The Heart of a Leader.

Personal relationship

The most important thing we carry as leaders is a vision of Jesus Christ. It is our responsibility to grow in our personal relationship with Him in the secret place. To rely on the Holy Spirit to fill us up, equip us, and give us divine wisdom. If we’re not being filled up, how can we pour out? If He has not equipped us, how can we be effective?

As a leader, we also carry responsibility. We want to give of our talent, tithe, and time to God. We must be willing to commit to leading a Dinner Party even when it’s not convenient. To stay true to our word. It’s important to remember that who you are points people to Jesus. They start to imitate you as you imitate Christ. We have been entrusted by God with caring for and leading His people. That’s why our conduct, our behavior, our purity, our Christ-like example carries weight. It’s important that we live lives above reproach and worthy of the calling we’ve received.

As we train and equip our leaders, we make this clear from the start. Any person stepping into leadership needs to be clear from day one about what the call of leadership looks like in their personal life. Their own devotion to Christ in their own world comes first.

Shepherding

As leaders, we are responsible for being good shepherds. Like the parable in Luke 15, we are committed to going after the one. Every soul is important. Every invite has a purpose. Every text and call and outreach carries weight because this is all about people. So when there’s a new sign-up, it’s important to reach out personally, share the details for the group, and get to know them. Even after someone joins, shepherding means we take time to know people and do life with them.

As leaders we are committed to going after the one. The shepherd in the parable had so much care, compassion, and attention because each sheep mattered to him. That’s how we should be with each member of our Dinner Party. But the only way we can shepherd the one well is if we have momentum with the ninety-nine. We need a culture and structure where we can actually leave the ninety-nine for a moment, because the rest of the group is healthy enough for us to do so.

Knowing the spiritual condition of those in our care is key to effective leadership. As leaders, we commit to being aware of what’s happening in the lives of those we’re overseeing. This includes a rhythm of check-ins every seven to ten days. As Jesus cares for us, we want to ensure we are caring for others.

How do you grow a heart for the people in your group and see them as Christ sees them? Pray for each person by name every day. This might seem like a simple task, but it carries weight. It fills you up as a leader. It reminds you that leadership is by the Spirit of God, not by your own strength. You’re partnering with Christ, not carrying it alone. And as you pray, He reveals who to raise up. What each member of your Dinner Party actually needs. How to truly empower and release them into their gifting.

Empowering and releasing

Christ-like character is the capacity to receive authority, be trusted with it, and release it to others for their benefit. All of us will face the temptation of power. What you do when you are offered power for the benefit of self will determine what kind of leader you will be in the Kingdom. What you do with glory will determine how much authority you can be trusted with.

The way to counteract the temptation is to empower and release leaders. Make that the culture of your group. This helps denounce any level of holding onto power, because the culture is all about releasing, not gripping and holding.

A question I ask leaders when it comes to authority is this. Am I a swamp or a river? If we’re truly about Jesus, truly lifting up His name, you’ll find a flow of authority coming from your life. But if you’re worshipping the wrong thing, if you’re gathering power, you become a swamp of authority. You never release it to others to reach their potential. People and roles get stuck in your presence instead of being released to flow into where they’re supposed to be.

We are given authority so that we can empower others. Leadership in the Kingdom isn’t about self-glory. It’s about empowering others and giving glory to God.

As leaders, we want eyes to see other people’s gifting. We want to empower and equip people under our leadership to grow into leadership themselves, and then release them to higher levels. Isn’t that what someone else did for us? This is crucial in growing the church and reaching more people for Jesus. When we help others step into the call God has on their lives, we release those rising leaders into their grace zones and gifting. We commission them to use their influence to bring the gospel to their world. What begins on one street can spread to a neighborhood and a city. We will see our city and so many others transformed as we release leaders into their gifting.

Our goal and culture is this. As a leadership team of four in each group, we’re always raising up another four. That means each group really has about eight leaders at a time. The core four plus the peripheral four who are being trained, in the mix of leadership, before going out to start their own group. This structure creates a flow of leadership that is more like a river than a swamp. Four training four, sending four, and finding a new four. Always. People being trained, sent out, seen, and released.