous sacrifices for the noble cause they choose to live for. But what should set Christian leaders apart is that our striving flows from a surrendered life. And when we strive for the glory of God, then, just like Palau, Vujicic and Paul (and countless other women and men throughout history), we can experience exponential fruit for Christ. When we see that fruit, we will realise that our role has been effortless because it has been the “energy of Christ so powerfully working in and through me” (Col. 1:29b NIV) that has accomplished fruit for the kingdom of God.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Palau

[2] Palau: A Life on Fire with Paul J Pastor. 2019, Zondervan, Grand Rapids: MI.

^[3] Unstoppable: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action. Nick Vujicic. 2012. WaterBrook Press, Colorado Springs CO.

[4] Compelled by Love. Heidi Baker. 2008. Charisma House Book Group. Florida.