Resist Worldly Trappings

Not everyone is called to lead but ALL are called to serve. That includes leaders. Sometimes we can forget this and expect everyone to serve us. Every worker is worthy of his hire but we need to be able to justify our salary and benefits package.  It might even mean standing against those that want to serve us that inadvertently encourage into positions of exalted grandness and inappropriate use of power. What I mean by this is the people who would exalt us to a level where we are the objects of their worship! They might ensure that nobody can speak with us. Their desire to put us on a pedestal is so great that they control access to our “inner-courts.” This may be the way of the world but it is not the way of our ultimate role model, Jesus came to serve not to be served. He chose to ride on a donkey not a grand horse, he had no permanent address, no great wealth and as people sought to give him status pointed to people to His father.

We can learn something of this as when we are tempted to chase the trappings that the world offers leaders. We serve a king who leads an upside down kingdom.

Availability

Jesus had time for people and so should we. We need to be available to people. Whilst it is essential that we take and are given time to pray, study, think and plan, it is also essential that we are not alone in an ivory tower. We need to be connected to those we seek to serve and certainly to the team that we lead. In my organisation, I run a “door open” policy. That is for most of the day my door is open. People know that they can come in and see me, ask questions and share things when my door is open. 
This is because I want to be available to people. I am there to offer advice, encouragement and direction. Conversely, if I am in a meeting, am on a vital phone call or just need some solitude, then my door is closed and I only expect to be interrupted if the issue is urgent.

Sometimes we need to realise the interruption is our work!