Are you really leading?

A question has been floating around a few blogs. I first read it at a great blog, here. Gary Haugen, president of the International Justice Mission, recently made this statement at the Willow Leadership Summit.

“Just because I’m leading and people are following doesn’t mean that I’m leading them in things that matter to God.”

The question if you are really leading is one that seems like a quick and easy answer, "sure". But then Gary's statement complicates the question a bit. People will always follow, but are they being led in the things that matter to God? This is definitely a question worth asking yourself. The difficulty with the question is that no one can answer it for you or for me. All outsider input is subjective; based one's view of the leader and how that leader has or is "performing".

I am a leader. It's always been there in me. Leading isn't the most warmly welcomed event with people. It's not the most popular thing to be a leader. Being a leader is not something that people want to hear you say you are. In the land of "out wit, out play, out last", Survivor, you get voted out for being a strong leader. This has always been the goofiest part of Survivor to me, "hey let's vote off the leader so we can sit around and wonder what to do." Life too often becomes a popularity contest rather than doing the right thing or the most God honoring thing. Sadly, the church too often mirrors culture in this.

I know that I can lead. In the above statement, I think that the most important part of it is asking if we are leading in the things that matter to God. It is up to the leader to choose to lead people in the things that matter to God. I am glad that this IS the case for my life and leadership. What a heavy weight to bear when a leader knows they are not leading in the things of God. I can't imagine!

How will you choose to lead today? Will it be a personal agenda? Will your leadership honor God? What will you choose? The bible clearly shows that it is never to late for a leader to choose to make the Godly decision and lead in the things that matter to God.

Are you really leading?