You're Not Fit to Lead!

You're not fit to lead. There. I said it.

Did you think you ever were fit to lead? Really?

What is it with us who think we have something to offer? What is it with leaders who think that they are where they are because of something that they've done?

You'll have to admit that Paul was a model leader. If anyone could think something of himself, it'd have to be Paul. But listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians:

"God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, 'Let the ones who boast, boast in the Lord'" (1 Cor 1:27-31).

I got a message from someone today who was a part of a ministry I led a few years back. Here's what he wrote: 

"It's amazing to see how faithful I was and willing to give then, and where I have fallen now. I'm so sorry I disappointed all of you who put an investment in my faith with your time, energy and prayer."

Disappointed? Is that the message I've been sending? Is that what people think my response will be if they fail to measure up? Judgment? Who am I to judge? I'm not the measuring stick. Far from it, thank God!

What is the message we're sending as leaders? As Christians? Is the message that we've arrived? Is the message that we have it all together, all figured out? Is the message that we are where we are based on something we've done? Is the message one of a snub attitude toward people who don't measure up? And measure up to what? Us?

Look at what Paul says as to why God chose him to lead: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost sinner, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1).

God sent His Son Jesus into the world to extend His mercy, grace and love on failed people. On top of that, the people God chooses to lead in His work, apparently, are the most failed and weak of all. Look back to 1 Corinthians as to what words God uses to describe those He chooses: foolish, weak, low, despised, things that are not... Why? So that none can boast of what we have done, but only of what God has done for us.

So, to the one who is feeling shame and guilt, who has fallen short and feels like you just can't measure up - perhaps you are a lot more like Paul than you think. Perhaps you are a lot more like every other great [insignificant] leader God has chosen to carry out His work! Get up, brush yourself off and breathe in the mercy, grace and love that is specifically for you...

And, to the leaders of the faith, you great [foolish] and mighty [weak] men and women so valiantly [only through the power of the Holy Spirit] carrying out the work of Christ, remember why you've been chosen. Remember Who it is you're working for. Remember Who it is that deserves all of the glory, honor and praise and every ounce of the credit...

Hello Criticism

Nehemiah had a vision - to rebuild the city walls. Nothing was going to distract Nehemiah from accomplishing that which God had called him to do. Nehemiah had a vision of broken walls restored; a city re-energized, re-focused and re-committed; the weak and vulnerable becoming strong and prosperous; a lost city becoming a city of light and hope.

Nehemiah was in the fight of his life. The critics hurled insults and threats. The distractions mounted. One such distraction came from a king hell bent on destroying Nehemiah and stopping him dead in his tracks. The king's name was Sanballat.

Listen to what Nehemiah 6:5-7 says - [emphasis added for personal interpretation]

"Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand. In it was written, 'It is reported [rumored] among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel [threaten my position and power]; therefore you are rebuilding the wall [trying to set yourself apart]. And you are to be their king [you are merely seeking power], according to reports [rumors].'"

Rumors were flying. Sanballat was ready to stop any progress Nehemiah and the Jews were making because it threatened his own power. Actually, Sanballat wanted Nehemiah dead. Yet, instead of wasting his time on rumors and critics, Nehemiah threw his focus back on the One who called him to this great work to begin with. And he kept on building.

Nothing brings out criticism like a vision.

"If you are passionate about something that is yet to be, eventually someone will criticize you and question your motives. People will not understand the intensity of your focus. In our society, we are not accustomed to leaders passing up good opportunities for the sake of something that is yet to be. There is a general distrust of those who are trying to do anything new or innovative, especially if they claim to be doing it for a reason other than personal gain." - Visioneering, Andy Stanley

Leadership is painful. Often, a person with a vision is accused of doing the very opposite of what their vision is all about. In Nehemiah's case, he had walked away from a very influential position at the right hand of the king. Then, he refused to exploit his position among the people he was working with to rebuild the city walls. He refused all of the perks and benefits associated with his position among the people and still found himself accused of being power hungry.

Criticism can kill a vision. Many visions are laid to rest because the person with the vision is unable to remain steadfast during periods of intense criticism. Yet, criticism, in fact, is often a great way to verify whether or not your vision is a "God Vision" or not. If it is a "God Vision", one thing you can be assured; there will always be more questions than there are answers. God visions will attract criticism because they threaten the status-quo. God visions will stir up critics who want to keep you in your place, who want to maintain their own power and status. God visions are hard to follow. They require total dependence on the One from whom the vision came.

There is also another dynamic at work - one that can be seen clearly in the life of Sanballat. Not only will you be accused of the very thing you are trying not to do, you will probably be accused of whatever it is your accusers are guilty of.

In the case of Sanballat, he was the power-hungry one. The reason he was so disgusted by Nehemiah's progress was because his own power was being threatened. And he did what so many critics do - He assumed of Nehemiah what was true of himself.

"People with impure motives question the motives of those around them. It's called projection. Since their actions are laced with their own selfish ambitions, they assume everyone else's are as well. These folks will examine your zeal through their self-serving lenses and assume the worst. You can't convince them otherwise. There is no use trying. Again, pour out your frustration to the Father and keep working". - Visioneering, Andy Stanley

The best way to silence your critics is by completing your task, following through with your vision. Don't let anger and bitterness pull you off course. Don't let hurtful critics side track you. To them, say what Nehemiah said to the king who wanted nothing but to criticize, distract and lure him into a death trap -

"I am doing a great work and I cannot come down."

Put your hope and trust and faith in the One who gave you your vision in the first place. You will never be without critics. You will never be without challenges and set backs, but there's a way that runs straight and leads to the fulfillment of your vision, your purpose.

Trust in the Lord your God with all of your heart, your soul and your strength; and lean not on your own understanding, but acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will make your path straight.

