Dare Great Things

Christians who are called to lead in this world have to do two things: they have to lead well and they have to lead in Christ.  Normally these two things are not exclusive but rather build on one another.  And one particular advantage to leading in Christ is the opportunity it affords us to lead in joy.  But what are the secrets to joyful leadership?  One of them is that Jesus sent us out two by two and learning how to journey with friends can be the key to our success.

Every once in a while leaders need to remember the joy of leadership.  And leaders who are following in the footsteps of Christ have a special obligation to witness to the joy that comes from their service because we do what we do in service to the King of Kings.  While challenging sometimes staying joyful is also a secret of the saints.  Not only are leaders keeper of visions and motivators in hard times but we also have the privilege of inspiring those who follow us.

Everyone who tries to do something new has to go through the pain of actually doing it.  Ideas are one thing, inspiration is another, but execution is where things really happen.  And executing on an idea carries with it a burden – the sacrifice of the grind.  Is it possible to stay happy even when toiling?  What happens to a Christian’s joy when they embrace the grind?  And how can we embrace the grind in a way that not only maintains our joy but allows it to expand.

All of us who are responsible enough to step into leadership understand the weight of our responsibility.  Sometimes we forget that we are also called to be joyful – that leadership is a privilege and a blessing for those who undertake it.  In this third part of our series on the Secrets to Joyful Leadership we look at the power of the springtime, the power of starting things new and the gift that God has for us who choose to Dare Great Things For Christ.

Those who practice leadership work tend to focus on negative things - things that we need to improve.  But leaders just like anyone else are more motivated by what’s positive and we who lead in Christ must never forget to be joyful in Him.  In this second part of our series on the Secrets To Joyful Leadership we focus on the joy that comes from bringing a plan together for our people.  Embracing the arduous task of formulating a strategy is actually a gift for our people and ourselves. 

For as much as it’s important to remember the difficulties and challenges of leadership it’s also vital that we keep touch with the inner joy that iw the right of every leader.  Christian leaders especially have the obligation to embody this joy because we serve at the pleasure of the greatest of rulers, Jesus Christ.  But staying joyful in leadership is not always easy.  In this first part of our new series we study the first secret to joyful leadership: casting a vision for a dream worth dreaming.

Whether we like it or not leadership means standing alone.  Of course we need to lead others, so others are always a part of our lives, but whenever you take in things great or small you end up facing the fact that you alone are responsible for the change that you have initiated.  And solitude can be uncomfortable for many.  But for a Christian it becomes the meeting place with Jesus Christ and an essential aspect of our spirituality as leaders.  And this is especially true when we find ourselves at the center of an organization. 

They say it’s lonely at the top and they mean it.  Anyone who engages in leadership in the footsteps of Christ know that the labors involved are intense and often overlooked.  The fact is the most important jobs are often the most thankless.  Those who engage in leadership have to accept the loneliness of the grind.  Lonely of course because no one else is there but not lonely if we know Jesus.  In fact, Jesus wants to work with us. 

Without a doubt one of the hardest parts of being a leader is that we have to embrace solitude.  In this series we are looking at the various dimensions or kinds of solitude that leaders embrace and how Jesus meets each one of us along the way.  In this fourth part of our series we focus in on the solitude of risks.  On the fact that when we decide to act we inevitably have to act alone.  Or do we?  Perhaps it’s in our greatest solitude that we find union with Christ.

 Across the board and throughout time leaders have always complained about being alone.  The expression “it’s lonely at the top” says it well.  But this loneliness is not always a bad thing, in fact, usually it is the result of doing what leaders have to do.  When you lead you’re first and when you’re first you’re necessarily alone.  In this third part of our series on embracing solitude we look at the particular solitude that comes from planning and the surprising ways that we can find Christ there. 

Every entrepreneur knows that having a good idea is only the beginning of the process.  To be successful you need to take that idea to market.  This involves production which involves people, organization, and year of hard effort.  At times the loneliness of the innovator can be so intense that we want to stop innovating altogether.  And yet innovation, novelty, beginning new things is part and parcel of the call to evangelize.  How does Christian grace sanctify the innovator’s solitude.

One of the most commonly used phrases to describe the experience of leadership is “it’s lonely at the top.”  The phrase resonates with leaders of all stripes and colors but what does it mean for a Christian?  Is there a way to find a deeper meaning to the solitude of leadership?  How did Jesus live His life as a leader?  How did the saints do it time and again?  And in what way can this pathway of solitude be a pathway of holiness for us today?  Here is Part One of our new series Embracing Solitude.

Following the footsteps of Christ into leadership is a wild ride.  Anytime you step forward to change the status quo you need to be ready for anything that can come.  And yet for all of its challenge is there really any other way to live?  Anytime we exert our personal freedom we change the world around us.  Maybe the problem isn’t that we are making a difference, maybe the problem is that we aren’t comfortable with the wild ride.  This is where St. Paul can help us.  In this final episode of our series we see how St. Paul lived life on the edge.

It's one thing to want to Dare Great Things For Christ and begin new initiatives and projects, it’s quite another thing to finish them.  The first stage in any initiative is dreaming, hoping, and aspiring for great things.  But carrying through our aspirations all the way to the end requires another set of skills.  It requires sacrifice, dedication, and just pure grit.  St. Paul embodied all of those qualities and gives us an example of leadership that continues to inspire us today. 

Let’s face it, trying to accomplish things can be exhausting.  Acting upon decisions that we’ve made means spending valuable resource, our time and our energy in pursuit of them.  At first this experience can be euphoric, but soon it can turn into burn out.  We who are in leadership have engaged in lives that are dedicated to this type of action.  What are we supposed to do when we feel burn out?  What did St. Paul do to counter his exhaustion?  In this next class we will try and find out.

One thing is for sure: to do anything, you have to start doing it.  A lot of people have ideas, ideas that can even change the world, but if they don’t start and actually make things happen nothing will ever get done.  The same held true for the lives of the saints like St. Paul.  He too had to face many obstacles, and he lived in constant uncertainty, and yet he started things anyway.  Starting is an art and a science, and I hope St. Paul’s example can inspire you today.

If there’s one thing anybody in charge of anything has in common with each other it’s that leaders of any kind need to know where they’re going.  So what do we do when we don’t know where we are going?  The situation can even be harder for Christian leaders who are trying to become instruments of God.  How do we do something that is entirely beyond our power?  St. Paul gives an example of how to walk in the fog.  His life was full of unknowing and yet he moved forward bravely and God used him as he went.

Vision is certainly one of the greatest challenges to leadership.  In many ways leaders are called to stare into the void where nothing seems possible and find a path forward.  Already this is a terrific blessing for our world, because it allows for innovation and success.  But God wants to do something even more with vision.  He wants His leaders to accomplish His will and to work His plan.  St. Paul teaches us just how to cooperate with God to make this happen.

Christian leadership like anything else is an art and a science.  Of course, there are many things we can do to increase our influence and to use it at the service of God.  But foundationally there is something out of control in Christian leadership.  Namely, the fact that God will use us as He desires.  This requires that we learn a secret, the secret St. Paul knew so well and that he tells us about in 2 Corinthians 12.  I’d like to help you learn that secret today.

When we follow Jesus in our daily life we are faced with many challenges.  Rising up to meet those challenges in accordance with his grace means that we will be making an impact changing the world around us.  Instead of letting the world take its own course we are leading it in His name.  Rising up to meet these challenges gives us a great opportunity to depend more on Jesus.  This is something St. Paul definitely understood and embodied in his life.  This is Part 2 in our series “In The Pattern Of Paul – Insights Into Leadership”.