Day 19: Philippians 1:3-5

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”


A leader has a very special mission from God. We have been allowed a stewardship of not only our own talent and gifting, but that of others as well. Let me unpack that a bit for you: we are given a certain amount of gifts and talents that God wants us to use for His kingdom. When you are a leader, and in charge of an organization or whatever, God is also giving you the talents and gifts of other people that you can direct and focus for His kingdom. That’s an amazing thing.

In Philippians 1, Paul is thanking the Philippian church for their participation in the gospel with him. He is probably referring to their support of him in his ministry, both monetarily and materially.

We need to be thankful for the people that follow us. They are people that have allowed us to lead them. These people aren’t a trophy on your shelf or a feather in your cap. They are people with gifts and talents, who, just like you, have been created for the purpose of bringing glory to God.

Don’t forget to treat those people who follow you as human beings. Leaders in the secular world are well known for treating their followers like resources: just another paper clip, computer, or cell phone that is theirs to use. That is not the MO of the Christian Leader. We understand that if we mistreat the people He has given us to lead, He can just as easily take them from us.

Like Paul, be thankful for those people that God has allowed you to lead. We are all in partnership with God in the gospel.

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: God allows us to lead people for His glory. Don’t treat them as things. Be thankful for them and be in prayer for them.

Here’s a verse to meditate on today: Luke 22:24-30

Prayer: Father, thank you for giving me a stewardship of leadership. Thank you for those people that have partnered with you in the gospel. Thank you for giving them to me to lead. Help me treat them with the same love and respect that you treat them. In Christ’s name, amen.