subject: How To Influence Others, Part 2 [print this page] The first element, provision, is satisfied by each leader providing things for us that are necessary within their own specific jurisdiction. An example of this would be parents providing food and housing for us when we were young.
Second, there is protection. Similar to provision, each leader is designed to protect us in a specific way. A good example of this protection would be the government protecting us from civil disobedience or enemy attack. It could also be a preacher protecting us from making a poor life decision or parents protecting us from bad friends.
Next is headship. With headship, each leader is to implement a system of rules or standards that are then enforced upon their followers. This is how we are taught correct behavior and habits from our leaders. An example of good headship would be an employer setting a strict code of conduct for the workplace and training his employees in standards such as safety and quality assurance. Jurisdictional boundaries are given for all in follow-ship as outlined by their leadership.
Finally, we have leadership. Effective leadership includes three duties that each of our leaders must perform: preceding, conducting, and motivating. Our leaders are to precede us as role models in their jurisdiction. They are also to conduct, or manage our lives by giving us direction in their specific jurisdiction, in addition to also creating motivation for their followers to enable them to succeed in their jurisdiction.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have requirements for followers. In order for Gods system of management (explained above) to function properly, we as followers must adhere to one essential principle: The heart (thoughts, desires, and feelings) of the follower should be in the hand of its leadership.
I have found that a great number of Reformers Unanimous students struggle with this problem, as I once did. It all stems from an underlying problem with authority. Many of us have been blessed to have leadership that graciously granted us provision, protection, headship, and leadership, but we never truly gave them our hearts. Therefore, our leaders grew weary of serving us and eventually submitted to our desire to go our own way. If we fail to give our heart to our leaders, they will eventually and inevitably stop leading us every time, without exception. Because of this, it is imperative that we put our hearts into the hands that will protect and provide for us, as well as lead and guide us. If we succeed in doing this, God will ultimately bless, in a profound way, our leader/follower relationships.
Now that we have a better understanding of the basics of Gods system of management with respect to leaders and followers, we can examine how we, as followers, can influence our leadership.
There are five primary tenets that upon our mastery of them will enable us to effectively influence our leadership. However, these tenets also have corresponding opposites that will lead us to, you guessed it, ineffectively influence our leadership! These keys of influence are: Submission vs. Resistance, Obedience vs. Rebellion, Motivation vs. Manipulation, Loyalty vs. Disloyalty, and Talking to God vs. Talking to Others. Let us now take a closer look at each one of these individually, so that we may gain a working knowledge of these truths in order to be able to apply them to our lives.
