How Does a Leader Become Mature?

Every leader has a choice in the midst of a trial. He or she can ‘boing’! (which is a term I like to use to describe reacting like a coiled spring: emotionally reacting and responding in the flesh). Or the leader can walk through that trial by faith and not by sight.

In Ephesians 4:12,13, Paul told the church in Ephesus that the 5-fold ministry gifts were to ‘prepare God’s people’ so that they would ‘become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.’ Great, but how does a leader become mature?

There are many aspects to growing and maturing as a leader but there is one core tenant that is foundational to developing true, mature leadership. It is the process of walking through trials and troubles of life. Trials and perseverance are necessary, but inconvenient partners in growing into the maturity of Christ.

We mature and grow in leadership stability and stature as we persevere in faith and harness our emotions walking through the trials of life. Every trial, no matter how great or small, is a test of your perseverance. Every leader has a choice in the midst of a trial. He or she can ‘boing’! (which is a term I like to use to describe reacting like a coiled spring: emotionally reacting and responding in the flesh). Or, he or she can deny there is a trial, i.e. they walk in false faith--simply denying that the trial exists but calling it faith.

Or, the leader can walk through that trial fully knowing and understanding the possible negative outcomes. As he or she walks through it with that knowledge, he or she walks by faith and not by sight.

Leaders who walk in understanding persevere-- refusing to be in denial and refusing to ‘boing’ off into an emotional roller coaster. They may experience suffering in the process but it doesn’t throw them off track. These leaders grow in maturity and into the fullness of Christ. Romans 5:3 says we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.

The leader who perseveres will NOT be disappointed and becomes a man or woman of maturity!

Focus on the Structure, not Each Brick

2010 leadership requires the maturity of an expert builder. Many leaders attempt to build God’s kingdom but become mired in molding the bricks rather than building the actual structure. They become excited about each brick, but often lose their focus on the bigger picture thus displaying their immaturity in leadership.

Paul was a leader of leaders and called himself an ‘expert or master builder’ (1 Cor. 3:10). He mentored and molded individual believers, but his leadership focus was on the house, not the brick. As a leader of leaders, he let many others mold the bricks, while he focused on joining the bricks together into a kingdom structure.

He said ‘in Him (Jesus) the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord’ (Eph. 2:21). He knew that a single brick was not a kingdom structure. He knew that a bunch of single bricks scattered around the foundation was not a kingdom structure.

It was the assembling and joining of the bricks to each other that rose to become a kingdom structure. Paul had a great ability to join the bricks together using the mortar of the Spirit of God to guide him as a master builder. A leader of leaders may mold some individual bricks, but as a ‘master builder’ the 2010 leader must stay focused aligning and joining the bricks together to rise into the kingdom that the Lord desires.

Neglecting the Five-fold Ministry in Your Foundation

2010 leaders must be built for the long term. It starts with a strong foundation laid through discipline, training, and trials of life with men and women of character imparting into that life.

We are in a season of building solid foundations and repairing faulty foundations in business and ministry. Eph. 2:19-22 says the church is ‘built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus as the chief cornerstone’. Every church and ministry foundation should have the apostolic and prophetic ministries along with the central focus of Jesus Christ as their foundation for ministry.

According to Eph. 4:9-14 there are 5 key ministries involved in building the church: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. The two most overlooked in the modern church are the apostolic and prophetic ministries. Apostles are leaders with the big picture in mind and focused on the ‘kingdom’ perspective of the church. Prophets speak to specific situations revealing a divine strategy or warning of a curve in the road ahead.

Unfortunately much of the church and business does not recognize apostles and prophets, thereby ignoring the importance of the foundation to the long term durability of the structure. They are building a structure designed to crumble.

I encourage you to inspect your leadership foundation. Is it built for the long term? Is it intact or does it need some crack repair? Do sections of your spiritual foundation need to be reconstructed? Do you have a ‘Christ’s kingdom’ perspective or is it more about ‘your kingdom’? Can you see and predict the curves in the road ahead?

But Praise God!!! If you find some cracks all is not lost! The Lord will use it for good as you begin the repair. Seek out the apostolic and prophetic ministry to help with the repair. His Word says that ‘we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose’ (Rom. 8:28) and so repair the cracks will work out for your good. God desires to mend, restore, and repair His people and His church.

Solid Foundations

Most ministries and churches bring pastoral, evangelistic and teaching into their building process, but few bring the apostolic and prophetic into it. They have cracked and crumbling foundations needing repair.

2010 leadership requires solid foundations. In recent years many businesses in the U.S. collapsed due to the economic downturn. Some of those were niche businesses, that is, their success was built upon the foundation of selling one or two specific luxury products to people with lots of discretionary income.

