As a coach, your position grants you a voice of authority to your players. You command a program, a library of plays, a master schedule, and minutes for your players. It is likely the case that before you were appointed as a leader of your team, you exhibited leadership traits already present within you. The reputation you have as a leader in your role should be informed by the type of leadership you are already cultivating within yourself.
For a Christian leader, these inward leadership principles should match external traits. Mature Christian leadership is the result of repeated, faithful disciplines practiced over time. There is a problem, however, when a Christian leader assumes they are more mature than they really are. Paul David Tripp writes,
“When you’ve forgotten who you are, when you assign yourself more maturity than you actually have, and when you think you are more capable than you really are, you leave yourself little reason to seek the ongoing help of your Savior.”
The truth is, “fake it ‘til you make it” should not be the standard sought by Christian leaders. Good, godly leadership; leadership that is patient, sacrificial, service-based, transformative, and honorable cannot be “faked.” If Scripture is the one true sufficient guide to all life and godliness (1 Tim 3:16), then godly leadership must be a derivative of faithful Bible reading put into action.
What does the Bible define as marks of maturity in a man or woman? If we limit our Scripture search to leadership-centric reading, we miss out on the point: Jesus uses all people according to their ability. We then ought to seek out ways to grow our ability to be used as a leader. We must be leading ourselves to grow into mature people. We must be faithful first with ourselves before being given the responsibility of leading others (Luk 16:10). Cultivating maturity is a task involving both humility and discipline.
Cultivating Maturity: Humility and its Fruits
Above any other personal trait, Scripture calls God’s people to humility. The inescapable reality that we are creatures and not the Creator ought to drive us to humility. We ought to recognize that there is nothing we are truly in authority over—even in the day-to-day administration of our teams. Instead all authority is received (John 3:27). Jesus modeled this core attribute of Christian leadership through His incarnation and ministry as a servant (Matt 20:25-27).
Humility requires practice over time. Daily, one must navigate a series of choices to live a life of faith and dependence rather than of self-dependance and arrogance. Humble people suffer well, they don’t take insults personally, and they steward their resources well. Humble people are also teachable. Teachable people will submit themselves to the Word of God. God, who is altogether sovereign and mighty, reveals the wisdom of His Word to teachable, humble people (Matt 11:25).
Scripture tells us that the humble inherit the Kingdom of God (Matt 5:1-12). Humility also leads to compounding growth in all areas. It is interesting that Paul does not include humility as a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, but it is likely because the foundation for all other spiritual fruit must begin with what Jesus began with in His Sermon on the Mount: a humble heart.
If you are wanting to grow as a leader, or if you are wanting to understand how you can quit “faking it,” then hear that Scripture calls for humility. Only then will you be prepared to receive what God is willing and prepared to give you.
Cultivating Maturity: Discipline and its Fruits
Humility is related to the way one lives. Discipline is related to how one lives. The difference sounds small, but it is profound. One can be well-disciplined without an ounce of humility, but one cannot truly be humble without mastering Christian discipline.
It is one thing to set a schedule for waking up, eating right, and executing your responsibilities. This is good, but not what will ultimately propel you as a Christian leader. A humble spirit will prepare you to receive what God has to give you. A disciplined spirit will make you able to receive and make use of such a gift. To grow as a Christian leader, you must be able to lead your own life through Christian disciplines.
Discerning the connection may be difficult at first: “How does consistently reading my Bible, spending time in earnest prayer, and regular church attendance make me a better coach?” Remember that the goal in Christian leadership is ultimately about leading yourself and others toward a more godly life, no matter the circumstances, to the glory of God. If you expect to see headway in the spiritual growth of your players under your leadership, your own heart must be humble enough to receive and disciplined enough to put into action the requirements of your own spiritual growth.
Scripture tells Christians to never stop praying (1 Thess 5:17), to be familiar with their Bibles (Acts 17:11), and to meet regularly for worship and fellowship (Heb 10:25). These disciplines are difficult to maintain if the heart is not humbly prepared, yet Christian leadership demands a certain dependance on the Holy Spirit that only sanctified wisdom gained through these disciplines can provide. Consider your habits today. Are you putting the cart before the horse and attempting to lead before you’ve first assessed yourself? Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal to you ways that you can grow in your ability to receive that which He has prepared for you (Ps 139:23-24).