if you’re looking for me I’m not up
there I’m up here you may be seated
if you’re looking for a leadership you
don’t always have to look to the front
to find it great leadership doesn’t
start out on the stage
it doesn’t start out as governor’s or
mayor’s or presidents or CEOs or
managers great leadership starts out in
the backs
[Applause]
today we’re going to be talking about
leadership and before you do we want to
prepare your hearts and minds by
understanding that leadership starts in
the pews if you’re in a church it starts
an abuse if you’re in the business it
starts down in the janitorial booths it
starts with menial things that’s why the
Bible said this 5-slot the day of small
beginnings you have to understand though
and I want you to get this in your mind
and in your heart and most of all in
your head about leadership when you
begin to grapple with leadership and
life begins to move your long career
opportunities or I believe the presence
of the Holy Spirit begins to move you
along because promotion really doesn’t
come from the East of the West it really
does come from God it is possible for
life to lead you faster then your mind
is prepared to handle God can move you
into such a place it positionally you
are in a state of leadership but
mentally and emotionally you really
haven’t got a grip on what life has
handed you and if you don’t know what
you have you don’t know how to take care
of it if you don’t know how to take care
of it you can mess around and lose it
the truth of the matter is a leaders
come from ordinary places they deal with
ordinary issues and I’m going to share
some things with you that I think are
very very helpful for you to realize
first of all I want you to understand
that when you’re saying to yourself that
you want to be a great leader and you
want to really go the extra mile and you
want to do what has to be done you are
asking for trouble
you are absolutely asking for trouble
you’re asking for trouble and if you
think about this a minute you’ll learn a
very important concept that I think you
need to understand in the corporate
world in the business world they
actually pay you more money as you move
up the ladder with more responsibilities
okay so if you are a superintendent you
might not make as much as the general
manager a general manager might not make
as much as a regional manager a CEO
would make more than a regional manager
let me tell you something they’re paying
you for conflict
it’s are you hearing what I’m saying if
it’s not enough to have the degrees what
they’re paying you for is your ability
to manage conflict and pressure and
struggles let me speak it since I’m in
church let me speak it in biblical
language to him how much is given much
is required and so the more that is
placed into your hands the more you have
to be but handle and deal with and to be
able to manage it
and I want to say something either those
of you all of us are leaders in some way
all of us believe it’s whether you’re
leading your children or whether you’re
leading your family are just leading
yourself sometimes it’s hard to get
yourself to act right but as we go up in
levels of leadership and we begin to
develop more responsibility we also
begin to embrace more pressure and more
problems and more adversity and new
levels bring new devils bring new
challenges bring new opportunities more
of everything somebody just say more of
everything so when you say when you are
where you are right now and you say I
can’t take this I can’t handle this I
don’t want any more than just driving me
crazy you are saying I don’t want to go
any higher you are rejecting the call to
move forward because moving forward and
moving up means more problems in fact
the the problems that you’re dealing
with right now maybe the fact that you
are in training for the next level of
leadership if if you don’t let it break
you if you don’t let it destroy you if
you don’t wimp out and let it beat you
down if you just master the situation
refuse to be intimidated and learn how
to manage the stress on the next level
then then doors swing open there are
this business magical thing about life
and I believe if divinely inspired you
know how you go to the grocery store and
you stand at a certain spot you
even gotten to the door yet but when you
get in close proximity the doors just
start opening when you can stand on a
level of life where you’re dealing with
opposition and pressure and turmoil and
take a lickin and keep on tickin and it
might have stressed you out you might
have felt the pressure you might have
felt like breaking but you didn’t break
doors just started opening up for you to
go to the next level I’m going to talk
more about this in a minute because when
I start talking about being kind of
dealing with conflict all of the
conflict is not external conflict some
of it is internal conflict because when
you come from back there and you start
moving up further and further and
further and every step you take takes
