The Three Realms of Leadership: Leading as Prophet, Priest, and King
By Kim BooherAnd he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Ephesians 4:11. Prophet, Priest, and King are the three spiritual offices held by Jesus. They correspond to the three functions of the leader within the love leadership process. In the prophet role, the leader sees the vision and is the seat of creativity. In the priest role, he communicates the vision and develops the people who must run with it. In the king role the leader is the administrator who manages the organization.
Three Realms of Leadership II. Priest III. King The three realms help to highlight the importance of love leadership. Industrial revolution leadership with military hierarchy sees only the need for the management realm. More developed leadership sees the need for vision to direct and motivate the team. But only love leadership sees the need for a fully developed priest realm that realizes that a fully developed team is a win-win relationship between the team and team members. The priest develops the character of the team members and builds covenant relationships allowing the team members to interact with trust. JDB 2009
The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deuteronomy 18:15
If we were to ask a dozen people to define leadership, we would likely receive a dozen different answers. Some answers would include descriptions of personality traits that have been observed in leaders (and perhaps some fictional leaders): a leader is charismatic, confident, and demanding. Some answers would include deeper character traits: a leader has integrity and has a genuine interest in the well being of others. Still others would answer according to what a leader does: a leader manages people and resources well, develops plans for organizations, and is skilled at bringing out the best in people. One reason for so many varied answers is that the most effective leaders are multifaceted individuals. But observing the facets of leadership does not necessarily arrive at the essence of the leadership! .
A simple definition of leadership is based on the implied leader-follower relationship. Leadership is the influence of one person by another to move in a particular direction. The leader sees the goal and moves his team toward the goal. This implies a three-part process.
Three Functions within the Leadership Process
First, a leader must see a destination to move his team to. This implies that the leadership includes the development of plans. The most effective long-term leaders are visionaries. The leader understands where his people need to go over an extended period of time and also understands where they must go next to move toward the vision. That is, he develops goals for the organization from the vision in his heart. Also, the most effective leaders can help develop goals for the individuals in the organization. These goals are based on the role of the individual in the organization as well as the maturity of the individual in the role.
Secondly, an effective leader must be able to transfer his vision to his followers. The simple development and expression of goals to the individuals of a group does not ensure that the goals will be met. If the goals are ambitious, requiring extraordinary effort on the part of the group members to reach, a degree of inspiration is necessary. Nothing inspires people more than the opportunity to work toward something that they believe in. If the group believes in the vision, they will do what is necessary to achieve the goals set forth. An effective leader inspires passion in the group he leads.
Finally, an effective leader must be able to manage the movement of the group towards the goal. This includes dealing with the challenges that always surround personal interactions of passionate individuals. Typically, an organization has only a limited number of resources to reach its goals. The effective leader manages and delegates the management of these resources in an efficient manner. He is a capable manager of time, money, and people.
Jesus is the ultimate leader and is our example in each of these roles. In three years, He received a vision from the Father, developed an organization to implement that vision, and managed His organization. He did this so well that the organization He built in three years changed the world more than any other in history.
Three Spiritual Offices
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen
Revelation 1:6
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Ephesians 4:11
Prophet, Priest, and King are the three spiritual offices held by Jesus. They correspond to the three functions of the leader within the leadership process described above. In the prophet role, the leader sees the vision and is the seat of creativity. In the priest role, he communicates the vision and develops the people who must run with it. In the king role the leader is the administrator who manages the organization.
I. Prophet:
Excerpt from The Three Realms of Leadership: Leading as Prophet, Priest, and King by Jeff and Kim Booher. www.loveleadership.org. Available at Lulu.com. Full book, The Emergence of Love Leadership is available on Amazon Kindle.
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