Leadership? That word scares me!

Women are afraid, very afraid, of the word, Leader. Maybe it's because we already have enough hats to wear, enough balls to juggle in the air, and don't want one more thing to live up to. But every woman is a leader. You and I were created to lead, and have been equipped for God's plan since the time we were in our mother's womb.

God has a plan!
John 15:16a-17a
"I have appointed you to go, to produce fruit that will last. Love each other, this is what I am commanding you to do."

His Plan= Appointed to be fruitful. Commanded to Love Others.

There is a process to the plan!
John 15:5,9
"I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can not produce anything without me. I have loved you the same way the Father has loved me. So live in that love."

His Process=Live in Him and produce fruit. Live in love as the Father has loved us.

Leaders live connected to Jesus ( the vine).

What makes us leaders?
The definition of a leader is:

• To go before in order to show the way ( sounds like a mother)
  
• To conduct or escort a group ( sounds like a teacher)
  
• To conduct by guiding ( sounds like a friend or counselor)
  
• To influence (sounds like someone who you are in relationship with)
  
• To guide in a direction, action or opinion ( sounds like a mentor)
  

As you can see by the definitions, we all lead in some capacity. You don't have to be in front of people, on stage, in a pulpit or doing anything that other people view as "special" to lead. You can be a mommy driving carpool, a woman working in the mail room, or a greeter at church. All of us lead. Let me repeat that...ALL OF US LEAD. Our influence can be negative or positive, but all of us influence others.

Leadership is influence of any kind.
Influence is serious business! Influence is purposeful and productive. Even in friendships, influence is prominent between two people. Our lives sway others. Our words mean something. Our choices impact other people. It's important, as Christians, that we are very clear on one thing...the importance of daily connection to Christ. According to Jesus himself, we can not bear the appointed fruit without connection. Connection is more than showing up at church. Connection is not "talking" about it, but living it.

How do we walk it out....

Here comes the repetition:
Come to Him Daily...This is Vital to your Spiritual Health and Leadership
Remain in Him, Renew in Him, Rest in Him.
Live as a Woman Loved By God, then Live as a Woman who is Living to Love Others.

Coming to Him looks like:
To come to him is to approach him...This looks like, talking to Him( prayer)
Learning what he wants, thinks, etc...( reading his word)
Pondering how you can please him ( relationship).

This is the basics of relationship that honestly, we often ACT like we are connected without the real power of authentic connection. ( Sorry, but I have spoken to too many women over the years to know this is true. It seems that for most of us, everything else takes priority over spending time with an unseen God!)

Rather than come to Jesus, many of us rely on our own coping mechanisms to handle life and even leadership. This would be acting out according to dependence on our flesh. It is WILD to think that we would ask God his heart, will, and intervention on the small things that we usually handle in our own strength.

Acting Out Often Keeps Us From Coming To Jesus Daily.

As a Christian woman, acting out often is not conspicuous. Acting out can be not living in love, not connecting to the Lord, or dependence on self.Most of us know how to act out because we have been doing it since we were two! What happens when our acting out gets in the way of walking in faith? Like most children who act out, we are often not likely to go to the Father when we are in the middle of it. My children didn't come to me and say, " hey mom, catch me, I am acting out and disobeying." No, instead they tried to conceal whatever it is that they were doing to disobey me. In many ways that is the template for how we live before God and others as grown ups. This is even more true with anyone in a leadership position, because we feel we have to "live up" to what people expect of us.

The important thing to keep in mind is, the only one we are to "live up" to is Jesus and what He is calling us to do. He is calling us to relationship...period! Are you in a vital, connected, relationship with Jesus? You can be leading and still come up with "no" as an answer. You can be "doing" and not "being" in relationship with Him. Leadership does not replace relationship with God. Leadership is influence. Remember all of us have it, but we should not be walking in leadership without the humility of relationship with Christ.

Oswald Chambers says a few things about this:
"Isn't it humiliating to be told that we must come to Jesus! Think of the things about which we will not come to Jesus Christ. If you want to know how real you are, test yourself by these words..."Come to Me...." When you hear those words you know that something must happen in you before you can come. The Holy Spirit will show you what you have to do, and it will involve anything that will uproot whatever is preventing you from getting through to Jesus. You will never get any further until you are willing to do that very thing."

Matthew 11:27a-28
"My Father has turned everything over to me. Only the Father knows the Son. And know one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son is willing to reveal him. Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. "

What is your heavy load today?
Have you come to Jesus with that very thing?
Could it be that part of dying to self, is coming to Jesus?
Could it be that we can only have the revelation we are longing for, by getting it from coming to Him?

Think about these things....

God stands with his arms outstretched not only to take you but for you to take Him.