EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL LEADERS by Carlos S. Moran, Ed.D.

There is much talk about leadership in today's world, for it has captured the attention of many. The term has become a buzzword in various circles, including the church. The hunt for effective spiritual leaders is an unending task which at times may be quite vexing because of the disheartening descriptions of Christian leadership that are being projected by the media and the leaders themselves. Leadership's appeal as an idea, however, demands that each of us asks some stimulating questions: What is a leader? What is the best definition of leadership? What is the definition of an effective spiritual leader? Why is the spirituality of a leader important? How is the leader's spirituality manifested in the daily fulfillment of his or her responsibilities? How is the spiritual leader's effectiveness evaluated? It is quite evident that our contemporary society is searching for a spiritual experience, for spiritual leaders to direct them toward God and His church. The great quantity of books, tapes, and videos related to one's effectiveness and spirituality is escalating on a daily basis. People are consuming these literary resources because of their need to have their spiritual questions answered; they want to know about how to care for their souls. Therefore, Christian leaders need to be in harmony with God, living under His guidance, and committed to depending on God's resources to fulfill his or her calling to lead with anointing, power, and wisdom. What are the essential qualities of an effective spiritual leader?

AN EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST BE PURE
Effective spiritual leaders recognize that they are called by God to serve in His church. Their strong sense of a high calling makes them dependable in all of their relationships. The fact that they have been affirmed and confirmed by their superiors and their churches gives them the freedom to realize their specific calling to Christian service. The dedication of an effective spiritual leader is not a matter of doing only but of being. It is being authentic in every aspect of life. The effective spiritual leader does not engage in living dual lives or in practicing the arts of manipulation at any cost. Being authentic minimizes stress. Double mindedness takes a lot of strength to maintain. A solid leader means that everyone will see the real deal. The followers will voluntarily accept the talents, vision, and aptitudes of a solid leader but will reject the inauthentic leader. Many churches are on the decline due to the lack of effective spiritual leadership. As its leadership goes, so goes the church. The key to effective spiritual leadership is the leader's purity. Godly character is a by-product of being pure. What is character? It is the integration of one's personal beliefs, values, morals, which taken as a whole, reveal the true nature or character of one's being. The leader's personal character reflects how he or she will respond or react to certain situations and determines the priorities that will help him or her make decisions. The most truthful indicator of one's character is one's behavior. The moral fiber of the effective spiritual leader rests upon his or her total personal qualities, both good and bad, that display who he or she really is. The effective spiritual leader's godliness assures him or her that they qualify for leadership in the church. According to Paul, all leaders must be above reproach (1 Timothy 3:2).

AN EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST BE A PERSON OF INTEGRITY
The spiritual leader's manual is not the hottest book on leadership. A spiritual leader is firmly committed to and bound by the parameters of God's revealed word. The leader's integrity is pure, and not artificial. His or her inner being is consistent with his or her outward behaviors. The spiritual leader is straightforward because he or she is given to the quality of unity and completeness. It is not function but simple spiritual formation that the leader practices. Effective spiritual leaders maintain their integrity by controlling their emotions. No matter how they feel, good leaders strive to be guided by facts and principles. When leaders allow their emotions to control them, they become more susceptible to making errors in judgment and may become involved in serious failures. Moreover, when leaders succumb to their emotions they are prone to expressing things that later they will regret. Thus, effective spiritual leaders are always on guard, protecting their integrity by not letting their emotions control their actions. Effective spiritual leaders protect their integrity by leading an exemplary life. Many times leaders will avoid intentionally certain activities to avoid giving immature people an opportunity to create a scandal. It is a big price to pay; nevertheless, it is a good price to pay in order to serve effectively as spiritual leaders. The effective spiritual leader will guard his or her integrity because it is the essence of Christian leadership and it either earns or repels people's respect. People follow the leaders walk not his talk. To compromise one's integrity is to sell out one's leadership and facilitate the erosion of the trust of the followers.

AN EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST BE COMPASSIONATE
The leader that cares about his or her spirituality will not be anxious about how long the applause lasts when he or she is presented in comparison to other leaders. Investing too much effort in self-promotion or self-recognition minimizes the leader's ability to have sympathy for those that he or she leads. A leader that relinquishes the virtue of compassion, shows sympathy for self-centered behaviors, demands respect regardless of the circumstances, or wins at any cost, will not display the compassion that Jesus manifested toward those around Him. A spiritual leader is compassionate and sympathetic to the point that he or she sees no conflict in preparing the water and the towel to wash the feet of those he or she serves. The effective spiritual leader sees himself or herself as a servant of Christ and shows compassion, sympathy and humility as Christ did in Philippians 2:5-11. Effective spiritual leaders acknowledge that their lives are not their own. As spiritual leaders, you have a great responsibility to those you lead. Many times, you will have to sacrifice your own personal interests for the sake of your followers. Their needs will become your concern. The compassion of an effective spiritual leader is manifested by not insisting on their entitlements. All followers want to know that their leader is compassionate toward them and has their best interest at heart. When people sense that the leader is concerned for them, they tend to trust that person. The effective spiritual leader demonstrates in a vivid form compassion for the well being of his or her followers that flows out of genuine love for them. Compassionate leaders are constantly on the lookout for people's needs, hurts, and fears and encourage them as to how to handle them from a Christ-like perspective.

