Christian Leadership Foundations 7 - SwaySample

INCREASING YOUR SWAY

Leadership Devotion

We don’t know much about the development of most biblical leaders, but Timothy is an exception. Through his link with Paul’s missions and the letters Paul wrote to him, we know a lot about his growth and increasing sphere of influence. I will briefly trace the growth of his sway during Paul’s ministry (the ages quoted below are approximate).

1. Although his father was a non-believing Greek (Acts 16:2), Timothy was brought up in the Jewish faith by his mother (and grandmother) and was well-grounded in OT Scripture as a boy and as a young man (2 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 3:15).

2. He probably became a Christian when he was about 30 during Paul’s first visit to Lystra (on his first missionary journey). It seems that Paul was involved in his conversion because Paul calls him a “true son in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2).

3. Over the next few years, Timothy developed a good reputation among the Christians around Lystra (Acts 16:2) and was commended to Paul by others from this area, so he must have developed some influence in the church.

4. When he was about 32, Paul invited Timothy to join the team on his second major missionary journey with Silas (Acts 16:3) as they set out to encourage new church plants. Timothy is not mentioned in connection with the persecution of Paul and Silas in Philippi and Thessalonica along the way, so he was probably a junior team member. However, he was ministering with Silas at Berea (Acts 17:14-15) after Paul had to flee, so he seems to have taken on more responsibility as the mission trip progressed.

5. Paul wanted to return to Thessalonica but was prevented from doing so (1 Thess. 2:17-18), so he sent Timothy (perhaps now 33) on his behalf to strengthen and encourage the church there, calling him “God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ” (1 Thess. 3:2). So Timothy’s role and responsibilities were growing. He was now ministering by himself on special missions (though still under Paul’s authority).

6. Timothy joined Paul again on his third missionary journey. Now about 36, Paul directed him to deal with a particularly difficult situation in the Corinthian church. The Corinthians rejected Paul’s authority, and Paul sent Timothy with Paul’s letter to straighten them out (1 Cor. 4:17). Paul had to write: “see that Timothy has nothing to fear while he is with you” (1 Cor. 16:10), so it must have been a challenging assignment.

7. After his first Roman imprisonment, Paul commissioned Timothy (who was now about 44) to pastor the Ephesian church (1 Tim. 1:3). This involved refuting false teaching, supervising the church, and appointing leaders. In a culture in which age was deeply respected, Timothy was young to have such significant responsibilities (sway), but Paul challenged him, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young” (1 Tim. 4:12).

8. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy (and final epistle), Paul saw Timothy (now about 48) as a guardian of the gospel after he died (2 Tim. 1:14). Timothy was responsible for preaching and maintaining the truth in the church during a time when many people would be led astray by false doctrine (2 Tim. 4:1-3). It was a big responsibility and a great opportunity to influence.

We have traced Timothy’s leadership journey, over about 18 years, from keen, young Christian in his local church to guardian of the gospel for all the churches. We have followed his development of sway – both growing his sphere of influence (from a local church to the worldwide church) and maximizing the use of his gifts (mainly leading and teaching). It was not an easy journey for Timothy. We know he was somewhat timid (2 Tim. 1:7), and in today’s Scripture, Paul still had to encourage Timothy to “fan into flame” his gift (2 Tim. 1:6), even though Timothy was an experienced church leader by this time.

I’m not sure how intentional Timothy’s growth of sway was. Did he deliberately take on extra projects to develop his leadership? Possibly, but I am convinced his leadership growth was intentional on Paul’s part. Paul had a vision for Timothy’s leadership and oversaw the growth of his influence by giving him increasing responsibility. Paul wanted Timothy’s sway to increase, and he provided the pathway for this.

To Contemplate

Can you trace the development of your sway? Has this been intentional, or has it been the product of mainly following God’s call?

Leadership Reflection

So how do leaders increase their sway? There are two main issues to focus on.

1. Find the right place: Grow your sphere of influence/service

The simplest way to understand the “sphere of influence” is to see how many people you are leading/influencing. The more people who follow you, the greater your sphere of influence. Below is a simple scheme that categorizes your sphere of influence in terms of the number of people following. Your sphere of influence could be:

1. Individuals
2. A small group
3. A team of people working together
4. A larger group/ministry/team
5. A church or organization
6. A large church or group of churches or large organization
7. A wide group of people or a local area
8. A national influence
9. An international influence

Let’s use these categories to analyze Timothy’s sphere of influence. He started with individuals (1) and then moved to a team of people (3) when he joined Paul’s group, progressed to a larger group (4/5) when Paul sent him to churches and influenced a large church/region (6/7) when he pastored the Ephesian church and finished with international influence (9) when he continued Paul’s ministry of guarding the gospel.

These categories are far from clear-cut. They don’t specify the depth of a leader’s influence. For example, does someone who advises the CEO of a large company influence an individual or the whole company? I write Bible devotional plans for YouVersion. Tens of thousands of Christians throughout the world have completed these plans. Does this mean I have an international influence or merely that some people occasionally benefit from something I have written? Does a godly pastor who is effectively leading a local congregation have more or less influence than a traveling preacher who touches the lives of many more people but not nearly as deeply? So there is no definite way of measuring influence. It’s difficult and probably unproductive to calculate and compare spheres of influence.

However, there is no doubt some people have greater influence than others, even if only eternity will tell the extent of that influence. Sway involves intentionally seeking to increase the breadth and depth of our influence. We look for the right places - leadership roles and ministries that may enable us to touch the lives of more people.

If you find the term “sphere of influence” too secular or worldly, you could phrase it as “sphere of service.” This is how Paul puts it in describing his influence on the Corinthian church:

2 COR 10:13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.

2. Do the right things: Maximize the use of your gifts

In the Leadership Foundation Crop, we explored the importance of finding and using your gifts, but sway adds another dimension. Sway prompts you to find ministry environments in which you mainly use your strongest gifts and abilities.

For example, by his mid-40s, Timothy was well-versed in the Old Testament Scriptures. He was Paul’s close companion and would have been drenched in the gospel. He had a gift for preaching, led a church, and traveled widely, building international networks. If Timothy was seeking to intentionally increase his sway by maximizing the use of his gifts and abilities, he probably would have looked for a role where he could equip the wider church.

There is a significant danger here. "Maximizing the use of our gifts" could just be us doing the things we like and enjoy. But Love rules this out. Laying down our lives for others always involves sacrifice. As we lead others, there will always be aspects of our ministry we won’t find easy or enjoyable.

Let me illustrate. I’m not a big fan of conflict. But working through conflict is a necessary part of high-level leadership. It’s not my gift, but it comes with the territory and is good for my growth and dependence on God. However, if I spend most of my time dealing with conflict, I will wither inside, and that will not be much help to God’s kingdom. So as I grow sway, I orient my ministry, as much as possible, to my strengths - vision, problem-solving, structuring change, and teaching. These are my gifts, and using them prodigiously will grow my sway and maximize my kingdom impact.

When it comes to a focus on sway, timing is important. The quest to use our strongest gifts is not always possible to pursue early in our leadership journey. We may not yet have a lot of choices in how we follow God and serve people in the church or the workplace. That’s why sway tends to become more significant later in leadership when more options may open up, and we are more confident in our main contributions to God’s kingdom. As our influence and opportunities grow, it then becomes important and often easier to find or create environments that allow us to maximize the use of our gifts and skills.

So there are two basic ways to increase your sway. First, find the right place. Seek roles and ministries that enable you to influence as widely and deeply as possible. Second, do the right things. Make sure you are using your strongest gifts in your leadership role.