Woe unto you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets. (Luke 6:26)

Let’s just come right out and say it up front:

Unless someone is not constantly on your case, mad at you, irritated, and upset with you all the time, you are no leader.

The would-be leader who fails to recognize this will be constantly bewildered by the reactions of the people he has been sent to serve.

He comes into a church with a divine mandate. (This is not pious talk. He has been called by God into the ministry and sent by Him to this church. If that’s not a divine mandate, nothing is.) He proceeds to take the reins and lead out. To his utter amazement, the very people he expected to welcome his ministry, to support his vision, to affirm his godliness, to volunteer their service–those very people–stand back and carp and criticize and find fault.

This was the last thing he expected.

Because he’s human, he begins to wonder many things: Did I make a mistake in coming here? Am I doing something wrong? Are these people not God’s children? Should I stay? Should I leave?

I answer: You’re doing just fine, preacher. Stay the course.

Salt is an irritant. We have been sent into this world as its salt (Matthew 5:13).

Light hurts the eyes. We were sent as the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). The brighter it shines, the more darkness resists it, resents it, runs from it.

This is as good a place as any to state the obvious: Many in places of leadership inside our churches are not leaders. I’m talking about pastors, staffers, deacons, and other so-called leaders.

They may qualify as counselors, program directors, consensus builders, negotiators, mediators, affirmers, or even teachers. But they are not leaders.

A leader by the very definition stands apart from the crowd, pointing and pushing and urging them onward to a destination that many cannot understand, do not see, and are not sure they want. The more forcibly he or she leads, the greater the reaction against his message and his methods by some.

Thankfully, not all. But there’s always some who will oppose any challenge to the status quo.

Perfectionism is one of the leader’s greatest enemies. If he waits until 100 percent of the team is on board, they will still be sitting there when Jesus returns.

When a leader insists on the enthusiastic support and complete approval of every last member of the team, the work grinds to a halt and all forward progress ends at that point.

Continue reading →

This should be fun to write.

I’ve saved the last item from our newspaper of a few days ago, knowing it had to furnish material for this blog but waiting for the moment. That moment has arrived. It has to do with the 3 candidates for Kenner mayor. Not a pretty thing.

The other two items are from today’s Times-Picayune, one regarding a Saints football player, a free agent, who wants to stay with the team but is “not feeling love from the front office,” and the other pertains to a candidate for city council in Kenner.

Let’s take care of the last one first. It’s the simplest.

The two candidates for this council post are compared side by side, ages, background, etc. I don’t know either, but since I live in River Ridge and not Kenner, that’s all right. What struck me was the company one of the candidates owns.

“Bill and Jerry Investments, Inc.” That’s the name of his company.

Now, I’ll buy Ben and Jerry ice cream. I’ll watch Tom and Jerry cartoons. But invest my hard-earned savings with Bill and Jerry Investments? I dunno. Sounds shaky to me. I’d be more comfortable if they used last names.

It reminds me of the time I flew Jet Blue airlines. I wanted the attendants to act more professional, and not spend their time playing games in the aisles with passengers. The short pants and polo shirts they wore didn’t inspire my confidence, either.

I sat in a meeting Tuesday night with the board members of Global Maritime Ministries and noticed the new executive director of New Orleans Baptist Association, Dr. Duane McDaniel, sitting there in his suit and tie. Now, he’s a classy guy and would look distinguished in a tank top and gym shorts. And maybe it’s just me, but I like the way he presented himself. He looked professional.

The next time you see a pastor running around in ragged jeans and flip-flops, ask yourself what kind of confidence he inspires in you.

Second item. The disgrunted Saints player.

Continue reading →

Sitting in front of the television the other evening as Hollywood was having its annual prom–it was Oscar night–I wondered something.

Who decides who steps to the microphone to receive an award?

When a movie’s name is called as the winner of “best picture” or some other category in which a number of people have collaborated, who decides which member of that crowd stands, walks to the front, accepts the kiss from Penelope Cruz, and addresses the billion people who are tuned in?

Do they work this out in advance? Is it spontaneous? Do people get their feelings hurt when the wrong person steps up and takes credit?

Michael Curtiz directed “Casablanca,” the incredible movie (my favorite) which took home several Oscars from the 1944 prom. He was named best director and the movie best picture of the year.

The other night, a Turner Classic Movie program on the three Warner Brothers was played. It’s a new bio done by the granddaughter of one of the three–Albert, Harry, and Jack. Cass Warner makes no bones about it, that Jack was the rascal in the bunch. He talked the other two into selling the studio to a Boston firm, then the next day repurchased it so it would belong exclusively to himself. The rest of the family never forgave and never forgot.