AN EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST HAVE SUBSTANCE
The effective spiritual leader that understands the importance of having substance knows that leaders who model servant actions and attitudes encourage others to follow Christ. Since the very nature of leading requires power, a spiritual leader will display the qualities of a resolute leader. A leader that has substance will demonstrate a significant amount of maturity in his leadership. Effective spiritual leaders acknowledge that God has granted them the fortitude to serve others. In God's kingdom, leaders that possess a high calling to lead manifest an attitude of servanthood. Leaders of substance have no problem with not getting the recognition or praise for their achievements. The leader's substance will be obvious because of his prayer life and study of Scripture. A leader with substance will not be concerned with the outward show of his or her life but with his or her inward power that is controlled by the Holy Spirit. An effective spiritual leader will display consistent substance in the expression of appropriate maturity in handling difficult situations or crises. The silent killer of leadership is the lack of substance in one' s display of emotions. The effective spiritual leader acknowledges the fact that he or she is fallible and at times mistakes are made that hurt the leader's substance. When mistakes are made, corrective action should be taken promptly to minimize the damage to the leader's credibility. Admitting one's mistake is the initial step to regaining acceptance. Effective spiritual leaders that have substance do not try to cover up their mistakes or blame someone else. Having accepted responsibility for one's mistakes the effective leader will acknowledge responsibility, apologize to those to whom he or she is accountable, and those that he or she hurt, and lastly the leader's substance allows him or her to accept gracefully the consequences. The leader's substance is manifested in his or her passion. What is passion? Passion is a one's voluntary commitment to fervently fulfill an objective. It is that difficult to explain feeling that is experienced by the leader to care deeply about meeting a need. That feeling is consistently directed toward a cause, people group, idea or specialized area of ministry. True passion does not dissipate at the first crisis the leader experiences. It has tenure, longevity; it stays with the leader until it comes to completion. An effective spiritual leader with substance will constantly assess himself or herself in relation to his or her passion. A leader that loses his or her passion will fall into a maintenance mode and eventually will surrender his or her place of leadership. It's important for spiritual leaders to always check their hearts to make certain that the energy and passion for what they are doing is providing the fuel to do their best for Christ.

AN EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST SURRENDER TO GOD'S SPIRIT
Spiritual leaders must constantly be on guard not to rely on his or her own temperament but on the power of God. Quite often great leaders learn the ins and outs of being a leader and fall prey to the temptation of wanting to do things on their own power rather that God's power. It's great to be in charge. Our own ways and means are not always in tune with God's Spirit. Sometimes we separate God's Spirit from our everyday affairs. Spiritual leaders intentionally make God's Spirit a part of their everyday existence. It's not the keeping of religious rituals that makes a leader submissive to the Holy Spirit, but rather a daily walk of consistent, wholesome spiritual development. The spiritual leader that submits to the Holy Spirit will not make provisions for the flesh. The effective spiritual leader will keep his or her emotions under control in every circumstance. A leader that surrenders his or her emotions to the Holy Spirit will maintain his or her well-being and that of his or her subordinates. The leader's emotions will affect his or her mood. The leader's mood is catching; it spreads swiftly throughout the groups setting. A good mood will impact the group positively. Nevertheless, a bad mood will hamper the group's atmosphere and eventually will hurt people. An effective spiritual leader that submits to the guidance of the Holy Spirit will develop and implement a healthy emotional mood in his or her leadership setting. It is important that the effective spiritual leader respond to his or her need to cultivate an understanding of his or her emotions and to manage them in a positive manner. Once the spiritual leader learns to acknowledge his or her emotions (anger, anxiety, sadness, fear, shame, disappointment, discouragement, greed, guilt, envy, hate, pride, grief and loneliness), he or she will be able to deal with them. Although it is not wrong or a sin to experience some emotions, if they are not dealt with promptly, they may lead to spiritual dilemmas. Lastly, leaders need to explore why there are certain emotions surfacing too much. He or she must acknowledge that some emotions may lead to the destruction of the church, group, or organization. The leader must trust the Holy Spirit to empower him or her to recognize and deal with the difficult emotions. The effective spiritual leader that submits to the Holy Spirit will control his or her moods and act in response to others with the appropriate emotions. Moreover, he or she will be prepared to handle and react adequately to the person that affects the setting of the group with their own negative moods. In conclusion, any group, church, or organization will benefit greatly when its leaders lead boldly and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual leaders demonstrate the core of their being by being pure, straightforward, compassionate, of substance, and always obedient to God's Spirit. Many churches need men and women that will respond to God's calling and will endeavor to be strong, mature, authentic, open, spiritual leaders. These leaders will acknowledge that their model for leading is Christ. Be a leader that relies on God's calling and the spiritual resources He provides for the fulfillment of your leadership.