12/11/20 By Larry Barker
Leaders certainly have a desire to do things right and correctly. It is easy to even become obsessed with an unhealthy pursuit of excellence. Perfection can become a curse that drives us to focus on unrealistic expectations. A great definition of excellence is doing the best you can with what you have. You should always strive to do things well and do them right but more importantly you must also ask yourself if you are doing the right things. What if the things you are doing right are not really the right things you need to be doing?
The scriptures challenge us to seek first the Kingdom of God. There is something special about things that are first because of the order in your life. You always remember your first car, your first job, your first child, and your first house. You can also recall the first time you met the one who would become your husband or wife. These are firsts because of their chronological order but there are also things you make first because of their importance and the priority you place on them in your life. Are you placing first the things that matter most?
Do you want things to be different? Do you have a desire to improve, develop, and grow as a leader? What small changes could you begin making today that would change tomorrow? In a recent Healthy Church Podcast interview Dr Steve Crawley said that the best critique of the bad is the practice of the better. What practices do you need to begin immediately that will make you a godlier leader? Nobody else can vicariously take care of your walk with Christ. Only you can abide in Christ, which produces the abundant life and fruit of the Spirit.
Doing the right things begins with better practices that give you the discipline to remain committed to them. All too often goals remain nothing more than pipe dreams because you never develop a systematic game plan to guarantee they become reality. In Atomic Habits James Clear said, “We don’t rise to the level of our goals; we fall to the level of our systems.” Goals are great things to have but a clear realistic plan to accomplish them is even of greater importance. You may know where you want to arrive but what vehicle will you use to get there?
So, how do you make sure you are doing the right things and not just doing things right? First, evaluate your personal walk with the Lord. Is it thriving or just surviving? You cannot expect anyone else around you to be spiritually vibrant if you are not. Have a place and time to seek the Lord early and do not waver or stray from that commitment. Get a great devotional book, be sure to journal, and S.O.A.P. the scriptures you are reading into that journal. Develop a prayer list of your family, friends, members, and lost people to cry out before God on their behalf every day.
Protect your time with your family. Don’t forget that the family that prays together stays together. Have a family altar time and pray a prayer of thanksgiving over every meal. Discipleship begins at home and it is not as much a class as it is daily answering questions, loving and encouraging each other, and leading them well in their walks with Christ. Validate daily that who they are seeing at church is who they are seeing at home. One last thing, have fun as a family. Figure out ways to laugh and play together. Your family is your first ministry.
Remain thankful for who the Lord is. Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in Him.” There is a direct correlation between how thankful you are and your well-being. Regularly thank those around you for their help and the contribution they are making in your life and in the ministry of the church. Send out some hand written thank you cards letting them know how much you appreciate their walking this path with you. Everyday think of someone you need to thank and then thank them.
Remain humble and view leadership more side by side than top to bottom. Biblical servant leadership is far more horizontal than vertical. Dr. Steve Crawley shared this on our podcast by alluding to an “off the chart” level of humility “coupled with an uncommon level of perseverance. A humble leader but one who cannot be dissuaded from accomplishing the mission.” Realize that you do not have to carry the burden alone and God never intended for you to. Paul told the Galatians to “bear one another’s burdens.”
The pressures of leadership right now are intense. There is decision fatigue, opinion fatigue, and the fatigue of uncertainty. During this time the answer has really not changed. Love the Lord and pursue Him daily. Love your family and make sure you are, first, leading them well. Remain humble and thankful for the opportunity to glorify God through your life and ministry. Be a team player by finding others who will help you carry the burden and load. Remain thankful to God and others and let people know how much you appreciated their contribution.
I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”