Leadership Requires Continual Involvement
Jehoshaphat set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, Consider what you do: for you don't judge for man, but for the Lord; and He is with you in the judgment. — 2 Chronicles 19:5-6
Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I don't tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven." — Matthew 18:21-22
Author
Dr. Roberto Miranda
Summary: Spiritual leadership requires constant, direct, and personal commitment; it is not built through occasional interventions. To develop others, we must invest time and passion, remain close to key leaders, and continually impart to them the vision received from God. This is how Jesus acted, living and ministering with his disciples until he had deeply impacted them, before the Holy Spirit sealed their formation at Pentecost. Leaders must clearly understand the ministry they are called to build, remain faithful to their vision despite criticism, delays, and failures, and align every decision with it. Like Jehoshaphat, they must traverse the field of ministry to ensure that this vision is implemented and takes root.
The task of shepherding a flock or managing a ministry in the church is not a matter of investing a few hours here and there, especially when one seeks to impart a vision and mark a group with a certain spiritual sensitivity. The leader must invest a great deal of time and passion in the project. Successful ministries are built over the long term, one intervention at a time, dealing directly with the people. Close contact must be maintained with key leaders. The anointing and the mark of the servant of God must be imparted to them through continual contact.
That is the method Jesus employed. During the years of his ministry, he lived, walked, and ministered with his disciples until he had marked them deeply with his vision. Finally, the work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost sealed the teachings received from the Master and enabled the disciples to minister in the power and style of the Lord.
Throughout my ministry, I have discovered that being a pastor carries a high personal cost. In fact, any leadership that has vision or purpose requires continual involvement on the part of the principal leader. There are no shortcuts! It requires the total and unceasing investment of our lives. We must maintain direct and personal involvement with those whom we want to form according to the vision we have received from God. The field of ministry must be continually irrigated. Leaders must be repeatedly marked with the original vision.
The leader must be clear about what God has communicated to him. He needs to know with certainty what kind of ministry he is going to build. He must determine which specific directives he has received from the Holy Spirit and what sensitivity he is to impart to his followers. He must remain faithful to the original vision. He must persist in its component elements despite opposition and criticism, delays and complications, and even personal failures. Every aspect of the ministry must be aligned with the essential vision. Every activity or decision must reflect the essential values of that vision.
Jehoshaphat evidently understood this. That is why he invested a great deal of time and energy in continually traveling throughout the nation, despite residing in the kingdom’s capital. We can imagine the dynamic young king periodically setting out from Jerusalem early in the morning with a retinue of his chief officials, riding toward some region of the country. It was necessary to ensure that the vision of a godly nation, governed by the principles of the Law of Jehovah, was being implemented and rooted in the sensibilities of his people.