you to a different level of life and
living sometimes your life is moving
faster than your mentality
you can be have the best you’ve dreamed
about the position you wanted the
ministry you want it the opportunity you
want it and everything moved up except
your perception of yourself
are you following what I’m saying to you
and we’re going to share some things
that I believe will prepare you for the
next move and that I want you to
understand something that when when God
begins to move you along in life it’s
not an elevator it’s it’s a step-by-step
process so many people attempt to move
forward in a rapid motion they want to
go from midnight to morning they want to
go from from the basement to the
Presidential Suite in one step that’s
not what you want you don’t want to take
validator because if you take the
elevator and you get it too fast you
can’t handle it you can’t handle it oh
yeah I know you want the money but you
can’t handle the pressure and the
problems and the conflict and the
criticism and the opposition and so God
has designed it that you would move
along in steps in stages not too fast
and every time you take a step you have
to kind of balance yourself
and get used to this level of opposition
this level of controversy this level of
conflict this level of criticism because
again that’s what they’re paying you for
is managing trouble are you hearing what
I’m saying to you and just as soon as
you get it all down pat and you’ve
mastered it and you say could I’m
comfortable now this is now my new
normal
I’m okay with it then all of a sudden
you take another step you’re back in a
situation where you’re learning again
and you’re being hit in places you’re
never expected to be hit before and
you’re dealing with life on another
level and that happens whether you’re in
a corporation whether you’re in a church
or whether you’re a family and you’ve
just had another child every time you
have a child new conflict new problems
new things to deal with more to manage
more to handle you’ve just got used to
having one you come back from the doctor
now you’re getting ready to have two
everything’s got a shift everything’s
got to move everything you learned about
the first child doesn’t work on the
second child come on somebody knows what
I’m talking about but God is so gracious
because he leads you along in steps and
stages and periodically he will stop the
process allow you to evaluate where you
are to better understand where you are
and put you in a position that you can
deal with your heart and mind and
emotions that may still be back there
where you started and people are jealous
of you and envious of you and and
fighting you and they don’t understand
that you still perceive yourself as if
you were where you started but the steps
of the Lord are leading you higher and
higher and further and further and
further than you’ve ever been before
touch them I said take another step
there’s another step waiting for you
there’s another dimension of life
another dimension of leadership another
dimension of problems another dimension
of conflict another dimension of faith
and finances and family and all of that
being afraid that you will reach your
goal but some disaster may result these
are mixed emotions I warn it but I don’t
want all the stuff that comes with it I
don’t want to deal with all the problems
that come with it I don’t want to deal
with all the disasters I don’t want to
deal with the pressures that come with
it
I can’t handle it I’m gonna stay on this
lower level and when you do that and you
reject God’s opportunity you are left
with nothing but the hope of magic magic
it’s when I’m just gonna stay down here
where it’s comfortable but some kind of
magical way I’m believing that I’m gonna
get a blessing up here while I’m staying
down here you can’t do it
it’s like believing God that you’re
gonna get pregnant and not gain weight
and I’m want the baby but I don’t want
the pregnancy I don’t want the weight I
don’t want the stretch marks I don’t
want any I don’t want to throw up in the
morning no all of that goes along with
the process and if you will allow anyone
anything any voice on the inside to talk
you out of this moment you will forfeit
it and be stuck washing your nets when
there’s a great drought of fish waiting
you if you have the courage to believe
what really stops us from taking the
lead and coming to the forefront a lot
of times it’s not the lack of talent
it’s not the life of resources sometimes
it’s nothing like of education I’ve been
amazed at the people I have met who are
highly educated and failing highly
educated and failing highly educated and
homeless
i-i-i worked with the guy who has a
doctorate in economics and it’s washing
cars this can’t seem to get it together
so education alone is not the solution
i’m for education i think it’s important
it’s a good thing or we wouldn’t be
building have built the school next door
i think it’s very important but I have