As the economy declined, the number of people with discretionary income and the amount of discretionary income declined reducing demand for those products. People no longer would purchase items they did not absolutely need. Building upon one or two luxury products was not a solid business foundation. They didn’t have a long term strategy and couldn’t see the curve in the economic road ahead. Their economic success was build on a faulty foundation; one that supported them in good times, but would fail in bad times. It was built upon making money quickly rather than steadily.

Churches and ministries often make the same mistake, going for quick rather than durable. Some build on a single truth rather than the whole truth of the gospel. This often happens because they do not incorporate all 5 ministries into the process of building: pastor, prophet, evangelist, teacher and apostle.

Most ministries and churches bring pastoral, evangelistic and teaching into their building process, but few bring the apostolic and prophetic into it. They have cracked and crumbling foundations needing repair. They may look good in the short term, but will suffer in the long term. The entire structure is at risk because of faulty foundations.

Read Eph. 2:19-22 and 4:9-16 I will elaborate on that scripture in the next post.

Mature Leaders Never Stop Growing

Mature leaders never stop growing.

In my earlier days of leadership in business and government I believed that I would ‘arrive’ at the destination called ‘leader’. That is, I would become something that no longer needed further growth or refinement.

I learned very quickly as I observed some much older than I who thought themselves having ‘arrived’. They stopped learning. They stopped listening. They stopped being transparent. They stopped being accountable and they presented themselves in a way that was arrogant and self-centered.

They thought they had ‘arrived’ at this place called mature leadership, but began to lose the very thing they had gained. They slowly lost the trust of those who followed. The lost the authority which had been given. They lost the confidence of those who led them. They lost the responsibility to which they had been called. They still had gifts to be very good leaders, but had stopped learning and growing, thus stifling their leadership.

If this can happen in business and government, it can happen in the church.

As greatly challenging and difficult as things were for the early church leaders, they never stopped growing in all things that were spiritual and into the fullness of Christ. They never thought themselves to have ‘arrived’, but thought themselves always being changed and molded.

Check your heart today. Are you willing to continue learning and maturing or do you think you have ‘arrived’ at maturity?

Maturity of Soul in 2010

This transformation to maturity is not a zip-zap, overnight experience! It is a willful submission to the Lord’s powerful fire of grace over time, irrespective of circumstances, and in the midst of trials and troubles.

2010 leaders will walk in a maturity of soul that will bring forth splendor and awesome qualities in the church across the world.

Every leader, regardless of position, culture, or level of responsibility will need great maturity in these last days. They will need the power of God’s grace to have changed their perspectives, their beliefs, their very heart and soul. That transformation will bring them into alignment with their perfectly righteous spirit-man where the Father’s image is deeply seated.

This transformation to maturity is not a zip-zap, overnight experience! It is a willful submission to the Lord’s powerful fire of grace over time, irrespective of circumstances, and in the midst of trials and troubles.

A leader who truly desires to become mature in the things of God will not pull back as God’s grace removes the junk from their heart and brings forth the gold and silver of His Spirit. It is submission to the process of transformation that defines, in large measure, the level of maturity and stability a leader will lead.

In Mark 8:35 Jesus said ‘whoever lose his life for me and for the gospel will save it.’ This defines the depth to which the leader is transformed to gain the life of Christ. What is the depth to which you are willing to submit to God’s process of grace? Your answer defines the maturity of your leadership.

What is Your Portion in 2010?

Leaders must have a perspective of the whole building, knowing that their portion of the larger is critical to stability of the whole. They must know there is a bigger cause, not just their own portion.

2010 leaders must be mature, having solid spiritual foundations and well-constructed framing for the challenges ahead. It is so interesting that several times in scripture Paul the Apostle used the analogy of building a house to illustrate how individual believers and the church are constructed into a holy dwelling.

If you build a house in the U.S. you must have a blue print of the whole house. Beginning with the foundation, the general contractor oversees construction of each part. In Ephesians 2:19-22 we see the picture of the church being constructed into a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. We are being constructed individually and the church is being constructed corporately. Jesus is the cornerstone; the apostolic and prophetic are foundations; and God the Father oversees the construction. The building is rising!

A mature leader, to be effective in this building process, must himself be solid, stable, and a wise builder. The 2010 leader must also be well constructed! He or she must have a perspective of the whole building, knowing that their portion of the larger is critical to stability of the whole. They must know there is a bigger cause, not just their own portion. Yet, just as in building a physical house, they must know not to build that portion which is not theirs. They may be good framers, but poor electricians. They must not risk stability to other portions.

