Sometimes weakness will manifest in leaders doing things they should not be doing, or things they are simply unsuited to do. At other times, weakness may result in leaders avoiding things they really ought to do.

Weaknesses can get in the way of leadership. However, we often do not talk about another side to weaknesses in leaders. That is, a leader who focuses on her weaknesses to the extent that she does not lead from her strengths?

Moses and Gideon are two good biblical examples of such leaders. When God called Moses to lead the children of Israel out from under the bondage of slavery in Egypt, Moses pointed to his weakness (Ex. 4:10) as the reason he could not (or should not) be the one to lead the children of Israel.

From the beginning of Chapter 3 up to Chapter 4:9, God has been demonstrating to Moses His great power to do miracles. But when called upon to lead, Moses’s response was to point to his weakness saying, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

With the constant movement of people, whether because of shifting employment or looking for a better life, along with the influence of technology in our lives, changes occur rapidly.

One group which is challenged with figuring out how to deal with all these changes is ministry leaders. Since what they have to offer is free – the message of the cross – and counter-cultural, they must figure out daily how to adjust to changes and remain relevant while also staying true to the message of the Gospel.

As a leader, are you aware that your style of leadership and the direction in which you lead your people is a reflection of your focus, or where you are centered?

Usually a leader is centered on one of three areas:

• Self
• God
• Activity

Where you are centered determines your leadership style, influence, accomplishments and legacy.

Leadership is generally understood as leading others to get things done. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” (Dwight D Eisenhower)

The challenge many leaders face is the tendency to focus on what they want those under their leadership to get done at the expense of one of the most important aspects of their responsibilities: the human side of leading. What I mean by the human side of leadership is the relationship aspect of leading.

Relationship-driven leaders empower and inspire their followers to do great things.

Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. We are reminded of the promise made and kept by Jesus to his followers when he was on Earth with them. On more that one occasion he promised that when he left this Earth he would send the Holy Spirit to represent him and be with his followers (see Acts 1:4-5).

The presence of the Holy Spirit with us is more than a reminder of Jesus. The Spirit’s presence also means we will be empowered to do the work of God (see Luke 24:48-49).

The desire to win is natural; we see this trait from the early stages of childhood.

Toddlers fight because they need to win although they do not know that is what they are doing. As adults, we continue to fight to win, but we tend to be more subtle about it now that we can rationalize why we need to win.

Whether vying for a toy, a position, a desired outcome, or just being right, we want to come out on top. We want to win.

All leaders want to know that those they are leading are actually following. Leaders struggle when they think people are following, and in reality, they are not.

In some cases, people may be following because of a paycheck. Others may appear to be following while pursuing their own agenda, such as waiting for the leader to fail so they can take their place. Others may follow out of shared loyalty; they feel they owe the leader for being good to them sometime in the past.

Whatever the reason there is nothing more disheartening for leaders than to think they have followers when in reality they do not.