Church Leader or Instructor?

Simon Sinek, a leadership thinker and author known for his work on purpose and culture, puts it like this: “The reason we call somebody a leader is not because they’re at the top of the organisation or because they have a title; it’s because they go first. They go first into the unknown, first towards the danger, first to take the risk.” I love that because it cuts through all the noise and brings us back to something really simple and really honest. Leadership is not about position, it is about example.

In church life, it is very easy to drift into instructing instead of actually leading, and if we are not careful we can build a culture where people hear a lot but see very little. We can stand up on a Sunday and invite people to step out, to prophesy, to take risks in faith, but the real question is not what we are saying, it is what people are seeing in us. Are we stepping out first, are we modelling the very thing we are inviting others into, or are we just giving permission from a safe distance where it costs us very little?

The same thing shows up around generosity. When we call the church to give, especially when it is sacrificial and requires real trust in God, are we leading that moment or just explaining it well? People are far more perceptive than we sometimes realise, they can tell the difference between someone who is going first and someone who is simply asking others to go. One builds faith, the other quietly erodes it.

Leading always carries weight. There is a cost to it, a stretch to it, a moment where you realise you cannot hide behind words, role, or platform, you actually have to step out yourself. That is where leadership becomes real, where faith becomes visible, and where trust is formed in the life of a church.

Jesus never stood back and told people what to do from a distance. He stepped in first, He modelled the life He was calling others into, and then He said, follow Me. That is the pattern we have been given, and it is as challenging as it is beautiful.

So let me leave you with this. What risks are you taking right now that actually make you a leader? Where are you going first, not just talking first? Where are you stepping into the unknown, moving towards the uncomfortable, choosing faith when it would be easier to stay safe?

Because if we are not going first, we are not really leading, we are just instructing. And no one is ultimately inspired by someone shouting directions from a distance, people follow those who step out in front and show the way.