INSPIRATION FOR YOU
So You Think You are a Leader?
By Sharon Cress - Leadership Certification Level 4
When we look at the stories and historical accounts of some of the women featured in the Bible, they probably appear unremarkable.
• Some women might appear as foolish.
• Some women might appear as weak.
• Some women might appear as despised.
• Some women might appear as of no value.
At the most, these women probably appear rather ordinary. Many of them were shockingly lower class women, just as the disciples were considered common men.
But God, in His wisdom, knowing the value and extraordinary gifts that He put into His feminine creation, chose to use what He created for His glory.
• God chose women leaders such as the Samaritan woman whose name we don't even know.
• God chose Anna, an obscure, elderly widow who appears only in one brief scene in Luke, chapter 2.
• God chose Rahab who was a common harlot.
• God chose Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was a young girl of no particular distinction, living in a tiny village in a barren and despised district of Galilee.
Actually, the only real exception is Eve; Eve did begin life with some advantages over other women. She was created perfect and quite extraordinary in every way. She walked and talked personally with God. Still, she too became a living example that God can recover and redeem any of us who fall-and make each of us extraordinary trophies of His grace in spite of our failures.
These women ultimately became extraordinary leaders, not because of any natural qualities of their own, but because the one true God whom they worshipped and served, the God who created them and gifted them with equal leadership capabilities, refined them like pure silver.
So, you think you are a leader? Yes, in God's eyes you are created to be.
LEADERSHIP
Learning from the Bible
Deborah
Deborah was not driven by personal ambition, nor was she seeking an expanded leadership role in Israel. She was simply being faithful to the God she served, accepting the responsibilities given to her by others who sought her counsel; trusting in God she took on the challenge of military leadership for which she had not been trained. Deborah did what she knew was right in God's eyes, confident that the Lord would honor her actions.
Priscilla
Priscilla must have been a spiritually mature woman whose gifts equipped her for leadership. Her name precedes Aquila's four out of the six times they are mentioned in the New Testament, probably signifying her greater abilities as a leader.
Huldah
Huldah is one of only four women with an authentic prophetic ministry mentioned in the Old Testament. The others were Miriam, Deborah and Isaiah's wife. Although prophets such as Jeremiah and Zephaniah were also active at this time, King Josiah‘s advisors did not go to them but instead consulted Huldah about the amazing discovery of the Book of the Law.
Get Inspired
- Christian leadership is to move people from where they are to the place God wants them to be.
- Empowering people means enabling them to do the job for which they were chosen with excellence and confidence.
- Excellent leaders are led by their desire to glorify God in their success.
