Thoughts About Power

Much of the Old Testament was written by prophets and scribes on the fringe of the main population. Many Old Testament books are like a minority report.Tim Mackie – The Bible Project I am studying a book called Leadership in Organizations. The authors outline five ways organizational leaders have the power to influence others.

1. Legitimate Power – When a person is assigned positional, formal authority.
2. Reward Power – When a person can provide something that others want.
3. Coercive Power – When a leader can punish someone, possibly by withholding a blessing.
4. Referent Power – When people really admire and want to identify with a leader.
5. Expert Power – Gained by gifting, life experience, wisdom, and knowledge.

This also applies to the general public.

For example, babies soon learn to use (3) Coercive Power to influence their parents or caretakers. They cry if they do not get what they want. They also use (4) Reward Power. They will stop crying as a reward to those who please them. They might even smile.

Servant Leadership

Obviously, babies know nothing about servant leadership. They have much to learn before they can use (5) Expert Power. Yet God expects (5) Expert Power from His leaders. Principally He is looking for those who understand and are willing to be Servant Leaders, with the larger goal of helping their people connect with Jesus. Sometimes this dropping an argument, not being right. Sometimes this means having difficult conversations, not knowing what the outcomes will be. Sometimes this means not talking. Mature Servant Leaders have a sense of their role in each situation. Jesus’ life is an example of what He was talking about.

Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28).

Christian Leaders 2.0: Influencing others because I am experiencing Jesus’ presence is a type of (5) Expert Power. I have often tried to use the first four types of power to influence others to advance God’s Kingdom. Jesus struggled with the Pharisee’s use of the first four types of power because it is possible to get off track with Legitimate, Reward, Coercive, and Referent Power. We hope that experiencing Jesus’ presence and helping others through the power of the Holy Spirit will be a driving motivation for a generation of church planters. They become Experts because they know Jesus personally. Imagine the Kingdom of God expanding through the Amazon, the USA, Canada, and worldwide because ordinary people experience God in life-changing ways that attract attention.

But He said to them, . . . “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

1. Think of people you would like to influence toward God.
2. What combination of power are you using?
3. How is that working?
4. Can you think of a better way to influence your friends or family?
5. Have you asked Jesus about this?

Your thoughts?References
 Yukl, G. A., & Gardner III, W. L. (2020). Leadership in organizations (9th ed.). Pearson.