Becoming a leader involves understanding who the Creator made you to be and the qualities and skills He put within you in order to fulfill it. You have tremendous potential for leadership, but perhaps no one has ever encouraged you to discover and express it. As a matter of fact, many people are told that they are nothing. They eventually believe it, only to waste their potential. Leaders take the self that the Creator has given them and tap the vast resources that are hidden within.
Leadership is the discovery and marriage of purpose, personality, and potential.
Your Life’s Meaning and Purpose
The first step in becoming a leader, therefore, is to discover your true self. This begins with gaining a sense of meaning and purpose. A lack of purpose and unfulfilled potential are tragically widespread in our world. You must have an understanding of purpose that gives you an awareness of your identity as a person and a knowledge of what you are meant to do in life. Who am I? Why am I here? These are two age-old but essential questions each person needs to answer. In chapter one, I described how human beings were made in the image of the Creator, held directly accountable to Him, and given rule over the earth. Let’s look at the significance of each of these areas of human design and relationship in
understanding your purpose.
In the Creator’s Image
Your purpose is reflected in the purpose of the Creator because every human being was created in His image and likeness. His nature and our nature, and His purpose and our purposes, are meant to be intimately tied together. We were made to be like Him and to act and function as He does. God’s nature includes His characteristics. He is love. He is just. He is holy. He is kind. He is patient. He is also purposeful: “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Psalm 33:11). His purposes are reflected in some of His titles, such as King of the universe and Father to His people.
To capture your meaning and purpose in life, you must understand the nature and purposes of God and then apply them as you lead in His image on earth. Our purpose isn’t about us—it’s about our Creator. It is about what He wants us to be and do to reflect His nature and fulfill His plans for the world. His purpose was established well before we had any plans for our lives. We were meant to consult God to find out His purposes for us so we can make the right plans.
Created for Relationship and Rule We have seen that human beings were not meant to be dominated but were made by the Creator to be accountable directly to Him. This accountability refers not only to leadership authority, but also to a respectful and loving relationship with Him. Recall God’s manner of creating the first man: “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the
man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). God gave man a physical body and a human spirit. Yet He also breathed His own Spirit into man so God and man could be in relationship.
The Scriptures say, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
The essence of human beings is not their physical bodies nor even their souls (comprising mind, will, and emotions) but rather the spirit within them. “The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his inmost being” (Proverbs 20:27). The human spirit, through God’s Spirit, is meant to have a direct relationship with God. God describes Himself not only as King, but also as Father to humanity. The Scriptures say,
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”
(Ephesians 5:1). As the Creator’s children, we are to reflect His nature and purposes, which we learn by being in relationship with Him.
The problem, as we have seen, is that humanity as a whole lost its direct relationship with the Creator when the first man and woman turned their backs on Him and instead tried to pursue their own purposes. This is why many people today do not understand who they are and fail to fulfill their potential.
They don’t recognize their true purpose because they have not yet been restored to a relationship with the Creator. They are pursuing a false purpose or a purpose far below what they were meant to. Their own ways can never truly fulfill them, however, because hidden within their makeup as human beings are God’s purposes for them.
One example of self-discovery from the biblical record is the life of pioneer and theologian Paul of Tarsus. We find his story in the second book written by the physician Luke (see Acts 9;
22), as well as in Paul’s own writings (see Galatians 1:11–24;
Philippians 3:4–7). Paul (then called Saul) thought he was fulfilling his purpose in life, but in hunting down and killing those who had been reconciled to the Creator, he was filled with rage and anger. He was tearing down rather than building up. Yet, when the Creator intervened to stop him, Saul’s reconciliation with Him involved the revelation of his unique life purpose. (See Acts 9:15–16.) The natural qualities he possessed—passion, energy, and perseverance—were then put to use in the positive purpose for which he had been called by God. “God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles” (Galatians 1:15–16). In a remarkable turnaround, Saul, whose name was changed to Paul to reflect his newfound purpose, became an instrument of reconciliation rather than an instrument of destruction. His wholehearted relationship with the Creator and his keen intellect led to his becoming the greatest theologian the world has ever known. His Spirit-inspired writings comprise approximately one-third of the New Testament.