seen people educated and stuck I’ve
worked in penal institutions and seeing
people who were very gifted and
incarcerated just because somebody is
incarcerated or homeless doesn’t mean
that they don’t have talent in fact I’ve
seen people with less talent than you
doing more than you and until you’re
willing to look bad in the face and say
what am i doing to sabotage my own
success of moving to the next level
you’ll never get there until you walk
and and this is what causes jealousy and
envy when you look and you meet other
people who have less to work with in you
and yet they’re in higher positions in
you you can either become jealous or
bitter or you can begin to challenge
yourself to say what is wrong with my
belief systems that’s stopping me from
going to the next level in this area
okay I want to deal with some irrational
beliefs
that will stop you from moving up to the
next level this is not about money
necessarily this is not about prestige
necessarily this is about progress
because it’s a shame to live long and
have no progress I want to have progress
in every area of my life
I want to see progress in parenting I
want to see progress in my relationship
with my wife I want to see product if
I’m going to go to work every day I want
to see progress I’ve been washing these
toilets for 27 years at least let me be
the manager of the toilet washers in 27
years I want to move up anybody maybe
it’s wrong is there anybody in here that
wants to move up okay I’m gonna point
out some things that may be hindering
you from reaching that and some of you
may already be reaching it you may have
already mastered this just endure this
review okay I’m gonna pull out six
things fix a rational belief patterns it
may be hindering you from going to the
next level
one of them is undeserving I do not
deserve the good measure that flows with
success I just don’t deserve it I just
can’t see myself as being in this
position I don’t I don’t deserve it
this often comes from things that people
said to you or about you and they have
convinced you they programmed you to see
yourself in a limited parameter and so
when you see opportunities beyond how
you’ve been programmed you reject it
because you don’t feel like you’re
deserving of it the other one is beyond
undeserving is ordinary I do not want to
stand apart or be different I want to
fit in you’d be surprised at the people
because they have a belief system that
that holds on to being ordinary they
will not take the lead
I am afraid that I will become a target
and you will i want to let me say that
to you too in the name of honesty if you
take the lead
you will become a target but just
because they’re shooting at you doesn’t
mean they shot you
in fact some of you should rejoice in
the fact that that that somebody has
emptied out their quiver of arrows
shooting at you and you are still here
and that person that wouldn’t go out and
do what you did for fear of being shot
at didn’t recognize that because of your
faith and your convictions you have been
able to pass through the arrows that
have been shot at you and survived but
you have to have courage to do that and
you have to get rid of your fear to do
that and you have to be able to see
arrows singing by you people hating on
you the controversy rising all around
you and you have to say like job though
he slay me yet shall I trust him
the third belief system that may be
hindering you is social change
I fear rejection loneliness or claims
that I have changed or sold out I don’t
I don’t want to be rejected by my
sociological environment and this is
very very important to minorities
because when you are a minority there
there is a clammy survival mechanism
that fits in no matter what kind of
minority you are in any situation I was
in Mexico a while ago and a gentleman
came up and said to me if you’re gonna
rent a boat cuz I like to rent boats and
go fishing he says you’re gonna rent a
boat grid of boat for me cuz I’m an
American because then that setting he
was the minority and the ideas we have
to stick together watch out for Weez
because people will control you with the
we
and you will miss your opportunity at
what may be the best deal for you trying
to be loyal to the we it’s what we teach
our children about peer pressure and all
of a sudden in order to fit in in your
sociological environment you passed up
the promotion you wouldn’t buy the house
that was the best deal for you because
it moved you out of the neighborhood
that you were defined by you passed up
the position that you wanted to take
because now your girlfriend’s won’t like
you because you’re now managing the
girls who used to run with and so in
order to fit in you’re going to stay in
the seat that I started this sermon from
rather than to take your rightful place
behind this rostrum because you want the
people you’re sitting beside to like you
and accept you
and you don’t want to be a sellout oh my
this the next one I want to deal with is
fleeting
