Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Seven Warning Signs Before Leadership Failure

From Joseph Mattera
  
Unfortunately, in every level and realm of life we have all witnessed serious leadership failure! It is no longer a surprise when we read about a high-level pastor, celebrity, sports figure or politician who is disgraced because of ethical or moral failure.

As one who has worked with many struggling church and marketplace leaders on a very personal level for the past 30+ years I have made the following observations regarding warning signs before a fall, which I teach younger leaders so they will avoid the mistakes of the present generation of many leaders.

All of us have fallen into the following in one way, shape or form. Hopefully we will have learned the hard leadership lessons of life so we can pass on wisdom to the next generation! Here are seven warning signs before leadership failure:

First, often before falling a leader will cram so much into his or her schedule for a prolonged amount of time that they don’t get enough time for personal renewal and rest. Much activity is not always kingdom productivity; when a person is constantly running around from meeting to meeting, from state to state, from event to event without seeking God and personal times for reflection, they do violence to their soul and will eventually be operating on will power and fumes instead of the Spirit of God. This can lead to them being tempted to escaping from the pressure of life with adulterous relationships, pornography, excess entertainment and foolish endeavors.

Activity without clarity will also lead to making poor decisions. When we are always in a rush we will not have the proper time to process things, which leads to a lack of discernment and disastrous leadership decisions. This will compound the pressure even more and create more work to get out of the mess they are in! Sometimes less is more!

I am not saying leaders shouldn’t be very busy or have a lot of responsibility. But what I am saying is there always has to be enough time in between events and days of meetings for daily reflection, prayer and seeking God so that our level of discernment is high and we are walking in the grace and power of God to do His work instead of our own will power and strength!

Secondly, I have noticed that before falling a leader avoids intimate contact with their peers or overseers who can speak into their life. They live a life of isolation which is very dangerous!

As busy as I am, there are a number of mentors and spiritual sons that I open up to who give input and prayer; I am always open to hearing God’s voice through their prayers or exhortations to me. The more responsibility I have the more community I need to keep myself on track!

We also need intimate relationships to keep the human side of us active. It is very easy to go from one productive business meeting or anointed service to another and always be in front of strangers or crowds of people or with leaders who don’t know us well. There is no real community in those settings; even in the midst of a crowd we can still isolate ourselves because in a crowd a leader doesn’t have to be intimate or accountable since they are the ones calling the shots, doing the leading and speaking instead of the other way around.

Third, a leader is heading for a fall when he or she is not spending adequate time with their spouse and/or family. God told us that it is not good for man to be alone. I have seen many leaders, especially those who travel a lot, who are not in regular touch with their spouses and who rarely ever spend time at home. Being with family helps keep a leader grounded. Without that, they will be surrounded by superficial relationships related only to their productivity as a minister or business person, where they are always receiving accolades (from sycophants), as opposed to being a father, mother, husband or wife who has to constantly strive to work hard at intimacy in their family relationships—which God intended for us to keep us humble and grounded. A leader may get praise from everyone around him but the spouse really knows them and will tell them like it is and keep them in touch with reality!

Fourth, leaders are heading for trouble when they don’t exercise self-discipline in eating and indulging their pleasures. If a leader cannot control their eating patterns then most likely that is a reflection of a larger issue; that is, they are medicating themselves with food and most likely are vulnerable to other lusts of the flesh that will enable them to escape from the pressures of reality. Obesity is a social sin that has become acceptable in the Body of Christ even though Jesus warns against it (Luke 21:34).

Furthermore, when we as leaders have bad diets it begins to affect our minds, emotions and spirits in negative ways because it creates sluggishness, fatigue, and clouds our spirits with our carnality. Many leaders have died or have serious health issues once they hit their forties and fifties because of a poor diet. God will judge us if we prematurely meet Him and miss half our lives because of our lack of discipline and obedience.

Fifth, leaders are heading for trouble when they don’t seek God for God and only pray and read the Bible when they have to preach a sermon or minister. Worse than our lack of intimacy with the Lord is the fact that we are only using Him to make a living or using His word to achieve certain outcomes. However good they may be, our highest call in life is to know and love God. Matthew 7:22-23 teaches us that we can minister for God effectively and still fail if He doesn’t know us! Leaders who only seek God for a sermon have a professional relationship with the Lord and will eventually not have the grace and spiritual power to deal with all the pressures of marriage, life and ministry, which can lead to moral failure.