An executive who worked on “Casablanca”–I failed to notice his name–told what happened when they announced the best picture award. “I was rising to my feet when I noticed Jack Warner already on his way to the front. He accepted the Oscar like he had had anything to do with this movie. It was my movie. I’m the one who made ‘Casablanca’ happen!”

A generation later, he still had not forgotten the offense or forgiven Jack Warner.

The line often attributed to Ronald Reagan goes like this: “There is no limit to what can be accomplished if you don’t care who gets the credit.” (It is also attributed to Walt Disney and others.)

That sounds great. And it’s almost true. But not entirely. It matters a great deal who gets the credit.

Continue reading →

I have no idea where this page in my handwriting originated, but at some point I either heard Billy Graham talking about this or read it.

“What Billy Graham learned from his contacts with world leaders in all fields….” is the heading.

There are five points:

1) Leadership has its own set of special burdens and pressures.

2) Leadership can be lonely.

3) People in positions of influence are often used by others for their own selfish ends.

4) People in the public eye are often looked upon as role models even though they may not choose it.

5) Many men and women who are leaders in secular fields have given relatively little thought to God.

Continue reading →

The Lion’s Club calls him the tail-twister. In the locker room, he’s referred to as a sparkplug.

In the church, he’s the accelerator.

He’s the guy–or she’s the one–who wants to “get this show on the road,” who builds a fire under everyone else, who pushes the leaders.

Every organization needs a few of those.

Nothing of what follows is meant to diminish the importance of those church members who are never satisfied with the status quo but want to make a lasting difference for Jesus’ sake. Every church should be blessed with a few.

However, as the Toyota Motor Company (or whatever it’s official name happens to be) has learned the hard way, an accelerator needs to be under strong controls.

An accelerator that “sticks” causes crashes. Crashes cause deaths.

I sat in the waiting room of my Toyota dealer for an hour last week while the service man made some small adjustment to the accelerator of my Camry. It was part of a several-million-car recall that is turning the automobile business upside down these days. Nearly 40 deaths have been attributed to gas pedals sticking, causing the car to speed ahead uncontrollably.

My wife and I had a disagreement that morning. She vows that she was riding with me once when the pedal stuck on this car. I reply that I would have remembered that, but I don’t. She refused to budge. So, I called the car dealer and they told me to bring it in. No waiting, no cost, a simple thing. My wife has peace of mind, and frankly, so do I. Sometimes a wife has to insist on something to get her husband to act.

My wife was my accelerator, you might say.

From time to time, I have seen the work of accelerators in churches. Sometimes, they do a great job. And sometimes, they are missing the controls that will safeguard the congregation and staff from their get-out-of-my-way attitude.

Not long ago, for instance….

Continue reading →

Sandra Bullock’s new movie, “The Blind Side,” has been the sleeper of the year. Word of mouth has kept movie-goers filling the theaters, earning a huge box-office for this story about a homeless kid taken in by a Christian family and who went on to become a football star.

The fascinating story carries a terrific message for life in a hundred ways. And for deacons in one specific way.

The movie opens with a slow motion depiction of a play that occurred perhaps twenty years ago in a game between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants. Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann was hit from his left–the blind side for this right-hand-throwing QB–by Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Theismann never played football again.

According to people in the know, that devastating play changed the way football is played. Thereafter, as soon as the ball is snapped to the QB, the left tackle moves back to protect him on his blind side. If he is a lefty, it’s the right tackle who protects him.

Sheltering and guarding the leader at his point of greatest vulnerability.

That is one of the chief roles of a deacon in today’s church.

Continue reading →

We’re supposing here.

Suppose your church assembled a group composed of the following people: the pastor and staff, the office staff, the deacons, Sunday School teachers, committee members, and program leaders. And suppose I have 30 minutes to say anything on my heart. We meet in a room ideal for that size a group with no electronic devices or amplifications. I set up my easel in front and begin.

Now, supposing I had the undivided attention of the group, I would begin by telling this from Scripture.

A few weeks before Moses retired from the scene and Joshua stepped in to lead God’s people out of the wilderness into the Promised Land of Canaan, Moses had some final words.. The Old Testament book of Deuteronomy is the essence of what he shared, a recap of where they had been and what had happened in their recent past.

Moses strongly felt the need to impress one huge thing on God’s people as they were about to possess “a land of milk and honey.” We would call this a warning, in fact.

“You are about to come into a land filled with everything you’ve ever wanted. You’ll move into houses you did not build.