Because God the Father is committed to His purpose and our purposes, and because He desires to reestablish our relationship with Him, He provided restoration through His Son Jesus Christ to recover His will and purpose in our lives. One of the keys to this restoration is that when we are reconciled
with God, we receive His Holy Spirit within us once more.
Having His Spirit connects us to Him and enables us to better understand the purposes He has placed within us.
When we understand who we really are, we gain a deep conviction about our obligations to humanity and to the life the Creator has given us. We can exercise dominion effectively only if we are continually in relationship with the Creator and know His character, will, and desires for human beings in ruling the earth.
Given a Unique Identity to Express In conjunction with His purposeful nature, God created everything to fulfill a unique purpose in life. Like all creators and manufacturers do, He designed His “product” with the inherent components, abilities, and potential to fulfill its purpose. Since every product is built with unique elements to fulfill its purpose, and since humanity was created for the purpose of leadership, each one of us possesses natural qualities that are designed to enhance this function.
To enable each human being to have dominion in his or her own sphere of influence, therefore, the Creator has given every one of us a unique makeup and identity. Each of us is distinct in our physical qualities, our temperaments, our perspectives, our likes and interests, and our gifts and abilities. These all coincide with His purposes for us, which He redeemed for us through the work of Christ. “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared
in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10, emphasis added).
God planned in advance all that you were born to be and accomplish. When you return to Him and seek His purposes, you will begin to discover the “good works” that you were born to do.
Each person is a leader in regard to his or her own purpose.
One individual’s purpose might lead to a calling in teaching, while another’s purpose might be fulfilled in aerospace engineering or artistic endeavors. The possibilities are endless.
Moreover, purposes are not always realized in conventional careers or pursuits, but in a wide variety of endeavors, and in personal character traits that impact the lives of others for good, such as the influence of parents on a child. A person’s purpose may be fulfilled in a number of ways in various spheres of influence.
God has given you a special purpose to fulfill. Do you know what it is? My own purpose is the transformation of followers into leaders and leaders into agents of change, as well as the maximization of individual potential. The endeavors I am involved in—writing books, teaching, mentoring, training, consulting, broadcasting—all relate to, and are an expression of, that specific purpose.
Leaders dare to be themselves. Leaders are individuals who have declared independence from the expectations of others and have determined to be true to their direct accountability to their Creator and the purpose He has given them. If you are to become the leader God intended you to be, then it may be
necessary to disregard the opinions of others and defy the social straightjacket that tries to stifle the untapped leader within.
Discovering Your Purpose and Leadership Identity King Solomon wrote, “I have seen the burden God has laid on men” (Ecclesiastes 3:10). The word “burden” in the Hebrew could actually be translated as “a heavy responsibility,”
“occupation,” or “task.” It could also be described as a
“responsible urge.” Every human being comes to earth with a purpose or responsibility that, in a sense, weighs on him throughout his life. He has a continual need or urge to fulfill it.
Because of His purpose for you, the Creator has placed a
“responsible urge” in your heart. Solomon continued, “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men” (v. 11). God has put something into your heart that can translate the unseen into the seen. Imagine—His eternal purposes intersect with time and the physical world in your life and heart! The very essence of life is for you to find God’s purpose and fulfill it. Will you respond to His call from eternity?
Warren Bennis wrote,
Leaders are people who are able to express themselves fully.
By this I mean that they know who they are, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how to fully deploy their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. They also know what they want, why they want it, and how to communicate what they want to others, in order to gain their
cooperation and support. Finally, they know how to achieve their goals.11
Are you expressing what God has placed within you as your purpose? Are you moved by the responsible urge in your heart? Or have you been ignoring it?
