Have you ever considered what differences, if any, there are for Christian women in leadership? When we think of women and leadership, it seems natural that the focus is on the gender (female) aspect of leadership. Not much thinking goes into her beliefs, values, or capabilities. The common thought is that leadership is leadership, whether male or female, Christian or not.

I did a quick Google search on 'women leaders' and found: women and leadership, challenges for female leaders, women’s leadership certificates, the rise of women leaders, and gender differences in leadership. Other research revealed categories around women’s abilities, skills set, characteristics, and competencies. Rarely did I find information broken down by beliefs or values.

The truth is, not all of us have understood leadership as it springs from our Christian faith, although we are Christian. Sure, skills and leadership traits may be similar, but leadership outcomes and behaviors must be worlds apart for the Christian woman who leads others.

Godly Leadership Definition
Godly leadership does not focus on what we do or how we do it, but rather emphasizes who we are from the inside out. Godly character is the foundation for what we do and how we do it. In other words, when it comes to the actions of Christian women leaders, our lives, through deed and action, should be worth imitating. Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”

To further expand on the value of imitation, in 1 Thessalonians 1:6 Paul urges his followers to imitate him because he follows Jesus and of course he encourages them to also follow the Lord as well. Leadership for the believer is about imitating the life of Christ.

Let's look at the model of how Christian women in leadership differs from other leadership styles in three distinct ways: guiding tenets, purpose, and response.

Guiding Tenets

For the female Christian leader, wherever her leadership hails from (the workplace, the community, the church, the home) it is with the intent of enriching the Kingdom of God by bringing others from darkness to light. Christian women leaders’ guiding principles ultimately are about glorifying God in their leadership behaviors and outcomes because they seek God’s approval. They recognize it is God who will require an answer for how they exercise their authority in leadership. The followers should be at the forefront of the minds of these women leaders because God has entrusted people into their care. Yes, people should be better for being under Christian women leaders.

There are significant differences between a Christian leadership model and other models. Other leaders are groomed to seek human approval, rely on their strengths, abilities, pedigree, and ingenuity, and make their own decisions. Often, they’re concerned with their own advancement having little concern about their followers. It's not unusual to use others for personal gain, making people the means to an end. With a focus on self, other leaders can become takers instead of givers and may become cruel in their leadership behaviors and outcomes. The story of Haman in the book of Esther chapter 6 is a great example of this. Haman was so focused on his goals and plans that he was completely unaware of what the king was thinking (Esther 6:6). He had little to no concern about what others thought of his actions as long as he accomplished his ends. This didn’t serve him well.

Purpose
Christian women leaders understand God’s purpose as they lead. It is God who prepares, calls, and establishes us as women who lead to achieve God’s will. God appoints individual rulers (Romans 13:1-2). But why? Leaders are called by God to do His work. According to Bill Lawrence, leadership is “the act of influencing/serving others out of Christ’s interest in their lives, so they accomplish God’s purposes for and through them.”

While all leaders can be successful and show effectiveness in accomplishing the vision and mission of a goal, without God their purpose is often steeped in the prestige of the position, the economic benefits, and the power that comes along with it. Women who follow Christ answer a higher call and fulfill a greater purpose.

Response
It can be challenging to lead in various contexts, particularly workplace situations, as a Christian women. We want to correctly respond each time, but our funny emotions come into play and, just like that, we don’t always behave as we’d like. We don’t serve the enemy, nor do we want to respond with insults, vindictive behaviors, or other poor conduct. We want our responses to reflect Christ.

A few weeks ago, I was at a car wash. Now, keep in mind my car had not had any attention for several weeks. As the attendant beckoned for me to pick up my car, I had in my hand a four-dollar tip, which is what I would normally give at the car wash. Upon getting to my car, I saw there were a couple, maybe a few more spots that could have had better attention. I pointed these out to the attendant, and he corrected the problem. But I became annoyed and peeled off one dollar, handed it to the attendant. I left without a smile or decent look on my face. I BARELY got out of the parking lot when the Holy Spirit convicted me. Reminding me first, that my car can go weeks (literally) without even a thought about getting it cleaned and how I was annoyed over a few missed spots! The Holy Spirit brought to my attention that the attendant was an elderly man washing cars and I wondered how he could live off a one-dollar tip when I’d been blessed to be able to have my car washed when I chose. Yes, I turned right back around, went inside to ask the cashier if she would kindly take the remainder of my tip to the gentleman who washed and cleaned my car.

This may seem like a rather insignificant thing, but God expects His chosen women to respond in ways that reflect how He has treated us. If it was important enough for the Holy Spirit to convict me, it was important and no small thing! It’s the same in our leadership responses. There are some situations that can seem so small or insignificant, but we must pay attention to those prompts from the Spirit and respond accordingly.

CALL TO ACTION
Let’s wrap up by taking a moment to:

• reflect on our leadership as Christian women.

• notice if we recognize in ourselves the behaviors of other types of leaders.

• reflect on how we exercise authority over others.

• reflect on whether people are better for being under your leadership specifically because you lead as a Christian woman.

PRAYER
God, strengthen me to be a leader pleasing unto you in my deeds and actions. May I be a woman worthy of being imitated as I imitate you for your glory. Amen.