Quest 34 - The Leader In You

 I have not had a lot of different jobs in my life. 

Actually, I’ll save you from wondering how many jobs I have had…..the answer is 1. The only jobs I have ever held are related to ministry. Might have been as an intern, Student Pastor, or This Gen Pastor, regardless - I have a very small scope of what the workforce looks like.

What I do know is that I have the utmost respect for people that are fully committed to doing the very best they can at the job they have. It doesn’t matter to me whether you are a business owner, an accountant, a cook, a cashier, or a coach. If you are fully committed to giving your best at the job that you hold, I respect you for that. Scriptures make it this clear that this is something we should all do. 

Colossians 3:23-24, “23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.”

Are there times where you are doing a job just because of the season of life you are in? Yeah absolutely. My sister, Mackenzie, has worked a ton of different jobs at restaurants while she is trying to make it in the Theater world in Chicago. Yet, if I know Mackenzie… I know she has taken ownership of whatever role that she is in and is going to make the best of it. 

That’s the mentality that we should all have. Whatever role that we are in, it should be as an act of glorifying God. We are serving him through the job we are currently occupying. 

This idea expands into the realm of our Quest conversation this week. As Mark laid out, Jesus was a good shepherd/leader because he knows his people, sacrifices for them, and improves our lives. That should be the barometer for any leader that we have in our lives. 

As Mark said, “These are the very tests we should use for leaders of our own day. Do they make your life better, or do they use you to make their own lives better? Do they sacrifice the sheep or sacrifice for the sheep? Do they know their sheep by being among them? Whether someone is a business owner, a CEO, a teacher, a coach, a parent, or a pastor, a true shepherd lives as Jesus did - for the benefit of those who God has put under his care.”

Which brings me full circle into the discussion of the jobs that we work. I have been in ministry full time for 8 years now. That’s a long time! I’m 28 and old now! Here’s what I know about my profession from personal experience and watching others… If you aren’t fully committed to the job and leading people, you aren’t going to last long. Why? Because pastoral leadership is hard.

You know what else is hard? Every other job that people work. We are all called to practice pastoral leadership to the people that we lead in our lives. It’s not easy and we don’t always know that we have that responsibility, but it’s there. I have said it before on this blog, everybody leads somebody. This is what that means. 

When you are a Coach on a Friday night… you are offering that leadership to your team. 

When you are at home with your kid on a Tuesday morning…. You are leading. 

When you are talking to the hostess that annoys you at work… You are leading.

When you are giving someone a speeding ticket… You are leading. 

The reality is that no matter what job we face, it is hard and it’s hard because if you call yourself a Christ Follower, you are put into a position of leadership wherever you may be at. If you aren’t fully committed to the act of leadership, the weight on your shoulders will spit you out and your time of influence won’t last long. I think it’s so important that we all take this burden on our shoulders and be ready to present the Gospel by helping people find what matters. 

Reminder of our verse for this next season of the church is : .

Philippians 1:9-10, “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.”

Knowing that you are a leader in whatever position you hold… that will help you find what matters at your job whether you love your job or hate it. It will give you purpose while you are there! 

Here’s the key though. It goes back to the scripture in John that we read. 

John 10:11-13, ““I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”

Notice the language difference. Jesus calls himself a shepherd. The other is a hired hand. 

How we define ourselves changes everything. 

Are you just a hired secretary? Or are you a secretary that leads?

Are you just a hired cook? Or are you a cook that leads?

Are you just a hired teacher? Or are you a teacher that leads? 

Leadership is hard. If we just look at ourselves as someone filling a spot, when the wolf attacks, we are going to run. That wolf attacks all of the time, that’s why the people at your job, school, home need a Shepherd. You have a responsibility to be that shepherd for them. 

I don’t know where you work, but here’s what I want from you for the next 7 work days…. 

Every morning before you do anything else at work, I want you to walk into the closest bathroom or place with a mirror, look at yourself then close your eyes and say this quick prayer. 

“Lord, you are the good shepherd. Help me be a good shepherd today.”

Then open your eyes, take a deep breath, then say to yourself. 

I, (insert name), am a leader at (insert place of work, school, home) and I will make a difference today. 

Then go kick that wolf's butt for your sheep.