Power in Leadership

Ian Miller | 07/16/2025

Do you realize that you exercise power as a leader? Leaders have the authority to make decisions that impact other people’s lives. They have access to resources that many others don’t have access to. 

• Parents make decisions that impact their children

• Pastors make decisions that impact their church and communities

• Business owners and CEOs make decisions that impact their employees

Any time you are exercising your authority as a leader, you are using your power. The question is, how are you using your power? 

Too often, power is abused. It is used for self-benefit at the cost of others. It is leveraged to continue climbing the ladder of success, all the while suppressing those under them. It's easy to point to the slick-talking politician or fraudulent investment banker. But how about you? How are you doing as a leader? 

We use spiritual language to cloak the ugly abuse of power. We quote Scripture to put women in their place of submission as an excuse to ignore their appeals and advice. We tote doctrinal purity as a means to coerce people into practicing our pet beliefs. Fathers are granted a spiritual trump card when they are called “the priest of the household”. After all, who can speak against the Lord’s elect? 

Leaders, you hold power in your hands. How are you using it? Here are a few guiding principles to evaluate your use of power. 

Measure your leadership, not by how many you pass up but by how many people you enable to pass you up. 

Your leadership is about others, not about you. It’s about your responsibility to serve and pursue the wellbeing of those you’re leading. 

Measure your leadership, not by how compelling you craft your message but by how effectively you model your mission with your life. If you could never say a word again, if you could never weigh in on another decision or voice your opinion from this day forward, how would your life speak for you? How would your leadership look if your only voice was your silent invitation to follow in your footsteps? 

Measure your leadership, not by how many assets you accumulate but by how much value you contribute to those you lead. Leadership is about giving, not receiving. It’s about bringing all that you have to the table, pouring it out on the altar, and watching God multiply it in order to bless those you serve. 

How are you using your power to enable others to pass you up, model the mission, and to contribute value to others?