We are first Christians by faith through grace; our (spiritual) leadership follows by calling through gifting. The order of priority helps us live out our values.
It’s true that leadership is influence and we all have influence, but it must be activated by exercising our calling and using our gifting for the purpose of advancing God’s Kingdom.
This post is in reference to activated Kingdom influence. Your influence, God’s agenda.
Since we are first Christians, the continued development of our faith needs to be held in tandem with our development of leadership skill.
I’ve always found it noteworthy that the one thing that frustrated Jesus the most is our lack of faith. Story after story in the New Testament reminds us of this observation.
One story I reread today was about the dad that brought his son to Jesus for healing from demonic induced seizures, because the disciples couldn’t do it. This clearly frustrated Jesus (See Matthew 17:14-20). When the disciples asked why they couldn’t drive it out, Jesus said: “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
That passage always stretches me and my faith, and I’ve not moved any mountains lately.
That tells me that no matter how long we lead, we must continue to pursue our own spiritual growth.
Our faith as leaders is continually stressed, stretched and can grow weary. Do we have the faith to believe for the next miracle we pray for? How can we continue to strengthen our faith?
Our faith is bolstered by:
- Hearing the Word
- Experiencing answered prayer
- The testing of our faith
- Hearing stories of life change
- Seeking counsel from those we trust and respect
Mentoring and coaching the strategic side of a leader’s life is necessary and important.
These questions, however, are focused on helping us shepherd the spiritual life of the leaders we are developing.
Shepherding is the care for a person’s overall well-being and spiritual growth.
What elements are required for healthy and productive conversations?
- An implicit sense of shared trust: The relationship must be one of unquestioned trust.
- An invitation: This doesn’t mean you need to wait for the person to ask. It means when you open the door, the person needs let you in.
- An add value response: If you are shepherding a leader, you are not required to have “the answers.” Most personal questions don’t have one set answer, every person’s life is different. It does mean that a response that is encouraging, challenging, re-directing, or has another good question, etc., is needed. The best responses are those that help someone take the next right step.
These questions are not designed to be asked all at one setting. A better approach is asking them and others over a long period of time discerning in the moment which one to ask.
The truth is many of these are lifetime questions to reflect upon.
7 Good Questions To Shepherd Leaders in Their Spiritual Life
1. Are You Happy With Your Prayer Life?
This question is not designed to instruct someone in any particular structure suggesting things like what to do, what time and how long to pray.
The best questions about a person’s prayer life should not produce guilt and tasks, they should carry a sense of invitation and encouragement that result in relationship.
