The last two months have been some of the most eventful for me since I have been in ministry. Earlier this week I returned from a two week trip to Europe. Prior to that I spent another two weeks in Africa. Combined, I traveled to (or through) 11 countries and 15 cities in 27 days totaling just under 30,000 miles by air and land. In Africa I traveled to Zambia, Kenya, and Uganda. In Europe I traveled to Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary. The intent of these trips was to visit missionaries, pastors, churches, and ministries that our church is connected with or to locations my travel companions were connected.
The one lesson that I consistently learned during my travels is that the quality of leadership is a major indicator of whether a ministry will fail or succeed. If there is not quality leadership in place then, at the very least, the ministry will become crippled. If it stays crippled for an extended period of time then that ministry will ultimately fail. Unfortunately, individuals are frequently placed into leadership positions who have no experience, lack any self-introspection, and have no idea on how to lead a team, let alone an organization. Some individuals are placed into leadership positions out of default because there was no one else willing or available. Others were voted into a leadership position because they were the most popular candidate. Others will force themselves into leadership because they were the most powerful or vocal. Some will assume a leadership position because they were successful in another job or business. None of these scenarios should qualify anyone to be placed in a leadership position.
There are however, many characteristics that do qualify someone as a leader. While it is not an exhaustive list, I believe they are important characteristics that can be found in a leader. A leader may not possess everyone of these characteristics, but they should have many of them and be working towards developing the rest. These characteristics are not partial to western leadership and must be a part of any culture, regardless of the ministry or organizational context.
The stakes are too high for epic leadership failures. Especially when these failures translate into churches closing, Christianity loses its footing, and donor money is wasted. As bad as those are, it becomes even more tragic because this also means that orphans have to move, people can no longer hear about Jesus Christ, and many are left wounded by the church... again. Put all of these together and it is no wonder why Christianity has a bad reputation and has become irrelevant in culture and society. The Church needs quality leaders! Para-church organizations needs quality leaders! Mission agencies need quality leaders! The stakes are simply too high for bad leadership!
Below is my list leadership characteristics. It is not an exhaustive list, but I believe these characteristics serve as a foundation for anyone in a leadership position. I encourage you to read through them, come up with your own list, and begin to identify them in your own life and leadership context (work, home, community).
Visionary - Humility - Integrity - Servanthood - Communicator - Strategist
Problem Solver - Self-introspective - Steward of Resources - Relational
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