We live in a world of global uncertainties, surrounded with personal and corporate challenges – from natural disasters to human disasters to spiritual disasters. It is a time when, more than ever, we need courageous leaders. We need men and women who will stay the course, who walk in authority because they are under authority, who keep sight of the promises of God, who stand firm without wavering and without compromise.
But at this time when we need godly leadership more than ever, leaders are dropping out of the fight and leaving a dangerous void. According to Dr. James Dobson, 1,500 pastors leave the ministry every month! A study conducted by Dr. Robert Clinton from Fuller Seminary showed that 70 percent of leaders historically, biblically, and currently do not finish well.
We live in a world of global uncertainties, surrounded with personal and
corporate challenges – from natural disasters to human disasters to spiritual
disasters. It is a time when, more than ever, we need courageous leaders. We
need men and women who will stay the course, who walk in authority because they
are under authority, who keep sight of the promises of God, who stand firm
without wavering and without compromise.
But at this time when we need godly leadership more than ever, leaders are
dropping out of the fight and leaving a dangerous void. According to Dr. James
Dobson, 1,500 pastors leave the ministry every month! A study conducted by
Dr. Robert Clinton from Fuller Seminary showed that
70 percent
of leaders historically, biblically, and currently do not
finish well.
Scripture tells us in Luke 21 that we will see more and more
earthquakes, wars, plagues, and calamities. In light of all
of this, as leaders, we must be prepared so that we can turn
these situations into an occasion for our testimony (Luke
21:13) and finish the race set before us.
Over the past few years, I have been hearing God speak to me
continually about the critical importance of returning to
the basics of our faith: our foundation, our alignments, and
our consistency in daily disciplines. So many of us are
building on a cracked foundation. We are aligned
inappropriately, and we are inconsistent in our disciplines.
I wrote my book Born to Die…that we may live because of this
conviction that we must return to the foundation of our
faith that is found in the work of the cross and the power
of the resurrection.
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1. The Right Foundation
Hebrews 12:27 tells us all that can be
shaken will be shaken, and only that which cannot be shaken
will remain. We must build on the right foundation to ensure
that what we are building will stand, and that foundation is
the cross. Jesus said in Matthew 7:24-26: “Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into
practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had
its foundation on the rock.” The storms and the shaking to come should not be feared. As
Paul Romer, a top U.S. economist, has said, “A crisis is a
terrible thing to waste.” Lou Gerstner, the former CEO of
IBM, addressed the Harvard School of Business in 2002 and
said, “Transformation of an enterprise begins with a sense
of crisis or urgency.”
A leader’s true character is revealed in times of pressure
and crisis. That’s because pressure magnifies. God does not
need leaders who can avoid storms. He is looking, instead,
for persevering leaders who can build on a foundation that
will last in the midst of them! He is looking for leaders
who are in proper alignment in the Kingdom and in the Body
of Christ. And He is looking for leaders who are consistent
in their daily disciplines of prayer, giving, and studying
the Word.
2. Characteristics of Persevering Leaders
We have a saying in
our ministry that we want to be “Gold Medalists for God.”
But what does it take to do that, especially with the
challenges to leadership that are so prevalent in the times
in which we live?
Shun Fujimoto was a Japanese gymnast in the 1976 Olympics in
Montreal who was expected to win the gold medal. Fujimoto
broke his right kneecap during the floor exercises, but
continued on for two more events: the pommel horse and the
rings. Focusing only on his goal and not on his pain,
Fujimoto scored a 9.5 on the horse. He then earned his
highest score ever on the rings at 9.7 with a nearly
flawless performance that included a triple somersault
dismount that sent pain like a knife searing through his
leg. As a result of his tenacity and commitment, the
Japanese team was able to win the gold medal. When asked
later how he was able to do it, he said, in effect, “My
desire to win was greater than my moment of pain.”
I experienced a similar incident when I was a wrestler in
high school. It was the 1974 Far East Nationals, and I was
ranked number one in all of Japan in my weight class. On the
first day of competition, I fractured my left elbow. Pain
raced through my arm as my coach nurtured the injury with
bandages and ice. The next day he asked, “Do you want to go
on?” Though my swollen elbow still throbbed with pain, I
said, “Yes, I have to. I’ve come too far to quit now.” Like
Fujimoto, my desire to win was greater than my moment of
challenge.
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My spiritual father, the late Dr. Edwin Louis Cole, used to
say, “Winners don’t see what they’re going through, they
only see where they’re going to.” What we need today are
leaders of courage who are able to look past their moments
of personal challenge and keep their focus on their
destination. We need leaders of character who demonstrate
the four basic qualities God is looking for in persevering
and courageous leaders:
- God wants leaders of humility and brokenness.
Proverbs 22:4 states, “By humility and the fear of the LORD
are riches and honor and life” (NKJV). Leaders of humility
are men and women who don’t feel they have to make their own
name known or push their own agendas. They are content to
build only on the foundation the Lord has laid, to wait on
Him, and to watch as He brings the increase. Leaders of
humility recognize the importance of always being a
“Disciple in Training,” who know the only time we can say we
have “arrived” is when we hear the Lord say, “Well done,
good and faithful servant.” It’s like the GPS in my car – it
doesn’t say “You have arrived” until I have reached my
intended destination!
- God wants leaders with a strong personal prayer
life.
