Isaiah 11:1
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:”
There are many models of leadership that we have to follow, but as Christians, we must be sure that our model of leadership is one that the LORD would want us to copy. There are no doubt many great leaders throughout history who had great characteristics that Christians could imitate, but there is no one in history who has the exact model that the LORD would want us to copy other than Jesus Christ. In this chapter, God shows the model of leadership that Jesus Christ gave for us to copy. There are several characteristics of Christian leadership that Jesus displayed in His ministry on this Earth.
First, Christian leadership is Spirit-led leadership. Verse 2 shows us that the “Spirit of the LORD” rested upon Jesus. Christian leadership, first and foremost, must be led by the Holy Spirit. If a Christian leader allows anything other than the Holy Spirit to influence their leadership, their leadership will not produce the results that God wants. If there is one prayer that every Christian leader should pray, it should be the prayer of yielding themselves continually to the Holy Spirit.
Second, Christian leadership is balanced. Of course, if you are Spirit led, you will be balanced and use the right attributes needed at the right time. There were several balancing attributes Jesus used in His leadership. For instance, His leadership epitomized “wisdom and understanding.” He balanced “counsel” with “might.” He kept “knowledge” in check with the “fear of the LORD.” Christian leadership will not be one-sided leadership, but it will be leadership that will have the same balancing characteristics as Jesus Christ.
Third, Christian leadership is principled leadership. Verse 3 shows that Jesus did not “judge after the sight of his eyes.” In other words, He didn’t allow His feelings to dictate what He should do, but He let godly principles dictate His decisions. I’m always amazed at how many leaders make decisions based on feelings. I often hear Christian leaders say, “I’m going to lead based off what I feel the LORD would have me do.” This may sound spiritual, but Christian leadership leads based off godly principles found in the Word of God. Too many leaders are changing things so quickly because they feel one way on one day, and another way on another day, which creates instability in their work and followers. Christian leadership modeled after Christ will make principled decisions. If you are going to be a successful leader, you must set your principles based on God’s Word, and let those principles make the decisions for you.
Fourth, Christian leadership lives righteously. Verse 5 says, “And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins…” You will never lead correctly if you are not living a righteous life. Righteous living gives leadership authority to do what they are supposed to do without the fear of someone finding out what they did in the past. Nothing substitutes for righteousness. You will never lead people down the right path if you are not living righteously.
These four characteristics should be the model for every Christian leader. These characteristics always lead to a stable atmosphere as found in verse 6. If you want your leadership to be effective, you will want to be sure these characteristics are what control you as you lead.