Pastor Keith Hodges of Liberty Church in Alabama shares what the heartbeat of leadership should be:
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
“God so loved the world that He gave.” The heartbeat of leadership is love. Love is the divine motivator of Heaven. If you are going to lead, you are going to have to love. You can’t lead people if you aren’t going to love. True leadership requires sacrifice. It is impossible for you to truly sacrifice for people that you don’t love. If you love people, you will sacrifice for them. If you love people, you will go the extra mile so that they can experience who God is and what He wants to do in their lives.
What happens when you have love-less leadership? Instead of being a giver, you are a taker. You become a manipulator. Ultimately, you become a dictator who drives your people to accomplish the goals. You’ve abandoned the heart of leadership, which requires sacrifice.
A True Story: There was a young man who was a tour guide in the nation of Israel. He had a bus full of people and they were touring the countryside. They saw a shepherd fiercely driving his sheep across the pasture. The young man was so troubled by what he saw, he stopped the bus, went out into the field and approached the shepherd. “Sir, I need to ask you a question. I’ve grown up here in the nation and have seen hundreds of shepherds lead their sheep, but I’ve never seen one shepherd drive their sheep as you are driving your sheep.” The man laughed to himself and answered, “The reason you don’t understand what is going on, is that I’m not a shepherd. I’m a butcher leading the sheep to slaughter.”
Let’s not be butchers. Let’s not drive the sheep. Let’s lead the sheep. Shepherds lead the sheep into the good pasture that God has for them. Shepherds sacrifice themselves so that their sheep—their people—can experience the provision God has for them.