My kind of leader.

I find it quite interesting - the topic of leadership - in case you haven't noticed, have not paid attention, or if you just don't get it.  Funny thing is, I've been in a leadership position for over 20 years in one capacity or another, and certainly took on leadership roles beyond anything official or unofficial.  I strongly believe that God created me to lead.  I don't know why that was/is His plan, but clearly He has put that into my DNA, created me to care for others that have been/are in my stead, and given me some kind of passion to encourage, coach, and do what I can to lead others to becoming more successful.  All of this leads me to struggle with leaders that don't seem to "get it".  I am certain this is true no matter who you are, where you live, what language you speak, or what it is that you do each day.  But here's the skinny - how can people obtain and remain in leadership positions if it is quite evident by their words and actions that they indeed do not "get it".  Recently, I have felt that I perhaps need to seek other options in the work field, let's say for the past, oh, 9 years.  Mostly because I feel that God continues to lead me, grow me, and stretch me.  The last decade has taught me more than I ever wanted to know about myself - good, bad, and the ugly.  It has also taught me about leading.  I clearly have screwed things up - and clearly I am a human with the evil desires of this temporal world.  It is a fight and a battle to keep an ear to Him so that I might be able to lead others.  Because without that, and without what He has given and taught me, I would be dumbfounded.  Lost.  Irrelevant.  Unable.  But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  The more I reflect on leadership and leading, the more I have to come back to the greatest leader ever.  Christ.  He never judged.  He loved.  He never fought back.  He showed grace.  He always listened to others.  Not to himself.  He sacrificed.  He didn't boast - and if you read the bible, there seem to be quite a few things He could have boasted about.  He healed the sick.  He raised the dead.  He loved others more than himself.  That is the type of leader I want to follow.  That is the type of leader I want to become.  But I am the worst of all these sinners.  This week, I have a sense that God has presented me with a vision of stepping out of THE leader role, and that I need to learn to give up my instinct to step in, lead, direct.  What might He be saying to me in this?  One thing I sense is simply to take some time to step out of THE leader role and not wake up in the middle of the night concerned with what is to happen next.  To follow the ONE true leader I know and trust - Jesus.  That is my kind of leader.  Who is your leader?  Who do you follow?  

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