It amazes me today how little authority those in leadership positions actually have. Not because they weren't initially endowed with it, but because they give it away by the way they lead. Bosses have become a joke and instead of employees seeking to follow and please them, they in turn seek new ways to dupe them and shirk their part of the boss/underling relationship. Why is this? Could it be that they don't feel that their bosses are qualified to be leading them?
I think the answer is a resounding: Yes! If you look through not so ancient history you can find true leaders who were feared yet respected. I remember growing up as a boy I always respected my granddad's authority. Was he a perfect man? By no means. But what he had was authority and he wielded in a way that only increased that authority; at least in my eyes. He was stern, yet soft at times. He didn't intervene too much when he set you off on a task. It was your job so naturally he expected you to be able to figure out how to do your job.
Employees today are robbed of the opportunity to do their jobs. The robber is "micro management". When you set a person to a task and then intervene prematurely two things happen: 1) You undermine the person tasked's authority in that task and 2) You are now doing more work than an authoritative leader should. It's called delegation and it means you absolve yourself of involvement to a certain degree because you have delegated it to someone else.
So naturally employees don't respect their bosses when the boss is constantly making himself a regular employee. By micro managing , you diminish your status in the eyes of your employees. Now let's be clear. I am not talking about a boss helping or being involved in the process. I respect that and believe it is good to practice what you preach. But there is a line that needs to remain firmly established. Equip and facilitate your people and they will achieve greatness.
And so it is in the spiritual as well. Yeshua did not do the tasks for the disciples. He equipped and facilitated it. His authority was recognized by all that came in contact with Him. That is why you see such strong reactions of either gnashing of teeth or falling prostrated to the ground when He came in contact with people. His authority flowed out of Him and words were not always necessary to determine who was running things when He showed up.
The people of YHVH need leaders that equip and facilitate their growth in Messiah. They do not need specifically spelled out instructions that short circuit how they have been wired by the Creator. I have heard it said and agree with. "Your calling determines how you serve, not where you serve." Torah and the Scripture are the only guides they truly need. Worldly wisdom and history has some value in determining how people have behaved in the past and are likely to behave in the future.
Eat the fish and spit out the bones. Guide the sheep. Don't carry them all the time lest you become too weary to protect them when the need arises.
We need more "authoritative" leaders in this age of mediocrity.
We need more "true" leaders that trust in the power of the Spirit in this age of the spiritless.
