1. Section 7 - The Leader’s Influence
Group Activity: Create a one-
page visual summary of the
leader’s influence.
Study chapter 7 in Blackaby
Study chapters 13-14 in Sanders
Print an article on leadership at:
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/
MTArchi ve.asp

2. Improving
leadership
Spiritual Leadership
J Oswald Sanders
Chapter 14

3. Rom 12:8
If God has given you
leadership ability, take
the responsibility
seriously.
if it is to lead,[a] do it
diligently;
Or to provide for others

4. If our leadership can be
improved, as with anything we do
for the glory of God, then we
should see to it that we work to
improve it.
If leadership is influence then
every Christian is a leader - it
does not matter if you are in a
“senior” position or not!
We must:
Recognise weaknesses,
make corrections and
cultivate strengths.

5. Sanders cites some reasons for poor
church leadership:
The goal is poorly defined - so we do
not know what we are working towards
Lack of faith - so no risk taking
Are we passionate about our
salvation - is our enthusiasm
contagious?
Do we avoid dealing with difficult
situations - poor leaders postpone
making hard decisions and gain
nothing in the long run.
Are we too thin - lacking depth whilst
trying to do “all things”?

6. 1. Exert yourself to lead
Rom 12:1 - the word offer (a one
time action) is followed by 36
present tense verbs. We look at
only two of them.
Rom 12:8 - Barclay, “If you are
called upon to supply leadership,
do it with zeal” - wholeheartedly,
with energy, not in a lazy manner.
Jesus was intense in his
leadership:
Jn 2:17 - zeal for your house...
Mk 3:21 - he is out of his mind!

7. Jn 7:20 - his enemies think he has a
demon!
Are you considered zealous
about the right things, or
about irrelevant things?
Paul was considered intense at all
stages of his life - his passion and
energy did not diminish - in fact even
before he was converted he was full
of passion, in the power of the Holy
Spirit it was simply redirected.

8. 2. Kept at boiling point
Rom 12:11 -Never be lacking in
zeal, but keep your spiritual
fervor, serving the Lord.
Someone (Harrington Lees) has
said we are only kept at boiling
point by the Holy Spirit.
Most people get to boiling point
only on special occasions - a
special event, an encounter with
God, something out of the
ordinary - we often struggle in the
everyday things of life.

9. Do you have enough of the Holy
Spirit to keep you aglow all the
time?
Lk 11:13 - If you then, though you
are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much
more will your Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who
ask him!”
Are you asking for
more?

10. Improving leadership
Hudson Taylor, founder of the
China Island Mission, had a gift
of saying tremendously
significant things in a
deceptively simple way. In a
letter dated 1879 to the
secretary of the mission, Taylor
said:
The all-important thing to do is
to:

11. Improve the character of the work
Deepen the piety, devotion and success of the
workers
Remove stones of stumbling, if possible
Oil the wheels where they stick
Amend whatever is defective
Supplement, as far as may be, what is lacking

12. Out of these Sanders suggests the
leader has responsibility for the
following areas:
Administration - improving the
character of the work involves finding
out what is not functioning or is below
standard - and then correcting it.
Spiritual tone - developing the piety,
devotion and spiritual success of the
workers. This depends upon the
leaders - do they love God, are they
passionate, honest, holy...? If spiritual
leaders are flat and lifeless so will the
work be.

13. Group morale - remove
stones of stumbling - when we
ignore problems morale goes
down and consequently
performance - problems or
people all have to be dealt
with in the love of God, but
with decisiveness.
Personal relationships - try
to know and understand how
your people work, what they
respond to

14. Problem solving - amend what
is defective - creating problems is
easy, solving them is far harder -
face things realistically and then
work until it is solved
Creative planning - supplement
what is lacking - criticising plans
is easier than creativity in
planning - plan well and know
what tactics to employ to achieve
success.

15. Finally resist leading from the
back - true leadership is always
out in front, not behind or on the
sidelines.
Often people stand behind and
criticise, like the Israelites when
initially facing the chance to
enter the Promised Land -
reactionary people will stand
behind and comment or criticise
do not let this affect your way
forward as spiritual leaders.

16. What are the challenges
and delights you find in
relating to the leaders in
your life?
Hudson Taylor lists six
important things - which
one of these might be
changed in your current
situation to achieve the
most significant result?