Results of Discovering Purpose Discovering who you were created to be starts a chain reaction toward fulfilling your leadership purpose. When you uncover a sense of meaning and purpose for your life, you become aware of your unique identity as a human being created in God’s image. This identity provides the basis for your sense of personal value and worth as an individual. It contributes to a positive self-concept that gives you a spirit of confidence to move forward with your unique purpose, especially when you see your potential and begin to believe in your capacity to fulfill your purpose. When confidence becomes conviction in your ability to achieve your purpose, you gain a sense of destiny.
These elements combine to motivate you to cultivate the gifts and talents the Creator has placed within you—including some that have been lying dormant inside you, waiting for you to understand your purpose and recognize the gifts. Again, God has deposited these gifts and talents within you so you can become a leader in fulfilling your assignment on earth for your generation. As I wrote earlier, it is at this point that a leader becomes unstoppable. You have such a sense of your
calling and assignment that you move ahead with it despite obstacles, criticism, and setbacks.
Your Unique Gifts and Skills God created each person with a distinct design. It is essential to realize that He created us with unique and inherent gifts, abilities, and talents that increase our leadership effectiveness. Once we have been restored to the Creator and are asking Him to reveal His purposes and plans for us, we need to look inside ourselves to see what He has placed within us as indications of, and resources for, fulfilling our purposes.
For example, do you have persistent thoughts about accomplishing something in particular? What is your dream?
What do you imagine yourself doing? What problem do you want to solve? What need do you feel compelled to address?
Are you doing what you really want to do with your life?
Answering questions such as these is vital for fulfilling your God-given purpose. Once you know your purpose, you can better evaluate your natural gifts and abilities to see how they will help you to fulfill it.
We have seen that we must receive inspiration from God in order to discover His purpose and vision for our lives. We also need to realize that when He comes to live within us, He gives us additional gifts as a restoration of our purposes. These gifts are spiritual or supernatural. The word supernatural simply means “outside” or “above” the natural; it is spiritual rather than physical. The supernatural world is above our natural world. Paul wrote about what is invisible or unseen:
Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.(Romans 1:20)
In my book The Most Important Person on Earth, I compared the work of God’s Spirit to the governor of a colony who guides and facilitates the citizens in fulfilling the will of the king. I described the supernatural gifts of the Spirit as the delegation and distribution of powers by the Governor (Holy Spirit) to kingdom citizens (all who have been reconciled to their Creator and Father), in order to execute government business (the Creator’s purposes) in the colony (earth). They are for the purpose of impacting the environment. When God’s Son Jesus was on earth, he healed people, cast out demons, and did other miracles. These miracles were practical works on earth that solved people’s problems and pointed them toward restoration with their Creator. Likewise, the special gifts the Spirit gives to you are not for your private enjoyment but for the accomplishment of God’s purposes on earth through you.
They are for the “common good.” (See 1 Corinthians 12:1–11.) This is in keeping with God’s nature and will. Even though the execution of your purpose and the exercise of your natural and spiritual gifts will bring personal fulfillment, they are ultimately for the wider and corporate purpose of sustaining and building up your fellow human beings on earth. “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body” (1 Corinthians 12:12).
Purpose Leads to Vision
Purpose can be defined as original intent, or the reason for the creation or existence of something. Your purpose is the original intent of the Creator for your life. A leader is someone who has a sense of personal purpose that gives him a reason and meaning for living, a strong sense of destiny and significance, and a deep love for life. These qualities engender persistence and perseverance, even in the face of seeming setbacks or failures. Jesus Christ and Paul, the man He called as a leader in the first-century church, had these qualities, and they served as guiding forces in their actions. Their strong senses of destiny are reflected in their statements. Jesus said,
“For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (John 18:37), and “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Paul declared, “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14 kjv).
Winston Churchill became prime minister of England during World War II, and he said, “I felt as if I was walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.”12 Discovering yourself is the key to capturing your vision, which, as we will see in the next chapter, gives you a specific focus in carrying out your leadership purpose. Have you found a deep cause or reason to live? Is there a dream in your heart that gives life to your motivation? When you are able to see your purpose, your
vision will come to life.
Chapter Five