Week 23 Kingdom Chat: Prophetic Leadership
In this discussion, we will look at leadership from another perspective. The bible, as we already know, is our source of truth at all times. Suppose you are familiar with the story of Joseph how he rose from slavery to become the second most powerful man in ancient Egypt because of the spirit of leadership that God placed in his life. God topped Joseph’s creative, problem-solving wisdom with a unique gift of leadership. From his life, we can see that leadership inspires confidence as it accomplishes results and creates order out of chaos.
Authentic leadership is characterized by planning, organization, excellence, delegation, supervision, trust, and results. It involves exercising authority and dominion without being either controlling, dominating, or manipulative. Joseph’s leadership was the type that motivated, inspired, nurtured, and trusted. And these leadership qualities gained him recognition with the most powerful man at the time, Pharoah.
Of all the traits that Joseph exhibited, one stood out the most to me. His prophetic gift. Joseph was cross-cultural in his operation, he interpreted Pharoah’s dreams, but then he also gave Pharoah a clear plan of action.
Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” Genesis 41:37-38
Pharoah recognized the importance of Joseph’s gifts in the area of problem-solving wisdom and leadership but also saw Joseph’s real value in the prophetic gift when he said, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the Spirit of God?” Genesis 41:38.
Joseph’s promotion hinged not only on his wise plan of action, which he laid out explicitly for Pharoah and his men but on his ability to hear from God. Pharoah could have taken Joseph’s plan and dismiss him, but he recognized that leadership is much more than planning, execution, and management. The power of the Holy Spirit makes the difference.
When we operate with this kind of prophetic leadership in the workplace, promotion is guaranteed. When we enter into this dimension, we create an alliance that serves to redeem us from disaster and bless our hosts (nation, companies) in the process, and transforms our society ultimately.
Please share your thoughts and consider responding to the questions below:
Do you consider yourself a leader? Would you say that leadership is about position or function? Have you ever had the kind of leadership moment that Joseph had to know that the Holy Spirit inspired your thoughts, words, and actions?
- 2 Replies
Really blessed by this God-inspired article. Thanks@phil4krist. Leadership inspires confidence and brings order in chaos. I love the prophetic leader because it is a leadership that is current. Like the children of Issachar who understood the times and knew what Israel ought to do , they had command of their contemporaries. It also reminds me of Elisha who was a prophetic informant to the King and helped his King to win battles because he had prophetic knowledge of the enemies camp.This is where I love to function because it makes the difference between me and the non believer. It makes me rely more on God’s power, inspiring a consecrated life to stay tuned to what heaven is doing. I believe the world needs more of this from us and we will show it forth for the expansion of God’s kingdom. Glory to God!
I agree with @michael in that it is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that sets us apart from the nonbeliever. Prophetic leadership is not self-serving or about status or position, it is about humbly yielding to the direction and strategies of the Spirit. I am reminded of so many Scriptures that tell us the Holy Spirit is a Helper, the importance of being filled with and led by the Spirit and the distinction between wisdom that comes from God versus human understanding… the Bible is so clear about these things and yet sometimes we view “leadership” as something that’s taught in schools or a natural gift that some people have and others don’t. But this lens of prophetic leadership shows me that anyone who is filled with the Spirit has the capacity to be a leader of men.
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