Leadership

Laying The Foundation: The Growth Of A Leader (Part Ten)

By jgiroux ⋅ October 23, 2008 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

This is Part 10 of the Laying the Foundation series on Thursday Leadership Lesson from National Community Church. As we build our groups and ministries, we must ensure that we are building on a solid foundation. This series will explore characteristics of leaders who lay and build on firm foundations. Today, we will talk about the Anointing of a Leader.

The first leaders of the early church were chosen based on the following criteria: “Look around among yourselves, brothers, and select seven men who are well respected and full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.”

Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit active and evident in our lives, we will never be able to fulfill the ministry that God has given us. In fact, this characteristic was so important to the early church that they made it one of the top 3 criteria for choosing its first leaders. Oswald Sanders, who highlighted dozens of leadership characteristics in Spiritual Leadership, said, “Other qualities are important; to be Spirit-filled is indispensable. Perhaps we should have started with this quality, as well.

Jesus himself was “anointed…with the Holy Spirit and power” (Acts 10:38). Here are some other examples of people filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts:

• The 120 in the Upper Room (Acts 2:4)
• Peter, addressing the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8)
• Stephen, a deacon (Acts 6:3-5, 7:55)
• Paul (Acts 13:9)
• Barnabas (Acts 11:24)

It is hard to think of a major player in the early church that Scripture does not describe as being filled with the Spirit.

Here are some of the ways in which the Spirit led that early group of leaders:

• The Gospel spread to the Gentiles because Peter was sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:9-23, 11:1-18)
• Paul and Barnabas set out on the first missionary journey because of the prompting of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:1-4)
• Paul followed the leadership of the Spirit throughout his ministry (Acts 16:6-8, 19:21, 20:22)
• When the leaders were required to reconcile the Jewish and Gentile Christ followers, they pronounced their judgments with “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” (Acts 15:28)

Why is the anointing of the Holy Spirit important? Two primary reasons. First, so that you can lay your foundation and build your ministry using power tools. Secondly, so that you will know how to engage in spiritual warfare, pray with power, and make Spirit-led decisions.

Building With Power Tools

There is a tremendous difference between regular tools and power tools. In Acts, Jesus said, “When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power…” The anointing of the Holy Spirit turns our works into works of power. The Bible tells us that we all have tools given to us by the Holy Spirit. We typically call these tools “spiritual gifts.”

In 1 Corinthians 12:7, Paul says, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” Peter agreed, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” (1 Peter 4:10). Paul also encouraged his readers to “try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” (1 Corinthians 14:12) He also reminds Timothy to use his gifts in 1 Timothy 4:14 and 2 Timothy 1:6.

God has given you a spiritual gift that will help you build your small group and ministry. Identify that spiritual gift. Learn about it. Read about how it’s used in Scripture or other people that had those gifts. Learn about its limitations and abuses. We need to understand what tools the Holy Spirit has given us, how to access them, and the proper way to use them. We need to practice and experiment with our gifts. The anointing of the Holy Spirit puts power tools into our hands.

Leading With Power Insight

There is a real and active enemy of the people of God, and leaders are charged with fighting against his schemes. In Acts 20:28, Paul told the leaders at Ephesus to “keep watch over yourselves and all of the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.”

Small group leaders and ministry leaders are like shepherds, and we must protect the flock that God has entrusted to us. The anointing of the Holy Spirit will help you wage that fight through prayer. You will be led in how to pray, what to pray, and when to pray for those that you lead. The Holy Spirit will also bring discernment to your leadership. Discernment has never been one of my gifts, but over the last couple years, I have learned that God will give me discernment about the people that I lead and I need to be sensitive to that. Don’t brush away those “hunches” that you get during prayer. Have the boldness to act on what you sense the Holy Spirit is leading you to do.

Plugging Into God’s Power

So how do you receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit into your life? It’s certainly cannot be reduced to a formula. Jesus simply told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem to wait, watch, and pray for it. That’s the only formula I really know. Here are some practical things you can do as you seek to be filled, empowered, and led by the Holy Spirit in your leadership.

• Ask for it. This seems simple enough, huh? In Luke 10:11-13, Jesus explains, “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

• Learn about it. You may want to place yourself in a community or a discipline of learning more about the power of the Holy Spirit. Consider attending a group like Holy Spirit Encounter or picking up the book Plugged Into God’s Power.

• Dig into the Bible. Read through the book of Acts in one sitting to get a feel for story. It’s full of adventure and fear and miracles and excitement, but we miss that when we read chapter by chapter. Immerse yourself in the book of Acts and look specifically at the role of the Holy Spirit.

Final Thoughts

In the book of Acts, we see a small band of Christ followers huddled in prayer. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came rushing into their lives—Scripture says it was “like a mighty windstorm.” And Peter—who had denied that he even knew Jesus 40 days earlier—preached a message that resulted in three thousand people becoming Christ-followers.

Whenever most of us think of the Holy Spirit, the image of a dove is what immediately comes to mind. But the images I see of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts are nothing like a dove—I see fire and wind and storms and power.

Here’s my question. Are we allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to work through us? Or are we just running around being busy with ministry and actually blocking the flow of the Holy Spirit?

When I compare what I know as church to what I read in the Scripture, I have to acknowledge the reality that there was a power working in and through them that is largely absent in us. We need to have a windstorm experience with the Holy Spirit. Many of us need a new and a fresh encounter with the Holy Spirit.

About The Author: Heather Z. is the Pastor of Discipleship at National Community Church in Washington, DC.