‘Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.’ – 2 Cor 13:5-9
Carrying the Label
Been thinking about the label ‘leader’ from my own experience. What does it really mean to be a ‘leader’? I’ve always carried this tag with me until recently, and I’ve never really cared much about it in a worldly sense. To a lot of people (at least in church), the leader is the guy that’s always visible; his presence by being vocal, charismatic, friendly, accommodating, accepting. This guy is always serving. That’s the stereotype. But is that what a leader is? A people-pleaser? a ministry-pleaser? Is quality of leadership measured by productivity and some approval rating among your peers?
The Substance
Vision is something of a prerequisite, but while this can certainly be influenced by your wise counsel and thus embody their wisdom and direction, some underlying answers never change. Answers to these questions: Who am I as the person God created me to be, why has God put me in this position, what is the outcome that most glorifies Him, and how are these 3 connected in the grand scheme of His good and perfect plan for His work through me.
Wisdom. I remember in one small group meeting we discussed what is one thing that drives you, and I said ‘wisdom’. That remains true today. Solomon starts his proverbs talking about the value of wisdom, and I have a feeling if I heed his words in that book, I will be a wise man. Somebody decides to follow somebody else probably because they feel this guy knows better than himself. And a wise person will recognize God is the source of wisdom. ‘But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere’ – James 3:17
Confidence. I feel like this word is quite a taboo word in church, we’re actually scared of it. We’re so scared of confidence because if somebody claims to be confident, they risk being perceived as arrogant or not surrendered to Christ, or something crazy like that. Because we’re supposed to imitate Christ; we’re supposed to be Christ-like, and apparently we don’t perceive Christ as a confident man. In fact I’ve never heard the phrase ‘Jesus was confident’. We all celebrate his other qualities like humility, meekness, obedience to the Father, sacrificial love, things like that, but we never really think of him as a confident guy. Why is that? If you’re a leader, you believe in yourself. That doesn’t make you arrogant, it doesn’t make you prideful. It just means you have an ideal, and you’re not afraid to make it a reality.
Ingredients of Leadership. Some people have called it the 3Cs: Confidence, Competence, and Courage.
The Price of Leadership
The price of leadership is criticism (John Maxwell) . It’s really not too hard to please everybody around you as long as you don’t have your own identity or convictions in your heart that stir up discomfort when they are violated. Aristotle once said: “Criticism is something you can avoid easily—by saying nothing, doing nothing and being nothing.” I feel like every man faces a number of defining moments in his life that require him to make a choice (however unpopular) and whether or not he follows through tells you much about his character. The great thing about life is that it’s a story; there’s a beginning and an ending and you are the main character, and the great thing about being in it is that you can make choices that will steer you towards the ending you want. And someday, somebody (be it God or your offspring) will read your story. You have to ask yourself: Is my life the story I want others to read? 2 Cor 3:2-3.
Oh yeah and confidence:
2 Cor 3:4
