Leaders must be men and women who can delegate. Sometimes it seems easier to do things yourself. Yet no one can be the best at everything. If you do things alone, you are limited by you. But when you learn to delegate you efforts and strengths are multiplied by the efforts and strengths of others. Here are some of the things J. Oswald Sanders says about delegation:

• “The ability to choose men to whom he can safely delegate authority, and then actually delegate it, is that of the true leader.” (202)
• The leader who is “reluctant to let the reins of power slip from his own hands…is unfair to his subordinate and is unlikely to prove satisfactory or effective. Such an attitude would tend to be interpreted as a lack of confidence, and that does not induce the best cooperation, nor will it draw out the highest powers of the one being trained for leadership.”(203)
• “how is he [the subordinate] to gain experience unless both responsibility and authority are delegated to him?” (203)
• “A one person activity can never grow bigger than the greatest load that one person can carry.” (203)
• “The man in a place of leadership who fails to delegate is constantly enmeshed in a morass of secondary detail that not only overburdens him but deflects him from his primary responsibilities.” (204)
• “Subordinates should be utterly sure of their leaders support in any action they feel called upon to take, no matter what the result, so long as they have acted within their terms of reference. That presupposes that areas of responsibility have been clearly defined and committed to writing so no misunderstanding can occur.” (204)
• Moses example: (Ex. 18:1-27) “Those gifted men, who might have become his critics had he continued to keep things in his own hands, were developed by the burden of their office and became his staunch allies.” (206)
• “even should they [subordinates] do them [delegated tasks] worse, we should still relinquish them—a severe test for the perfectionist!” (207)
• We should be willing to delegate responsibility to emerging leaders the moment they evidence sufficient spiritual maturity and be ready to help while they gain experience by trial and error. (208)
• “In the early stages, a wise watchfulness will be necessary, but a resort to interference should be made only if the need becomes acute. The sense of being watched destroys confidence.” (208)

Source: J.Oswald Sanders “Spiritual Leadership

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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Leaders must be men and women of vision. They must not only see the vision but be able to take whatever action is necessary to make that vision a reality. J.Oswald Sanders, in his book “Spiritual Leadership” puts it this way:

• “The man who possess vision must do something about it, or he will remain a visionary, not a leader.”(83)
• “The leader must either initiate plans for progress or recognize the plans of others. He must remain in front and give guidance and a sense of direction to those behind. He does not wait for things to happen, but makes them happen. He is a self-starter, and is always on the lookout for improved methods. He will be willing to test new ideas…A great more failure is the result of an excess of caution than of bold experimentation with new ideas.” (188-189)
• “It is much easier to criticize plans submitted than to create more satisfactory ones. The leader must not only see clearly the goal that is to be reached, but also plan imaginative strategy and tactics by which it can be attained.” (167)
• “The man of God must have insight into things spiritual.”(78)
• “Eyes that look are common. Eyes that see are rare”(80)

Source: J.Oswald Sanders “Spiritual Leadership

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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One distinguishing characteristic of a spiritual leader as compared to an ordinary leader is the discipline of prayer. J.Oswald Sanders, in his book “Spiritual Leadership” puts it this way:

1. Set an example in Prayer – “In nothing should the leader be ahead of his followers more than in the realm of prayer.”(121)
2. Make it a priority – “mastering the art of prayer, like any other art, will take time, and the amount of time we allocate to it will be the true measure of our conception of its importance.” (123)
3. Set aside time for Prayer – “To busy Martin Luther, extra work was a compelling argument for spending ‘more’ time in prayer.” (123)
4. Stay focused in your prayers – “true praying is a strenuous spiritual exercise that demands the utmost mental discipline and concentration.”(126) Prayer “utilizes the body, demands the cooperation of the mind, but moves in the supernatural realm of the Spirit.”(127)
5. Pray for core issues – “Jesus dealt with the cause rather than the effect, and the leader should adopt the same method in that aspect of praying.”(130)
6. Add personal action to your prayer – “It is impossible to move men, through God, by prayer alone.” (130-131)
7. Join God in his work by His power and strength. – Great leaders in the Bible were leaders “because, by the power of prayer, they could command the power of God.” (134)

Source: J.Oswald Sanders “Spiritual Leadership

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…