To Lead Well, Follow Well

I have often said, if you want to be a great leader you must be a great follower.  This is especially true in the realm of spiritual leadership.  In order to lead people well you must be follow the Lord.  If we are unable to follow the Lord’s leadership, then we will never measure up as leaders ourselves.

A leader can never speak with more authority than when he/she speaks with a direct word from the Lord.  This is a lesson that we learn from the shepherds in Luke 2.  The shepherds have had an angelic encounter.  They were told by an angel that they would find the Christ in Bethlehem.  After journeying to the birth place of Jesus, they found things exactly as they were told.

Upon their arrival, they made known the things that they had been told about this child (Luke 2:17).  When they shared the word of God that had been delivered to them by the angel, “all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them” (v. 18, ESV).  While others wondered, “Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (v. 19).  The testimony of the shepherds had a great impact.

Why did the testimony of the shepherds have such a great impact?  There was impact because they spoke a word given to them from the Lord.  This is the sort of authority that leaders need to pursue; not authority rooted in education, experience, or expertise. Genuine authority is rooted in a living relationship with the Lord.