the positional leader, or the elected leader, or not! Now what
is Christian Leadership? How does that differ from secular
leadership? Christian leadership is knowing what God wants
done next, knowing why He wants it done, and knowing how
to bring to bear the resources He would bring to bear on the
need at hand.^8- The simplest definition of leadership I know is ‘influence’.
It is the ability of one person to influence others to his point
of view. So, if you’re supposed to be leading and no one is
following, you’re just taking a walk!...All good leaders have
two important characteristics: first, they are going somewhere;
second, they are able to persuade others to go with them. That
puts motivation at the heart and soul of leadership.^10 - Leadership consists of three things: Vision, Strategy, Moti-
vation. Vision is seeing what needs to be done; strategy is
figuring out how to do it; motivation is persuading others to
join you in the effort. Anyone who does those three things is a
leader.^9
WHERE LEADERS COME FROMHaving looked at some definitions of leadership, we now need to ask
another crucial question: “Where do leaders come from?” There are two
kinds of leaders: those who are leaders by nature, and those who are
leaders by nurture. That means that some leaders are born – while many
others are built.
- Born Leaders: It is definitely true that some people are just natural
“born leaders.” By virtue of their birth, talents and personality,
they are what we often call “natural leaders.” For these people,
leadership is as natural as breathing. It is what they were born to
do. They just naturally lead. For them, leadership is intuitive and
unconscious. without any forethought, training or preparation,
they just naturally emerge as leaders in whatever sphere they are
involved in – whether in sports, academics, economics, politics, or
religion. Herman Cain makes this observation about one of the
greatest American leaders of all time, Abraham Lincoln: