There are two arenas of leadership in the world, those leaders who have a position and title of leadership like the boss you work for, teachers, police, and politicians, and those who do not have the position or title but are leaders because of the power of their influence on the people around them. In the church, it is the same, the official leaders are the Pastors, Elders, teachers, and those in charge of particular ministries. But there are also those who have great influence on the culture in a church and the direction it is going who have no title or position. All of us should strive to be a positive influence on at least part of the people we spend time with. Those who have the most influence in any group of people like a family, a church, or at work have common characteristics that can be observed and learned.

These characteristics are ones that I have learned about from others who have them and from reading the Bible and many other books on leadership written by smart people, and I have also recognized the power and value of these characteristics as a Pastor experiencing and witnessing the impact of highly influential people at Jefferson Baptist Church over the years who have these characteristics.

I said that I have learned about these characteristics, not that I have learned to practice them, to live them, they have not yet become strong character traits in me, though I am growing and making progress as I press forward in my quest to become a strong, positive influencer of people, a real leader.

I teach this information in my “Leadership Classes,” at JBC so I thought I might also write about it in my blog.

The most important characteristic of strong leaders is not really a character trait as it is an awareness of the power of influence, an accurate assessment of our own ability to influence, and a super strong and relentless pursuit of becoming more and more a person of influence.