Hello and welcome to Beauty – the no-frills, no-nonsense podcast about all things beauty. True beauty. God’s beauty. I am your host, Deanna, and today we are talking about the beauty of leadership.
I have worked a total of eight jobs and have had about thirteen bosses and a bunch more supervisors – all ranging in personality. I can only think of one I didn’t get along with, and that job ended badly, which was a shame because it was a great job with a lot of opportunity. Each of the people who led me taught me something, and I have been using those lessons in my own leadership roles throughout the years. For example, Jen taught me the importance of work ethic and commitment. Doug taught me the importance of relationships. Doreen taught me the importance of serving others. Beth taught me the importance of prayer and trust. My leadership has flourished under these leaders, and though I am not in a formal leadership role, I still lead – and so do you.
I know you have heard this before, but it is worth mentioning again. We are all leaders. Some of us lead at our place of employment. Some of us lead at church or parachurch ministries. Some of us lead in volunteer roles. And, even if you don’t have young kids at home, you probably have some leadership role in your family. Leadership is important, so today, we are going to talk about it.
The bible has a lot to say about leadership. Just flip through and you will see great leaders like Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah, Paul, and, of course, Jesus. One of my favorite leaders is David, and it just so happens my Lent reading had me studying his early leadership. 1 Chronicles 13:1-3 depicts three of my favorite leadership principles. Let’s look at those verses.
Verse one reads: “David consulted with all his officials, including the generals and captains of his army.” David had the authority to make the decision. He was the king. He didn’t need anyone’s permission, yet he consulted with his team. That shows wisdom and respect – two qualities of a leader that are probably most lacking, in my opinion. Too often, people in leadership roles are looking out for themselves and not looking out for the good of the team or organization or church as a whole. I have been a part of teams with top-down authority, and I can tell you from experience, those are the teams and organizations and churches that consistently fail. There is something very true about the phrase, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” It takes everyone being on the same page and working towards the same goal to see success and growth. I think David knew that.
Verse two goes on to share what he did next. It reads: “Then he addressed the entire assembly of Israel as follows: ‘If you approve and it if is the will of the Lord our God, let us send messages to all the Israelites throughout the land, including the priests and Levites in their towns and pasturelands. Let us invite them to come and join us. It is time to bring back the Ark of our God, for we neglected it during the reign of Saul.”
First, David involves his direct team, and then, he goes out and has a chat with everyone else - but notice what he said to them. He said (I’m paraphrasing here), “Hey guys, if you agree to this AND if it is God’s will, let’s invite others to join us, put our hands in the middle, and say ‘go team’ on three.” Think about a leadership role you have been in, or you are currently in. Did you (1) ask for permission from others about an idea you had AND (2) then talk to God about your big idea, and THEN (3) invite others to join in to make it a reality? Let me take some of that out and just ask, when was the last time you talked to God about your big idea? Sometimes we struggle with that, let alone bringing other people into the dream. Our lives are not a solo mission. We need each other. What a great reminder from David, here.
The other thing I was challenged with was verse three, where David simply says the Ark of God was neglected during Saul’s reign as king. Notice what he didn’t say. He didn’t slam Saul for his lack of leadership. He didn’t point out Saul’s weakness. He didn’t puff himself up and assure everyone he would do better. No, instead, he said “WE” neglected the Ark, and he took ownership of his part in that neglect. Have you publicly owned your part in the weakness or failure of the leader before you? Or the leader you have aspirations of following? Don’t succumb to gossip, back-biting, or ridiculing someone for all the things you perceive as mistakes. None of us have it all together, and I assure you, just like David did, we will all mess up. In fact, if you keep reading a few verses more, you will see one of David’s failures unfold right after he shows us great leadership in the beginning of 1 Chronicles 13.
We can learn a lot from David – just in these three little verses. Lead with wisdom and respect. Don’t be a DIY leader. And don’t bash the people who lead before you. Put these simple principles into practice wherever you lead – in the classroom, the boardroom, or the living room. Leadership is a beautiful gift when the leader is willing to be used by God.
D 😊