Time, like light, makes things manifest. Light exposes
anything in darkness and brings things to the surface. What
we do behind closed doors when nobody is watching us will
determine the power of God, or lack of it, that we
demonstrate in public. That’s why it is so important for
each of us to have a strong personal prayer life, creating a
deep foundation that will keep us from falling during the
storm and during the shaking.
- God wants leaders with a Kingdom vision.
As I
often say, “While men reach for thrones to build their
kingdoms, Jesus reached for a towel to wash men’s feet.”
Leaders who build that which will last are those who have a
vision of something bigger than themselves. They are not
merely building their own kingdoms; they are calling others
to follow them as they pursue a greater prize! These leaders
will have a passion for what I call “unity with a purpose.”
They will carry the kind of authority that comes from
relational influence, not merely from title or position.
- God wants leaders with a tenacious and resilient
spirit.
The children of Israel lost the hope of their
destination as they wandered in the desert, and they did not
hold on through adversity. Like Caleb and Joshua, a
persevering leader is a man or woman who will not let go of
the vision of God even when faced with the reality of the
giants. They will have the faith to say, “There’s reality in
this circumstance, but my God is bigger than this! And if He
promised me a destiny, I will not live my life according to
what I see but based on what God said!”
3. Defeating Discouragement and Extortion
Whenever we begin to seek the
well-being of God’s people and commit ourselves to doing His
will, we are sure to encounter what I call “The Seven
Oppositions of the Enemy,” which we find in the book of
Nehemiah:
1. Ridicule and Mockery (Nehemiah 4:1)
2. Threat of Attack (Nehemiah 4:14-23)
3. Discouragement (Nehemiah 4:10)
4. Extortion (Nehemiah 5)
5. Compromise (Nehemiah 6:1-3)
6. Slander (Nehemiah 6:5-7)
7. Fear (Nehemiah 6:13-14)
Discouragement begins after consistent experiences of
ridicule, mockery, and threats.The enemy compounds our
discouragement by using extortion to divide and to hinder
corporate unity. He uses it to steal our joy, and when we
lose our joy, we lose our strength. And he uses it to steal
our resources so that we cannot accomplish what we believe
God has called us to do. Discouragement and disappointment
bring disillusionment, which then breeds compromise and
distracts us from our intended destination or our destinies.
We begin to respond with slander against those who oppose
us, or we act in fear instead of faith.
When the enemy comes against us and begins to discourage us
and extort from us, we must be leaders of a different
spirit, like Joshua and Caleb. When the other 10 spies
returned from the Promised Land with a bad report, Joshua
and Caleb kept their focus of destination. “It’s true!” they
said (paraphrased). “There are giants in the land. But we
know our God is bigger than the giants!” We need more
leaders like Joshua and Caleb who can look past the
circumstances, past the giants, and hold on to the promises
of a God who keeps His promises! As we focus on Him, He will
restore our vision of hope, our vision of destination, and
our vision of purpose!
Who Has Pre-Eminence? In the midst of our challenges, we
often quote Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep him in perfect
peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in
You.” But we seldom read on to verses 12 and13, “Lord, You
will establish peace for us, for You have done all our works
in us. O Lord our God, masters besides You have had dominion
over us…”
As leaders, we cannot allow anything other than God to
control us. We cannot allow other passions besides our
passion for Him to have dominion over us. I Corinthians 16:9
tells us, “Even as greater doors are opened, the adversaries
are many.” But sometimes the adversaries are internal, not
external. Sometimes we need to start with our own internal
conflicts and ask ourselves the questions: What are the
things that have dominion over me? What has hindered me from
walking through the doors God has opened? Is it fear?
Insecurity? Complacency? Apathy?
Scripture tells us Jesus has dominion over all these things.
It is God’s intention for Him to have preeminence in our
lives (Colossians 1:16, 18). When Jesus is preeminent in our
hearts, our lives, and our thoughts, we have His God-given
authority over all principalities and dominions. They no
longer have dominion over us! But God doesn’t stop there –
it is His intention, once we give Him preeminence, to use us
to make known His manifold wisdom to those powers and
authorities who once had dominion over us!
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4. A Deeper Level of Relationship
The Kingdom of God is built on relationships. Our
relationships define our destinies, and our level of
influence is determined by the depth of relationship we have
with God and with one another. My latest book Who’s Your
Daddy Now? examines in detail how every problem we
experience in our society and globally can be traced back to
a broken relationship with a father. It is crucial that we
examine our relationships and make sure we are properly
aligned with our Heavenly Father and all those we are called
to lead, to serve under, and to walk alongside.
Some people try to gain credibility by association, but
authentic and lasting influence and authority – like
inheritance – are the result of relationship. They are given
and received, not taken. The same is true of our influence
and authority in the Kingdom. The character of any kingdom
emanates from the character of its king. We must have the
character of our King to walk in His influence and His
authority.
God is calling us all to a deeper level of relationship,
with Himself and with those He has placed around us. He
wants us to stand together against the opposition of the
enemy. He wants us to encourage one another and validate one
another. And as we keep our eyes on Him and begin to thank
Him with an attitude of gratitude for being a God who keeps
His promises, He will restore our vision of hope and our
vision of destiny so that we can press on and finish well!
Doug Stringer is the founder and president of Turning
Point Ministries International and Somebody Cares
America/International. Doug speaks extensively to leaders
around the globe on the topics of “Persevering Leaders” and
“Transformational Leadership.” He can be reached at
www.somebodycares.org
