The Heart of Successful Leadership

[NOTE: Every week Rubel Shelly publishes an article called the FAX of Life. The email/Fax is free to those who want to subscribe. Subscribe by writing to gbciii@aol.com. The following was published early in February. I reproduce it here for the really good message and to provide it wider circulation. Rubel is the President of Rochester College in Rochester Hills, MI. mt]

I visited with a friend over dinner the other night. He is an attorney. A really good one. He works for a prestige firm and does some of their most important work for its biggest clients. He was talking about leadership.

"Law schools are producing some sharp graduates these days and sending them our way," he said. "As you can imagine, we get lots of applications from the best and brightest. I don't think it would ever be the case that we worry about one of our applicants knowing the law or being able to pass the bar exam. But we are really having a hard time finding people we want to hire."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"We have a hard time finding people who are leadership caliber," he continued. "We need people who will step up and step out. And they are getting harder and harder to find. Either that or we are looking in the wrong places!"

The more we talked about the leadership issue, the more engaged we both became in the conversation. What does it take to make a leader? What are the qualities to look for? What are the qualities to cultivate in your own life?

You obviously look for core competencies in a leader. She must have appropriate background and training. He must have some assessments that say he can do the job. It is always better to have someone who has already proved himself in a similar role. All these things point to aptitude and know-how.

It is harder still to find someone who sees the big picture and is forward-looking in handling his responsibilities. Leaders have to fix messes and keep a close eye on hitting productivity and profit targets. But they have to be more interested in keeping the company, family, or church on track with its long-term goals. They have to be visionary persons who can communicate their vision.

Okay, those two are obvious and easy. A leader has to possess basic competence and vision. But my friend was emphatic about the third item. No, it wasn't third except for the sequence of discussion. It is, according to him at least, the first and most critical item. He was adamant that the thing most often lacking in potential leaders is personal integrity. Common decency. Good character.

Leadership is a matter of being before it is a way of doing. Politicians, evangelists, athletes, bankers, actors, CEOs - all of them had good-to-excellent skills and a sufficient supply of vision and ego to get to their leadership positions. But we have witnessed hosts of them melt down before our eyes because of a lack of principled character that would let them use their positions responsibly.

All the knowledge, skills, charisma, looks, and imagination in the world can't make up for a lack of character. "People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall" (Proverbs 10:9 NLT).

Wiggle Room

The Jones family (fictional -- but I'll bet you know this family) is on a very strict money management budget. Every penny is accounted for.

It's not that they are struggling financially. They have plenty of money. It's just that they have adopted an austere attitude toward money as they try to save every penny they can for a down payment on a house. Their mission statement is: Save the 20% downpayment for a house as soon as possible.

It's a worthy mission.

It's also challenging. They have to work hard, keep reminding themselves of the mission, and sacrifice to make it happen.

But sometimes, the family just wants to go to a movie. Or have a nice dinner at a restaurant. But they can't. Not because they can't afford it, but because not only do such comforts not contribute to accomplishing the mission -- they detract from it.

And in time, the new home, rather than look like a worthy goal, looks not only less desirable, but undesirable. Family members grow to hate the idea. "Why can't we just stay where we are?"

Church Mission statements have the same challenge. The Church is a family, and like a family, individuals have things they want which are not always directly related to the family goals. You can ask: "How will this further our mission of being Christ on the earth and bringing others to join us?" But sometimes, they only way a program relates to that mission is that if you don't do it, dissatisfaction and unhappiness will set in and progress toward the real goal will be hampered or hindered.

There's got to be "wiggle room," a bit of leeway in the program to keep people happy on the journey.

I know a congregation where a minority of well-to-do members wanted a new church building. The one they had was fine enough, but it was old and lacked the "look" and "feel" of something new and modern. After all, some members thought, we have nice homes, why can't we have a nicer worship facility? Perhaps with some more comfortable seating? A jumbotron like our wide-screen at home? A place we would be unashamed to bring our friends to.

It wasn't long before the movement became dominant, and a building was built to the satisfaction of all at great cost. With the downturn in the economy, a few necessities are being sacrificed to pay for the building.

Did the leadership make a mistake?

