Could boldness and courage be one of the vital traits of those who lead fearless organizations? It very well could be the courage we see in vibrant, successful leaders comes from developing an eye to see what God is doing and reporting this to their followers.

In the 1970s and 80s, the CEO model of leadership began to infiltrate the definition of leadership in the church. This isn’t a bad model for managers in the church, but a CEO model for leaders and pastors of churches is probably not a completely good one. CEOs manage assets of the organization and deal with goals and precise planning. Many of the seminars in our time have dealt exclusively with this type of management. The issue of growing market share and growth dynamics are all part of the CEO model.

Is this the best model for fearless leaders in the church? I think it is definitely a model, and in many instances a good one. But is it the best one? I think the case could be made that it isn’t. Fearless, God-driven leadership doesn’t necessarily always lead to success. Leaders of the courageous variety operate more off of obedience and faithfulness than achieving goals and aims. None of us would doubt that goals or aims are unscriptural. After all, the aim of Christ’s incarnation and ascension was to bring all nations to God. According to the book of Revelations, every single convert is numbered and has a specific place before the throne of God in the new age. However, fearless leaders are worried about other things than CEO management. They are devoted totally to the “God factor” in the midst of the organization. They’ve replaced goals of achievement with goals of obedience. Interest and gifting are quite secondary to a call to be faithful. Leaders who are fearless operate from those two power points.