Sunday, May 6, 2012

May 7, 2012

"After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.  By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.  Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." Exodus 13:20-22

I know that most of you who read this blog are not leaders, but even if you are not it will help you to know how to recognize a good one.

Moses was a good one and in just these couple of chapters I find eight characteristics of a good leader.

The first trait of a good leader is HE FOLLOWS GOD!

I would think that almost goes without saying that a godly leader must follow God. But, it is the place to begin identifying one.

Obviously, the purpose of a godly leader is to lead God's people in God's Way and it will be much easier to do that if he is following God.

This all sounds simple and reasonable, so how do you recognize a leader who follow's God?

Look at the example of Moses. We know he followed God because when God moved Moses moved and when God stopped Moses stopped. He never got ahead of God and He never lagged behind God - He followed God!

Another thing to look for is whether this leader is allows himself to be accountable to others leaders. A godly leader is willing to be led. He is willing to humble himself in the company of a superior leader and has confidence to lead when entrusted with leadership.

A godly leader leads only because he wants to bring people closer to God. So, by watching a leader over time you can observe whether the people who follow him become closer to God or not. That is a sure sign!

With a Presidential election just six months away, this should be one of the factors you consider in deciding which candidate to support. Prayerfully consider which potential leader most closely follows God.

You can feel confident following a leader who follows God!