Why Leadership Should Not be the Aim of Our Christianity
Julian Adams • October 28, 2018
Leadership is a powerful gift that is important in the body of Christ. However, I wonder if we’ve over-emphasised this gift at the expense of other important aspects of our character. Hear my thoughts on why I believe leadership should not be the aim of our Christianity. Music: www.bensound.com
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So I’ve been provoked recently by a number of things that’s happening in the Body of Christ worldwide, around the incredible gift of leadership. I think it’s such a wonderful gift to be able to lead according to how God has gifted you, how God put particular things on the inside of you. But I wonder if in our celebrity status culture, in our looking for one man to lead us culture, that we’ve missed something that is essential to the Gospel. You see, Israel was never meant to be led by a king. God wanted to be their king. God invited them to come into a relationship with him, to lead them, but they looked at that the world around them and saw these kings over nations, and so they chose Saul to be king over them.
Here’s the thing though. God’s plan for our lives is not that we advocate leadership, but that we understand leadership in the context of family, that we understand leadership in the context of love. And what I love about the model that Jesus does is that he doesn’t come to lord over anyone. In fact, he says to the Gentiles, “My aim is not to lord over anybody.” He comes to serve, and he does so primarily through the gift of sonship. And I wonder if we’ve made leadership the goal of church ministry when actually sonship is the goal of all ministry. Jesus said, “I do nothing unless I see my father did it.” It all came out of this incredible relationship. It came out of this incredible intimacy with the father. It flowed out of knowing the pleasure of the father. And I wanna invite you to rethink leadership through the lens of sonship because it breaks off performance. It breaks off failure. It breaks off success mindset that leads us to work really hard in order to achieve something, and then when we get there, we still feel like we haven’t achieved anything.
Whether it’s work in your…in the context of a secular “context” or whether it’s church leadership, all of us need to know our sonship and lead from the place of being securely loved by the father and leading out of who we are as sons in God. That’s what’s gonna make you so attractive to the world, and that is what’s gonna make them ask you, “What is it about you? What is it about the way that you lead that makes me want to engage with you a whole lot more?” When we do that, lives get changed. When we look from the sonship place, leadership becomes a breeze, becomes a lot easier, and we start to see change effect around us because we haven’t come to lord it over anyone, to try to be a king over anyone, we haven’t come at leadership with a forcefulness, but we come like Jesus did, in servanthood, in kindness and in mercy to demonstrate what it really means to be the son of God.
If you want to grow in the prophetic, it doesn’t begin with what you say. It begins with what you see. The prophetic is rooted in perception. Not just natural insight, but spiritual awareness—what Scripture calls “the eyes of your heart.” Paul prayed that the church in Ephesus would have their hearts enlightened so they could truly see what God was doing. “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you…” (Ephesians 1:18) God isn’t distant or withholding. But if we’re going to hear Him clearly, we have to see differently. We need Heaven’s perspective. And that means learning to quiet the noise, tune into His voice, and let Him train our inner vision. You don’t need to wait for a dramatic vision or audible voice. Often, God speaks through a nudge. A mental picture. A scripture that lingers. A sense of burden or joy that feels holy. These are the first signs that your spiritual eyesight is awakening. But it takes time. It takes attention. It takes trust. Just like physical muscles grow with use, your spiritual senses grow as you spend time with Him—not just talking, but listening. Not just asking for answers, but asking for His perspective. You were never meant to live according to what the world says is true. You were meant to live by every word that flows from the mouth of God. A Prayer for This Week: “Lord, open the eyes of my heart. Teach me to see what You see—not just in others, but in myself, in my circumstances, in the world around me. Give me clarity and confidence to trust Your perspective more than my own. Amen.” This week, pay attention to what you notice. The way you see is often the way He speaks.
In this live session, Sean Smith and Julian Adams share their prophetic perspectives on 2025, offering honest reflections on what they sense God is doing across the earth. With hope and expectancy, they discuss the spiritual landscape ahead and how we can prepare for what’s to come.
We are living in a world of dramatic change. The relentless pace of development often leaves us breathless and exhausted. The demand for innovative ways of communicating, inventing, and staying ahead of cultural trends can feel daunting and demoralizing. It can push us into a space where we find ourselves trying to copy rather than be authentic, to imitate rather than create. This pressure can lead us to believe that we need to be more creative, and that our individual stories do not matter. But nothing could be further from the truth. Your story, no matter how small, matters and is powerful. One of the remarkable aspects of ancient manuscripts, like the Bible, is that they tell the stories of individuals whose lives may seem small and insignificant. Yet, God chose to make their lives a memorial of what He could do with a life that the world deems insignificant. The incredible power of the gospel is that it changes lives one at a time. God is as interested in the individual story as He is in redeeming the cosmos. The aim of the gospel is not just dealing with personal sin; it is about restoring individuals to a relationship with a kind Father. In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis beautifully said, "The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God." Justification addresses our standing before God, but our adoption invites us into a relationship with the Father. It allows us to partake of who He is and to live in a place of deep joy from who He is. Romans 3:23 reminds us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Many of us forget that the work of salvation has turned this verse around. Through Jesus, we have been restored to the glory of God. One description of the word "glory" refers to the divine quality, the unspoken manifestation of God, and splendor. It is the revelation of God's intrinsic worth and beauty. Do you see that? We have been restored to His divine quality, splendor, and beauty. In a world where it can be easy to feel like just another face in the crowd, remember that your story is significant. Your experiences, your journey, and your voice matter. Embrace the unique narrative God has given you and let it shine. You are not just a spectator; you are a vital participant in God's grand story. Your authenticity, creativity, and individuality are valuable. As you navigate the rapid changes of our world, hold on to the truth that your story has power and purpose. God sees you, knows you, and has a plan for your life that is uniquely yours. Let us celebrate the beauty and significance of each individual story, knowing that together, we contribute to a tapestry of divine splendor and glory.