Are You Qualified? How to Be a Strong Leader in a Follower-Crazed World—Part 1

“Being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
Colossians 1:11-14

We know how to be a follower.

The follow button is the boldest feature on any social media platform. We’re highly experienced on how to follow along with people’s picture-perfect lives or follow with bated breath as breaking stories unfold in the news.

But to be a leader—that’s where the instructions from the user manual get a bit muddy. 

When I had my first kid and left the hospital I thought, am I qualified to be a father? I doubted that I was indeed qualified to do this. I needed a sign. 

But over the years, I had to learn how to grow into my role as a father and as a husband and that took many experiences and learning moments to grow my understanding.

Diving back into Colossians 1, we’re going to look at a list of qualifications for what it takes to be a leader in your own life. 

Hold on! When you hear “leader” does it automatically stop you in your tracks? You could say, “Ethan, I don’t feel like I’m called to lead a group of people!” 

I’m not talking about being a manager. Managers manage projects and people out of the power of their position. 

The Bible calls us to be leaders in our immediate spheres. Leaders lead in any space—whether that’s in the church, the home, or in the workplace—that the Lord places them in because that’s what they’re called to. It’s in their very nature. 

Today, we’re going to look at how Christ qualifies you to step out in faith. 

A Qualified Christian Has The Know-How 

We’ve already looked at how to grow in the understanding of who we are and how to gain spiritual wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. 

When we grow in the knowledge of God, we are strengthened by becoming more sensitive to God’s power and leading in our lives.

So when we walk out our daily lives, our decision making, what to do in life, and the big choices fall in alignment with what God is telling us to do.

Knowledge doesn’t grow and expand through our own doing, though. 

That calls for an ultimate power source. 

A Qualified Christian Knows Their Source of Power

So how do we gain access to this ultimate power source?

When Paul refers to “power” he uses the Greek word, dynamoo, where we get our words dynamo or dynamic. It means to make strong, or to strengthen, tying in perfectly with the tail end of verse 10 as Paul outlines how we are to increase in the knowledge of God.

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” 
Philippians 4:13

A lot of us know the verse that comes straight out of Philippians. We’ve seen it pinned on Pinterest, skimming through our feeds, and plastered on t-shirts. And I’m afraid, if we isolate this verse and take it out of context, we make it more of a marketable verse rather than allowing it have a marked difference in how we operate our lives. 

“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”
Philippians 4:12 

Taking it back to the preceding verse, Paul knows wholeheartedly that he can accomplish the task Christ has for him because the “Him” is Christ and the task at hand is His purpose. 

When Christ proposes to do something in and with your life, He’s going to give you the power to accomplish all. the. things. 

You’ve probably heard the quote by Thomas Jefferson, “Knowledge is power”?

In the biblical sense, knowledge of Christ is the power that helps us proceed throughout life and vice versa. Christ’s power helps to understand the text and to gain the knowledge into what God’s will is for our lives! So the two concepts work hand-in-hand together.

The work of the Holy Spirit in us and the knowledge of Christ’s Word qualifies us to lead and live out the Christian life! We will be made strong with all power to understand the text of God’s word and what God’s will is for our lives. 

And not just some power, not a little bit, but all! 

A Qualified Christian Sees The Big Picture

During COVID I’m sure many of you might have binge-watched entire seasons of Netflix shows.

As you start a new show, you’re figuring out the character’s backgrounds, motivations, and where the plot is going to take you. By the end of the first season, you maybe have an idea of where the show is going and what the end result is probably going to be. That first season is foundational to giving you insight into the overall “big picture.” 

How much differently would we live if we focused on the big picture of our life?

I recall in 2011, I decided I wanted to separate from the military and go into Law Enforcement. So, while I was living in California I began to fill out applications and send out resumes in different parts of the U.S. I wanted to live in. Well, after sending out a few out and hearing nothing back, I began to send out more and more to expand my search to anywhere in the U.S.

I filled out a total of 62 applications to become a police officer from cities like Enid, Oklahoma, Los Angeles, and Baltimore. Out of all those applications only Baltimore called me back. 

During all the heartache and disappointment of trying to separate from the military and join law enforcement, I realized God did not put the desire in me to go into Law Enforcement. I did what I wanted to do out of selfish desires, not out of a desire to please God and do what He wanted. Looking back at it now I am so grateful God closed those doors and allowed me to recognize my selfish desires had overtaken what God wanted for me.

We’ve got to stop trying to manipulate situations and circumstances so that the end result is the one we desire, falsely accrediting God in the situation saying, “The Lord is calling me,” or “The Lord is pressing on my heart…” The reality is when we do this, we are completely dismissing what God really is trying to do with the big picture of our lives: sanctifying our hearts to a position of humility and holiness! 

We must be willing to accept that the plans God has for us are far greater and different than the plans we have for ourselves. 

Often we as Christians seek the Lord’s will for the big events of our lives, when instead, we must seek and serve the Lord as a lifestyle.

As we saw in Philippians the strength provided to accomplish the task at hand is directly related to the task that God has for us. Since God provided the task at hand, He is fully responsible to provide the power and strength for you to live it out. 

That’s a huge sigh of relief! It’s not completely on us to manufacture our qualifications because He’s already establishing the purpose, working in the process, and giving us the power to accomplish all that He has planned for the big picture of our lives!

Now that you’re fully qualified, stay tuned for the tail-end of the week because I’m divulging some secrets on how to level up your leadership skills.