5 Leadership Tips For Your Current Season
The Weight of Influence: A Guide to Faithful Leadership
The Myth of the Non-Leader
Do you think of yourself as a leader? You should. For many of us, the word "leader" conjures images of CEOs in glass offices, generals on a battlefield, or pastors on a stage. We have conditioned ourselves to believe that leadership is a title you earn or a position you are appointed to. But this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God and the mechanics of human interaction.
Leadership is simply influence. At its most basic level, leadership is the ability to affect the thoughts, actions, and trajectories of others. If you have a social media account, you have influence. If you have children, you have influence. If you have a neighbor, a coworker, or a barista you see every Tuesday, you have influence. Truly, you are influencing those around you, from your kids to your coworkers to neighbors and ultimately, a city.
That’s a heavy weight on your shoulders. It is a reality that demands a shift in perspective. You are not just "living your life"; you are modeling a way of being for anyone watching. This is what I call the Stewardship of Influence. It is not a status to be achieved, but a resource to be managed. When we realize that our influence is a trust given to us by God, we stop asking "How can I get more power?" and start asking "How am I caring for the people currently in my circle?"
There’s not a single leader in scripture who had a perfect path. That’s either super disheartening or super encouraging, depending on the day. It’s disheartening because it means the road ahead of you will involve stumbling, but it is encouraging because it proves that God does not require perfection—He requires presence and persistence. We have countless case studies for us to refer back to as we stumble and fight our way into being better leaders.
I’ve collected five deep lessons to help you steward your leadership starting today.
#1 - The Details of Your Leadership Matter
We live in a culture that prioritizes success, real or perceived. As long as the target is reached, it doesn’t matter how you got there. There’s no accountability, no checks and balances, and no boundaries for leaders who are trying to get ahead. All that matters is that you succeed. But the details of your leadership matter. God is concerned with how you get “there.”
The Anatomy of Detail
When we talk about the details, we are talking about the "how" and the "who" behind the "what." The details could be:
The Timeline: Are you rushing a season of preparation because you’re hungry for the platform?
The Frequency: Are you consistent in your character, or do you only lead well when people are watching?
Who is Involved (and Who Isn’t): Are you surrounding yourself with people who challenge you, or are you gatekeeping your circle to protect your ego?
The Method: Are you achieving results through manipulation or through honest service?
It matters that you obey down to the detail of what God asks you to do. We can be tempted to cut corners, rush the process, or leave out the parts that we don’t think are important. The specifics of how God calls you to lead, what God calls you to do, and who you’re becoming in the process matter. You may be faking it on the surface, but God knows what’s really going on.
The Cautionary Tale of the Golden Calf
We can learn from Moses and the Israelites that impatience and hurry lead to ruin. While Moses was on the mountain receiving the details for the tabernacle—details so specific they included the exact colors of thread and types of wood—the people at the bottom grew restless. Their hurry created a tragedy: the golden calf.
What is most haunting about this story is the source of the idol. The golden calf was made with the same skills and materials that were supposed to go toward the tabernacle. The gold and gold-shaping skills were used for something false. This is a profound warning for every leader. The same talent you use to build a business can be used to build an idol. The same charisma you use to share the Gospel can be used to manipulate an audience for personal gain. The same financial prowess can be used to line your own pockets.
If you’re in a hurry, you’ll use your gifts to try to make more money, you’ll choose the wrong team, you’ll compromise character, and you’ll make the gift an idol. When we ignore the details of God’s instructions, we end up using divine gifts for sinful ends.
#2 - You’re Missing the Miracle Because It’s Not What You Wanted
One of the hardest parts of leadership is the gap between our expectations and our reality. We often equate obedience with an easy life. We think, “If I do what God says, the numbers should go up, the conflict should go down, and the path should be clear.”
The Crisis of Unmet Expectations
What happens when your obedience isn’t doing what you want it to?
When you do what God asks you to do, but you don’t get the promotion?
When your team doesn’t get better despite your investment?
When your family is still in crisis, even though you’re praying and leading with integrity?
In these moments, we tend to think we’ve failed or that God has gone silent. But we must learn to reframe our frustration. God might be refining you. Leadership is often forged in the furnace of "not yet." He is looking to see if you will remain faithful when the rewards are invisible. Or, God might be redirecting you.
The Divine Detour
God brought the Israelites to the Promised Land, but He didn’t go the shortest route, the easiest route, the safest route, or the route they wanted. He took them through the wilderness. To the Israelites, it looked like a mistake. To God, it was a training ground.
If they had taken the short route, they wouldn't have needed the manna. They wouldn't have seen the water from the rock. They would have missed the cloud by day and the fire by night. He provided miracle after miracle to sustain them for the journey—miracles they never would have seen if they had stayed on their preferred path.
Don’t miss the miracle in your current "wilderness" just because it doesn't look like the "Promised Land" you envisioned. The provision for the detour is often more spectacular than the destination itself.
#3 - Your Insecurity is Holding You Back
Insecurity is the silent killer of effective leadership. It is the rot in the foundation that eventually brings the whole house down. An insecure leader is a dangerous leader because they prioritize their own protection over the flourishing of their people.
The Shadow of King Saul
Insecure leaders try to shield themselves with strength. They live by a scarcity mindset, believing that there is only so much success to go around. If someone else on the team shines, the insecure leader feels dimmed. They seek attention and affirmation like a drug, needing constant validation to feel secure in their position.