my success will be temporal and I will
not be able to sustain it you have
performance anxiety
you’re afraid that it won’t last it
won’t last good things won’t last
you don’t want to go out on the date
because if he does if you go out on the
date you start the relationship and
things start go away that’s not gonna
let a girl likes did nice before it
didn’t land some shred it didn’t last a
gym it’s not gonna laugh I’m not gonna
take this position because if I getting
this position I may lose this job it’s
not gonna last
I’m not gonna go back to school because
I may not complete it it will not last
and you have a fear that the blessing is
fleeting so you won’t get back out on
the boat and throw your nets again
because you have already programmed
yourself that nothing else exciting is
ever going to happen to you again and as
I go through these belief systems I want
you to look for the ones that sound like
you have I hid anything yet
the next one I want to talk about is
perfectionism I will have to behave as
if I am perfect and I am NOT I believe
this was part of Peters problem when he
saw the power of God to bless him he
recognized the power of God to destroy
him
think about that when he saw the power
of God to bless him he recognized the
power of God to destroy him and said get
out of here Jesus depart from me why
because I know I’ve got imperfections
and I don’t want to get in the light
because somebody might see them and so
I’m gonna be secretly talented I’m gonna
sing at home
I’m going to leave the church and say
what they ought to do and what somebody
ought to say and what somebody ought to
write a book about that and somebody
ought to get up and say something and
I’m going to drive home locking my
treasure up inside of me because I am
imprisoned by my imperfections and I
don’t want anybody to know that I’m not
perfect even though I’m good at this I’m
weak at that Peter said look you may be
a great fisherman but I’m a sinful man
go I reject the opportunity to be
blessed because I know something about
myself that I don’t want anybody else to
know and I’m more concerned about the
security of my reputation than I am my
progress perfectionism I’m not gonna get
involved with him because if I get
involved with him and he gets too close
to me he will see that I’m not perfect
[Music]
being able to balance your impression
and they may not even be more
imperfections in the case of didn’t
dating it may be physical and profound
though he couldn’t face me want me I’m
too fat where you don’t give the person
the chance to accept you because you’ve
already criticized herself over – you’d
be surprised at the people who talk
other people out of loving them convince
them that you’re not to try – oh no no
no no don’t look at me do God you know
exactly what to do to move up until the
next position but you don’t want the
light on you because you have issues
newsflash everybody has
issues pastor Robinson just shouted out
junk in the trunk
everybody has junk in the trunk and if
you’re waiting to clean out all the junk
before you put your pedal to the metal
and drive and go forward you may be
stuck 20 years cleaning out the truck
I’m going to this next one besiegement I
will be besieged by others warning
things for me my loved ones will feel
entitled to a measure of my success I
don’t want all the controversy that goes
along with this I don’t want this I
don’t want this don’t give me the power
of attorney mama because I don’t want to
deal with my sisters and brothers I
don’t want the don’t give me the
position because if I become manager of
the department my friends won’t invite
me out anymore and you start doing crazy
things trying to prove to them that you
are still who you were because people
will put pressure on you to stay low and
all of a sudden you’re afraid that
they’re going to demand things from you
and it is true as you go up there are a
great deal of people who associate with
you because of where you are and not who
you are and and and people start
fighting over your level of success if
you don’t believe it talk to any NFL as
to lead anybody who goes pro in sports
all of a sudden people change when they
think you got a little
something-something
and all of a sudden it was just fine
they normally would just be talking
about everything in life but people have
a way of having these little
conversation you know child I’m going
through I’m just going through
I’m just going through I’m just going
through my room I rest like three months
behind man
I know it ain’t no big deal for somebody
got all the kind of money you got cuz
you load you know y’all had to deal with
no kind of stuff like that but you know
twenty four hundred dollars will set me
straight that’s probably changing you
but man I’m telling you
the pressure is so great when I was in
South Africa years ago
and-and-and the first generation of
blacks in South Africa who were
oppressed today apart that were now
freed and becoming successful that some
