What Do You Think?

When you think about leadership, what is the first picture that comes to mind? Is it of a dynamic and charismatic public speaker, captivating his big audience, or a motivator who sees clearly, forges the path ahead and strides confidently into the future with his followers in tow?

The vision of Disciplemaking has taught us that we are all called to be leaders. Jesus expects each one of us to be disciple-makers with those we are discipling following our example of obedience to Jesus. (Matthew 28: 18-20).

In God’s kingdom leadership is not a position occupied, but an influence exercised. We all influence people around us, for good or for evil. We lead people to their Saviour, or astray. The ‘heart of a leader’ therefore can be uncovered quite simply - by closely examining our own heart!

What do you dream?
Our heart motivation is revealed by our dreams. They determine our destiny. But what are we dreaming about? Most of us have developed an acceptable answer to this question. It is a result of a spiritual ‘program’ that activates our religious responses, designed to satisfy the inquirer without exposing the reality. Those responses conceal the true condition of our hearts. The reality is often shallow and self-centered.

“I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold; you’re not hot – far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich; I’ve got it made. I need nothing from anyone.’ Oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful blind beggar, threadbare and homeless” Revelation 3: 15-17 (The Message)

The Valley of Decision
Ken Gott writes of a vision God imparted to him : Some time ago the Lord showed me a vision of a dam. Behind the dam was a large reservoir of water and in front small streams trickled through a series of sluice gates located at various levels in the dam wall. Those streams ran together to form a small river that flowed into the valley beneath. There were families eating their picnics together on the riverbanks while others were canoeing or sailing on the river.

Next, I was taken to the top of the dam where I saw a large wheel that controlled the sluice gates allowing more or less water to flow down into the valley. As I looked more closely I saw that a pair of human hands tightly controlled the wheel and at this point the Holy Spirit showed me the meaning of the vision.

The dam was my heart and the water behind it the infinite resources of God. The hands that gripped the wheel so tightly were my hands – the hands of controlling leadership that governed the amount of God’s blessing that would reach the people in the Valley of Decision. Those who were able to get to the river obviously enjoyed it, but what about all the others? The small trickle that was coming through those sluice gates was never going to be enough to satisfy the multitudes of people.

Then I looked up and saw that each of the sluice gates had a name written above it. One of them read “Brokenness” another, “Humility”, another, “Vulnerability” and yet another, “Transparency”. There were many more names over many more gates but I knew now what God was saying to me. The degree to which I allowed my heart to become vulnerable or to be broken by the Holy Spirit determined the flow of the water into the valley. But now I saw much larger hands, the hands of God, prizing my hands off the wheel and loosening my control. As He saw my brokenness or greater humility before Him, He was able to open up the sluice gates until the volume of water changed from a trickle to a deluge. Then God said to me, “Imagine what would happen if this was multiplied many times over and I had access to all of your hearts in this way. Imagine the force of the river that would pour down into the Valley of Decision if you were all willing to be broken and to humble your hearts before me!”

Amazing isn't it? Such revelation and an insight where we can draw upon..

Start with brokenness!
Great and successful leadership in God’s eyes begins with death and brokenness. Charles Finney said, ‘I have never known an effective man of God who was not broken at least once every two weeks’. Kathryn Kuhlman said that God was able to use her to heal the sick so powerfully because she knew how to die! George Müller, when asked how he had achieved so much for God said, ‘George Müller is totally dead!’ The Apostle Paul said:

‘I die every day – I mean that brothers –just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord’ 1 Corinthians 15:31 (NIV).

Only dying to the things of this world that have captivated our heart will bring the necessary intimacy with the Holy Spirit that can transform us into truly great and successful leaders who can influence the multitudes in the Valley of Decision.

When the children of Israel complained about the manna, Moses called out to God for help. God promised the people food to eat (Numbers 11) and the next day quail were blown in from the sea in such large numbers that everyone was fed. How many quail would they have caught if Moses had sent them out quail hunting? Very few! But because their leader was intimate with God, He caused millions of quail to be blown into the camp. When Peter and his friends had been out fishing all night and had caught nothing, Jesus told them to go out into deep water and put out their nets (Luke 5:4). Peter, out of his desire for intimacy with Jesus was obedient, and God commanded the fish to swim into the nets in such large numbers that the boat threatened to sink. If we want to see our cities impacted for Christ, the multitudes saved and Jesus held in high honour in our nation, then as leaders we must be broken to the point where God is able to be intimate with us. Intimacy with God, not familiarity with structure or program is the means by which we become the leaders God is looking for.

Are you willing to ‘Let go and let God?