True leadership is influencing people through the way you speak, live and treat yourself according to God's instructions. Leadership begins with personal government before it becomes public influence. People may listen to your teachings, but they will study your lifestyle. What people consistently see in you will often speak louder than what they hear from you. A leader who cannot manage himself will eventually struggle to lead others. Your words, emotions, relationships, decisions and personal discipline are all part of your leadership message. Before asking people to follow your instructions, ask yourself whether your own life reflects the principles you are teaching. Leadership is not simply about having people under your authority; it is about becoming an example worthy of being followed. Paul instructed Timothy, “But be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12. This is the standard of kingdom leader...
As a leader, your influence will eventually reveal the condition of your character. You can have a title, a platform, followers and spiritual gifts, yet still lose the trust of the people you are called to serve. Philippians 2:3–5 calls you to reject selfish ambition and consider others with humility while carrying the mind of Christ. Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself; it means you no longer make yourself the center of everything. You understand that leadership is stewardship, not ownership. The people around you are not tools for building your reputation. They are lives entrusted to your care. When you enter a room, do you think first about what people can do for you, or what you can do to help them become better? Integrity requires you to become the same person in private that people believe you are in public. Proverbs 11:3 says, “The integrity of the upright shall guide them.” Your decisions, conversations, finances, relationships and treatment of people must be gover...