of the articles said some of them were
ready to leave South Africa because so
many people were pulling and clawing at
them because when you first start going
up amongst people who haven’t gone up
they have a tendency to be like crabs in
a barrel and they start trying to pull
you down because they say you know
you’re the first one in our family to
get a degree you ought to take care of
this and you ought to take care of that
and after a while they pull you down
solo some of you know what I’m talking
about it they pull you down solo then
some people for fear of having that
pressure on them forfeit the success and
stay down rather than to go forward
I’m preaching
the inability to manage these fears
create self sabotaging self handicapping
situations where you’re incapable of
moving forward because you just can’t
handle the pressure on this level it’s
and it makes you a chronic underachiever
a chronic underachiever and when you
start going up too high you do little
things
subconsciously sometimes unconsciously
sometimes to sabotage the next move so
you can stay down here where it’s safe
there maybe they’ll like me better
syndrome keeps you locked into a system
that you can’t get out of it’s true it’s
true and if you don’t give yourself
permission to go forward you will cancel
out your opportunity to lead not because
of external conflict I’m gonna get to
that next but because of internal
conflict you are tripping over your own
foot you’re talking that man out of your
life you’re talking your boss to give
that assignment to somebody else because
you don’t want to shine out and end up
dealing with another level of problems
and so you’re gonna stay down here where
you were you’re comfortable and you’ll
never become all that you can be because
you can’t deal with the conflicts you
have inside of you are you following me
now we’re gonna get to something else
we’re gonna talk about the external
conflicts because you will have them
there is no way that you can go up and
not have external conflicts there is no
way you can go where others have not
gone and not find the breeze and
obstacles in the way that is to say that
if you’re a leader now if you’re a
follower you don’t have to listen to
this because whoever you’re following
will clean
half for you
and so you can just walk in their
footsteps and get right behind them it’s
a this is so nice this is so cool this
is so good thank God for all of those
who have gone before me and cleared the
way but if you’re a leader and you go
where none have ever gone before you
encounter the sticker Breyers you
encounter the thorns you encounter the
adversity and you’re clearing a path for
the next generation you are supposed to
have external conflicts anytime you are
a trailblazer you are going to have
external conflicts because you are doing
something that has never been done
before it will be defined often after
you’re dead you’ll be gone before people
understand you and if you have a need to
be understood you’ll never go any
further because you’re doing something
new and whenever you do something new
people always reject it at first
whenever you’re doing something new
people always reject it at first so if
your need to be accept it becomes more
more powerful than your need to go and
do something fresh
you will backtrack you will just move
walk like Michael Jackson going all the
way back into the safety zone and
whether you know it or not
you are imprisoned by fear you’re coming
in Trailblazers do I have in here
[Applause]
Trailblazers clear the way and confront
the conflict in a strategic non
emotional way you can’t be a trailblazer
and bialy my god it was evil Oh Oh God
what is clearing the debris in a
non-emotional way dealing with the
conflict without being hysterical the
whole department is freaking out and
everybody’s upset you can’t be the
manager and walk in there leaders have
to be the voice of reason can you deal
with the external conflict in a
non-emotional way your detachment from
it emotionally is an expression of faith
that you can handle it why would you
become emotional about something you are
called to fix
do you notice how calm Jesus was when he
hurt Lazarus was dead and it was his
friend say the reason he was calm he was
called to fix what other people were
hysterical about and if you believe that
you can fix it then why are you
screaming you either are going to be
emotional or rational boxers will tell
you you will lose the fight if you get
too angry the moment that guy that’s why
the talk I’m not you out I kill you I
kill your unborn children I’m to your
mama your grandmama and if they’re
trying to get you to be angry because
when you’re emotional you’re not
rational and winning is strategic
touch three people say think like a
winner think like a winner think like a
winner
now if you don’t understand this you can
only go so far now there there are
degrees of leadership I want to talk a
little bit about this their degrees of
leadership you can be a leader you can
