Be a Spiritual Leader

 

    Every Christian has a calling.  Every Christian is a leader, but not all Christians stand out to look like a leader.  Your focus in on serving God in whatever capacity that He leads.  It is all about the Great Commission and making disciples.  

    A spiritual leader is using the Bible and prayer to guide them to mentor and encourage new and growing believers in the gospel.  God honors their sacrifices to be obedient and for trusting Him.  You have to be willing to sacrifice time, things, and even comfort to be a leader.  That may not be appealing when you are not able to describe or see the benefits.  Being a spiritual leader is all on faith and being driven by the Holy Spirit to fulfill your calling.

    A spiritual leader invest into people and into their relationship with God.  They have strong prayer partners that will help them not be led astray.  They invest in time to prepare spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually to be there for other people.  They regularly evaluate their own heart and mind to look for weak points or vulnerabilities for Satan's attacks.  

    A spiritual leader does not force anyone into anything, but encourages and speaks truth into people's lives.  They meet people where they are which might not look churchy.  It is not about how it looks.  It is about connecting people with God.  They uphold integrity and righteousness, but do not worry about their reputation.  They know God will take care of them there if they are doing it His way.

    Spiritual leaders learn communication skills: verbal, body language, observation, and reactions.  Their time is important like yours, but they make time for people.  They are motivated by the Holy Spirit to be obedient instead of giving into personal desires.  This is what makes them a good role model.  They do not act on emotions, but feel their emotions.  They chose faith over feelings.

    The spiritual leader invest time in prayer and studying God's Word.  They do not just read it, but they dig into it to prayerfully see how it applies to today, circumstances, relationships, and more.   They use what they learn to help other people, teach, correct, and love other people.  

    Many spiritual leaders may not even realize that they are spiritual leaders because it is not about them.  Some are obvious: pastors, Sunday school teachers (life groups), missionaries, and deacons.  However, some are leading their families, teachers, in government, and more.  They are out in the community living and leading without any recognition.  God sees and that is all that matters.  

    Spiritual leaders need to celebrate the wins and learn from the loses.  You do your part and God will do everything else. It all starts with salvation.  They you learn to pray and study your Bible.  Then you start having conversations with people.  It is that simple.  You don't need to over complicate it.  

    The difference between a leader and a regular Christian is a leader tries.  They do not just sit and learn.  They are willing to be obedient to God when He ask.  Being a spiritual leader is challenging.  You need support.  You need to be prepared, but the reward outweighs the discomfort.  The reward last for eternity.  The job of the spiritual leader is to build bridges of like Jesus did.

Psalm 78:65-72, Matthew 28:18-20, John 13:12-17, Ephesians 4:11-13, 2 Timothy 2:1-2,& 1 Peter 5:1-4