Spiritual Leadership

I have studied the topic of leadership on many different levels and all of its aspects. I have come to the conclusion that there are common elements in leadership regardless of what field of discipline leadership is practiced. However, there are some unique aspects of spiritual leadership that make it stand out from other kinds of leadership.

While there are those who posit that a church needs to be run like a business, I beg to differ with them because the church is not a business. For those who think a church should be run like an educational institution cranking out disciple clones, the differences between teaching environments in a school versus a church are dramatic. There is little in leading a church that has parallels in the secular world.

One example comes to mind. The main reason for operating a business is not only to provide a commodity to customers, but to make money as a bottom line. Churches are not in the business of making money. That is not a prime objective, or an objective at all. Churches can be horrifyingly bad at cost effectiveness and be totally in the will of God doing it. God's stewardship often defies the conventional wisdom of typical business practice. That is why God paid such a high price (the death of His Son) for such a poor return (us).

So it is important to judge leadership in the church using a totally different standard. That standard must reflect the values of the kingdom and not the practices of this world.