Christian Leadership Foundations 1 - GraceSample

LEADERSHIP STARTS WITH GRACE

Leadership Devotion

1 Timothy is a book about leadership. Paul had kind of left young Timothy in the lurch. He had given Timothy a short-term assignment to pastor the church in Ephesus while he traveled further (1:3). When Paul realized it might be some time before he returned, he reckoned that Timothy needed more help with leadership. So he sent Timothy this epistle full of wise leadership advice.

Right up front, Paul reminds Timothy of his own leadership credentials. They’re not what you would expect. Nothing about his achievements or experience or successes or influence. Although these were prevalent. Very much the opposite. Paul reminds Timothy that he was a blasphemer, persecutor, and violent man (1:13). That in fact, he was the worst sinner that had ever been (1:15). Now that’s a strange way to build credibility.

But Paul wants to make one thing crystal clear to Timothy. Leadership starts with God’s grace. If you don’t get that, you can’t lead God’s way. As Paul says, “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly” (1:14). Paul doesn’t see himself as qualified or talented or deserving but as a prime example of God’s mercy and unlimited patience. What a God! What grace!

For Paul, everything starts with the incredible grace of God who loves to save sinners and make them powerful in his service (1:12). You are one of those saved sinners just like Paul. You sit in the same place. A very broken person incredibly called and empowered by God to make a difference for him.

To Contemplate

If you were trying to establish your leadership credentials with someone following you, what would you include about grace?

Leadership Reflection

In most historical records up to modern times, leaders have been superheroes. They are people of extraordinary talent and ability who have no real failings. They never put a foot wrong. This is not true of course. But historians who wrote about the flaws of their leaders usually did not last long. It is the same in many totalitarian regimes in the world today. The leaders are feted as men (and occasionally women) of immense wisdom, capacity, and capability.

The biblical record of leaders is shockingly different. It is brutally honest. The Bible is full of very flawed leaders who sometimes seemed to get as many things wrong as they got right. They failed, ignored God, sinned, and fell flat on their faces. They were a very broken bunch. How can this be?

At the very center of Christian faith lies incredibly good news: that Jesus lived, died, and rose again to save sinners like you and me (1 Timothy 1:15). We will never deserve his forgiveness and we can never earn it. Our eternal life with God comes as a completely free gift that only needs to be received (2 Timothy 1:9-10).

God’s grace is his unmerited favor towards those who do not deserve it and can never earn it. It is about God’s mercy, not our worth. God offers his grace as a gift to broken, rebellious people who have no claim on it. We are put right with God because of God’s grace revealed and mediated through Jesus.

The Christian life starts with our receiving God’s grace. There is no other way into the kingdom of God. We enter as children, offering nothing but our need, and receiving everything through God’s grace (Ephesians 2:4-7).

But grace is not just the way of entry into God’s kingdom, it is actually the foundation for everything Christian, including our ministry and leadership. All we do to serve God comes through his grace. None of it is deserved or earned. All God’s blessing in and through our lives comes through grace, God’s unmerited favor.