Leadership Challenge

 

“I’ve got your back!”  “I’ve got your six.”  “You can trust me, I will be here for you.”  There are lots of ways to say it, but doing it is an entirely different thing.

 

Do you have people in your life who support you, pray for you, stand by you, and look out for you?  Healthy leaders create a culture of trust, mutual respect, and lasting partnership.  If you love people, stand by them, and support them over time…through thick and thin, you will build these kinds of relationships.  If you do this over time in a work or ministry setting, you can create a culture where the majority of the people actually look out for each other and watch each other’s backs.

 

Over the past two decades I have served two churches as Lead Pastor.  I have sought to love, serve, and support the leaders I serve side-by-side with.  Though I have not done this perfectly, I have tried to be consistent.  In both churches something beautiful has happened.  Our leadership teams (staff and volunteers) have become a community of people who love each other, encourage each other, support one another, and protect each other.  They have each other’s backs. 

 

We don’t have silos and turf wars, but synergy and mutual respect.  I often see one leader volunteering in someone else’s area of ministry.  It is normative for leaders to support, pray for, and cheer on other leaders.  It is rare to see a sense of competition or comparison.  We are a team.  We have a common vision.  We love each other.

 

If you are a leader, in the church, the market place, the home, your community, or anywhere, I want to give a strong word of challenge.  Set the example of watching the backs of those you lead.  Protect their reputation, look out for their best interests, support what they do.  As you show a consistent example of loving, supporting, and protecting, this will infect the culture of your organization in ways you can’t begin to imagine.  Give it a try…give it time…and see what God does.

 

As a leader, people are watching you and following your example, even when you don’t know it.

For better or for worse, your example is influencing the people God has called you to lead.  This is true even when you think no one sees what you are doing and what drives you.  This is still a spiritual reality that your life is having more of an impact than you realize.

Here is one sad example.  A pastor of a large and influential church was living with deep, hidden, secret sin (or at least he thought it was secret).  He was involved in pornography, sexual sin, and prostitution.  When all of this broke out into the open (and it always does), a team of leaders from outside the church began to investigate the behaviors of the rest of the staff.  They found a shocking number of church leaders who were involved in similar patterns of hidden sin.  There was huge amounts of pornography on church computers and sexual boundaries being broken all over the place.  The lead pastor thought his sin was private and hidden.  None of the other staff knew about his ongoing and sinful life patterns.  But, they were still following his example.  Somehow, on a spiritual level, his choices were impacting many on the staff.  It was powerful and painful.

In the same way, good and healthy patterns influence the leaders around us.  I tell my board members, every year, that I do not look at their giving records.  I explain that I don’t think I have the maturity to know if they are not generous and still see them in the same light.  But, I assure them that their giving patterns and leadership in this area of ministry impact the entire church.  I believe that if all of our leaders are consistently generous, a spiritual reality will follow, and more and more of our church members will grow generous.  By the way, our budget has increased every year for the past four years and the giving has climbed with it.  I believe our leaders are setting the pace!

So, here is my question for for you.  Would it be good for your ministry if those who follow you live like you do?  Ask yourself these questions.  Ask them slowly and take time to reflect:

Would it be good if everyone who is part of the ministry I lead gave of their resources just like I do?

Would it be good if everyone served just like I do?

Would it be good if everyone shared their faith just like I do?

Would it be good if everyone worked just as hard as I do?

If you answer with a heartfelt and honest yes, praise God!

If you have to answer no to these kinds of questions, take time to adjust your heart and life so that you lead and live in a way that sets the tone for those who follow you.

In the past two weeks I have heard and processed stories of four different people who have compromised their ministry, marriage, family life, or future because they have made poor choices, over time, and then it came to the surface. It has been a painful and hard process to watch people walk through this.

 

I have been reminded that I need to examine every aspect of my life (outside stuff and the deep inner stuff). My wife and I have been talking about the need to search our hearts, motives, behaviors, and the hidden stuff deep inside. I am also reminded, again, that accountability is essential for our safety and health.

 

Who asks you the hard questions about your personal life? Who asks about relational boundaries? Who says, “Have you watched/viewed anything that is not appropriate for a man or woman of God?” Who checks in and finds out if you are walking closely with Jesus? Who knows your areas of struggle and frailty and asks how you are doing?

 

If you don’t have someone in your life that does this, find someone. Before it is too late, ask someone to walk with you at this level! You will never regret it.

Great leaders have BIG brains!  This is not a comment about education or IQ, but about a hunger to learn.  I get to interact with all sorts of leaders and I am often struck by the reality that great leaders are hungry to learn.  They read books, follow blogs, listen to people who know more than them, digest the Scriptures, and love to learn.  Because of this constant intake of fresh new information and wisdom, their brains are BIG!

On the other hand, I also encounter leaders who have very little desire to expand their knowledge or drink in the wisdom of others.  These leaders often love Jesus, but they don’t seem to be processing fresh ideas, they are not grappling with the teaching of the Bible, and they are not being coached, mentored, or apprenticed by a wise person.  With time, their brain seems to shrink and they fall into the rut of regurgitating the same messages and ideas.

As you head into the weekend, ask yourself, is my brain growing? Am I drinking fresh new truth? Do I have a BIG brain?

Proverbs tells us “Life and death are in the power of the tongue”(Proverbs 18:21).  Great leaders, those who impact deeply and influence us for a lifetime, have a unique ability to speak words of blessing.  They seem to bless, and then, bless again.

 

This is not to say that leaders should fail to challenge, speak the truth in love, and bring words of conviction.  This is also the call of leadership.  But, the best of leaders seem to have a unique ability to notice the good, point it out, build up, encourage, speak with grace, and bring blessing through what they say.

 

As a leader, take time every week to slow down, look people in the eyes, and speak words of blessing.  Do it consistently.  Do it honestly (no false flattery).  Speak from the heart.  Ask the Holy Spirit to be present and minister through your words.

 
I know my leadership edge is getting dull when I realize it has been a while since I have taken time to bless my staff and board members.  In these moments, I ask God to help me speak in a way that will bring the blessing He wants to bring into their lives.

The smartest leaders I have met through the years are people who are really good at borrowing things.  They don’t feel they need to re-invent the wheel and come up with new stuff at every turn.  They are humble enough to know that other people have great insight, leadership practices, and tools to offer them.  So, they ask for help, borrow ideas, learn from others, and become better leaders than they would ever be on their own.

 

Warning… If you are using something that has a clear copyright or an idea that belongs directly to someone else, credit them and he honest about it.

 

But, if it is general information that has been floating around for a long time, don’t act like you made it up, but don’t feel like you have to footnote everything you say or do. 

 

Pastor Rick Warren has been quoted as saying:

·      If you borrow something of mine, the first time you use it, say, “I got this from Rick Warren.”

·      The second time say, “I’ve heard it said.”

·      The third time say, “I’ve always said!”

Now, the truth is, I don’t know if Rick Warren is the first person to ever say this.  Maybe he used these three steps years ago and now he has owned the idea.

 

Bottom line, borrow and share.  We learn this as kids and need to get back to this as adults.  This is why there are a growing number of free resources on this website.  I love to give things away.  Check them out and share them with others: https://kevingharney.com/free-resources/