Effective Stewards
My son, as a high school junior, had to write a short paper defining leadership. As a 16-year old high school student, he felt the pain of trying to express what counts as good, bad, or effective. In whose opinion? Were Stalin, Hitler, or Edi Amin effective leaders?
How do we define effectiveness?
Does it matter if we are speaking about effectiveness in ministry, in non-profit or para-church organizations, or in for-profit businesses? How do we know we have been effective? Is effectiveness evaluated by the bottom line, profit, membership growth, campus expansion, community impact, student graduations, or through teacher retention? Is it meeting goals or increasing employee morale?
When answering the question of effectiveness, we ultimately fall back on some world view. Stalin, Hitler, and Edi Amin each had a world view they operated within. For us as followers of Christ, that world view is informed and defined by Christ as seen through the totality of Scripture.
While addressing effectiveness in leadership we need to address what Scott Rodin calls two kingdom living. There is the one Kingdom of God, and the second kingdom we try to build up for ourselves. A Christian’s calling is to fall under the Lordship and Kingdom of Christ; however, we are easily seduced and drawn into setting ourselves up as kings. We fall into a trap of ownership, rights, and privileges.
Despite our hope and desire to give Jesus total Lordship, we hold certain things back, and we begin to build our own kingdom, which naturally competes with Jesus’ Kingdom. We fall into the thinking that if we were given more control, more ownership, and more authority in the organization, we could get more done; we would make the organization more successful, and thereby we would be more successful.
What we don’t realize is, we become more effective when we tear down our kingdom and divest ownership so we can obey, trust, and rely on Jesus to do what He wants in His one Kingdom. Without ownership of the second kingdom, leaders are free to joyfully respond in obedience to Jesus. Our effectiveness is dependent on God. One Kingdom living keeps the focus on God, His sovereignty, and His ownership.
In The Steward Leader, Scott Rodin writes, “When the drive to succeed is rooted in a sense that we own our ministry, own our employees, and own our vision, leadership consumes us…As Christians in leadership positions, we are called to lose the life that promises applause and material reward, that we might be given the true life of a godly steward.”
If we are going to be effective as leaders stewarding God’s resources, we have to battle against the temptation to build our kingdom. Prayer and scripture are the believer’s conduits to staying focused on God’s one Kingdom. Make scripture and prayer a priority in your day, and God will move you to deploy His possessions for His Kingdom.
Is your leadership effectiveness measured by God’s Kingdom, or by your kingdom?
–Howard Rich, CFO
Previously published on Higher Thinking, a blog for Christian Leadership Alliance

Big Book Giveaway!
Subscribe to Global Disciple’s Stories between now and May 28, 2023, and be entered in the drawing to win one of 10 copies of the book, Ordinary Disciples, Extraordinary Influence—signed by the authors! Names will be drawn on May 2 (for all April entries), and May 30 (for all May entries).
Stories Subscription Form
Recent Posts
A Day for the Unreached
Today, a third of us on this planet are without the Good News of Jesus Christ. Just as Peter and the disciples presented Jesus Christ to people “from every nation under heaven” that day, we want to do all we can to do the same for those still waiting.
Lives Poured Out
If we want to speed His coming, we need to find the places where the gifts He’s given us are best used...
3 Ways to Transfer Your Values to the Next Generation
Here are three ways you can transfer your values to the next generation and help them make God-honoring decisions.
Your Role in the Mission of God
A radical life for Jesus should not be extinguished by the earthly thought that we do not have a place in God’s grand tapestry.
Loaves and Fishes
The more I study and reflect on the life and ministry of Jesus, the more I see his heart for all nations coming through so clearly again and again!
A New View of the World
How do we pursue the mission to be Christ’s ambassadors to the lost from our living room?
Loving the Mission of God
It's possible to be dedicated to God, to know about Him, and yet miss out on the joy and love for His mission.
Sheep Among Wolves
Sheep follow the Good Shepherd even when it is dangerous.
Worship Propels Our Mission
In worship, we receive His burden for the lost, and His empowerment to go.
Give monthly, reach the world…
Join our community of monthly donors bringing the hope of Jesus to least-reached people groups around the world.