Leadership Excellence

UV 1250/10,000 Leadership Excellence
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
I Timothy 3 v 2

Scripture exhorts believers to aim and strive for leadership excellence. A bishop is a shepherd of shepherds, a leader of leaders. He is one who not only feeds the sheep but feeds the shepherds. Such a person will have his or her name written in the Book of the Shepherd in addition to the Book of the Living. He is like Peter, one who shows his love for God and Christ by feeding the sheep. He is to be blameless in his conduct, in his habits and in his private life. He should demonstrate his leadership both at home and in public life by being impeccable and flawless. At the same time, he should not become over confident, self righteous or proud. He needs to be watchful not just of the flock he leads but also of himself lest he fall into temptation when his guard is down. He needs to be sober and ever watchful in prayer, believing and exercising the power of prophylactic prayer to pre-empt the enemy of our souls.

A leader must be charitable, generous and hospitable, willing to share what God has blessed him with. Abraham was a great example of generousity and hospitality. He gave of his best for the enjoyment of guests who were strangers to him. He was concerned for not just his kith and kin like Lot but all the inhabitants of the land he dwelt in. He should not withhold any good that he can do for anyone. He should not enjoy or encourage either gossip, malice or flattery. With sincerity of conscience, he should hold on to the mystery of godliness. He should not be inconsistent, double-tongued or given to anger, bitterness or strife. He should not be greedy or eager to feather his own nest by exploiting those he leads. Abraham refused to share the spoils of the king of Sodom. He should be careful to keep his marital vows and stay guarded in his relationship with other women. One of the safeguards that could be useful to prevent one falling into adultery is to never stay alone in a room with a woman other than one’s wife.

A leader should be as willing to learn as well as to teach. He should realize that he is not the repository of all knowledge and wisdom about God or about the world and humble himself to learn from others. He should realize that he being human and fallible is prone to errors of judgement, unwitting mistakes as well as wanton blunders. He should be willing and hold himself accountable to God and an inner team of counselors or advisors to be corrected when he goes wrong. He should be diligent in his leadership, not trying to hog the limelight but try hard to discover and develop the gifts of others so that the whole body grows in Christ and it does not become imbalanced or lop-sided. For a credible life is needed to back the incredible claims of Jesus in order to convict people.

Prateep V Philip