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Growing Deeper in Leadership
We are continuing our theme of Leadership Wednesdays and exploring the entry stages of leadership maturity.
This content is heavily influenced by Robert Clinton in his book The Making of a Leader, chapter 7.
God does not leave us like He found us.
He changes us (2 Corinthians 5:17).
In fact, what He has in mind is a radical transformation.
He is working to form Christ in us (cf.
Galatians 4:19, Romans 8:29, Colossians 3:10).
A core aspect of leadership is influence.
Godly leadership is about influencing people towards God’s purpose for their lives.
It is about representing God and His will in this world.
It is about bringing the kingdom of heaven into the earth.
Godly leadership is different than worldly leadership.
And in God’s eyes, we are expected to be different.
And that is not only true in God’s eyes, but even unbelievers expect us to be different.
Therefore, God is commited to forming the character of a leader.
Discussion: What are some ways that godly leadership is different than worldly leadership?
Beyond the functional purpose of leadership and the goal of God’s process in bringing maturity to us is about our relationship with Him.
Again, the focus of God’s work in our lives is beyond using us in ministry.
There are four key ideas on this topic that Robert Clinton presents:
Mature ministry flows from a mature character
A mature character comes through difficult processing
Many leaders go through such processing without realizing the benefit of it
Spiritual authority is not a goal but rather a byproduct
Illustration: Going into boot camp at 135 lbs.
Leaving at 175 lbs.
I didn’t notice.
The point is that we often do not recognize when God is working in us.
One challenge of ministry (and leadership in general) is that we are so focused on doing that we miss the importance of being.
Our energy is poured into working at the cost of becoming.
So often God breaks into our lives in a dramatic way.
Terah took Abram and Lot and their families on a migration toward Canaan.
But he stopped in Ur.
We know that God’s plan was to give Abram the land of Canaan, but he had stopped with his father in Ur of the Chaldees.
When Terah died, God used that occasion to speak into Abram’s life and set him on course toward his purpose (cf.
Romans 8:28).
Robert Clinton believes that when God breaks into our lives in this way that it is to cause reflective evaluation and move us forward.
He describes this stage in the following way:
God initiates intense processing to gain the attention of the leader.
The leader is forced to do serious reflection about ministry, life, and ultimate reality.
The leader does an evaluation that results in formative thinking and commitment to growth measures learned in the processing.
The leader experiences a renewed determination to know God more deeply.
God blesses the commitment and the renewed determination by deepening the relationship between Himself and the leader.
He then offers a warning: if the leader doesn’t recognize God in this intense process but instead blames circumstances or people, or rationalizes away the processing then they may not progress through this pattern.
In other words, they will go through the experience but not benefit from it.
God works in us and then works through us.
This is a process on an upward trajectory The more we deeply we know God, the more effectively we can know His ways.
The better we know His ways the better we can represent Him.
The better we represent Him the more we impact others and make a difference.
The more we impact others and make a difference the more we find satisfaction and joy.
Ultimately God is producing a fusion between what we do and who we are.
This is integrity and wholeness.
Discussion: How long do you think the process of maturity takes?
Is God interested in the short-term or long-term when it comes to you becoming the best version of yourself?
If that is so (long time, long-term), then why are we trying to rush through the process instead of embracing it?
When we consider that this process is intense and can be long, it is easy to want to take ourselves out of it.
The Apostle Paul described his own wrestling with this idea in the following way:
If we want to grow deeper, we need to press on.
Surprising Tools God Uses to Help Us Grow Deeper
There are three surprising tools that God uses to help us grow deeper.
Honestly, we probably do not want to Him to use them either!
God uses all things.
Even challenging ones.
The three we are going to look at are isolation, conflict, and crisis.
Isolation
The point of isolation is to promote dependence upon God.
It also helps us resign ourselves to God’s will.
Jesus isolated Himself.
During those times He prayed and sought God.
God used those moments in Jesus’ life away from the crowds and in the liminal spaces.
In these places, sometimes desperate empty wildernesses, there is a deepening of the inner life as we seek God to move.
Two general categories of isolation are: external and internal.
External isolation can include:
sickness
prison (think of Joseph)
personality conflict and organizational pressures
Internal isolation can include:
self-choice for renewal
self-choice for education, training, or transition (example: retreats)
Discussion: How has isolation helped you grow closer to God?
Conflict
Dealing with conflict in some form or fashion is common in the life of a leader.
While leaders are focused on resolving conflict and solving problems, God often uses conflict to develop the character of the leader.
Conflicts can be used by God to develop faith, deepen dependance, and reveal hidden thoughts and attitudes so that they can be conformed to Christ.
In 1 Samuel 25, there is a story about David, Nabal, and Abigail.
David and his men were living in the wilderness to avoid Saul.
During that time, they protected Nabal’s flock from raiders.
They asked him for food and he responded disrespectfully (1 Samuel 25:9).
David was angry and wanted to kill Nabal.
Abigal intervened, blessed David and his men, spoke wisdom to him, and saved Nabal.
This prevented David from sinning.
He recognized his error and praised her wisdom (1 Samuel 25:32-35).
This conflict exposed David’s anger in the face of disrespect.
He humbled himself and received wisdom.
In the hands of God, the goal of conflict is to teach us about ourselves.
We learn about our own character, our own strengths and weaknesses.
God shows us areas where we need to grow, affirms areas where we are strong, and reveals things that are missing.
Discussion: Have you considered how conflict can be used by God to help you grow?
Crisis
What is a crisis?
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