One of the things that my dad would say to me growing up is "let your walk, match your talk". I have always taken that statement very seriously. Now that I am a pastor and am talking every week about spiritual matters, making sure that what I say is what I do is even more important. It hard though. In fact, recently as I have been talking to the congregation about worry and anxiety, I have found myself struggling in that area.
There are a number of things that people worry about, but for me, especially in my role, one of the things that causes me to have anxiety is the past. I mean, if anyone would have told me all the things that I would be experiencing in the 7 years of pastoring before I started, I would have called them a liar. Make no mistake about it, being a pastor/leader is very rewarding, but it is also tremendously challenging. These past 7 years have been tough! And just like success can lead to overconfidence, challenges can lead to hesitancy on the part of a leader. And the bottom line is this: Hesitant leaders aren't effective.
Here's why.
#1 Hesitant leaders begin to be more concerned about what people think and want than what God wants. I was having a conversation with one of my elders recently and we began to talk about several hard decisions we are going to have to make in the near future. Frankly, neither of us want to make the changes because we understand that not everyone will like them. However, people pleasing should never be the driving force of spiritual leadership. Spiritual leaders should always be more concerned about pleasing God and if decisions that are made will ultimately take us to where God is leading then those decisions have to be made.
#2 Hesitant leaders procrastinate. There are a whole lot of people that procrastinate, but when leaders procrastinate, it doesn't just effect them personally, it effects those whom they are leading. I sincerely believe that procrastination is one of the subtle tools that Satan uses to keep people from being all that God wants them to be. When leaders are worried about what "might" happen next they procrastinate and say to God by their lack of moving ahead, "Lord, I am not sure I can really trust you."
#3 Hesitant leaders become motivated by fear instead of faith. Hebrews 11:6 makes it clear that without faith it is impossible to please God and yet there are so many times when pastor/leaders throw faith to the wind and operate out of a sense of fear. I have experienced this first hand and have seen it repeated in the lives of many other pastor/leaders I know. When this happens, more often than not, leaders end up doing things that are easy and safe, rather than counting the cost and acting in faith knowing that God will reward their efforts. Doing the right thing, and acting in faith, even when it's hard is the essence of true leadership. I like what Andy Stanley says about this concept, he says, " When you find a man or woman who will do what's right regardless of what it costs personally, you have discovered a leader worth following."
I want to be a leader worth following. I want to act by faith and not by fear. Pray that I will be able to do that! I will pray that for you too.
Have a great weekend.
Blake
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