PRAISEWORTHY LEADERSHIP: TAKING A CUE FROM JESUS

Introduction

Jesus came with grace to bring to light the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Today, we have light of how God rules in the affairs of men from heaven. The gospel of the kingdom refers to the good news told about how God rules in the lives of his people. The gospel of the kingdom was the flagship message of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Leadership remains the most important factor for the growth and development of any group or organisation especially the church. Wherever two or more people are gathered, they form a group, and wherever a group is formed, leadership is born. A leader is not always the one who is in front of the group but the one who holds the vision of the group in his heart, and it does not matter his position in the group. Once you hold the vision of the group in your heart, you are able to see the future of the group, and once you are able to see the future of the group, you are able to contribute meaningfully toward its prospects. It is the vision that leads the group, therefore whoever holds the vision in his heart is a leader of the group. Leaders believe in their vision more than everyone else. Whether the group will move forward, stagnate or draw backward, depends on the leader. 

Classes of leadership

All leaders are not the same in terms of their attitude, behaviour and communication. There are classes of leadership. By 'classes of leadership' is meant classification of leaders using the impact that the leaders and their style of leadership leave on the followers. This message seeks to bring to light a classification of leadership based on observed experiences of followers from various Christian denominations in Africa particularly. 

1. Insecure leadership

The leader feels threatened by the perceived or actual competence or excellence of a follower. He feels threatened that he might lose his authority or relevance should the follower become as competent or as excellent as he. This leaves so much fear and insecurity in him. The fear and insecurity influence him to take negative actions towards the follower. An example of an insecure leader in the Bible is King Saul. Insecure leadership, if not checked, escalates to suppressive leadership. 

2. Suppressive leadership

The leader intentionally hinders the follower from taking an initiative towards his own well-being. Often this is intended to prevent the follower from emerging as equally competent or excellent. The leader goes further to take away every form of freedom from the follower, barring him from making decision concerning his own well-being. The leader marks every step of the follower so as to ensure that he does not take any decision that might impede his self interest. An example of a suppressive leader in the Bible is Laban, Jacob's uncle. Suppressive leadership, if not checked, escalates to oppressive leadership. 

3. Oppressive leadership

The leader, after taking away the freedom of the follower, goes further to exercise abusive authority over the follower. The abuse may be verbal, mental, emotional or physical. Oppressive leader subjects his follower under undue hardship so as to intimidate and discourage him from taking any step towards his freedom. In spiritual leadership, an oppressive leader rains curses upon a follower who seeks to be released from under his authority, even, devilizing him. This is like using brute force to keep someone serving your self interest, and is no different than slavery. An example of an oppressive leader in the Bible is King Rehoboam, the heir of King Solomon. 

4. Progressive leadership

The leader creates opportunities for the follower to improve or develop himself and be able to contribute meaningfully to the total development of the group. When the follower goes wrong, a progressive leader mets out corrective measures rather than punitive measures to an offending follower. A progressive leader is interested in helping his follower to be a better person, capable of taking new challenges and creating new solutions for the new challenges. Both Peter and Paul in the Bible were progressive leaders. Peter created opportunities for John, James, Barnabas, Jude, Stephen and Philip among others to shine. This is why we see their impact in the Christian ministry in the Scriptures. Paul also created opportunities for Timothy, Titus, Silas, Luke, Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila among others to shine. We are aware of their impacts in the Christian ministry in the Scriptures due to the opportunities that were created for them to make impact. 

5. Praiseworthy leadership

The leader takes initiatives that will ensure the total well-being of his follower as he does for himself. He is able to do this because he shows care and concern for the total well-being of his follower as he does for himself. This leader is interested in the collective well-being of the group, not in his own well-being to the neglect of others in the group. This leader is able to sacrifice what would have made him complete if it means solving the problem of his follower. A leader who shows care and concern for the total well-being of his follower as he does for himself is praiseworthy. Jesus is the perfect example of a praiseworthy leader, sacrificing his very life for the total well-being of every member of his body, the church. The church has remained for well over 2,000 years following the praiseworthy leadership of its founder and foundation—the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Conclusion

As a follower of Jesus Christ, and an emerging leader, aim for praiseworthy leadership. Most servant leaders have praiseworthy leadership. In fact, the only style of leadership that will make you a praiseworthy leader is the servant style of leadership. 


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