5 Principles of Leadership From the Apostles

Acts 6:1-4 (New International Version)

The Choosing of the Seven

¹In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. ²So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

1. (Team) So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together.  The early church shows us how import it is as leaders to create a cohesive unit.  Our decisions need to be made for the betterment of the group and in all possible cases with the group.
2. (Vision) “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. As leaders we must always keep the “main thing” the “main thing”.  All though our ministry or business must have administration duties taken care of it’s purpose is to propel the “main thing”.  Keeping our team focused on the “main thing” is a vital way to maintain cohesiveness and keep the ship headed in the right direction.
3. (Delegation/Training) Brothers, choose seven. The 12 did not say here are the seven, they said brothers, choose seven.  This is a microcosm of discipleship/leadership.  Not only are you actually delegating but also training others in your organization to delegate duties.  This is especially important in network marketing.  Once you show someone how to do the business, you then must show them how to teach their reps to do the same.  Once you get there, they don’t need you any more and you can start another organization.
4. (Wisdom) choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. As we delegate duties and bring up leaders from our group we must use intelligence in selecting appropriate individuals.  We never want to compromise our team.  On the contrary we want to make our team more cohesive and…
5. (Effectiveness) We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. Getting people in their sweet spot makes the job at hand more enjoyable and people are just more effective doing something they are actually made to do.  As a leader we are NOT called to be chief, cook and bottle washer.

Acts 6:5

This proposal pleased the whole group…

About the Author: William Robbins is the founder of MLMFellowship, and the owner of iWantMoreWealth.com with his wife Bethany. Learn more about William and Bethany.