As we move ahead in 2010 ask yourself as a leader; what is my portion? Am I mature and solid in my foundations so I can effectively build my portion?

Leadership in 2010 Requires Ability to Influence Less Committed People

Although not yet a Christian, my parental upbringing had instilled some character and common sense into me, causing me to realize that my squad could be in a big mess if we went to war. So, all I asked of those young men was; “know your job, obey orders, and stay sober when on ‘alert’ status."

Leadership in the new decade will require ramped-up character and discerning--walking in maturity of all things spiritual and natural. I call this the new 2010 Leadership. This leadership requires an ability to influence people who may not be the most talented or even the most committed followers. While talent and commitment are praiseworthy assets, don’t automatically discard people who seem to be marginal to your organization.

Many years ago I was thrust into a leadership position at the age of 20. I had been in the U.S. Army about a year when I was given the responsibility to serve as a ‘buck sergeant’ for a squad of 4 men. Now, leading 4 guys should not be that tough and could offer a good learning experience for future leadership opportunity, right?? However, those 4 guys included an alcoholic, a heroin addict, and a heavy hash smoker.

Our mission, in what is now Germany, was to be the first line of defense if the former USSR decided to over run Western Europe. We operated an armored vehicle armed with a radar controlled 20mm gun that fired up to 3000 rounds per minute at an enemy’s slow flying aircraft or ground troops.

Although not yet a Christian, my parental upbringing had instilled some character and common sense into me, causing me to realize that my squad could be in a big mess if we went to war. So, all I asked of those young men was; “know your job, obey orders, and stay sober when on ‘alert’ status. Do that and I’ll stay out of your off-duty life.” Those young guys responded admirably, and, although the heroin addict was carted off to rehab against his will, the rest served well and were actually combat ready when our unit was called to ‘alert’. We could actually fight!

I say all that, not to endorse those men’s lifestyle choices, but to show that even screwed up people making wrong choices can and will submit to leadership. As Christian leaders, we have more tools, alternatives, and a greater cause to lead even marginal followers. Plus, we have the Holy Spirit working in their lives and in our lives toward a Kingdom cause.

Mature Leaders Need to Skip the Drive Through

Many leaders in business and ministry are immature because they live on ‘milk’. They subsist on that which they can consume quickly with little effort.

They want the ‘drive through’ university of spiritual education, taking in only that which can be consumed and digested quickly. They prefer the quick devotional to committed study time. They pursue the 1-hour worship service over hours of God’s glory in worship. They desire the anonymity of internet relationships rather than the nitty gritty of face-to-face life. And they seek the absence of accountability to God or man. Such people are not mature, are babies in Christ, and not ready for prime time leadership of the ‘last days’.

I believe we are in an apostolic and prophetic era of the church where solid foundations are critical to building people, yet even many leaders have broken foundations.

The apostles and prophets are now rebuilding foundations in business and the church to develop leaders. Paul says in Ephesians 2:20 that God’s household (His church) is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

For over a decade there has been a spiritual shift bringing to prominence the apostolic and prophetic gifts and callings to bear on the church. It is not restricted to the church but is emerging in start-up business as well.

As emerging leaders receive, submit to, and embrace apostolic and prophetic foundation building we will see men and women transformed from milk drinkers to meat eaters. Praise God for what He is doing in these last days!

Discern Good from Evil Through God's Refinement

Today we have many in politics, media and in the church calling evil good and good evil. Leaders living on milk will not know the difference. Leaders living on the substance of God, will know the difference and not be swayed by what someone inside or outside the church calls good or evil. They will discern and decide.

Today’s organizational challenges require mature leaders who can discern good from evil. The corporate world calls it business ‘ethics’.

There was a time when leaders who had great technical skill, but little discerning could function in leadership positions in church and business. However, in the challenges now of these last days, we see a heightened demand for men and women with leadership character irrespective of their technical or academic skills and knowledge. Such leaders must be mature, not subsisting on organizational milk and religious pablum, but living on the bread of His life; the meat of God’s word, and the new wine of His Spirit.

Mature leaders must discern spiritual things, not relying upon natural data and knowledge to make decisions nor on human charisma to influence people. Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

Maturity emanates from submitting to training in the basic disciplines of life. Leaders who have disciplined themselves to live on God’s word, His bread, and His wine will have persevered through problems and become stronger from spiritual struggle. They arise to a level of maturity required in these last days. Through the problems and struggles, they have truly submitted to God’s refinement and provision, and come to discern good from evil.

Today we have many in politics, media and in the church calling evil good and good evil. Leaders living on milk will not know the difference. Leaders living on the substance of God, will know the difference and not be swayed by what someone inside or outside the church calls good or evil. They will discern and decide.