The Marks of Great Leaders

By Bishop Aludus Todman

The Marks of Great Leaders was born out of the undisputed, undeniable, shortage of leadership: in the homes, the church, and in the wider society. The constant falling away of leaders is appalling and troubling. The void that exists as a result of it remains unfilled. The Marks of Great Leaders wishes to address key components that are relevant to leadership sustainability. 1. The first aspect of leadership is to follow the leader that's leading you. Good and faithful followers certainly produce good leaders, and good leaders can become great leaders. 2. A leader is a servant, not self-serving. One whose interest is consume in the interest of others. 3. A leader must be trustworthy, uncompromising, insightful, and humble and must possess dignity and integrity. Moreover, it is paramount that integrity must be guarded and preserved. More importantly, a leader must be God-fearing. 4. When great leaders fall, the fall is great. Failing is inevitable, but total failure can be avoided.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098007409

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The Marks of Great Leaders

Bishop Aludus Todman

Copyright © 2019 by Bishop Aludus Todman

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Essence of Leadership

Leaders Are Dreamers

God May Not Always Save His People from Trouble, but He Will Always Be with His People in Their Trouble

The Struggle for Religious Freedom

You Are Not Too Late until You Are The Late

Rejection

Leaders Must Be Tough and Tender

The Erosion of Confidence in Leadership

When Great Leaders Fall, the Fall Is Great

Intentional Impartation—the Leader’s Expectation

Great Leaders Possess Great Insight

Seasonal Transition in Leadership

This book is dedicated to my wife Lorna; my children Darrel, Nadine, Natasha; my grandchildren Rakim, Shakim, Antonae, Nairee, Mehki, and Jordyn. Leaders are like seeds with harvests inside of them, but more importantly, leaders are sowers. The people in whose lives leaders have poured are the harvest that has been reaped—not only by the individuals but also by the families, societies, and nations; they are all recipients of that harvest.

A leader is both an investment and an investor and so is every other person. Someone has invested in you, and you are expected to invest in others. To my colleagues, the experience of weariness is a natural evidence of your humanity and consciousness. Jesus, in his humanity, got weary, sat on the well, and rested (John 4:6). Yet he still engaged in the ministry of evangelism while resting. Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (Gal. 6:9).

Acknowledgments

Thanks first to God Almighty—without whom nothing lives, nothing moves, and nothing happens. He supplies the information and inspiration and directs the thought process toward the final conclusion.

Thanks to my wife, Lorna, for her prayerful support and consistent encouragement.

Thanks to my daughter, Natasha, for the pre-editing.

I have reduced my pace but broadened my base. I am increasing my faith to stay in the race.

Retirement from an appointment does not necessarily release one from his God-given assignment. So even though I am not for hire, I will rewire to stay on fire until I expire.

1

The Essence of Leadership

The marks of great leaders can be identified within innumerable leadership styles, traits, and characteristics, such as knowledge, wisdom, vision, innovation, integrity, humility, character, commitment, submission, servanthood, influence, excellence, and success. However, the greatest leader of all time, God, is the one who created everything. Therefore, he is the essence of leadership.

The creation story gives us a perfect pattern of alignment; it is what I call the Initial Leadership Plan. It should also be recognized as God’s plan, and it will work for us if we follow it. God’s first act was the creation of heaven, which acts as his throne, and the earth, which acts as his footstool. The second thing he did was activating the Holy Spirit in order to make it move over the cosmos. Believing that the Holy Spirit is God’s guiding agent on this earth is biblically correct. We must take note that nothing moved on the earth before the Holy Spirit was activated. The third thing God did was speak everything into being. In my view, that was the establishment of the Principle of Declaration. One of the great lessons to be learned here is that the Holy Spirit must be given top priority in every undertaking. Every lesson plan, leading plan, and teaching plan that experiences success follows that same principle; they allow the Holy Spirit to direct the affairs.

When Jesus was about to go back to the Father, he said to his disciples, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come (John 16:13, King James Version). To some people, leadership means guiding others and having a following. To others, it means being able to call the shots or having the power to control others. The truth is that leadership calls for service first; the interest of others must be considered above one’s own. In the opening statement of this chapter, many leadership qualities are mentioned, and among them is the willingness to serve.

Let’s take a good look at the services that the Almighty God had rendered to man even before he required us to serve him. As he created the foundation of the world, God put every imaginable instrument that man would ever need to accomplish any of his tasks into place. Modern technology and scientific advancement have overwhelmingly and positively affected the landscape of history forever. For example, far distances are within arm’s reach. With the touch of a button, we can connect to the rest of the world within seconds. Outer space has become commonplace. The oceans’ depths and their contents are no longer mysterious. Thousands of feet beneath the earth and the oceans, men have found life-saving supplies. Hence, it is safe to say that men have become the masters of outer space and the oceans. They scale the heavens like birds, roam the jungles like lions, and cross the oceans like fish, but they have not found the way of submission to the great god of the universe. Man, for the most part, has not been able to accept the plan of the Creator. God has made of one blood all the nations and wants them to dwell on this earth together.