Probably not. In the first place, building a new building was doable for this church. No one could have anticipated the economic crisis that now afflicts that area. They made a decision based on the information they had.

Further, sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants and will not be denied. As long as what the heart wants is not sinful, and does not adversely affect the ability of the Church to fulfill its mission, a little wiggle room makes the journey easier, and sometimes, just possible.

Leadership must remember that in every church family, everyone is on a line of varying spiritual maturity. No one may be left behind or minimized just because they are immature. In fact, they are the "little ones" Jesus referred to who must receive special attention. We have to hold it together as we move forward . . . together.

Remembering The Mission Statement

We've been looking at the idea of a mission statement, and have maintained that the mission statement for a congregation must be biblical and comprehensive. It must also be memorable. Then . . . you have to remember it. (Yeah, I know that sounds redundant -- but I have a memorable email address. If you know my name, you can remember the address. It's amazing though how many people forget it). It's surprising how many churches with good mission statements seem to toss the statement aside when it comes to formulating new plans and projects.

The leadership of a congregation I'm familiar with decided they wanted a Christian School. They reasoned: This school will let people know we care about children and will help us win their parents (and the students) to Christ.

So off they went with the school idea. It wasn't a bad idea really. In fact, it was a good one.

But years have gone by. The school occupies the lion's share of the church's resources and a good part of leader meetings concern the current challenge of the school.

How many people have they discipled as a result of the school?

Not one.

But they might in the future. That's true. It's also doubtful. Because currently, every bit of energy goes into keeping the school open. No one has time for discipling, and there are no concrete plans for making disciples. It's more of a "if we build it, they will come" mentality.

But they aren't coming.

None of this is to say that the school is a bad idea. The problem is that people became so wrapped up in the project that they forgot the mission. As I've written earlier, it's one thing to produce top notch copy machines. It's another entirely to make money off them. The church is not in the business of making money, but we'd better be in the business of making disciples. That was Christ's last command (at least according to Matthew). We're in the good works business, but that's not our only business -- nor is it enough, as followers of Jesus, to just be in that business.

Next week: "Wiggle room"

Is the Purpose Statement Comprehensive?

A congregational mission statement is an important tool for at least one reason: it helps church members keep in mind what they are supposed to be about. One has only to access recently past issues of the "Christian Chronicle" to see the number of folks who believe the Church has lost its identity. Keeping your identity is a lot easier when you remember your mission. The statement must be short and memorable enough to stick in the minds of members. For purposes of this article, our working congregational purpose statement is as follows:

“The mission of the Church is to be Jesus on the earth, and bring the world to join us.”

Another mission statement I've run across is this one: "Knowing God. Making Him known." I've liked this one. It's short, catchy, and memorable. But in my view, it is not comprehensive enough. Biblically, there may be no difference between "knowing God" and living a holy life, but in the minds of 21st century people, there's a lot of practical difference. One may be biblically literate but spiritually bankrupt. One may teach the message of the Bible, but with an air (expressed or implied) of "do as I say, not as I do." The statement really doesn't cut it.

Still another mission statement suggested to me as the "only mission of the Church" (by an Elder about 15 years ago) is the "same as the mission statement of Jesus: 'To seek and save the lost'." While certainly biblical, this statement is likewise far from comprehensive. Jesus also said he came that believers might have life and "have it to the full" (John 10:10). He said he came to "bring a sword" (Matthew 10:34). Jesus didn't have just one mission.

But when we say our mission is to be Jesus on the earth, we not only make all of Christ's mission our own, but we commit ourselves to accomplishing it Jesus' way. At every stage of any effort, we must continue to ask ourselves: "Is this something Jesus would do? Is this the way he would do it? Is this the way he would behave? Is this what he would say?"

There is a second part to our proposed mission statement: “The mission of the Church is to be Jesus on the earth, and bring the world to join us.” It is significant that the "Great Commission" in Matthew 28:16-20 is the last command of Jesus mentioned in that book -- as if that's where Matthew was heading all the time in his account of Jesus' life.

