Beyond the Title: Choosing Your Leadership Legacy

As believers in Christ, leadership isn’t an elective, it’s an ordinance. Whether you’re the husband leading your home, the wife guiding the children, the pastor shepherding the congregation, or the disciple sharing the Gospel, you have a crucial sphere of influence. This immediately begs a crucial question: What kind of leader will you be?

We’re all tasked with leading, but not all leadership is created equal. There are two very distinct paths you can take:

1. The Positional Leader (Leading by Authority)

A Positional Leader relies on power and the title they hold. Their influence flows from the organizational chart, not from the hearts of the people. This leadership style says, “Do this because I said so,” holding people accountable through rules and regulations. While a position grants a temporary right to direct, it rarely inspires genuine loyalty or empowers lasting change.

2. The Personal Leader (Leading by Influence)

A Personal Leader operates through love, sacrifice, and service. They don’t demand respect; they earn it. This leader’s authority is built on trust, and they prioritize empowering and encouraging those they lead. They say, “Follow me as I follow Christ,” and they lead from the front, willing to serve the way Jesus did.

The Apostle Paul’s Powerful Example of Personal Leadership

The Apostle Paul, a figure with the highest positional authority in the early church, deliberately chose to embody Personal Leadership.

In 1 Thessalonians Chapter 2, Paul beautifully articulates this choice, demonstrating that true authority flows from relational commitment:

“Although we could have been a burden as Christ’s apostles, instead we were gentle among you, as a nurse nurtures her own children. We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. For you remember our labor and hardship, brothers and sisters. Working night and day so that we would not burden any of you, we preached God’s gospel to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devoutly, righteously, and blamelessly we conducted ourselves with you believers. As you know, like a father with his own children, we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”

Paul’s leadership was characterized by:

• Sacrificial Service: He chose labor and hardship, working night and day, to avoid being a burden, demonstrating the servant’s heart.
• Nurturing Love: He was gentle like a nurse and encouraging like a father, building relationships of depth and trust.
• Vulnerability: He was willing to share not only the gospel but also our own lives, earning the right to lead because he deeply cared.

Paul leveraged his relationship with the believers, not his title over them. He influenced and inspired them by modeling a life worthy of God and imploring them to do the same.

A Call to Transform Your Leadership

As you consider your own role in your family, your church, or your community, which type of leader are you expressing?

Are you leaning on the right to lead that your title grants, or are you earning the privilege to lead through your actions, your sacrifice, and your genuine love?

Jesus, the ultimate leader, taught us that the greatest among us must be the servant (Mark 10:45). Your leadership legacy will not be defined by the titles you held, but by the hearts you touched and the lives you empowered.

What personal action will you take this week to lead with the gentleness and sacrifice that Paul demonstrated, moving beyond your title to embrace true influence?

.