Adam and Eve broke the first covenant with God, and this resulted in the flood that brought destruction upon the known world. Thereafter, God spoke to Noah and his sons. And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth (Gen. 9:1). This same command is repeated in Genesis 9:7: And you, [Noah and his sons] be ye fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

Nimrod, one of the first known recorded builders, led the way in what is known as an act of blatant defiance against the order of God’s command. And they said, [under the direction of Nimrod] Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto Heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth (Gen. 11:4). Remember, God’s command to both Adamn and Noah was for us to populate the earth. Now let us look at Nimrod’s plan and intention. Here Nimrod is saying, We are not going to be scattered over the earth. The same mind-set that wants to defy God’s order exists today.

Population growth was in God’s original plan. However, today we hear much more about depopulation. There are those behind the scenes who have already decided on what the size of the population should be. The ill treatment and destruction of innocent human beings in our society is appalling but still accepted.

The greatest mark of leadership success that any leader can leave behind is leading lost souls to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Disappointingly, many great leaders do not know God as their savior.

We need great leaders in science, mathematics, engineering, and in every other field, but let us be real and put first things first: In the beginning, it was God.

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God (John 1:1). One of the greatest challenges that leaders are faced with today is the placement of God in the global equation. Military leaders, civic leaders, and religious leaders must remember that all things were made by God, and without him was not anything made that was made (John 1:3, KJV).

The Greatness of Nations and Leaders Depends on How Highly God Is Exalted, Regarded, and Embraced in Their Affairs

The greatness of America: In 1831, a famous French historian by the name of Alexis de Tocqueville went to America to study financial institutions at the request of the French government. While in America, he also conducted a close study of its political and social institutions. In less than a decade, de Tocqueville became renowned for his four-volume work entitled Democracy in America. Here is his own stirring explanation of the greatness of America:

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her great rivers, but it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. It was until I went into the churches of America, and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. (Democracy in America)

America is great because she is good, if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great (The Biblical Evangelist).

It is the great God who makes families, churches, and nations great. No man or woman in America—or any other nation, for that matter—could ever achieve greatness without God. The exaltation of all institutions, including nations, comes from God. God himself—through the wisest man, Solomon—said, Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. (Prov. 14:34).

President-Elect Donald Trump will be sworn in within a few days; he will hold the highest office as the forty-fifth president of the United States of America. The main slogan of his campaign was Make America great again. During the presidential campaign, many opined, America has always been great and is still great. Let us remind ourselves that having the largest navy, the largest air force, the largest army, or the largest number of nuclear weapons does not necessarily constitute greatness. As I mentioned earlier, one significant mark of a great leader is the ability to keep God in his proper perspective. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths (Prov. 3:5).

The family, the church, and the world need godly leaders who can demonstrate godly influence in every aspect of life. Holiness, godliness, and righteousness are virtues that can be easily taught in the classrooms and preached from the pulpits. However, virtues such as holiness are also lifestyle choices that one must make in order to live in his will. Lifestyle choices can even be seen in the type of evangelism that a leader utilizes.

Let’s look as the three areas of evangelism: mass evangelism, confrontational evangelism, and lifestyle evangelism. Mass evangelism is important and has its place while souls are being saved. It could take place on an open field or in a grand stadium; the actual location does not matter. The most important factor is that a life of sin is transformed into a life of righteousness. This is one of the greatest responsibilities of leadership. Confrontational evangelism takes place when one ministers directly to a person’s needs and guides that person toward the experience of spiritual birth, growth, and maturity. Finally, lifestyle evangelism occurs when a person’s godly ways of life attract the attention of others. God’s people are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and with that seal, the Lord knows they are his. The seal and the blood are identification marks of the people of God. The light of the glorious gospel of Jesus must also shine before men so that others may see the good works and glorify the Father in heaven.

The Power of a Praying Leader

George Washington

George Washington knelt on the snow at valley forge. America was at war. Supplies were low. Its men marched with bleeding feet and empty stomachs. The wind was raw and the snow deep. And the enemy seems almost certain to win an easy victory. Then the figure of the first President was seen kneeling on the snow, in earnest prayer. Someone pass the word around, the president is on His knees, and victory is on the way. It was! God saved young America! In that darkest hour, Washington was asked, how will it end? God will direct he replied. (The Happy Harvester, July 1985)

Here we have a footprint on the sands of time—one great mark of a great American leader.

Abraham Lincoln Prayed for the Nation

During the darkest days of the civil war, a friend of Abraham Lincoln who was a visitor at the white house says: I had been spending three weeks with Mr. Lincoln as his guest. One night, it was just after the battle of Bull Run: I was restless and could not sleep.

From the private room where the President slept, I heard low tones, for the door was partly open. Instinctively I wondered in, and there I saw a sight which I have never forgotten. It was the President, kneeling before an open Bible. His back was towards me, I shall never forget His prayer: O thou God that heard Solomon in the night when he prayed and cry for wisdom, hear me. I cannot lead these people; I cannot guide the affairs of this nation without thy help: O God, hear me and save this nation. (The Happy Harvester, July 1985)

Abraham Lincoln overcame poverty and adversity to become one of the greatest presidents of all time. Here is a mark of another great leader! His legacy will forever impact every God-fearing person and should serve as a constant reminder for every nation and leader. It is my prayer that leaders of America will remember that it was prayer that made America