The Zone Gathering

These notes come from the Annual Leadership Retreat session Commission: The Making of a Leader.

In the movie Kingdom of Heaven (editors note: no smart comments from the Alpha team), we meet a young blacksmith named Balian. He has lost his wife and his child and is very close to losing his faith. A knight returns from the Holy Land and reveals that he is Balian’s father. Returning to the Holy Land together in search of redemption, Balian’s father makes him a knight. Overnight, Balian’s world is turned upside down. He changes from a poor, wandering man to a leader. And ultimately the defender of Jerusalem.

Later in the movie, Balian remains as the sole knight in Jerusalem to defend the city against the approaching Muslim army. Defying the religious leader of the city, Balian makes a knight of every man in Jerualem and empowers them to fight. He adminsters the same oath that his father had administered to him :

“Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright, that God made love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. This is your oath.”

It sounds a bit like Micah 6:8: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

What makes a person a leader? A couple of weeks ago, we spent an entire weekend together because we are leaders at NCC. But what makes us that? What gives us the right to be a leader? Is it because we completed an application and attended Leadership 101? Is it because we facilitate a meeting once a week? Is it because we have influence over a certain sphere of people? Some of you probably sat at the retreat thinking, “I have no idea. I don’t even want to be a leader. I am just here because someone told me I needed to come.”

What makes a leader? And what does a leader do?

OUR FATHER
I would submit that we are not leaders because of who we are, what skills we have, or what things we do. Balian did not become a knight because of he had a great fortune or had performed heroic deeds or because he had promising skills and potential. Balian became a knight because his father was Godrey, Lord of Ibelin. Knighthood was in his genes.

The Royalty Gene
In the Lion King, the lion Simba lives in fear and exile for most of his youth and young adult life. Until one day, he is confronted with the truth of who he really is. The monkey Rafiki comes to him and says, “I know who you are. You are Mufasa’s boy.” Simba comes face to face with the reality that his father was the king, and in an instant, his life turns completely around. He returns to the Pride Land to be the King because he had come face to face with his father and consequently, face to face with who that made him.

The longing to be a child of a king is a theme that has been rooted in the stories of cultures throughout history. Stories of common, everyday people who discover they are actually royalty. And it turns their world around. I believe that desire, to be a part of royalty, is placed within us by God to draw us to Himself.

Romans 8:14-17 says, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you should not be like cowering, fearful slaves. You should behave instead like God’s own children, adopted into his family- calling him Father, dear Father. For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we will share his treasures- for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours too. But if we share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”

God has adopted us. That is amazing. Just stop and think on that for a second. When we realize that we have been adopted by a king and become a part of his family, that should radically change our perspective.

DIFFICULT DECISIONS
When Balian decided to knight every man in Jerusalem, he defied the patriarch of the city. Leaders make difficult decisions. The Bible is full of stories of people who have to make difficult decisions— David, Solomon, Deborah, Ruth, Esther, Jesus. Imagine an angel appearing to you and telling you that you are pregnant. And you are not married. Imagine what must have been going through Mary’s mind when she said, “okay.”

It’s easy to lead when there are no obstacles, problems, or differences of opinion. Real leadership happens when we are faced with difficult decisions. What do you do when you have one person dominating a group? Or you believe that your group should be involved in a service project, but no one wants to participate? How do you deal with conflict in your group?

When leaders see a problem, they look for the solution. When they encounter conflict, they see opportunity.

So how do you lead in difficult times? The best thing you can do is pray. And then act. If we listen, we can hear the answer. John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Leaders see and do what their Father is doing. John 5:19 says, “Jesus replied, “I assure you, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.’”

Proverbs 2:1-6 is a prayer for wisdom. “My child, listen to me and treasure my instructions. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure. Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

IDENTIFICATION WITH THE BIG VISION
Secondly, leaders recognize that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Ultimately, your small group or ministry is not about you. And it’s not even about the people in your group. You are a part of something much larger than that.

Leaders take oaths that tie them to that larger vision. That’s why we ask all of our leaders to sign a leadership covenant.

Our vision is Be One, Make One, For One. That is our oath.

MULTIPLICATION
Finally, leaders also recognize their responsibility to make other leaders. Leaders see the potential in people. And they take the responsibility to see that those people reach their potential.

Leaders inspire others. Leaders empower others. Leaders know that many people will rise to the responsibility given to them. Jesus’ 12 disciples were certainly no dream team when he picked them. They were dirty fishermen, corrupt tax collectors, political fanatics. But that band of men turned the entire world upside down and changed the course of history.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 9th, 2006 at 9:00 am and is filed under Leadership Lessons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.