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"I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land" (Exodus 23:27-30 NIV).
Have you ever taken a job and discovered immediately you were not equal to the task? This has happened to me on several occasions. The panic of those moments of realization lingers still in memory.
I was given an assignment to lead at a high level with a toolkit I had seen precisely once before. Trust me, it did not go well. I was ready to quit on the spot in the moment when I realized I was making a mess out of an important opportunity.
This text, like Exodus 18:19-23, shows us the best way to distribute responsibility and authority. We train leaders by assigning responsibility and authority they can handle and grow into. We give them opportunities to succeed and to build confidence.
You may have heard of the Peter Principle. It says a leader rises in an organization to his or her level of incompetence. Leaders like me who run into their incompetence with full force have a choice at this point. They can get comfortable at that particular level, or they can continue developing their knowledge and skills to move to the next levels of competency.
Our Father in heaven takes us where we are and moves us to where he wants us to be. He gives us opportunities to succeed. He helps us learn from failure. It is true that failure is not final unless we fail to learn from it. It is likewise true that experience is not the best teacher, evaluated experience is.
Leaders are learners. The day we stop learning is the day we begin to shrink backward in our abilities. We get comfortable at our level which causes discomfort in the organization. If we do not press forward into new areas of knowledge and skill, we atrophy at our own work and hinder the work of others.
It is worth asking again: Where are you in your leadership journey?
What can you do this week to make a significant stride forward to who you should be can be by God's grace and your full engagement? When will you start? What resources do you need? Who will you take with you on the journey?
Our Father, please teach me. Give me knowledge and skill, strength and wisdom. Empower me to lead myself well so that I may lead others well. Thank you for bringing me this far. I look forward to the next steps on this path. Amen.
 | David Bowman, (DMin, PCC) is the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as a Multiplying Trainer for Future Church Co. Learn More » |
Have you ever felt the pull to full-time ministry work as a missionary or pastor? If not, you can still make a Kingdom impact without quitting your current job. In this eBook, you will learn the four essentials that can change your perspective of work, your workplace, and most importantly, your heart.
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