Just look at King Saul. When the people began to sing that David had slain his ten thousands while Saul had only slain his thousands, Saul’s insecurity turned into a murderous obsession. He spent the rest of his reign chasing David through the desert instead of leading his kingdom. Insecurity will make you chase fame instead of chasing your calling.
The Path to Secure Leadership
It’s a dangerous place to lead from. So, how do we fight it?
1. Choose Honesty over Manipulation: When you are given the chance to be honest about a mistake—take it. Manipulation is just a mask for fear.
2. Receive Truth as Feedback: Don’t get defensive. A secure leader knows that their value isn't tied to being right 100% of the time.
3. Pray First: When you’re making a decision, starting a meeting, or making plans—pray first. This reminds you that the weight of the outcome isn't entirely on your shoulders.
4. Take Ownership: When something goes wrong, take ownership. Not in a "fake-humble" way, but in a way that says, "I am responsible for this."
5. Expose Jealousy: When you feel jealousy rise up, speak it to someone you trust. Insecurity thrives in the dark. Once you say it out loud, it loses its power.
If you’re fighting insecurity—or don’t want to one day—set up accountability around you. You need people who are allowed to tell you "no" and people who are allowed to tell you that you’re being prideful.
#4 - You Haven’t Missed What God Has for You
There is a pervasive fear among leaders that one wrong turn, one missed opportunity, or one season of stuck means we have permanently missed our window. We look at our vision boards from five years ago and feel like failures because our current life doesn't match the pictures.
The Ezekiel Shift
We can learn from the calling of Ezekiel that just because we didn’t see this coming, it doesn’t mean God didn’t know about it. Ezekiel was trained to be a priest. He spent his whole life preparing for a specific role in a specific temple. But then, the exile happened. He found himself by a river in a foreign land, far from the temple he was supposed to serve in.
By human standards, Ezekiel "missed" his calling. His career was over before it started. But his calling simply shifted from a priest to a prophet. He didn't miss his purpose; he was rerouted into a higher one.
Letting Go of the Vision Board
You haven't missed anything. You’re likely just re-routing. Sometimes we have to let go of our expectations, our plans, our dreams, and our vision boards because more likely than not, God is doing something different.
What God has for you will still find you. You cannot outrun God’s plan for your life through accidental mistakes. The only thing that stops the plan is a hard heart. If you stay soft and obedient, the missed opportunity will often reveal itself to be the very door you were supposed to walk through.
The weight of the call of God on your life is heavy and important. It would be worth it for us to stop trying to make something happen and just focus on eating God’s word, abiding in Him, and trusting His timing. Because honestly, you probably have no idea what it’s actually supposed to look like anyway.
#5 - Don’t Make it Harder on the Sheep
Finally, we must address the heart of the leader toward the people. In the Kingdom, leadership is not about power; it is about protection and provision.
The Matthew 25 Leadership Audit
The parables in Matthew 25—the ten virgins, the talents, and the sheep and the goats—aren’t just about individual piety. They are a scathing critique of leadership. There’s a hidden cross-reference here that asks the vital question: How are the leaders caring for the sheep?
Jesus is deeply concerned with how God’s people are treating God’s people. He is upset with how leadership has been acting—gatekeeping information, gaslighting the vulnerable, and using the sheep to build their own platforms.
We don’t get to treat people based on how they treat us, what their position is, who they are, or anything outside of the fact that they are created in God’s image. If your leadership makes it harder for people to see the character of God, you are failing as a leader, no matter how high your "influence" metrics are.
The Job Description
Leaders are known by their love, too. The job is to:
Take care of the sheep: Be aware of their needs and their hurts.
Lead them by the Word: Don't lead them by your opinions or the latest trends.
Show them the way: Don't just point; go first.
Refuse to Gatekeep: Don't hold onto information or access just to make yourself feel powerful.
Refuse to Gaslight: Be a person of the truth. If you messed up, say it.
Your leadership is important. It is a sacred trust. Jesus cares about how you steward what He’s entrusted to you. He is not looking for the most "successful" leader; He is looking for the "good and faithful" servant.
The Long Obedience
Leadership is not a sprint; it is a long obedience in the same direction. It is a daily decision to show up, to pay attention to the details, to trust the detour, to fight the insecurity, to embrace the re-route, and to love the people in front of you.
You are a leader. You have influence. The question is not whether you are leading, but where you are leading people to. Are you leading them toward a golden calf, or are you leading them toward the tabernacle?
Take a breath. The weight on your shoulders is heavy, but you weren't meant to carry it alone. Steward what you have today, and let God handle tomorrow.
Only you are responsible for your leadership and God’s call on your life. He’s not going to ask your family, your boss, your coworkers, your kids, or your employees how you stewarded your life—He’s going to ask you. No one is responsible for your obedience other than you. No one is going to stand in front of God on your behalf.
The world needs what you’ve been called to do. We need you to stay in your lane, doing that thing. Not trying to do everything else, not trying to be somebody else, and not hiding for fear of the backlash. We need what you’ve got. That’s how we make a difference for the gospel. We each do our part, in our lane — only worrying about what God says.
Want more leadership tips? Check out these corresponding podcast episodes:
