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Lead With A God-Confidence

February 10, 2012

Over the last two decades of my life as a leader, one of the labels I have consistently been given is arrogant. Maybe that is one you have considered about me as well. While I would never consider myself humble, I also would never consider myself arrogant. Unfortunately many, in the business and church world, mistake a bold God-confidence for self-arrogance. Is there as difference? Yes!

Marcus Buckingham, a renowned business leader, author, consultant, and researcher says it best; “If you are going to lead, you better have a deep-seated belief that you should be at the helm, dragging everyone into that better future… Virtually nothing about a leader is humble. I’m not saying they are arrogant, but their claims are big.” Buckingham states that successful leaders must find a truth through which to rally the troops.” For Christian leaders, that great rally point is simple. It is the call to lead people to Jesus, train, and send them out to be missionaries and ambassadors of Christ in their home and community.

Buckingham continues; “The chief responsibility of a leader, for example, "is to rally people for a better future. If you are a leader, you better be unflinchingly, unfailingly optimistic. No matter how bleak his or her mood, nothing can undermine a leader's belief that things can get better, and must get better. I believe you either bring this to the table or you don't.” [i]

Having a bold God-confidence is a passion to live out loud. It is the ability to walk in the opposite direction instead of following popular opinion. It is quiet, yet driving power. Most of all, in the Christian world, it is a deep trust in God’s calling and direction for your life and leadership. It’s easy to see how someone could mistake a bold God-confidence for a self-centered arrogance. Why? Because, when you know what you know, you are driven to accomplish the task. You lead out of passion and a deep desire for things to be better. Nehemiah was such a man.

Nehemiah had a bold confidence in the calling God placed on his life. He walked into a very bad situation in Jerusalem and turned everything around in 52 days. His desire was to enact change in the midst of desperation and decay. He had to have a bold God-confidence. If he hadn’t, no one would have followed him.

Think about it this way. You are about to go into battle and take a hill that no one has been able to take. Dozens of soldiers have already lost their lives trying to take the hill and now it’s your turn. The Sergeant leading the charge is cowering behind the sand bags, turns to the troops and apologizes for getting them in this mess. He is uncertain, captivated by fear, and not sure he wants to move. What’s your response? Would it not mimic the attitudes of the leader? Are you ready to follow this man?

Same scenario, different leader: He is fearful, but bold. He has a swagger and confidence that can be seen and felt among the troops. He has a belief that the hill can be taken, but is realistic about the cost. The major difference with this leader is his willingness to lead the charge and a winning optimism.

Who would you rather follow?

Understand that arrogance and confidence are not the same. Arrogance is a supreme belief in yourself. It’s an attitude of superiority, self-importance and pride. Confidence, on the other hand, (by that I mean a “God-confidence”) is a belief, a state of being, which involves faith and trust. Can confidence turn into arrogance? Without a doubt! If you don’t remember that you are leading due to God’s favor rather than your ability, you will quickly leave the safety of God-confidence and perch dangerously on the ledge of arrogance. 

If we are to change our culture, whether it be business, or spiritual, we must not be afraid to step up to the plate and lead with a bold confidence. That confidence comes from a sober understanding of who you are, the calling God has placed on your life, and a dogged determination to guide people into a better future. Will you make mistakes? Probably. Will you always win? Probably not! Then again, God has not called us into leadership to be right, or win every time. Rather, he has called us to be obedient and step out with a confidence in His ability.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 cor 4:16-18

Let me leave you with three great quotes:

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go.”--T.S. Eliot

“Remember, a dead fish can float down a stream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream."--W.C. Fields

“You need to play with supreme confidence or else you’ll lose again, and then losing becomes a habit.”--Joe Paterno, head football coach at Penn State University

Posted 2/10/2012 in Stephen Gray | 0 Comments - Add Comment

School of Hard Knocks

February 7, 2012

Church planting reminds me of the Indiana Jones movies. Every plant is a new adventure full of excitement and potential doom. Indiana was always chasing the elusive prize and never knew what pitfalls he would face around the next corner. None the less, he pushed ahead and faced each problem in a new and creative way. 
Remember the scene in the third movie where Indiana was standing on the side of a cliff looking across to the other side of a deep chasm? In order to get to the other side, find the Holy Grail and save his father, he had to take a leap of faith. He didn’t know that a hidden bridge would catch his fall and provide safe passage to the other side. Church planting is a lot like that dramatic moment. To do it, you have to take a wildly dangerous leap of faith. Church planting is the most exciting, the most frustrating, and the most brutal ministry anyone can do. It’s exciting because it involves attempting something big for God. It’s the most frustrating and brutal because it will test every area of your life. Church planters have to be dreamers, visionaries, planners, and like Indiana, they have to have nerves of steel and thick skin.

Church planting will make you feel alive, and it can push you to the brink of insanity. It will give you a new sense of God’s presence and convince you that Satan is alive and well. You will celebrate the birth of a new church with unearthly joy, and experience betrayal from friends and family in ways you never thought possible. As a church planter, you will experience high highs and low lows. It’s dangerous and dramatic. As they say on television—kids, don’t try this at home.

After 16 years of pastoring established churches, God called me into the arena of church planting. God called me, Stephen Gray, a skewed and flawed individual. What kind of a guy am I? I’m one of those driven individuals. I don’t like to win; I like to dominate. My little ducks, though they stand in rows, need to be smiling and looking directly into the camera. I’ve been diagnosed as a type "A" personality along with a very useful case of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. And God called me.

My preparation for this new ministry adventure was both difficult and frustrating. As I prepared for this new adventure, I quickly discovered that church planting was not a very refined process. A multitude of varying models, philosophies, and conflicting opinions existed under the umbrella of church planting. With confidence and authority, each expert offered their opinion about the process and procedure and every seminar or book led in a different direction. In a short time, the whole church planting idea became overwhelming. I felt like writing these expert names on a dartboard, putting on a blindfold, and chucking a few darts. In truth, all of the books, the seminars, and the opinions were helpful, but none of it actually prepared me for my actual church planting experience.

Bottom line is this: planting a church is tough and most, if not all will go through the school of hard knocks as they set out to plant their church. The only thing that will help you through those trying times is an overwhelming sense of God's calling for this ministry. Likewise, we should always keep in mind "that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes." Dan 4:25 If you understand that simple truth, you will be able to weather any storm that comes your way.

God has called you. God has placed you in your position because he chose to do so. Your position of authority is not based on your wisdom, your knowledge, or your good looks. Nor is it based on another's desire for you to be in a position of authority.

Posted 2/7/2012 in Church Planting | 0 Comments - Add Comment