Maxwell has said, "Everything rises and falls on ... leadership," but

what does that really mean?  To me, there are many, many strong leaders

who like to push and shove and get their way and insert their opinions

everywhere, but how is that leading people anywhere?  They are dragging

people down, not raising them up (or leading them in any good

direction).  Even in the Church world so many leaders are following the

example of the Pharisees and exalting themselves, while pushing down

others.  This can't be considered leadership.  Leadership is taking

people somewhere.  Leadership like Christ is coming underneath others

and serving them in order to help them fulfill their God given

potential.  Real leadership means the leader takes the lead by putting

in more effort.  So many mentorship teachings out there on how to be a

good mentee and serve spiritual authority.  I think mentors need to

learn to put in the effort, serve and maybe even practice some reverse

mentoring (recognizing the spiritual authority in those we lead).  The

type of mentor I want is someone who doesn't let me call them mentor,

but friend.  That's the person I would call spiritual father (even

though I don't like the term - Matt. 23:9, NLT).  Even the great

Apostle Paul, someone who deserved to be called all sorts of glorious

terms often called those he raised up (and served) co-workers ...

friends and partners in Christ. 

My

friend Alex told me a business principle related to this by Harvard

Business Review in a book called What Really Works.  One of the four

main principles they've located in the most successful organizations in

the world is "creating a flat organization" by cutting out

bureaucracy.  In other words, teaching the leaders to raise up other

leaders and empowering them to lead, rather than creating a

followership or personality cult.  I'd like to see that.  I'd like to

see humble leaders and mentors who change and morph based on the good

qualities they find in those they mentor and raise up.

I believe

leadership can sometimes become a generalized word that is hard to

digest or make sense of, kinds of like the word Christianity.  To me,

real leadership, good leadership is taking people somewhere.  Taking

people up.  Causing good change in the lives of others.  Hitler was a

strong leader, but can we call that leadership?  He provided an opiate

for the masses, and brought an enlightened nation back into the dark

age of human depravity.  One of the Nazi regime's goals was to

eliminate education except for their agendas - to keep people in the

dark intellectually so they could more easily "lead" them.  Sort of

like what's happening in the middle east in some areas today with

education.  How can any of this be classified as leadership?  This

isn't leadership, it's destruction.

I believe everything rises

and falls on encouragement, and that this is the core of leadership. 

Have you had someone encourage you lately?  I'm not talking about

puffery, although that would be nice in a world with so little praise. 

A true leader must learn to be optimistic about their own life and

future and others.  When we cut others down and constantly critique

(micromanage) we reduce leadership to destruction and make followers

dependent on us, which is not truly leading them in any good

direction.  Rather, praise and encourage the good things you see in

their lives.  Bring change by encouraging the good and you will fill

the hot air balloon of their future so they can rise to new heights. 

It seems like our world likes to praise so little that we move from

week to week on one starving morsel of good.  Scripture tells us we

will go from "glory to glory" and "strength to strength."  I pray we

can become true leaders, good leaders like Barnabus who are able to see

the Apostolic in people like Paul and encourage it out of them.