Sixth, leaders who love titles, positions, recognition, constantly join boards, and get involved in large events for public prominence are heading for a fall unless they repent. When we exalt ourselves God says He will humble us (Luke 14:11) and he who seeks his own glory is not glory (Proverbs 25:27).

We are not far from a fall when we try to lift ourselves up, promote ourselves, or get involved in events without hearing from the Lord; we are like the Pharisees who loved titles, prominent positions, greetings in the marketplace and to be called leader or reverend or bishop or doctor (Matthew 23:6-7). Leaders who are broken have learned not to try to create names for themselves by marketing their accomplishments and hype; they have learned that only when God exalts a person does it really last (Psalm 75:6).

Lastly, when leaders use people as objects for their businesses or ministries instead of having a motivation of empowering people to walk in their purpose—when leaders put programs over people and tasks ahead of relationships—eventually they will have no one around them who is loyal or who they can trust. They will have burned many bridges behind them because, eventually, their followers will become weary of them and leave them! Leadership is a lonely road to walk; leaders more than anyone else need to minister to people with a servant’s heart. When leaders come into the ministry with the attitude of being served instead of serving others they develop an entitlement mentality that can lead them to pride, arrogance and eventually to destruction.

May God help all of us who serve the kingdom as leaders to glory only in knowing Him (Philippians 3:7-11; Jeremiah 9:23-24)!

Friday, July 13, 2012

When God's Kids Grow Up



As I mowed the grass in the sweltering heat, I thought about my spiritual discontent.

Again.

I watched a video last night featuring Greg Hawkins, the executive pastor of  Willow Creek church, who discussed the trend of committed, born-again Christians leaving traditional churches in large numbers. Wanting to know what was behind it all, pollsters like George Barna have been collecting data from studies and have reached several conclusions - one of which I'll discuss in this message.

The most startling fact uncovered is that most of the people who are leaving the church are not lukewarm, marginal Christians, but those who are the most committed to living for Jesus. The sold-out, on- fire children of God are seeking greener pastures in which to rest.

Five years ago - this revelation would have shocked me. But today, it confirms what I've seen happening among my friends and it sheds light on what I've experienced in my own life.

In 2008, when I first began having dreams - many of them took place in church buildings. I'd dream about praying for people to be healed or I'd be prophesying at a church service. At that time, my wife and I attended an AG church regularly. The church dreams didn't last long. The church we attended had a lot of problems and God called us to meet with people in different locations and soon, my dreams took on a different setting.

The church dreams ended and instead I was praying with people in ambulances, stores, streets and hospitals. Literally anywhere but in a church building. I knew God was calling us out of that setting, and into the community at large, but we had a hard time giving up our church life.

Over the years, my wife and I have tried to find a church to attend, but haven't been successful. We don't have an ax to grind against the institutional church. Yes, we see a number of problems with the traditional church scene, but we also see some positive things that a traditional church setting can provide. We just can't find one that meets our  particular needs. One of the problems is that we seem to have outgrown most churches and the things they teach.

One thing most churches do well is help new believers become rooted and grounded in the truth of scripture. While some folks may be content to study the bible their entire lives, others require a bit more diversity. Some churches have nothing to offer beyond basic bible teaching. So when a church successfully nurtures it's members into maturity and they require training and equipping beyond the basics, where do they go?

Many believers today have discovered their identity in Christ and are fully capable of teaching with authority and operating in the power of God. They're not beginners any more. They're seasoned veterans. As their numbers have grown - it's become apparent (to me at least) that the manifestation of the sons and daughters of God spoken of in Scripture may finally be here. God's kids have grown up. And unfortunately for church leaders -  they've nearly worked themselves out of a job.

The body of Christ now needs advanced training and equipping and leaders are late in responding to that need. A few (Bill Johnson for example) have seen the need and developed advanced curricula. To their credit, Bethel has made their school of supernatural ministry curriculum available to others, but a better approach would be for local fellowships to develop and implement their own.

The need for more challenging instruction might explain the boom in conference attendance. Many people find that two or three days of immersion in worship and advanced teaching is more helpful than digesting weekly sermons.

The present challenge to leaders is to recognize the need for advanced training and equipping and ask God for the resources and insights on how those needs can be met. If the needs of the sheep are not met, they'll continue to head for the exit sign.

Here's the interview with Greg Hawkins:




Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Prophetic Wisdom - Graham Cooke



Patricia King interviews Graham Cooke as he discusses the unique process God took him through to complete the writing of his latest book Prophetic Wisdom.


Redefining Grace

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