Christian Leadership Foundations 7 - SwaySample

THE BLESSINGS OF SWAY

Leadership Devotion

Today’s Scripture is known as the “Great Commission.” Jesus left his disciples with a call to make disciples in all nations. What had been a local Jewish mission led by Jesus was to become a worldwide mission for his followers. They were to baptize and teach people throughout the world of their day.

I have heard many missionaries preach on this passage, calling their listeners to become cross-cultural gospel workers, and they’re right. The call of Jesus was for his followers to disciple the world, not just their community. There are still many people groups who desperately need to hear the gospel. Jesus calls for Christians committed to making disciples in all nations. We can’t afford to get too comfortable in our own culture when the needs of our world are so great.

The Great Commission is not just a call for a cross-cultural mission; it’s a call to leadership; for every Christian to influence others. None of us can afford to sit on our hands and mind our business. According to Jesus, obeying his commission will inevitably involve influencing others to follow and obey Jesus. Therefore, every Christian is a leader who influences others. Some Christians try to tell me they are not leaders. It is impossible. We are all called to influence.

The mountain where the disciples gathered that day was likely a crowded place. Although Matthew only mentions the 11 disciples, many biblical scholars think there were at least 500 assembled. There are three main reasons for this conclusion. First, Jesus called for his “brothers” (a broader term than disciples) to go to Galilee (28:10). Second, Matthew mentions “some doubted” (28:17), but the 11 disciples would have believed because they had already seen Jesus several times. Third, Paul says Jesus appeared to more than 500 brothers simultaneously (1 Cor. 15:6). This occasion seems to be the best possibility for such a large gathering.

So while Jesus directed the Great Commission principally toward the 11 disciples who initially led the early church, it has implications for every Christian. The call to develop influence was not just for the leaders of the Jesus movement but every follower. The promise of Jesus’ presence and authority was not just for the leaders but every disciple-maker.

You may influence nationally or even internationally, or you may only influence your family and a few friends. Still, you must influence, which will be a huge blessing to both yourself and those you influence. What a privilege we have.

To Contemplate

To check how you’re going with sway, please rate each statement on the following scale:

5 - Strongly Agree; 4 - Agree; 3 - Neither Agree nor Disagree; 2 - Disagree; 1 - Strongly Disagree
Total the scores. This gives a score out of 25. A score below 20 indicates significant room for growth.

1. There is evidence I am growing my sphere of influence/service.
2. I have a mentor/sponsor helping me develop my skills and influence.
3. I know my main gifts and use them effectively in my current role.
4. I intentionally invest in and mentor followers with strong potential.
5. I seek to raise the next generation of Christian leaders.

Leadership Reflection

Sway is potentially the most problematic of the seven foundations underlying Christian leadership. Very selfish motives can drive the intentional growth of sway. Christian leaders who want to build a reputation and power base for their ends will cause considerable damage to their followers. On the other hand, the growth of our sway can produce great benefits for those we influence. Our followers can benefit from our growth in sway in at least the following ways:

1. Investment

We have seen the growth of sway occurs as leaders invest in and mentor those with potential. This will result in greater influence for the leader, but more importantly, it means that followers gain resources, wisdom, accountability, and perspective, which greatly helps their growth. They have a leader they respect who believes in them and invests in their life and ministry. This is a great blessing for them.

It’s a win-win for both followers and leaders. The more followers grow through the investment of their leader (the win for followers), the more they will respect that leader and be influenced by them (the sway win for the leader).

2. Influence

We have seen leaders grow in sway when mentored and sponsored by a leader with greater sway. As you grow in sway, your followers will have greater access to your developing networks and, therefore, will build their influence. Your growing sway carries them to higher levels of leadership. In a way, they are carried on your coattails.

For example, as the church at Bracken Ridge grew and my sway as senior pastor increased, those in the pastoral team also grew because my influence and networks opened up new opportunities for them to influence. They had access to my contacts and networks.

So when your growing sway is tempered by a humble focus on grace, love, and heart, it will be a great blessing for those you lead.

My personal reflection

I was first alerted to the importance of what I have called "sway" when I completed a week-long workshop led by Bobby Clinton (Professor at Fuller Seminary at the time). He decried that few Christian leaders finished well and implored us to continue our growth as leaders and to eventually seek convergence where our gifts would be used most effectively and our kingdom influence would be greatest.

At the time, I was an experienced Christian leader. I was the senior pastor of a large church and a part-time lecturer at a theological college. These two roles allowed me to use my principal gifts of leadership (church) and teaching (college). I began to feel the urging of God’s Spirit to broaden my sphere of influence. It was time to step out again.

My dilemma was which gifting to pursue. I could focus more on leadership by leading a larger church or a parachurch organization, but the opportunity to use my teaching gift would diminish. Or I could focus more on teaching, for example, by becoming a full-time faculty member in a theological college, but the use of my leadership gift would be curtailed. As I worked through this, the position of college principal opened up, and I saw this as a God-given call to increase my sway by growing the breadth of my influence and using my major gifts together.

I realize not every Christian leader will find such a clear sweet spot as I did. As our leadership matures, those with a growing sphere of influence must focus more on what Clinton calls strategic formation or what I have called sway. It prevents us from lapsing into self-satisfaction or mediocrity and the inevitable loss of godly influence this will bring.

Everyone’s leadership journey is different. Like Timothy’s, mine has been stereotypical. I have seen a fairly steady growth of my sphere of influence and effective use of my major gifts throughout my ministry. Even in semi-retirement, through God’s grace, I have the privilege to influence throughout the state and the opportunity to use what are now my strongest gifts of structuring change and teaching Scripture.

Many of my leadership colleagues have walked other paths. Some have experienced burnout and had to pull back from major influence for a time. Some have chosen to focus on using their gifts and taken roles with less breadth of influence. Some have gone through very difficult seasons of diminishing spheres of influence and suddenly seen a huge surge in God’s powerful work and its consequent growth in leadership influence. Some have had to pull back from leadership due to health issues. Some have faithfully served God their whole life without any obvious growth in influence.

It’s important to find satisfaction and peace in your leadership journey and its seasons. Maybe sway will never be a big issue for you. That’s fine, I think, as long as you are committed to reaching your God-given leadership potential and maximizing your contribution to God’s kingdom.