This morning I'm doing a session at the Evolve Conference titled The Secure Leader. I'm going to use Saul as a case study in insecurity. Two verses represent two defining moments in his life.
I Samuel 14:35: "And Saul built an altar to God; the first one he had ever built." So far so good. Saul is building altars to God. But fast-forward one chapter. I Samuel 15:12 says, "Saul went up to Carmel to build a monument to himself." Somewhere between those two verses, Saul stopped building altars to God and started building monuments to himself. There is a fine line between Thy Kingdom Come and My Kingdom Come. At some point, it was no longer about God. It was about Saul.
Here are seven habits of secure leaders:
1) Don't play the comparison game.
No one wins! Comparison either leads to pride or jealousy!
2) Success isn't numbers
Saul got caught up in the numbers game. And David had better stats. Listen, if my children grow up to love God and everything else falls apart I'm successful. But if NCC grows to 50,000 people and I sell 10,000,000 books it means nothing if my family falls apart. Jesus was successful because he poured his life into twelve people!
3) Celebrate your failures.
Insecure people are afraid of failing. Secure people laugh at themselves. They celebrate failure because it accentuates what God can do inspite of us!
4) Don't panic
Saul panics when his men start scattering so he makes a sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel. Insecure people get nervous. They give up. Secure leaders hang in there no matter what.
5) Don't get defensive
How you handle criticism will make you or break you. You need tough skin and a soft heart. If you're insecure your defense mechanisms will get the best of you. So instead of leading out of imagination you'll lead out of insecurity.
6) Surround yourself with the right people
Who was Saul's greatest asset? David. But if you are insecure, your greatest asset will become your greatest threat. And it will short-circuit your ability to surround yourself with a great team. And it will limit your influence.
7) Keep building altars to God
God often uses us at our point of insecurity because then He gets all the credit. I pray for the favor of God as much as anything else because I want God to do things for me that I cannot do for myself. And every time we experience God's blessing we need to build an altar. That's why we named our coffeehouse Ebenezers: hitherto the Lord has helped me. The blessings of God either turn into pride or praise.
Are you building altars to God or monuments to yourself?
I Samuel 14:35: "And Saul built an altar to God; the first one he had ever built." So far so good. Saul is building altars to God. But fast-forward one chapter. I Samuel 15:12 says, "Saul went up to Carmel to build a monument to himself." Somewhere between those two verses, Saul stopped building altars to God and started building monuments to himself. There is a fine line between Thy Kingdom Come and My Kingdom Come. At some point, it was no longer about God. It was about Saul.
Here are seven habits of secure leaders:
1) Don't play the comparison game.
No one wins! Comparison either leads to pride or jealousy!
2) Success isn't numbers
Saul got caught up in the numbers game. And David had better stats. Listen, if my children grow up to love God and everything else falls apart I'm successful. But if NCC grows to 50,000 people and I sell 10,000,000 books it means nothing if my family falls apart. Jesus was successful because he poured his life into twelve people!
3) Celebrate your failures.
Insecure people are afraid of failing. Secure people laugh at themselves. They celebrate failure because it accentuates what God can do inspite of us!
4) Don't panic
Saul panics when his men start scattering so he makes a sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel. Insecure people get nervous. They give up. Secure leaders hang in there no matter what.
5) Don't get defensive
How you handle criticism will make you or break you. You need tough skin and a soft heart. If you're insecure your defense mechanisms will get the best of you. So instead of leading out of imagination you'll lead out of insecurity.
6) Surround yourself with the right people
Who was Saul's greatest asset? David. But if you are insecure, your greatest asset will become your greatest threat. And it will short-circuit your ability to surround yourself with a great team. And it will limit your influence.
7) Keep building altars to God
God often uses us at our point of insecurity because then He gets all the credit. I pray for the favor of God as much as anything else because I want God to do things for me that I cannot do for myself. And every time we experience God's blessing we need to build an altar. That's why we named our coffeehouse Ebenezers: hitherto the Lord has helped me. The blessings of God either turn into pride or praise.
Are you building altars to God or monuments to yourself?
19 Comments:
Great Post Mark!
I pray that your sessions go well and God moves by his Spirit in a powerful way!
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Mark,
Thanks, man, that session was great!
I also appreciate your comment about giving up yelling for Lent. It was great to hear a mention of the church calendar!
I'm giving up control for Lent. I'm not in control of my church and I can't control the people of my church. I (technically) know that, but that doesn't keep me from obessing about how to control things.
Mark,
I am fairly new to NCC but I love the sermons and the evotional. Not only do you speak God's word but you give me practical ways to live God's word, something the other churches I have been to were lacking. Thank you so much
Man just wanted to say thanks for being so grounded today as you spoke? May not mean anything to you, but I had some pretty crazy ideas how your session was going to go, but it was really a reachable message and I appreciate that.
As always a great word.
Great stuff, Mark! I appreciate your genuine heart for God and generosity to pass along a good word. The books of Samuel are some of my favorites because of the leadership lessons. Saul's life scares me and encourages me as a leader. It's so easy to get caught up in comparison & numbers game, especially as a church planter. Thanks for a good word. I'm praying for you and NCC.
Thanks Mark!
I constantly need the reminder that this truly is God's work not mine!
Hey Mark,
Thank you for sharing this at the conference. The message was great and thanks for being real with us.
Kevin
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Mark, What a great session! I too used Samuel in a message a couple of weeks ago. Great stuff! Also, thanks for all the practical information in your break out session. Be blessed.
Wow, I think you hit ALL the big dogs (or should I say elephants?). Man...would I loved to have been there. Oh well, can't wait to hear you at WiBo!
Mark,
Did your breakout session and the main session and you did a great job. Lots of great nuggets and hope you stay focused.
great stuff Pastor Mark. Keep the good stuff coming. We need it.
trefaulkner.org
Great stuff Pastor Mark. Keep the good stuff coming. We need it.
Great post, thank you.
Mark, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. It really hit home as I have just finished up a ministry at a church where the leadership was exactly as you have described in your post. It is a humble reminder to me to be thankful that I am no longer in that situation. It is better to be temporarily out of work than to be in an unhealthy church.
wow...great stuff, great insight. thanks again for taking time to share with the world.
I've just now read this but wow-thank you bro! Your blog has been a great resource for a young guy in ministry like me. Thanks Mark!
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