be a leader and not be the leader so you
don’t want to just keep going up beyond
your giftings and callings you may be a
leader and you may be called to lead in
a myopic style you can lead over a
particular thing you can lead over a
particular dimension of a bigger
organization you don’t want to be the
CEO of the company but you want to
manage the marketing department you say
I can handle this on this level don’t
let people push you beyond your
competence so you you have to understand
when you you want to be challenged yes
you want to be stressed but you don’t
want to pop a rubber band is designed to
be stretched and when you stretch it
you’re using it the way it was designed
to be used but if you over stretch it
you’re gonna break it
have you learned your limitations do you
know what’s too much for you what are
your breaking points what are your
boundaries because if you don’t know
your boundaries you don’t know what
would pop you
if you’re gonna be the leader you can’t
have a 90-degree dimension of leadership
and vision you have to be able to see
360 360 now when you are the leader
talking to leaders you have a room full
of 90s and you’re a 360 and I’m going to
tell you it is a very difficult thing to
have a conversation with the roomful of
90s when you’re a 360 thinker because
the 90 degree person will get angry
because you made a decision that wasn’t
great for their department but because
you are in charge of the whole vision
you have to make a 360 decision and not
a 90 degree decision and you have to be
strong enough to withstand the conflict
that comes from your own team
because they are a myopic thinker they
think in a tunnel and you hired them to
think in a tunnel and they’re supposed
to think in a tunnel and they’re
supposed to be thinking about what’s
best for the marketing team what’s best
for the publications what’s best for
this department what’s best for that
department what’s best for the choir or
whatever it is but that is not your role
and if you stop thinking 360 and start
thinking 90 then you become a
micromanager and you come down from your
position and there you are directing the
choir instead of doing what you’re
supposed to be doing am i saying
anything that’s helping anybody you when
you are delete or whether you’re the
leader of your house it’s a great deal
of difference between a woman who is
that who is the head of her house a
single mother and how she thinks and how
she has to make decisions as opposed to
a married woman who has a husband and
she has the luxury of thinking on one
level whereas you you have to think like
a woman and deal like a man because
there’s nobody for you to come home and
tell them what happened at work and I
need you to go down and straighten those
people out and the mechanic lied to me
you have to be the person who’s been
lied to and the person who goes down and
say wait a minute this receipt said
now both women are a leader but when you
are the one in charge you are the leader
and you have to think in a 360 and not
in a 90 are you following me now when
you do that you’re gonna have some
conflict you’re gonna have some
conflicts from people who are
legitimately with you so you have to be
a leader enough to understand that
somebody can disagree with you and still
be with you and you have to have the
wisdom to understand they disagree with
you because from their perspective it
was not the best decision because they
looked at like for instance in this
ministry
they looked at how many people we could
feed if you brought the restaurant truck
and you didn’t do it you looked at in
order to buy the restaurant truck
we need more finances than what we have
it is a great idea but buying the truck
will sink the entire organization
so are you leader enough to have a
disagreement with somebody without
starting to dislike the person because
they disagreed with you understanding
that that disagreement doesn’t mean
betrayal but because your life’s ability
has put you in a 360 position but you
still have a back role mentality now
you’re in a position with an old
mentality that makes you so sensitive to
anybody saying anything to you that
rather than think you fight
and you drive away people who were with
you because they didn’t understand the
difference between being a leader and
being the leader
that’s a good clapping point right there
you miss the good so that brings me to
my next point so you have to become
comfortable with controversy now we all
have controversy but before you take the
lead before you take the lead you have
to become comfortable with controversy
and what I love about God is that God
will expose you I mean I got to come all
the way down here
God will expose you to controversy on
this level so that the only reason
you’re getting it on this level is so
that you’ll get tough enough to handle
the controversy on this level and then
when you get to this level about the
time you get used to being shot at at
this level
