BTL…Part II

In response to Chet’s blog this AM…Live Hard. Love Harder…:)

I do KNOW some people are born with an unusual capacity to lead. That’s not arrogance. I think it’s simply acknowledging reality. I’ve watched it since I was a little boy, as Chet mentioned. Before I ever knew what leadership really was – – – people naturally gathered. On playgrounds, in neighborhoods, on the basketball court, in Special Forces, in combat, in tribes halfway around the world and now in BTL practices. I didn’t manufacture any of that. It has been a gift. Like every gift, it comes with responsibility.

BUT/AND I have also lived (I am still alive, redeem your time, Jim thanks JohnR) long enough to know that the gift is never enough.

The Special Forces taught me how to command. Combat taught me how to influence. Failure taught me humility. Jesus is teaching me how to love.

When I was younger, I thought leadership was about courage, competence, decisiveness and winning. Winning. Winning (Leaders are repeaters). Those things matter. They always will. But now I see they are incomplete. Leadership is NOT measured by how many people follow me. It is measured by whether people become more fully themselves because I walked beside them.

I’ve spent much of my life leading men into dangerous places. Today I spend my time, energy and effort walking alongside others as WE Awaken, Challenge and Transform each other and battle alongside one another towards truth. Strangely enough, the second mission is harder. Much harder.

At BTL we KNOW leaders are built. BUT I also KNOW the deepest building does NOT happen through success. It happens through surrender. Through failure. Through loss. Through having your identity stripped away until you finally discover that leadership was never about you in the first place.

This MAYbe the biggest leadership lesson I have had to learn.

There was a time when I believed my value came from what I could accomplish, how well I could perform, how indispensable I was to the mission. Today I know better. My value comes from being a son of God. Everything else is simply stewardship.

Ironically, that REALization has made me a better leader than I ever was before.

So if someone asks me how to become a leader, my answer is NOT to chase a position, acquire a new skill or gain more confidence, etc. It is to become the kind of human being others instinctively trust. Learn to tell the truth. Keep your word. Admit when you are wrong. Serve when no one is watching. Love people without needing anything from them. Build others instead of building your own reputation.

People do NOT follow titles when the bullets start flying, when the boats start burning, when the castle is crashing….They follow character.

If God has given you the gift of leadership, you won’t be able to hide it forever. Trust me…It will emerge naturally because people are always looking for someone they can trust. If He hasn’t – – – that’s perfectly OK too…because every one of us is called to lead someone. A spouse. A child. A friend. A teammate. Leadership is NOT about the size of the crowd. It IS about the depth of your love….No small places. No small people, right?

Looking back – – – I realize I’ve been preparing for servant leadership my entire life. Looking forward, I realize I’m only now beginning to understand what leadership actually is.

The mission has changed.

Amen.

John 3:30