The Zone Gathering

This is Part 10 of the Laying the Foundation series on Thursday Leadership Lesson. As we build our groups and ministries, we must ensure that we are building on a solid foundation. This series will explore characteristics of leaders who lay and build on firm foundations. Today, I share some of my personal reflections on the subject of Foundations.

Am I a leader worth imitating?

That question challenges me constantly. Paul encouraged the believers at Corinth: “Imitate me as I imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). I’ve always thought it interesting that he said “Imitate me” and not “imitate Christ.” As leaders, we’ve got to live a life that imitates Christ and ask others to join us in that journey. One aspect of leadership is inviting people to follow you—not only in your direction but in the way that you live.

As I’ve reflected on the ideas of priorities, purpose, and endurance over the past few months, I’ve recognized two things:

• I want to lead myself well.

• I want to finish well.

If you’ve been around NCC leadership for a while and actually listen when my mouth flaps up and down, you know that I only talk about three basic topics, and one of them is this idea of Leading Yourself Well. I’m absolutely convinced that our leadership must flow out of a place of abundance in Christ, and leading ourselves well is the first step in leadership development. If we cannot lead ourselves, we have no business leading others.

The articles that have been posted here recently come from a very raw place within me. These are the things that I struggle with and the areas in which I want to grow. I want to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. But that won’t happen just be saying it long enough or wishing it hard enough.

Last month, I shared the following five things with the zone leaders about some things I am thinking about personally to help me lay a foundation that will last.

Relationships
I don’t know if it’s a season that I’m in or if it’s something new I’ve learned, but I’m at a place where I believe that the majority of our leadership potential is found in the people we surround ourselves with. In a recent sermon, I made the observation that “You friends will determine the quality and direction of your life.” (I’m pretty sure I stole that from Andy Stanley, by the way)

Who are our friends? Who are the people loving us, encouraging us, challenging us, praying for us? Jesus was concerned about relationships, as evidenced by his prayer in John 17:6-26.

When I think back to the biggest influences in my life, they weren’t events. They were people. In general, it’s not going to be a Sunday service or a book that you read or a leadership retreat that propels you to the next level of leadership or spiritual growth. The influence of those around you prepares the foundation on which you will build your ministry.

Rhythms
The second thing I’m learning is that I’ve got to establish some rhythms in my life. I approach most of my ministry like I’m trying to steal second base; I put my head to the ground and break into a (sometimes premature) sprint and charge as fast as I can to the target with no regard for the people or other things happening in my environment.

This is an area of pride for me. If I am pulling all nighters and cranking out lots of materials and projects, then I feel good. If I end the year with more vacation days than I began, then I feel like I’ve given sacrificially of my time. But it slowly becomes all about me. Establishing rhythms will break sinful pride in my life.

Rhythms will also lay a foundation for a sustainable pace. Paul told Timothy to “fulfill” his ministry. If we want to fulfill our ministry, then we’ve got to find God’s rhythms for us. Not the rhythms of those we admire. Not the rhythms of those we envy. The rhythms that are unique to us and our relationship with God.

What the heck am I talking about? Prayer– what role does that play in our lives? Reading the Word– when do we do it and why do we do it, and are we obeying what we are learning? Solitude– are we intentionally taking time to be alone with God? Sleep– God doesn’t have to sleep; we do. Let’s recognize that and quit trying to be God.

In some of the busiest moments of Jesus’ life, he retreated to a quiet area to pray. Sometimes, he left the crowds when the needs and demands were the greatest. Isn’t that the opposite of what most of us do? Make a decision today to retreat to a quiet place this week.

Character
I’m learning more and more that character is about transformation; not information. I cannot “train” myself intellectually into a person of good character. Rather, it’s rooted in every decision I make every day. All those decisions add up to produce my character.

I’ve posted a lot of thoughts on this topic here.

I’m also coming to the realization that the spiritual fruits are more important than spiritual gifts. That’s a hard one for me to get through my head. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:2, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

Did you catch that? I am nothing. The fruit allows us to use our gifts appropriately, powerfully, and efficiently.

We may want to direct a little more attention to how the fruit is developing in our lives.

Purpose
I’m learning that I need to consistently come back to questions of purpose. What is it that I am supposed to be doing? There are probably a number of people who have an agenda for your life- bosses, parents, teachers, friends, etc. If you don’t prioritize, they will do it for you.

As we grow in leadership, our opportunities will grow, so we need to make sure we remain focused on the things that God has called us to do. We need to say yes to the things that move us towards fulfilling our purpose and no to the things that don’t.

I’m learning that I need to pass every decision through a filter– is this in line with what God wants me to do?

Jesus did not fulfill the purposes that other people had for him. He fulfilled one purpose and one alone– “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38)

Legacy
Finally, I am realizing that I must have some idea of what kind of structure I want to build in order to lay a foundation that will sustain it. I realize we are all young, but it’s never too early to think about your legacy. (It’s never too late, either, by the way, in case you are not the average NCC 20-something)

Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “Death is the destiny of every man; the living should take that to heart.” The Living Bible says it this way, “You are going to die and it is a good thing to think about it while there is still time.”

To put it in epic theatrical terms, it’s good to think now about the following:

• Character Development- who do I want to become?
• The Plot- whose life will be impacted by mine?
• Climax- how will the world change because I lived?

At the Inward Bound retreat last spring, everyone wrote out their epitaph. Here lies ________ who _________.

Not a happy way to begin a retreat, huh? But it gives us perspective. It helps us lead with the end in mind and helps us lay a foundation that is solid and lasting.

Cornerstone
Ultimately, we’ve got to build upon the foundation of Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 says,

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

It’s all about Jesus…

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 26th, 2007 at 10:13 am and is filed under Foundations, Leadership Lessons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.