The Process of a LeaderÀpẹrẹ

The P.R.O.C.E.S.S.

Every leader whom God raises up in the marketplace, ministry, or mission field will go through a similar process.There are seven stages in the P.R.O.C.E.S.S. of a leader:

P—PROMISE

R—REALITY

O—OBSTACLES

C—CHARACTER TESTS

E—ENDURANCE

S—SUCCESS

S—SONSHIP

First, God gives us an amazing promise, just as He has done to numerous people throughout His Word. We see Him give Abraham a great promise in Genesis 12:1-3, and He gives a seemingly-impossible promise to Moses in Exodus 3:16-18. For each of us, it’s a little different.

After we get a promise from the Lord in prayer, we start to feel reality set in like a cold, heavy blanket. Abraham doubted. Moses doubted. Gideon doubted and logically, he had reasons to. The reality of our hearts is often that of fear, insecurity and if we’re honest, doubt. God wants us to admit that reality and give those things to Him and let Him replace them with love and vision for a better future - for us and those around us!

Obstacles appear when we begin our leadership journey. Things are going great and then BAM! This happened to Moses. This happened to David, Gideon, Joseph and the list goes on. God often uses those obstacles to prove His power and that it is HIM at work and not us. Every obstacle is an opportunity for a miracle!

Throughout God’s Word, we see a multitude of character tests. Some leaders pass, but many more fail. Doesn’t your heart grieve every time you hear the news of another pastor or Christian leader who has a moral failure? What the headlines don’t tell you is that it always begins with small compromises. There are moments Satan tempts a leader to think he or she deserves more than God has given.

And remember, even if you were in God’s favor, it doesn’t mean you won’t slip up in the future. Be humble and stay humble! Heed the wisdom of Proverbs 16:18 and James 4:6.

Leaders need to have endurance. Every leader, even you, will face fatigue. You may be fatigued right now and not even know it. If you’re lashing out at coworkers or staff, you may be fatigued. If you’re blaming your short-tempered outbursts on someone’s inability to perform, you’re fatigued. If you find yourself demanding unrealistic performance from those you lead, you’re likely fatigued and near burnout. You need rest. You need to find strength in spending time with Jesus.

If you’re doing everything out of your own power and not depending on God for anything, chances are your efforts will turn up fruitless. Psalm 127:1-2 makes this abundantly clear. Without His involvement, not only will the work not be done, but you won’t even be able to truly rest!

Take a few minutes to read Luke 19:11-27 and then, ask yourself: what stopped the “wicked servant” from creating a return on investment for the Master? Fear. Fear will always stop you from obedience, and obedience to the Lord is success in this life.

Success doesn’t come after obedience to the Lord. Success is obedience. The faith to say “yes” is the succeeding. Your success as a leader in the kingdom of God is determined by one thing and one thing only—humble obedience. Humble obedience is outward expression of an inner value system - a value system of sonship and gratitude.

The final stage of the P.R.O.C.E.S.S. of a leader is sonship.

Being a child of God is the greatest joy and honor for us. All of Christian leadership is about bringing more people into the family of God and the revelation of the Father’s love. If you aim for greatness as a leader but forget that you’re first a child of God, you’ll push people down to get to the top—only to find the top a very lonely place.

Romans 8:29 says, “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed into the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” I wonder how many times we’ve missed the whole point of this verse? The point is that you have Jesus as your older brother! His Father is your Father and my Father! WOW!

What if you started living like a son instead of living for your next leadership success or achievement? If you aim for greatness as a leader but forget that you’re first a child of God, you’ll believe the lie that you are great all on your own. You’re only great because God made you great. You’re only gifted because God gave you gifts!