ARISE: A CALL TO LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

A Case Study of the Life of Moses

Introduction

Man has always been God's method of achieving his eternal purpose on earth; by implication, there is nothing God will do without involving man. God will not do anything substantial on earth without including man in his agenda.

God delivered the Israelites from the bondage in Egypt using a man (Moses); having left Egypt and after Moses' death, they crossed the Jordan through the leadership of another man (Joshua); also, whenever God would remove the hands of the oppressors from the land of Israel, he usually raise men as judges over the land. Salvation came from God to man through man, and the preservation of salvation through discipleship and mentoring was done by men.

Therefore, we must note that man is integral and important in fulfilling the ultimate counsel of God. Hence, the need for leadership responsibilities.

What Leadership is Not

1. Leadership has nothing to do with seniority or one's position in the hierarchy of an organisation. It does not automatically happen reaching a certain pay grade; it is not a reference to the most senior executives in the organisation.

2. Leadership has nothing to do with titles. You don't need a title to lead; you can lead wherever you are without having a title.

3. Leadership has nothing to do with personal attributes. Leadership has often been confused with domineering, taking charge, and charismatic individual; it is not an adjective.

4. Leadership is not management. They are not even synonymous. Management controls people and resources, while leadership leads people. In other words, management is result driven and oriented, not minding the well-being of the people while leadership is people oriented, knowing that result will be achieved when the people are in good shape.

Leadership Defined

"Leadership is influence — nothing more, nothing less" — John C. Maxwell

"Leadership is a process of social influence that maximise the efforts of others toward achieving a goal" — Kevin Kruse

"Leadership is taking people on voyage in bid to achieve the desired common goal" — Israel O. Olayode

Leadership stems from social influence, not authority or power. It requires other persons other than the leader for it to be truly leadership. Leading without anyone following is not leadership, it is called strolling.

Leadership does not not emphasize personality traits, or titles, even though there are styles to effective leadership.

No leader can achieve anything great or long lasting all alone.

The courage of a leader to fulfil his vision comes from his passion, not position.

Leadership knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. That is, leaders help themselves and others to do the right things; they set direction, build an inspiring vision, and create something new.

"Leadership is the provision of solutions to problems, either foreseen or at hand" — Israel Olayode

The Call and Rise of Moses as a Leader

Lessons from Exodus 3:1-10

1. Diligence (Exodus 3:1) — Moses tended the flocks of his father-in-law, something that could be termed abomination and foolishness in any African context. God does not make use of idle and lazy people; lazy people are wasteful people. They have no experience relative to what God could have wanted to do through them. So, they waste every resource made available to them. If God must recruit you as one of the problem solvers in this generation, get something to do. Folding your hands to watch how things unfold will not take or promote you anywhere.

2. Intimacy & Encounter (Exodus 3:1-2a) — the intimacy you share with God determines your encounter with him; God does not show up for people who have no time for him, except by mercy. Moses shepherded the sheep as far as Horeb (the mountain of God) and had an encounter with God there, he knew where to find God. God is everywhere but he does not reveal himself everywhere. Until you know where to meet with God, your relationship with him may remain unproductive. Moses' willingness to go as far as Horeb brought about the encounter of the burning bush. You can only be enlisted into God's end-time agenda to solve the problems around you when you have an intimate relationship with him.

3. Sensitivity (Exodus 3:2b-3) — sensitivity is the spiritual inclination toward the nudging and biding of the Spirit. It is your ability to recognize what God is about to do or what he is doing. Things don't just happen on their own accord, there are reasons for them. Until your spiritual inclination is tuned to the frequency at which they were sent, you may be lost in God's agenda. Men who bear leadership responsibilities are sensitive people, they have no reason to be casual about life. Casual people often suffer casualty, don't be part of them.

4. Submission (Exodus 3:4-5) — Moses got to where God could reveal himself to him, but God would not because there was something with him that God will not make do with — his sandals. The word 'sandal' from the Hebrew language means 'occupancy'. He was preoccupied with what will not make God make do with his life for leadership responsibilities. Moses had to remove his sandals for God to reveal himself and communicate his intention to him, that is the test of submission. Until you learn the principle of submission, it will be difficult for God to do something substantial with your life. You must avail yourself to God and take away what seems like your pride, achievements or whatever things you are encumbered with and lay them at the feet of Jesus. If you are not willing to give yourself and all you have to God, you are not submissive. God must have unrestricted access to your life if he will commit any assignment to your hand.

God was concerned about his people, and he raised different people to lead them at different times. The call of Moses was to deliver the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, God raised Joshua to lead them across the Jordan to the promised land. Leadership is about the people — leading them from where they are to where they are going (Exodus 3:8-10).

Conclusion (Matthew 5:13-16)

There is a divine expectation on you to wake up to the reality of the challenges around you and become the solution to them. You are the salt, be the salt that you are; you are the light, shine as the light that you are. You cannot afford to be in a place where things are not working, think of the difference you can make.

If you have been blessed by this teaching, kindly leave a comment in the comments section below.

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