The Five Principles For Christian Global LeadersSample

ZEAL

Have you ever worked with someone that was so passionate and excited about something that all of their focus and energy went toward their passion? When working together you could not help but share in their excitement? This is what it means to have zeal. 

A simple definition of the word zeal is, “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.” In Romans 12:8, Paul tells the one to whom God has given the spiritual gift of leadership to lead with zeal. 

The reason for this is three-fold. First, a Christian leader has to understand that what he is leading has a bigger purpose. We all possess the ability to be zealous or passionate about things, but that does not mean that one’s zeal has a particular purpose. What this does mean for the Christian leader is that whatever it is  he is leading does not just exist for financial purposes or for that person to gain personal prominence. Instead, the Christian leader knows that whatever God has placed him over exists primarily to glorify God and serve others. 

Jesus was a leader with zeal, but that zeal led Him to the cross which was His purpose. 

The second reason that Christian leaders are told to lead with zeal is that no one wants to follow someone who is not passionate about and has no enthusiasm for whatever he or she is leading. 

Zealous leadership provide encouragement to your team and organization to reach goals they thought were impossible. The call to lead zealously should not seem out of the ordinary to us.

 The third reason that the Christian leader is to lead with zeal has to do with running his "personal motor". Someone may possess the ability to perform a certain job or lead in a certain setting, but if he is not zealous for the task at hand then he will be running on fumes very quickly. Zeal is like gasoline to a match when it comes to leadership. That is why it is so important for any Christian leader to lead with zeal. 

Do you see yourself as zealous for your calling as leader? What changes do you need to make to become more zealous in your leadership?