You’ll harvest crops you didn’t plant or cultivate.

You’ll drink from wells you did not dig.

You’ll gather grapes from vineyards and olives from groves you did not plant.”

“You will eat and be satisfied for the first time in your memory. And when that happens…

Beware lest you forget the Lord.”

Prosperity has a way of fogging up the spiritualities. Deadening the spirit. Dulling the memories. Derailing the well-intentioned.

Do not forget God. (Deuteronomy 6:12)

Do not desert God. (Deut. 6:14)

Do not test God. (Deut. 6:16)

Rather, be careful to obey Him. Do what is right in His sight.

And just in case anyone did not get that the first time, Moses repeated these words in Deuteronomy 8:12-14.

Leaders, your church is prosperous in a hundred ways. Your community is thriving. Personally, you are living at a higher standard than your grandparents ever dreamed of attaining. Furthermore, you do it with hardly a thought, as though this were the norm and anyone could do it if they worked as hard as you do.

You and I have forgotten how blessed we are.

Leaders, it’s time once again for you to:

–renew your thankfulness to God for His abundant blessings upon you, your church, your community, and this nation.

–recommit yourself to be faithful with what He has given you.

–restructure your lives to practice the faith you say you believe. The old structures (like some ancient bridges in this country!) do not hold up forever, but must be constantly inspected and often replaced.

Now, let me admit to you my minor disappointment with what Moses said.

Continue reading →

There must be as many ways to develop leadership abilities in others as there are stars in the sky, but most programs will come down to a few basics.

One of the most important and absolutely crucial elements in nurturing young leaders is exposure.

Expose the individual to the various tasks and jobs and careers open to him/her. Let the person try them on, work alongside a master craftsman for a few days, see how it feels.

Not everyone is called to every kind of work. Not everyone is called to be a leader of people, for that matter. But all in the Kingdom of God are called to work in the Lord’s vineyard and are gifted by the Holy Spirit with a talent/ability/enablement for that kind of work. (See I Corinthians 12, especially verse 7.)

Finding it is the fun part. Matching the person up with the right assignment is one of the pleasurable aspects of leadership.

Exposure: show them what they could be doing.

Continue reading →

Who wants to be the leader?

Ask that in any classroom on the planet and two-thirds of the hands will go up. Every child in the class wants to be the leader.

The leader determines the direction. The leader walks out front. The leader becomes the role model for everyone else. The leader issues orders to the rest of the troops. The leader is well-known and highly visible. The leader gets interviewed by the media, shown on television and quoted by the paper. The leader receives the accolades when it’s all over. The leader takes home the choice rewards.

It’s fun being the leader.

Because he’s the most visible, the leader also gets shot at first and most often. The leader gets criticized by outsiders and insiders alike. The leader is the first to be arrested and executed if the movement fails. The leader bears the blame. The leader was at fault. The leader has to keep up appearances even when he is hopelessly discouraged or lost at sea. It all falls on the shoulders of the leader.

You sure you want to be the leader?

At this very moment, a future president of the United States of America is in high school. He/she may know very well that this is their destiny or, more likely, not have a clue. Some future president is a toddler in diapers.

It’s possible and even likely that the pastor-after-next who will be coming to lead your church is in middle school right now, without the slightest idea what lies ahead.

You hope someone is training these young people well. You hope they don’t have things too easy, that they learn the lessons only hard work can teach. You want them to know the positive values of struggle, of overcoming obstacles, of reaching deep down inside and summoning inner strength.

You want them smart and strong and solid.

The question is: where do we get such leaders? And how do they get that way?

Here’s how God did it.

Continue reading →

Vision doesn’t last and must constantly be renewed….

Over three centuries ago, a ship filled with travelers landed on the Northeast coast of America. In their first year, they established a town site. The second year, they elected a government. In the third year, the town government announced plans to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness. In the fourth year, the citizens tried to impeach their elected leaders because building a road into the wilderness was a waste of public funds. Who needed to go there anyway?

Here we have people with the vision to see 3,000 miles across an ocean and overcome great obstacles, but within a short time, they could not see five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering spirit.

Leadership is all about vision and the ability to convey it to others….

John Sculley was running Pepsi when Apple Computer’s Steve Jobs invited him to move to California in order to manage his struggling company. Sculley was faced with a real dilemma. Then Steve Jobs said, “John, do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want to change the world?” Sculley says, “That knocked the wind out of me.”

Vision has a way of doing that.

Leadership knows the inspirational value of a great story….

Continue reading →