Warm up

 
When you hear the word leader who or what comes to mind? 

Watch

 
Bible passage: Matthew 20:20-28 

Key Points  

• God is more concerned about our availability than our ability. 

• Leadership is intentional influence that helps something move forward. 

• Christian leaders are servants of Jesus who enable others to pursue God's purposes. 

• Leadership is about noticing, caring, acting. 

Discuss

• What stood out for you about Christian leadership from the video? 

• Where do you see people intentionally influencing others in daily life? 

• What did you make of the definition of leadership (see above)? 

Watch

Key Points

What prevents people seeing themselves as leaders?  

1. I’m not an upfront person… I just help out… 
2. I don’t like speaking in front of a group. 
3. I don’t feel confident enough. 
4. I don’t know what to do and whether I’d be any good at it. 
5. I’m not like leaders I know. 
6. I’ve seen leadership not done well. 
7. I don’t feel ‘good enough’ as a Christian.  

Activity

Which of the common reasons do you most relate to? 

What would you add? 

Looking at the ‘leadership swimming pool’:  

• Which person best represents how you currently feel about leadership or respond to the idea of leadership? 

• Which person best represents where would you like to be in relation to leadership? What would help you to get there? 

• What is your inner self-talk about leadership? 

Wrap up

What is God inviting you to take away from this session, and what one thing might you do about this?  

Before next time

Talk to God about how you feel about leadership. What is holding you back from dipping your toe into the pool or going further into the pool? What might he be saying to you? 

A prayer to use: 

Go Deeper

Want to explore further? Great. Take a look at the ideas below and use the QR code to access the resources and links. 

• Reflect Additional handout – ‘Leadership definitions’. 

• Read Growing Leaders, James Lawrence (CPAS), pp. 27–48. 

• Watch The Chosen, Series 4 Episode 4: a dramatisation of Matthew 20:20–28. An encouraging story of a leader noticing, caring and acting. 

• Listen Hwa Yung on leadership and servanthood.  

• Challenge Notice. Care. Act. Ask God to help you notice an opportunity you care enough about to serve others — then act on it, however small. Keep a note of each time you do.