True Leadership: "The Greatest of These!"

Jesus is the quintessential leader, prototypical, in that his leadership qualities are meant to be reproduced and modeled in every true leader. The one defining essence of leadership, setting it apart from all others, is compassion. If love, mercy and grace are missing, it is something else, manmade, be it management, supervision, governance, administration, command, whatever, but certainly not leadership…

Except I am moved with compassion, how dwelleth thy spirit in me?

Leadership is not only grandiloquence or charisma…

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy

but don’t love, I’m nothing…

Leadership is not only entrepreneurship or visionary gifting…

if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps,

but I don’t love, I’m nothing…

Leadership is not only generosity and self-sacrifice…

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere…

Here is what true leadership is (or isn’t), substituting the words “ True leadership” for “Love,” as they are synonymous in this context.

True leadership never gives up.

True leadership cares more for others than for self.

True leadership doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

True leadership doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

Sadly, even within the body of Christ, many so called “leaders” seem to have lost their way, modeling their non leadership managerial style after the world's way, the compassion essence tragically missing. No Compassion, No Leadership!

But the greatest of these is love/leadership!

(1 Corinthians 13)

LOVE LEADS!