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3. Cross-Broken Leadership

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What’s the gas in your leadership tank?

In other words, what drives you as a leader?

You can choose from an array of octanes. For many it’s the illusion of control, to be master of their ship. For others, it’s the pursuit of a platform, to hear the applause of followers. Some simply want to make peace, to insure that everyone is happy. Still others know it can be done better and their quest for perfection fuels their engin

What’s the gas in your leadership tank?

In other words, what drives you as a leader?

You can choose from an array of octanes. For many it’s the illusion of control, to be master of their ship. For others, it’s the pursuit of a platform, to hear the applause of followers. Some simply want to make peace, to insure that everyone is happy. Still others know it can be done better and their quest for perfection fuels their engine. If we are honest, whether we lead a Fortune 500 company, a 500-member church, or a 5-member small group, we tend to be driven by something other than self-sacrifice.

Most of us are driven by a desire for mixed glory: God’s and ours. We tell people we desperately want to advance His kingdom, yet we don’t mind if some of our expectations get met along the way. Over time our expectations turn into demands, and when God appears to fall short in meeting our demands, depression becomes a familiar companion. We start thinking: “I should be far more successful than I am now.” “After all these years of following Christ, I think I’m due.” “Others seem to have it all, why can’t I?”

But the single greatest question of a leader’s life ought to be “Whose kingdom am I really advancing?” And if we don’t probe deeply enough, we’ll continue to be driven by our demands for power, performance, peace, and perfection. We make the mistake of believing Christian leaders are. immune from such drivenness. As we will see, those closest to Jesus end up demanding the most from Him.

Caesar was deified Jesus was crucified. Guess who’s Lord today.

Come to the steppes of Caesarea Philippi where we catch up with a conversation already in progress. Put yourself in Peter’s sandals as Jesus probes him. In the end, you will be left with a clear choice. Ultimately your answer will determine what really drives you.

Video – Mark 8:27-33:

Video – Mark 8:34:

    Core Expectations:

Which do you do? Say “yes” to self and take up your crown daily? Or say “no” to self and take up your cross daily?

Key Points:

Say no to the demands of self. Say no to those expectations
that drive you to be in control of life. Say no to your kingdom
and crown. Your expectations have become your demands.

  • Dreaded L.D. – Leader’s Disease, Pursuing my interests in Jesus’ name.
  • The cross is God’s provision for forgiveness and freedom from me..
  • Biblical leaders must choose between the crown or the cross.

Probing Deeper:

    1. Answer the question, “Do you really want to come after Jesus?”
    We will look at where that ultimately leads in the next session, but after this lesson, is there a hesitancy to follow after the cross? Can you imagine letting go of some core expectations and reframing your established knowledge?

    2. When you think about what drives you as a leader, are you more tempted by power, performance, peace, or perfection? How does this effect the way you lead?

    3. Think about how we, as Christians, can fall into the trap of saying “Jesus is my Savior, but I’ll manage my career.” Have you had difficulties integrating the reality of the cross in your leadership? Do you, like Peter, want success without the cross?

    4. Have you ever expected the Lord to bring success to you, but you’ve reached the point where you weren’t as successful as you thought you should be? How did you feel when you reached that point? What are some reasons why we as leaders struggle with this expectation?

    5. Of the eight core expectations, circle the one that you dwell on the most. What do you expect Jesus to grant you as a Christian? A mate? Children? A fair shake? Control over your reality?
    How is this revealed in the way you lead?

Transforming the Heart:

Few things dominate leaders more than the drive to succeed. We all desire power, dominion, and glory. So we tend to sacrifice everything on the altar of success – marriage, children, friends, rest, joy, and health. By the time many leaders are sixty, they have success, but they may be divorced, living in a marriage of convenience, the parents of angry children, alone, or physically hurting. This is the fruit of drivenness.

We saw Peter in this session as a man who was dedicated to Christ, but also driven by a crown. In Mark 8:27-33 we discovered a commendation for his dedication and virtually in the same breath a rebuke for his drivenness. We should take warning when our pursuit of God’s glory becomes contaminated by a drive for our own glory.

How can we discern where we stand in this struggle? Peter thought he was doing the right thing by pulling Jesus aside. He needed a rebuke from someone who saw what was really going on in him. We need others to help us see what blinds us.

Ask a mentor, your mate, a very close friend, and a younger associate (someone younger than you, but who has great insight into you) the following questions:

    1. How do you see me hurting myself in my drivenness to succeed?

    2. How do you see me hurting others in my drivenness for success?

    3. What needs am I trying to meet through my drivenness? (power, performance, peace, perfection)

    4. How do you see me serving as well as striving for success?

    5. What word do you have for me that will help me in this struggle for success?

    6. What price am I paying because of my pursuit of success?

    7. What other question(s) should I be asking you about my drivenness for success?

Now take some time to journal their answers on the following page. Ask God for insight about your drivenness and core expectations. Go to the cross. Seek freedom from the need for glory, dominion, and power.

Just remember: We follow the One who carried a cross on His back. That’s what defines our leadership.

Renewing The Mind:

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
– Mark 10:45


 

Related Topics: Discipleship, Issues in Church Leadership/Ministry, Leadership

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