What are the standards for Godly leaders?
By Herman Lightsey
“Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.”
––Proverbs 22:29
Without clear guidelines, goals, visions, values, and accountability we end up doing a lot of “stuff.”
While this may be good stuff, it may not be focused on making disciples.
The five jurisdictional presidents and I, with the help of Jim Boesch (a deployed staff member of the commission), have been working for months to establish clear guidelines and processes to help men and their families become disciples of Jesus Christ.
This is a slow process and, as men, we have to resist the temptation to rush in and start fixing things immediately.
Edward H. Hammett in his book, Reaching People under 40 while Keeping People over 60, said, “An organization never moves beyond its leadership.”
Leadership is our glass ceiling.
He suggests we enlist and train leaders to:
- Be present. Attendance, involvement, and consistency of leadership are critical. We learn from leaders through consistent involvement with each other.
- Be prepared. Leaders must be trained, mentored, and mentor others. They should mentor and train their replacements.
- Be disciple-makers. He/she should look for potential leaders who are disciples to mentor and encourage others.
- Be engaged in spiritual-life disciplines. Prayer, a personal ministry, a strong witness, and Bible study are essential.
- Be accountable to other capable, trusted, and mature spiritual leaders for carrying out their functions for the body of Christ. We must find ways to strengthen the Body of Christ through loving and invited accountability. Thanks to Gil Hanke, thousands of men are doing this through The Class Meeting, by Kevin Watson.
What are the standards you look for in a leader?
What will it take for you to be a better leader?
God calls us to be about his work of making disciples for the transformation of the world.
Remember, this ministry is not about where, or if, men and their families attend church; this ministry is about where men and their families will spend eternity.
Grace and Peace,
Herman Lightsey, president
National Association of Conference Presidents of UM Men