he calls you on up to this level and
then to this level and then to this
level and when you get up here you want
to go down there and thank all the
people who fought you on this level at
this level at this level because they
trained you to be able to handle contra
[Applause]
God is preheating the oven getting you
ready so that you are now comfortable
with what you are called to do because
controversy is part of the call either
you will be controversial or what you
did will be controversial you will get
it both ways some will I don’t like him
others I don’t like what he did most
people will say I don’t like him because
most people are macro thinkers they
don’t even think I don’t know him
[Music]
they were bypassed the fact that they
don’t know you and decide that they
don’t like you what they really mean is
I don’t like what you did but they
haven’t progressed in their thinking
enough to be able to communicate
effectively so they say I don’t like him
and if somebody would tap on their show
they say have you met him so from this
day forward I want you to make me a
commitment that you will never again say
that you don’t like somebody that you
don’t
[Applause]
controversy is so much a part of
leadership when I think of illustrations
I could think of some contemporary ones
all you have to do is look at the
election and you can see the controversy
is a part of leadership but I won’t use
that when I’ll use Moses
I will bypass the opportunity to point
out that the race to the White House is
training you for the hell in the White
House
[Applause]
just because you’re trying to do a good
thing doesn’t mean that you’re going to
be recognized for doing a good thing and
so if you’ve moved in the leadership I
want to get rid of that that sensitive
heart that you have from being on the
back row and toughen it up a little bit
to understand that not only will you
have controversy from the people on the
outside but also the very people that
you’re trying to help will be fighting
you while you’re trying to help them if
you don’t believe that ask Moses what
happened to him when he started leading
the children of Israel out of Egypt
trying to save them and save their
situation he got more grief from the
children of Israel than he did from
Pharaoh because often the people you’re
trying to help the most will be fighting
you the book I can’t believe he brought
us out here to die he should have left
us alone kept us back there in Egypt
where we were kept us comfortable kept
us safe and all the while he’s trying to
save them they’re trying to destroy him
he said he doesn’t know what he’s doing
he must be crazy and you’re trying to
help people that are hurting you and
you’re fighting off this over here and
you’re trying to fight off them over
there and all of that you must become
comfortable with if you’re gonna be a
leader
how many of you have ever tried to help
somebody who was hurting you
in fact Moses becomes a good
illustration of it but as a leader you
need to develop the weaponry of Nehemiah
Nehemiah is the great illustration of
great leadership because Nehemiah is
building back the walls of Jerusalem
which is helping the people of Jerusalem
while he is being fought on every side
and he begins to build the wall with the
trial in one hand a trial but you cannot
become so distracted by what you are
called to do that you don’t have a sword
in the other hand to fight the people
who are trying to kill your destiny so
you’ve got to have a two-handed approach
to leadership building with one hand and
fighting with the other
I got something for you this morning I
got something for you that’s gonna
change how the rest of your year turns
out you can’t stop building and just
become engrossed in fighting and you
can’t stop fighting and become engrossed
in building that’s why God gave you two
hands build with one and fight with the
other
[Applause]
Oh Tesla my said don’t forget you got
two hands
don’t forget you got two hands you got
two hands
you can’t stop building and you can’t
stop battling you got a battling bill
battling bill battling bill battling
bill battling bill in fact the more you
build the more you battle the more you
feel the more you battle the more you
bill to law you matter in finally you
get to a place where the folks who were
fighting you will change their mind and
the wicked shall cease from troubling
and the weary shall be at rest
testify sound almost there I’m almost
there mom we’ll see
[Applause]
are there any two-handed people here
this morning
[Applause]
to him who much is given much is
required you cannot build anything that
won’t bring a battle and if you’re going
through a battle right now it’s only
because you’re building something
because people don’t fight people who
don’t build they’ll only fight you look
at your neighbor and say the battle is
because you’re building
[Applause]
if you weren’t building anything nobody
would battle you if you weren’t going
forward they wouldn’t fight you but the
