Of God-Made

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Leaders
A leader must be one who sees ahead of all others. He knows where he
is going and the way to it. He has a vision of what to do and how to do it.
After all explanations, he can confidently say, “Follow me, this is the
way...I will make you get to the desire of your heart.”
A Man of vision… a man endowed with the revelation of things not yet
seen. He sees when all else cannot perceive a thing. A leader must be a clear
communicator, a persuasive communicator who with words, with clear
illustrations, with visual aids, with proverbs and parables easily cause men
to see vividly what is in his mind. He mobilises followership, as men gain
understanding of the vision, its intents, methods and purpose through him.
He is patient with the sluggish. He explains again and again. He uses
various means to avoid unhealthy monotony. He takes steady,slow but firm
steps to enable followers trace his footsteps. He is keen on getting men to
voluntarily move along with their own inner drive. He depends on the Holy
Spirit to convince, convict and convert men. He leads by converting men
from within to become one with the vision just like himself. This can be slow
though it varies with the individual... But then the leader is willing to
accommodate the individual. He is willing to stimulate him, till he can evoke
a personal response from within his very heart.
He commands respect and following, through TRUST! People have
come to trust him... to trust his judgment, to trust his suggestion, to trust
his counsel... Trust does not come with a stroke of activity. Trust in a leader
is only built over time. His actions and reactions in several little (seemingly
insignificant) occurrences, situations, events, as regards men around make
or mar this trust in him. It depends on how he maturely, tenderly and
lovingly handles each little thing that pertains to men behind him... for their
eyes are silently open to see whether he will turn - either to satisfy his own
self-interest or to pour out himself in selfless service for the benefits and
growth of the subordinates.
To evoke this trust in men, the leader himself over time must prove
stable and predictable; a man of one mouth.., not double-tongued: a man
reliable in every conceivable circumstance - positive or negative. He does not
withdraw in the face of danger either injurious to his person or that of those
following.
“Having loved His own that is in the world, He loved them to the
end… even unto death...”
 To evoke this trust, he must be consistent! He does not change with
moods and atmosphere. Men should be able to take risk, based on what he
says. He himself must become the worthy “collateral” men need, to throw
their lot upon the waters of life, and the uncertainties that surround things
that have never been, which makes most men shrink back unto
conservatism. All of these must not be a stage act... it must not be a crash
programme just to win men’s vote... A leader quietly, without the public
view, grows and, develops these qualities, as a life style. He, himself is being
converted and transformed daily. He keeps growing and giving life-gaps unto
his followers, so that each time they lift up their eyes to see ahead, they see
him genuinely ahead of them in life. He inspires them to keep coming along;
his footsteps are clearly and firmly imprinted on the soil of life. Each has
enough room to grow and to develop his potential to the fullest.
A leader must not be a dwarf. Followers must not be compelled to
“blow off the lid” in order to express themselves! Let them bubble up and
down, left and right, with a little pressure: “the space between the
leadership and followership, due to rank difference, is roomy enough.”
As men look at him again and again, they must not just gain a mere
familiarity; but have fresh challenges that make them want to change into
his own likeness from one degree of glory to another. Familiarity is
pronounced when the leader is stagnant in grace, in growth, in knowledge;
in purity and in power. A growing man cannot become an object of scorn, in
the eyes of the viewer. Even for a husband not to become a mere figure-
head to his wife, he must keep growing.
A leader must grow. He must keep at growing. LORD, make me a ‘fisher of men’; a
‘catcher’ of men, make me a leader whose net attracts men, one who does not leak
away once people come near to see the “in and out of his life”.