Lead Us
Looking at the Lord’s Prayer today, one of the phrases that catches my attention is lead us. Of course for me to honestly pray this, I must be willing to be led, and yes, there is the back side bite on the request. But in an era looking for leaders with integrity, the request to be led is an urgent one and important. And the Lord leads in a myriad of ways — through Scripture, through the Holy Spirit, through the preaching and teaching of the church, through the timely advice of a friend and on and on we could go.
On my mind today, however, is the development of shepherding style leaders (this will be the focus of my next four Thursday heartlight.org pieces). How do we develop folks at all levels of leadership — family, small groups, house churches, preaching ministries, para-church organizations, church elders … — that have the heart of The Good Shepherd (Psalm 23 and John 10)?
Tim Woodruff is a friend and writer I respect and he has a piece on Lynn Anderson’s Mentor Network website today on the Holy Spirit and leadership. His last paragraph is well worth the price of admission and much more:
Oh, I can build better preachers (“You need more illustrations”) or better managers (“Read this book”) or better pastors (“Visit the visitors!”). But I’ll never take a Simon and create a Peter. Someone bigger than I is required to accomplish that great and needed task. As mentors, our first and ultimate goal must be to unleash that “someone bigger” into the lives of those we touch. If I fail to do that, the best I can hope from my mentoring work is the creation of ministers who never grow larger than me.
Today, as we pray the Lord’s Prayer and ask God to “lead us” let’s keep in mind some specific people that we intentionally pray for by name and ask God to release the power of His Holy Spirit into their lives to develop their leading and shepherding skills, attitudes, and passions, remembering that “as mentors, our first and ultimate goal must be to unleash that ’someone bigger’ into the lives of those we touch”:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.