Divided We Stand

My wife and I had the pleasure of taking a little road trip last week with the newest addition to our family, Macy Lee, who is already almost 8 weeks old! When we got home, a full mailbox and a pile of Wall Street Journals were laying in my driveway waiting for me to catch up on a week's worth of news updates and latest economic sagas. In that pile of newspapers, a particular article caught my attention. At first glance, it seemed like news-filler, but after I began reading I realized that God was showing me something profound and beautiful. So here goes...

It has been 20 years since the Berlin Wall fell. But deep in the forest of Grafenau, Germany, a breed of red deer called Ahornia still refuses to cross the old Iron Curtain. This deer inhabits the thickly wooded mountains along what once was the fortified border between West Germany and Czechoslovakia. At the height of the Cold War, a high electric fence, barbed wire and machine-gun-carrying guards cut off Eastern Europe from the Western world. The barriers severed the herds of deer on the two sides as well.

The fence is long gone, and the no-man’s land where it once stood is now part of Europe’s biggest nature preserve. The once-deadly border area is alive with songbirds nesting in crumbling watchtowers, foxes hiding in weedy fortifications and animals not seen there for years.

But one species is boycotting the reunified animal kingdom: the Red Deer. Herds of them roam both sides of the old NATO-Warsaw Pact border but mysteriously turn around when they approach the since dissolved border, this although the deer alive today have no memory of the ominous fence.

One reason stated by wildlife experts is that the deer have traditional trails, passed on through the generations, with a collective memory that their grounds end at the erstwhile barrier. Females, who stay with their mothers longer than males and spend more time absorbing their mothers’ movements, stick even more closely to the traditional turf. (Excerpts were taken from The Wall Street Journal’s article, “Deep in the Forest, Bambi Remains The Cold War’s Last Prisoner”, November 4, 2009)

In 2002, wildlife experts began tracking the herds of red deer using electronic collars and surveying their movement by satellite tracking and video surveillance at the old borderlines. Red deer born of herds from the West side will venture, nose literally touching the now open air where the wall once stood to divide them, and they stop. They move no further. Neither herd has ventured over the place where the wall once stood, though today, nothing stands in their way from expanding their territory into what is now free land for them to roam.

There are two points I’d like to make.

The first is that most of us have never ventured beyond the wall. For many, we’ve gained collective memory through things learned and things experienced which have become dividing walls for us, blocking us from advancing fully into the territory that Christ has already predestined for us to wholly obtain. Though nothing stands in our way, we limit ourselves by looking at the world through human eyes rather than through divine eyes. We have been called, each one of us, to expand, to grow, to accomplish, to achieve, to take risks, to be great.

We are not limited in what we can do, become or accomplish. The biggest limitation that we face is not the difficulty of what is to be grasped or obtained but our own insignificant view of ourselves. It’s our view of ourselves that blocks us in, keeps us small and limits our potential. What we need is God’s view of who we are, what we are to become, what we are to accomplish.

Genesis 1 recounts the words of God toward mankind before the first man and woman were yet living. God said, “Let us make man in our image, to rule over all the creatures and over all the earth…then God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful [great, successful, strong, influential] and increase in number [expand, grow, create]; fill the earth and subdue it [without fear and without hesitation, everything is yours; as big as you can dream there is yet more for you than that].’” –Genesis 1:26-28

Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

We’ve been called to be prophets to the nations. Jesus’ last command to His church as He ascended into heaven was to “Go and make disciples”, not “Stay put and remain in your comfort zones.”

Expand. Grow. Create. Influence.
Yet how do we do that, when we are stuck behind an invisible wall?

(Which leads me to my second point)

The church remains divided. We remain separated by doctrine and denomination. We remain segregated by culture, color and race. We have white churches and black churches. We remain segregated by generation, offering contemporary services for the young and traditional services for the old. We remain divided by the legalism that shapes our worldview and perpetuates the overwhelmingly justified judgment toward those who believe or look or act differently than we do.

The church stands with its’ nose against an invisible wall that was destroyed thousands of years ago by Jesus’ sacrifice to unite all of mankind to its’ creator and return all of creation to its’ fruitful beginnings.

Galatians 3:26-29 says to all of us, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Freedom is ours.

We are rightful heirs to the promises of God.

All we have to do is step across the line.

This is just the beginning

"The instinct to challenge the process is a fundamental quality of every leader. When God created leaders, he equipped them with an unsettling urge to unpack, undo, and unearth methods. This explains your tendency to question everything around you. It's the reason you have such strong opinions - and such a strong desire to share them. God wired you that way. Deep in your heart you may feel that if you were in charge, things would not only be different, they'd be better. This is not a problem of arrogance or pride. It's simply the way God wired you. It's a good thing."

Thanks Andy Stanley, for those words.

My own biggest critic - Me. The person with the greatest power and influence to slow the forward motion of my progress with God - ME. God created us. God put dreams in our hearts. God placed talent in our hands and vision in our soul. He can't show us all at once how awesome a plan He has for us - we wouldn't believe it if He did. We would doubt. We would most likely run in fear. We are our own greatest critic, greatest limitation. Yet we are God's handiwork. We exist to be God's fingerprint on His creation.

People will doubt your call. People will even hate you because of your call (sounds like something Jesus said). People will fear you. People will tell stories about you and try to hurt you.

Our responsibility is to wake up every morning not worrying about who is against us or who is on our side but rather whose side we are on. Are you on God's side? Are you following His lead? Are you worrying about making your mark or making His mark? Are you concerned about the rumors? The doubters? The haters? Or are you concerned with knowing that you are on the side of the Creator? Really, what does it matter who is for us? What does it matter who is against us?

I am for God. God is for me. And this is just the beginning.