At the same time, as I read and
took the Bible very seriously to heart, it talked of living in a way that you “Do not withhold
good from those to who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.”[1] And “Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations…”[2] And “Do not let any unwholesome talk come
out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according
to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”[3] And “Telling the Good News does not give me
any reason for bragging. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do.
And how terrible it will be for me if I do not tell the Good News. 17 If
I preach because it is my own choice, I have a reward. But if I preach and it
is not my choice to do so, I am only doing the duty that was given to me.”[4]
…I
couldn’t help but help people.
I have been given too
much. There is too much I can give, I must give, rather than stay still or
self-centered. It’s not right. This is how I became a leader.
Up until this point, I have
been a leader by default, not by choice.
I made a choice to make a difference, not an active choice to lead
people. Leading was the product (and a
product I’ve hesitantly feared for different reasons). I chose to not be still and make a difference
for God and somehow this has translated into me coming alongside of friends and
people who have the same heart.
Only in the last couple of
years have I been coming to acknowledge, accept, and own this leadership personally. I don’t want to go through life being “a
leader by default”. I don’t want to be
an apologetic or begrudging leader of false humility. I want to own who God has created me to be… A Servant leaders’ leader.
This whole blog came from my
reflection as I just finished reading the excerpt below on the choice of
leadership in Seth Godin’s book called Tribes:
Every
tribe is different. Every leader is
different. The very nature of leadership
is that you’re not doing what’s been done before. If you were, you’d be following, not leading.
All
I can hope for is that you’ll make a choice. Every leader I’ve ever met has
made the choice, and they’ve been glad they did…
Once
your choose to lead, you’ll be under huge pressure to reconsider your choice;
to compromise, to dumb it down, or to give up.
Of course you will. That’s the
world’s job: to get you to be quiet and follow.
The status quo is the status quo for a reason.
But
once you choose to lead, you’ll also discover that it’s not so difficult. That the options available to you seem really
clear, and that yes, in fact, you get from here to there.
So really, the title of this
blog should read,
I
Didn’t Choose To Lead. God Chose
Me. And Therefore I Choose To Lead.
Thank
you God for the life, opportunities, strength, and calling that you have given
to me to make a difference for You and all that is good.
