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WHAT IS SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Leadership is a big deal, and I think little time within Christian ministry is given to discovering and implementing true values of leadership. No-one is perfect but each person, called to a leadership position, be it in missions, the church or elsewhere should be spending time developing Godly, Biblical Principles in their life.

John Piper wrote a paper in 1995 detailing “The Marks of a Spiritual leader”. I’ve decided to re-post what he has written in a series on this blog:

I define spiritual leadership as knowing where God wants people to be and taking the initiative to use God’s methods to get them there in reliance on God’s power. The answer to where God wants people to be is in a spiritual condition and in a lifestyle that display his glory and honor his name. Therefore, the goal of spiritual leadership is that people come to know God and to glorify him in all that they do. Spiritual leadership is aimed not so much at directing people as it is at changing people. If we would be the kind of leaders we ought to be, we must make it our aim to develop persons rather than dictate plans. You can get people to do what you want, but if they don’t change in their heart you have not led them spiritually. You have not taken them to where God wants them to be.

Everyone has the responsibility of leadership in some relationships. But my concern in this paper is with the characteristics that a person must have in order to be a spiritual leader who excels both in the quality of his direction and the numbers of people who follow him.

Biblical spiritual leadership contains an inner circle and an outer circle. The inner circle of spiritual leadership is that sequence of events in the human soul that must happen if anyone is to get to first base in spiritual leadership. These are the absolute bare essentials. They are things that all Christians must attain in some degree, and when they are attained with high fervor and deep conviction they very often lead one into strong leadership. In the outer circle are qualities that characterize both spiritual and non-spiritual leaders. What I would like to try to do now in this paper is simply explain and illustrate these qualities on the inner circle and the outer circle.

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org
(Used with Permission: See full article here )

Related posts:

1. Marks of a Spiritual Leader (Part 6)
2. Marks of a Spiritual Leader (Part 3)
3. Marks of a Spiritual Leader (Part 4)
4. Marks of a Spiritual Leader (Part 5)
5. Marks of a Spiritual Leader (Part 2)