Revolutionary Leaders

MGF Leadership

One of the first things that you need to learn in leadership is the importance of building a team around you. That team will then have the potential to build and strengthen your organization or to weaken and tear it down. It is obviously the responsibility of the leader to bring stability and success to a team, but it is also the responsibility of the team to be people of character and integrity.

My former team of leaders - the MGF club as we affectionately called it - was an amazing team that not only helped build and strengthen our organization, but they also helped in building me into a better leader. The initials MGF represents "Multi Generational Friends" and these are a few of the things we learned together.

1. PASSION is only the starting point. Our particular organization deals with the spiritual mentoring of junior and senior high school age students. It is an understatement to say that young people are passionate. So to lead them, we must be passionate as well. But this is true of any leadership position. Passion is essential, however, it is not a means to an end.

Passion is a poweful tool when yeilded to reason and character. Passion can sometimes get us into a narrow minded rage that causes us to lose focus of our target goal. Passion can cause frustration and lack of patience, which can lead to disloyalty and ultimately the distruction of the team and organization.

The first key to keeping passion as a tool rather than a vice is to stay in allignment with the head leader. Our number one driving passion should be to assist the head leader in obtaining his goal. To become a quality leader we first be a good follower. It's ok to be passionate in other areas, but that passion needs to stay alligned with what the head leader has envisioned for the organization and his assigned methods of getting there.

Another key to keeping our passion in check is to keep the end in mind. In other words, we need to have our purpose, our reason for being, clearly in focus at all times. Before we act on our passions we need to be sure that it will take us in the direction of our purpose. Otherwise, we can end up not only missing our mark, but we can lose our purpose altogether.

2. It's good to be FAT. Gluttony and eating disorders are definately dangers to the indivual, but as a team, being FAT is a key to proven longevity and prosperity. FAT is an acronym for Faithful, Available, and Teachable.

Faithfulness deals with a person's intergrity, honesty and ability to follow through with their assignments and commitments. Pauls was explaining this to the Corithian chuch when he said, "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." If we can't be true to our position as a leader we need to either learn how or step down.

Being available doesn't mean that you have to say to everything that comes down the pike. Although many top leaders love having a "yes man", not everyone has that calling. Being available simply means to be ready for anything. Paul said something similar to Timothy. "...be prepared in season and out of season", 2 Timothy 4:2. Obviously we are not experts in every field, but at times we may be asked to step out of our comfort zone to help the team get the job done.

As leaders, it is important for us to remain teachable. Titus was another young leaders under Paul who was learning to be FAT. Paul told him, "Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they ma provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives" (Titus 3:14). Leadership is a learning process that deals with submission and spiritual authority. Some lessons are easier than others, but the key is to learn the principles to stay productive. (See also 2 Timothy 2:23-26)

3. The greatest of these is LOVE. Some leadership gurus will disagree on this point, but I feel that it is of utmost importance. I believe that having quality loving relationships within a team will allow for more honest and open communication, release an openess to share new ideas, and remove a sense of intimidation that some may feel toward those in authority. Leaders need to provide for this affectionate love. I feel that leaders who stay at a relational arms length, never allowing themselves to be vulnerable to their team, will rob the team of vital genuiness.

Paul tells us in first Corinthians 13:13, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." We can have the greatest of dreams, goals and plans for our team to accomplish but without genuine relationships within the team it will be a struggle getting there - if you can get there at all.

A lack of genuine relationship within a team will cause three detremental situations that can lead to selfdestruction. I call them "The 3 F Words": Fear, Friction, Frustration.

Fear: The team won't openly communicate because of a fear of rejection and intimidation of a person in authority. There is no level of trust because nothing has been deposited in the team's bank account of relationship. This leads to a lack of peace - a walking on egg shells fealing.

Friction: That lack of peace in the team will eventually lead to friction, which is also the result of a lack of open and honest communication. If not delt with immediately, this friction will lead to "godless chatter". Paul warned the young leader Timothy on two seperate occassions about this. "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith" (1 Timothy 6:20-21). "Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly" (2 Timothy 2:16).

Frustration: Once fear and friction are toterated within a team, frustration will show it's ugly face. Frustration is like hitting a brick wall at 100 miles per hour. You want things to work. You're trying and doing everything you can think of to make things work. Unfortunately, no matter how hard you work, fear and friction are stoping you cold. That's frustration.

It takes a great team to build a strong and successful organization. Passionate FAT lovers is what I look for in a team and God has blessed me again with quality people in my new leadership position . I haven't replaced the original MGFs, I've simply been blessed to add more to the team!
I love you guys! Keep up the great work you do.

NOTE: Our next leadership meeting is Sunday, April 30, directly after church. Lunch will be provided.