"That is authentic leadership in its clearest form—the willingness of people to die for their beliefs, knowing that Christ will vindicate them and give them the gift of eternal life. Thankfully, most of us will never have to experience that kind of leadership challenge..." Albert Mohler, "The Conviction to Lead" p24

I remember back in 2011 preparing to travel with a team throughout Latin America. Part of what our team was planning was to go deep into the Amazon jungle. Leading up to this trip I had a season of having to process with the Lord about whether I was ready to die a martyr - because it could happen! I remember also as a vocal student at IHOPU, studying out a biblical passage to sing through. I was studying the word martyr and found that some people talk about red martyrs being ones who die a violent death for their belief in Christ. Whereas they also talk about white martyrs, who die daily to themselves in order to choose Jesus in every part of their lives. "White" martyrdom can almost be harder than "red" martyrdom! Authentic leadership then, I believe consists of beliefs so strong that they define the leader and it is obvious to themselves and others that they live a life of conviction, "dying" daily to anything that does not fall in line with those convictions. Their reward, just as it is for the "red" martyr, is Christ Himself. They are alive because He lives, and they live for His purpose alone!

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.” (2 Cor 4:7)