“Leadership Is Influence” (Part One)

John Maxwell has written dozens of books on leadership, and if his teaching could be reduced to a single expression, it would be: “Leadership is influence—nothing more and nothing less.”

This week, we want to explore the reach of Paul’s leadership—even while in prison—by looking at Philippians 1:12-18. Paul joins other leaders in the Bible who, even in the midst of captivity, exemplify the power of influence. Among them is Joseph, a Hebrew slave in Egypt, who rose to become second in command in that great empire. God prospered him in every situation so that each chapter of his life story resulted in influence for good and for God. Daniel’s story is similar to Joseph’s. Daniel had been transported as a captive 800 miles away to the pagan culture of Babylon. He was a young man with convictions and wisdom, and his influence as a leader extended from three of his fellow captives to world leaders like Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar.

Like Joseph and Daniel, the apostle Paul was a prisoner—but in Rome, capital city of the empire. Though his voyage to Rome was filled with days and nights of despair, he took charge during the storm and the resulting shipwreck (Acts 27). Then, as a prisoner of Rome living in his own rented house, he continued to show the power of influence. The letter he sent to his friends in the church at Philippi describes how far-reaching it was. Today we see part one…

Paul’s influence extended to the Roman imperial guard (Phil. 1:12-13).

• “The things, which happened to me . . .” Paul used these six words to summarize what it took Luke eight chapters to describe (Acts 21­–28).
• “Have actually turned out.” Paul had penned theology to the church at Rome. We can see his doctrine of God’s providence in Romans 8:28. But now he provided a personal life experience to underscore how this worked out in his life. Doctrine linked with a life experience is always a winning combination. People want to hear how what we are teaching affects how we live.
• The furtherance of the gospel. The Greek word for “furtherance” is the word prokope, which means literally “to cut forward.” W. E. Vine writes in The Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: “Originally the word was used of a pioneer cutting his way through brushwood” (Vol. II, p. 138). Paul’s major passion was the advance of the gospel. Now he was in a new place in ministry. He was pioneering inside prison walls. The Philippians would have understood this because they were a part of the pioneering outreach of the gospel in Europe (Acts 16). Inside the prison, the gospel was being taught and men were responding!
• The imperial guard. “Palace guard refers to the emperor’s elite troops (his ‘green berets’ or security police) stationed in Rome. They guarded Paul around the clock but would have given him access to visitors, to the writing of letters and to other routine affairs” (Gordon Fee, Philippians, p. 59). Since the 9,000 men in the guard rotated in 4-hour shifts, the gospel spread dramatically through their ranks. One can only imagine families hearing the gospel from their soldier husbands and fathers. So powerful was Paul’s influence among the military that the closing greeting from Rome reads: “All the saints greet you, chiefly those of Caesar’s household” (Phil. 4:22).

We’ll see another arena of Paul’s influence tomorrow…