Sixteen years ago, I read a book by Henry Blackaby called Spiritual Leadership. I’ve read a lot about what makes a good leader since then. But, this book is the one I come back to most often.
Blackaby, writing about influence, says this, “…some have resorted to developing the appearance of a leader rather than developing the character of a leader…they have image but no substance.” Now, he wrote this before Facebook, Instagram or Twitter! Imagine that for a second!
In this post, I want you to see that true leadership means following. And following means sacrificing your own wants and needs, not seeking instant gratification and staying teachable.
Call it biblical leadership, servant leadership or biblical manhood. Whatever you call it, true leadership is about influence. And influence takes character.
I’ve heard it said, good leaders are good followers. We see this from Jesus’ disciples. Before they were leaders, they were followers. If you are to intentionally disciple your son, we must get this piece right.
So, what do the good followers do? Here are the three things good followers get right:
#1 They sacrifice their own wants and needs.
Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 16:24 , “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
What’s it mean to take up your cross? Taking up your cross is exactly what godly husbands and fathers do—they understand total commitment. It means sacrificing all of your wants and needs.
What does “deny yourself” mean? It means to stop making yourself the center of your life and actions. I love how Simon Sinek writes about leaders in his book, Leaders Eat Last. Sinek points out that leaders are sacrificial in all things.
The saying fits here, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” Sinek writes:
- Leaders run headfirst into the unknown
- They rush toward danger
- They put their own interests aside to protect us all to pull us into the future
- Leaders will sooner sacrifice what is theirs to save what is ours
- And they would never sacrifice what is ours to save what is theirs.
Henry Blackaby is much more compassionate than I am when he writes of leaders and influence, he calls the leader without character a “Pseudo Leader.” I think that sounds much more pastoral than saying, “Fake Leader”. : )
#2 They don’t seek instant gratification.
What is “instant gratification”? It’s getting satisfaction or rewards right away. It’s not having to wait for good things.
Jesus told His disciples a great reward was coming—in the future. Key thing to note: you probably won’t see your reward for serving God until you get to Heaven. That is the reward. We are not promised anything else. Hello! What more do we need besides “renewal of all things.”
How do we apply this today? To start, how about not asking (whether out loud or internally) “what’s in it for me?” We should serve simply because that is our responsibility. It’s not about what we get from the work. The work is the reward.
