I recently took a survey about the subject of spiritual leadership.  I asked the question, “What is the one defining word that best describes spiritual leadership?”   I sought my answer through three avenues.  First, I conducted brief “interviews” with many friends and colleagues in the ministry. Then, I took an impromptu poll on Facebook putting the question public. I received over 70 different words describing spiritual leadership. Finally, I studied the people who have had the greatest spiritual influence in my own life. 

     The top ten words were: servant, integrity, influence, faithful, consistent, compassionate, example, godly, humble, and powerful.      

These are all wonderful descriptions of spiritual leadership. I would venture to say that any effective leader should strive to embody all these characteristics. But as I studied the list I noticed a parallel in all of these descriptions: Christ embodied them all. He was a servant of men, a man of integrity, an influential revolutionary, a faithful Son, consistent in word and deed, a compassionate Shepherd, the greatest example, the embodiment of godliness, a humble individual, and yet the most powerful human to ever grace our planet. My conclusion is simply this: the greatest characteristic we can have as spiritual leaders is to be Christ-like.