Do your circumstances determine your character? (70-5)

A leader must have faith in their team and be prepared to lead with equal effectiveness regardless of current circumstances. Read Numbers 11-14.

Moses faced open rebellion from the people concerning the kinds of food God was providing. He had his senior leadership lose confidence in him after a marriage to a non-Hebrew. He had 10 of 12 tribal leaders refuse to follow the established course and timeline after they saw the potential problems in the land God had promised them. He faced a total collapse of confidence by all the people when the 10 tribal leaders brought their report out of the leadership team and took it public. Yet when God was ready to strike down the people, Moses begged God to give the people another chance.

Efficient, responsive teams require a leader’s confidence and an investment of the leader’s time. Effective leaders do not let the circumstances or the current state of their team determine their personal character, their consistency, or their loyalty to the team. Godly leaders see each team member as a man or woman created in the image of God and look for their potential.

Leaders can increase their loyalty to the team by:

• Praying for the team regularly
• Practicing principles of servant leadership
• Remembering the team is depending on them
• Knowing the team will imitate their leader
• Investing time and energy to learn about their team i.e. know the name of their family members, their non-work interests, etc.
• Celebrating achievements along the way
• Leading by example

Hebrews 13:7-8 “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”