God’s School Of Leadership

I do not want to write a leadership book that gives you the secret sauce on how to grow a church. This book is not a to-do list so that you can have success and build your ministry but a to-do list to stay in the game. Leadership is not simply something that you can just strive yourself to have. The thing with leadership is that it is a calling. As you read, I want you to understand that it matters not how you start but how you finish.

It is interesting to look back and see all the things that I could have done differently. In high school I did not take advantage of the opportunities I had in sports. I thought I was good enough to have some playing time in football and that was all that mattered to me. If I could go back, I wouldn’t coast. I would be the leader that I should have been. I wished I took more risks and be bolder.

Habits are made when you feel like you need them. You need to come up with a reason for the changes for your mind to give in to the new habit. Instead of waiting for the challenges to come and for you to be forced by circumstances to be in dire need of change, let the need be to be a better you. Just look for ways that you can better yourself to save you the trouble. The crazier the habit is, the more it is likely to be unsustainable. What I mean by that is the idea of doing something so drastic that as soon as the goal is done you lose a lot of momentum.

The leader who does not hide but grows is a hero. You need to surround yourself with trusted people. The heroes show the world that the leaders are human and that we can be just like them. They encourage people to grow and be the best version of themselves. It doesn’t matter how good you start but how well you finish. If I could help a pastor stay in his calling for another year, then I would say writing this book was a success.

In order to have successful pastors we must redefine success. Success is not how many people you have in your building but the impact you make on each individual person. You remain faithful when you stop looking at the crowd and look at the individual faces. If the church is to lead the revival that the world needs, then it must lay down its swords and spears and realize that the churches are not competing against each other but are on the same team.

Pastors can help other pastors. Will a generation rise up that doesn’t care who gets the credit? Does it matter if your name is in the footnotes in history? When you stand before the Father will you care how many likes you got on Instagram or a Facebook post? When you stand before the Father will you care how many books are written about you? Live with the end in mind and forsake all the treasures of the earth and look to expand the Kingdom of God on earth.

If you are young, then take these words as a warning and be prepared to fight for your calling. If you are older, then take these words as a sign that if God is still putting you in the ministry, Then hang on, you still have more to give. It may seem like you are not making a difference, but trust me, because you are. Remember that we don’t speak in human wisdom but the wisdom of the Spirit. Your life matters to those around you.

Leadership is not for the faint of heart. It has to be a calling. It is a partnership between us and God. We come as a messenger of God showing the people around us that there is a better way to live. We let people believe that they could do something great. A leader’s joy should not be how much they themselves can accomplish but how much the team can accomplish. It is not good for you just to carry the weight of God’s mission that he put on your heart.

It is easy to wait and hope one day that something happens. Why not have that one day be today? Make everyday matter. Have your calendar be full, not busy. Busy means that you are doing things and you are just trying to make it through the week. A full week is one where you go through the flow of getting things done but you also do things that are life giving. The things that wake you up from bed and make you pumped for the day.

I pray to God that you do not walk away discouraged but encouraged, that you feel free and not chained, and that you walk away feeling refreshed. It is my pleasure to be able to write down these words. Let the truth sink down into your heart. I pray that the Holy Spirit drops wisdom in your heart as you seek God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.