Last week I got an email from a pastor in California who is following – a bit, and from a distance – what we are doing with The Story. This pastor, with a connection to our congregation through marriage, has lead a church plant in the LA area. I was curious what I would find online about him, and so googled for a moment or two, and came across an interview with him. In response to a question concerning people or books or what have you that have had a significant influence and impact on him, bookwise he responded “Easily Spiritual Leadership by Oswald Sanders.”
J. Oswald Sanders, a native of New Zealand, was a missionary statesman, specifically a leader of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (once named the China Inland Mission), and a writer and preacher. He lived from 1902 to 1992.
Reading Joseph’s reference to that book lead me to grab my father’s old and underlined copy. I started reading the first couple of chapters, and was immediately struck by how relevant it was to read Sander’s words on leadership in conjunction with reading The Story, and particularly the portion dealing with Israel’s hunger for a king. It is important to not make characters like Saul and David into cartoons or stick men or symbols. They were both very real and very complex leaders. Still, I couldn’t help but think of the two of them, as I found on page 21 Sander’s columns and comparisons on Natural and Spiritual leadership. What do you think of this?
Natural leadership and spiritual leadership have many points of similiarity, but there are some respects in which they may be antithetical. This is seen when some of their dominant characteristics are set over against one another.
NATURAL SPIRITUAL
Self-confident Confident in God
Knows men Also knows God
Makes own decisions Seeks to find God’s will
Ambitious Self-effacing
Originates own methods Finds and follows God’s methods
Enjoys commanding others Delights to obey God
Motivated by personal Motivated by love for God and man
Considerations
Independent God-dependent
Part of what it means to have a heart for God is to center your life around God. A leader who centers on God is very different from one who does not.
Consider your own life, and any leadership roles you have or leadership tasks you live out. And consider whether your heart is a heart for God by making use of Sander’s characteristics. Take a look…and think…and pray.
