FOLLOW THE LEADERIn John 10, we can see and hear how this deep human need for intimacy
is being emotionally met through Christ’s relationship with His sheep.
His knowledge of His sheep is seen through the fact that He knows each
of their names. In addition, He knows each of their individual voices –
just as they know His. He knew the bleat of each sheep, and whether
it was a bleat of hunger...a bleat of thirst...a bleat of fear...a bleat of
frustration...a bleat of hurt...a bleat of contentment. That takes a lot of
shepherd leadership listening!
Principle: “Relationship building and intimacy
take 4 things: time, talking, transparency, and
testing. Without them leaders will only build
functional relationships, not covenant relationships
based in Christ.”It is a basic principle: “The better we listen, the better we can lead.” American
president, Woodrow Wilson, said: “The ear of the leader must ring with
the voices of the people.”^1 In his book, Leadership is Common Sense, Herman
Cain says this about the importance of listening leadership:
People always want to feel that you genuinely listen to what they
say, even if you decide not to pursue their idea. People want to
feel they contribute to something successful, and that you as leader
appreciate their contribution even if no one else understood their
impact.^2Effective leadership is based upon listening and loving – because listening
is the first act of loving! It was only because Christ first lovingly listened,
that He could also lovingly lead. As He lovingly listened to His sheep, He
knew exactly where they needed loving and leading. He could then give
them the decisive and loving leadership that they needed and desired by
“...going ahead of them” so that they would “...find pasture” and “...
have life abundantly.” That’s a description of true shepherd leadership!