Leadership 3/31/14

I am learning about leadership right now.  I am studying it, looking at how to be a good leader.  As I go through this process, I have been looking at different leadership models from organizations and churches. I decided to go and look at the bible and it occurred to me that sometimes I look at the Bible as a book of principles that lead to success.  As in, the Bible is truth, it's God's Word, it's God's laws on how the world works.  So, if I want to be successful in life, avoid the pitfalls, capitalize on good decision making. having the ultimate authority on how the world works, the Bible and it's Biblical principles, defining or mapping out a way to succeed.  Now, I am not saying that following the Bible and studying it and learning it doesn't lead to successful life. BUT, the Bible doesn't guarantee you a happy life.  Secondly, the measure of success is different between what I measure as success and what the Bible or what God measures as success. How ever I do form time to time have  completely inaccurate way of look/studying the Bible altogether.  I would say that in my pursuit for good leadership, in my pursuit to be a better person or a man of integrity, that that's how I looked at the Bible.  I was using it to better myself, like a self-help book instead of a relationship with the Lord; instead of a soul transformation.  Now, here is what I am gonna say, if you pursue your relationship with the Lord, there are chances that you could be successful; it can lead to success.  However, my goal should not be to have success, my goal should be to have a relationship with the Lord.  So, instead of studying the Bible and Biblical principles on leadership to be successful, my heart should be to get counsel from the Bible, to get counsel from God, to ask Him first; what does it look like to be a good leader.  Not so that I can have success, but so that I can be a good steward of what the Lord has given me.

With that in mind this is what I been learning about Leadership...it's such a crazy thing.  You know, I feel like this last two years have been about changing me and making me into a different person.  Breaking me; cleansing me almost, and now I am in this place where I have a team of people behind me.  I have a board of directors, I have an assistant; a project manager, so to speak and I am really working hard on trying to be a good leader.  You know, I have difficulty saying no.  Which is something you gotta be pretty good at as a leader I have realized. I have difficulty setting boundaries which is another thing you gotta be pretty good at to be a leader.  So, those are the things I need to work on, but there is something interesting that I have learned the last couple of weeks.

They always say being a good leader is about being a good servant and I would agree with that.  I think I have to be willing to do or have done what I am asking other people to do on some level.

I'll just start out with a story.  When I was in my 20's, I remember really trying hard to grow in the Lord. Side note God is so faithful. during the that time of my life I was a public success, but a personal failure.  I looked good in the public, but personally I was failing on so many things. The Lord was still feeding my mind and my heart and investing into the future of me.

  Anyways I loved my church, Calvary Chapel Spokane.  That's where God met me.  It's a big church.  The pastor was Ken Ortiz and I remember feeling like this is the greatest thing ever; just so much knowledge.  Great worship.  On Thursday night we had a bible study.  Ken was going through Ephesians 6

Ephesians 6 verse 5, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart just as you would obey Christ.  Obey them not only to win their favor, when their eyes are on you, but as slaves to Christ doing the will of God from your heart."

 I remember the pastor saying, "how do we apply this to our lives today?"  He was equating a slave as being an employee and our masters as being our bosses.  I remember him saying, "do you work hard when your boss is looking, but slack off when he's not?"  But beyond that, the idea of slaves and masters, employees and employers, leaders and followers,always stuck out in my mind. I have always kept those ideas together. Im not sure why but they are all on the same level to me.

 That kind of thought process crossed my mind recently when I was reading a different story about the faith of the centurion.  It's Matthew 8 verse 5

 "When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him asking for help.  'Lord,' he said, 'my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.'  Jesus said to him, 'Shall I come and heal him?'  The centurion replied, 'Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed.  For I myself am a man under authority and a soldier under man. I tell this one 'go' and he goes.  I tell that one 'come' and he comes.  I say to my servant 'do this' and he does it.  When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, 'Truly I tell you, I have found no one in Israel with such great faith."  I will stop there at verse 11.

 I think there is something interesting about what this leader, this centurion did.  He says here in verse 6, "My servant lies at home paralyzed and suffering."  My servant. I thought about Ephesains 6. About servants and masters.  He(the Centurion) is the leader and he has a servant that is in pain,struggling having a hard time.  He goes out of his way to find Jesus and ask him to heal his servant.  That's the kind of leader I want to be.  The one that cares deeply about the people that are around him.  That puts the people first.  Puts the team first.  Not sacrificing my team for success.  Beyond that, going out of my way to take care of them.  To go to the Lord for them.  To be praying for them.  When they in a hard place, to go to the Lord.  This is what I have been learning about leadership lately.

The point I am trying to make here is  this. The Centurion was the leader and his servant was struggling so he went to Jesus and asked to heal his servant.  I love it, it's beautiful.  I wanna be that kind of leader.  I wanna care about my team like that, and I do.