The tendency in Christendom is to become so involved in worthwhile projects that exhibit the love and mercy of Jesus that we forget we are supposed to make disciples of those we help. Food pantries, Bible studies, clothes closets, clinics, and schools etc. are all useful tools in being and showing Jesus. But if in the conduct of these efforts we forget to make disciples of the beneficiaries of our efforts, all we've become is a glorified human services organization and we've failed in the mission Christ set out before us.

Jesus did not condition his help on discipleship, but neither would he be diverted from his mission to make disciples by getting lost in humanitarian efforts. Remember in the Gospel of Mark, after a particularly fruitful healing ministry in Capernaum, people came from far and near to be healed by the Lord. Jesus, on the other hand, left a great while before day to pray. When his disciples found him, they castigated him for his absence saying: "Everyone is looking for you." Jesus replied: "Let's go somewhere else so I can preach there also; for that is why I have come" (Mark 1:38).

Everything we do as Christians -- as the Church -- we must do with the view of making disciples. After all, the very doing of our religion is to set the example for others and who do that if we do not expect them to see our example and follow it?

We must cover both areas of our purpose. Many years ago, a brother told me: "We need to be preaching the gospel. Lots of religious groups help people. But they won't preach. We have to do what they won't." But it cannot be one or the other. It must be both.

Is the Purpose Statement Biblical?

In the last post, I gave as my general purpose statement for the Church the following: “The mission of the Church is to be Jesus on the earth, and bring the world to join us.” The first question to ask is: “It this statement biblical?”

Actually, I’ve taken a good bit of criticism on this statement. It appears in my Bible course published in 2004 and when we sent it out for translation into other languages, one of the earliest questions, and one of the most consistent, was: “Do you really want to say that the Church is to be Jesus on the earth?” Some of the critics thought it was almost blasphemous.

My contention is that it is eminently biblical, but, of equal importance, it is also comprehensive.

First, the biblical nature.

The Church is the body of Christ on the earth.

Paul specifically wrote: “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church , which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:22-23).

Jesus was the fullness of God. God was pleased to have His “fullness” dwell in Christ (Colossians 1:19), and in Christ is found the “fullness” of God (Colossians 2:9). In the same way, the Church is called to be the fullness of Christ.

The Lord’s Supper is a weekly reminder that we, as a people, are Christ’s body. Concerning the Communion, Paul wrote: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ? seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body : for we are all partake of the one bread.” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). The reminder is of our position before God and in the world: to be Christ. When the world looks at us, it is supposed to see Jesus.

This is what Paul meant when he wrote: “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” The word “exalted” is from a Greek word meaning to “make large” or “to magnify.” But whether you translate it “exalt” or “magnify,” Paul’s point was that when the world looked at Him, it should see Jesus, lifted up and magnified.

This will never happen if we are not sold on the idea that we are to be Jesus on the earth. As another author puts it: Just as the invisible God made himself visible and tangible in Jesus Christ, so the now-invisible Christ is making himself visible and tangible to the world through his church” Still another author writes: “The Church carries on the life of Christ.”

Deep down, I think the real objection to looking at the Church’s purpose this way is that we don’t want the responsibility of being Jesus. It’s difficult enough to talk about “showing” Jesus to the world (which may be more palatable but has the net effect of narrowing the focus to “appearances”). But to be Jesus on the earth takes things to a whole new level and makes me responsible not just for how things appear, but how things really are! To be candid, the objection to being Jesus on the earth speaks more to a compromise of conviction. We are Christ’s body. We are His family, his brothers and sisters. We have within us the same power that empowered Him – the Holy Spirit -- and we are guided by the same leading that guided Him: the will of the Father.

Let there be no misunderstanding: the call to discipleship is NOT just a call to follow Jesus, but a call to be Jesus.

Please do not write and ask: “How can we be God on the earth?” To do so begs the question and misses the point. I can never actually be Jesus. He was a person in time, just as I am another person in time. But the idea is, and was, that His followers be seen as the Lord was seen in nature, purpose, work, and destiny.

The next part of our purpose statement is easier to handle biblically: Jesus came to save lost people. He calls us to do the same thing (Mark 16:15-16) by calling the world to follow Jesus as we follow Him (Matthew 28:18-20).

The next question must be: Is our purpose statement comprehensive? We will address that matter next week.