Leadership Excerpt from Andy Stanley

It was my turn to give the devotion before Children's Church and with all the crazy stuff going on in our country, this seemed an appropriate topic . . .

The Next Generation Leader
By Andy Stanley
(Ch. 13 paraphrased)

p. 131 “character is not essential to leadership”

- That may be a surprising statement at first, but I think this statement has been shown quite clearly this week. We have an Olympic swimmer who has “fallen from grace” with the picture of him smoking pot. We have people on Capitol Hill leading who have not paid taxes. The previous Illinois Governor has been impeached . . .and I’m sure most of us have had a boss or employer at some point who has had character flaws, yet they were still in charge.

p. 131 So, “character is not essential to leadership . . . but character is what makes you a leader worth following.”

p. 133 “Character is the will to do what’s right even when it’s hard. Character is about will because it requires a willingness to make tough decisions – decisions that sometimes run contrary to emotion, intuition, economics, current trends, and in the eyes of some, common sense. . . . As a next generation leader you must decide ahead of time what is nonnegotiable as it relates to right and wrong.”

P 134 “Character involves doing what’s right because it’s the right thing to do – regardless of the cost.”

p. 138/139 “Leading with character is not about doing right to avoid consequences. Leaders worth following do the right thing because it is the right thing. Virtue is not a means to an end. It is the end. . . . Leaders worth following acknowledge that their leadership skills and successes never give them the right to replace what God has put in place.”

p. 139 “Every leader wears two badges: one visible, one invisible. The visible badge is your position and title. (servant leader, captain, team leader, director, or pastor) The invisible badge is your moral authority. . . Your position will prompt people in your organization to lend you their hands on a temporary basis. But your moral authority will inspire them to lend you their hearts.”

- Isn’t that what we want in ministry – servant leaders who aren’t just lending a temporary hand, but are inspired to serve with their hearts?!

p. 140 “Moral authority is the credibility you earn by walking your talk. It is the relationship other people see between what you claim to be and what you really are. . . Alignment between belief and behavior makes a leader persuasive. You can manage people without moral authority, But you cannot influence them. . . John Maxwell was right when he said that people have to buy into the leader before they will buy into the vision. It is your moral authority that opens the door for the people around you to buy into your vision. You can pay people to work for you based on your position alone, but you cannot involve people in a cause or a movement without moral authority.”

When Dennis and I first became members of Covenant Family church, we had to “buy into” Pastors Danny and Janet before we bought into the vision of the church. It wasn’t until we did that, that we began to serve and help in Student Ministry. Then when we started serving in ministry, we had to buy into the people leading us before we bought into the specific ministry vision. People need to buy into you before their hearts will be inspired to buy into the vision of your area. Be that leader with influence. Don’t just have the “title badge”, wear the invisible badge of moral authority. It’s not always the easiest road, but it is an adventurous path worth taking.

As I was praying this morning, God also reminded me to make sure I am looking to Him for the perfect example of moral Authority. He will never let us down or make a mistake. People make mistakes. We have all fallen short or we wouldn't need Christ. So, don't put people on a pedestal where they don't belong. It's ok to have leaders you are following; in fact it's necessary to move forward in this life. Just remember, we are all human and Christ is the Ultimate example of a True Leader.