If we define leadership as “influencing others toward a certain goal,” then the field is as wide as the universe and about as diverse and varied as the people in it.

New books on leadership come off the press at an alarming rate. Whatever else that indicates, it surely means people are trying to learn how to accomplish the assignments life has handed them. Pastors, if anyone on the planet, are called to be leaders. Pastors–and by that I mean all ministers, not just the preacher–stand out in front of small or large clusters of the Lord’s people saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)

Let’s admit the obvious here: no one can read all those books, not and have a life. Don’t even try. But from time to time, I encourage pastors to check a book out of the public (or church) library on this subject and read it. As with every other kind of book, he should read some of it to decide if he wants to read a lot of it. There’s no point in wasting his time. Every book on leadership can teach something, even if it’s how not to lead.

Lately, I have come to realize that what the Lord was doing in instructing His disciples over His three-year ministry was training leaders. He may have called them sheep, but He most certainly was not training them to be followers of anyone except Himself.

Scripture uses all kinds of metaphors and terminology to convey the idea that we are to be leaders of people in this world, for Jesus’ sake. God told the Old Testament Jews that if they would obey Him, He would place them on top and not the bottom, He would make them the head and not the tail, and they would be the lenders and not borrowers. (Deuteronomy 28:13)

What could be clearer than that?

Jesus said to some fishermen He was just summoning, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17) That call was all about leadership.

A leader has a tough assignment. He must know the goal and how to get there. He must know himself well enough to call on all his inner resources as well as to restraint his lower instincts. He must know how to inspire people to join the quest for that goal, then organize them, oversee them, lead them, encourage them, correct them, and continually inspire them.

Big job.

“He who would be great among you, let him be your servant,” Jesus said. (Mark 10:43) That may be the best distinction between Christ’s concept of leadership and any other you will ever find.

I think sometimes about my freshman year of college when I wanted to be elected so badly to a class office. I’d been on campus all summer and knew almost every one of the 1100 students. When the freshman class held its first convocation in the college auditorium to elect officers, my heart picked up its pace. Perhaps I would be chosen one of the leaders.

On our campus there was no electioneering and no campaigning. Everything was spontaneous, so no one had arranged beforehand to be nominated. I certainly hadn’t. The nominations for class president came and went without my name being mentioned. Same with the vice-president. I was rapidly losing interest in this election. Then, to my surprise, a friend nominated me for secretary of the class. I thought to myself, “It’s not much of a position, but I’d take it.” We had a runoff and I won. I had my class office.

A month later, the class gathered in the same auditorium for a business meeting. The president called us to order, then looked in my direction and said, “We’ll dispense with the reading of the minutes.”

Reading! Minutes? I was supposed to take the minutes of the meeting. That was the first time it had ever occurred to me. And that’s when something else hit me: I had not wanted to do anything for anyone except myself. It was a sickening feeling.

A couple of years later, I had transferred to a college in Birmingham and had joined a thriving Baptist church near the campus. The youth from churches all over the city participated in a twice-a-month rally in various churches. From 500 to 700 teenagers would gather for exciting singing and praise, to hear a message from some speaker, then for a time of fun and fellowship to follow. Being from a small country church, I’d never known such a large excited group of youth, and fell in love with the concept.

One night, our church’s assistant pastor told me the leadership of the youth rally had an open slot, and he wondered if I would be interested. That’s how I became the program chairman. Now, being 19 years old and immature, what I really wanted was the president’s job. He stood at the pulpit and presided. He was the public figure, and was recognized by the young people as their leader. All I did as program chairman was plan the entire meeting over which the president presided.

I served as program chairman for three years, and each time we elected a new president, my heart went into overdrive once again and I thought, “Maybe this time.” Didn’t happen.

Then one day it hit me. The president of this group is nothing but a figurehead. I’m the one who makes things happen. I call the churches to set up future rallies, I decide the kind of program, I line up choirs and speakers and testimonies, and occasionally I even wrote full-scale dramas. I had the best job by far.

No public acclaim went with the chairmanship, no recognition from anyone that I was “the man.” But I began to realize an incredible sense of fulfillment, that I was making a difference in the lives of hundreds of young people.

A short few years later, after finishing the seminary and becoming a full-time pastor, I began to see that I was using skills developed in those years with the youth rally. It was excellent preparation for the ministry of a pastor.

The way up is down. The way to win is to lose. The way to gain is to give up. And we lead by serving.

We have the word of the Lord Jesus Christ on this. The greatest leader of men and women the world has ever know.

So, let me state something that should be obvious here. In talking about leadership, we’re not referring to be electing anything. We’re talking about influencing people to become what God intended them to be in this world. If you are elected, if you receive a title such as president, chairman, or pastor, then by all means use it wisely and make a difference. But if no one gives you a title, do not make the mistake many have and sit back, convinced you’re unable to do anything because you’ve not been chosen.

Just get up and serve. Look for needs and go meet them.

You are on your way to becoming a leader of people.

But don’t let it go to your head. Keep telling yourself you are nothing, that this is all about Christ. “He must increase; I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

In time, the Lord may choose to have you elected to something. Or not. Either way, keep on obeying Him. He has made you a leader, and what people decide or don’t decide has little to do with anything.

Now, keep on committing yourself to obeying Him by serving others.