more you start building the more you
gotta battle think it not strange that
these trials have come upon you this is
a part of your job
why are you here this morning because
you’re next
I was talking to Andy young and you know
who he is what a trailblazer he’s been
in in this nation not only working in
our government working in the civil
rights movement and just seeing so many
things happen and we were having a
conversation then I was talking about
the complexities of the time that we’re
in right now that controversy that goes
along with it in the the criticisms that
you have to deal with it and and and all
of that and I said you know it’s just
just terribly perplexing times now to be
a leader and to be out front he said
that’s not anything he knew I was
looking for a little sympathy hook up he
said I was with dr. King he said they
were fighting him on every side
he was put out of his denomination I’m
not talking about you here about the FBI
side and and all of that but you don’t
hear because of those who are preaching
and saying they are the next dr. canes
were the very ones who put him out
he said they were fighting him
internally they were fighting him
externally they were bugging his house
they were fighting him on every side not
to mention your own personal problems
and he said that’s unkind away bishop he
said we managed to make progress he said
I don’t know how we did and he said
there was always murmuring and
complaining and bickering and we didn’t
know from day to day what was going to
happen we didn’t agree amongst ourselves
while we were marching sometimes we were
debating issues for some kind of way we
made progress until eventually and we
begin to understand that we could not
wait for the controversy to stop for the
movement to go forward
and so I thought it was worth telling
you since you might not get to talk to
Andy young that you can’t wait for the
controversy to stop for your movement to
go forward you just got to let them say
whatever they’re gonna say fight them
back and keep on building I’m a bar one
Apollo white statements and say slap
your neighbor upside the head and say
you’re next
[Applause]
kind of go just a little bit further
[Applause]
surely you often think that Jesus was a
great leader watch Jesus when he says
his disciples who do men say that I am
here comes controversy your
controversial Jesus some say that thou
art Elias some say the dark Jeremiah
some say that our desires and you are so
controversial that your enemies don’t
agree now that’s what it’s getting good
when your enemies don’t agree you get
good then he says to his followers who
do you say that I am now before I quote
what Peter said let me let me underscore
that it is not Peter statement that
amazes me it is not the statement of the
one that amazes me
it is the Silence of the eleven who do
you say that I am 11 disciples said
nothing so often when you are in
leadership you are leading people who do
not know who you are
if you can get 1 out of 12 to understand
who you are then you’re doing as good as
Jesus anyway you’re doing pretty good if
one guy will speak up for you and say
thou art the Christ I know who you are
you’re the president of this company I
know who you are you’re the mastermind
behind this project I know most people
who are sitting under you don’t have a
clue who you are and they don’t value
who you are because they don’t
understand what they have and if you
don’t understand what you’ve got you can
fool around and lose what you got
because you don’t understand the
magnitude of what has been given again
to him who much is given much is
required that’s not just on the person
on the stage but it’s also on the people
who are following them it is much
required of you to follow somebody close
enough to have a clue who you’ve got
anybody who’s in leadership you’re
leading somebody who doesn’t know who
you are you’re struggling to do it
because you’re being underappreciated
you’re being become frustrated people
will handle you any kind of way because
they don’t know the value of what they
have
temptation is to walk away from people
you’re trying to help who don’t know who
you are one guy says thou art the Christ
the Son of the true and living God I
know who you are I figured out I have
followed you long enough to know who you
are
and on the basis of that knowledge Peter
gets to preach the inaugural message at
the birthing of the church because you
cannot pass your mantle to people who do
not know who you are
I wish I don’t have time to do this
justice because look at Elijah and
Elijah and Elisha says I want a double
portion of Elijah’s feed he said no not
yet you haven’t seen enough when you’ve
gone through this with me and that with
me and the other with me and that way
and if you’re still here when I’m taking
up now I’m going to give you a double
portion of my glory because you can’t
have my mantle if you don’t know who I
am
marriages are being lost because of it
companies are being lost because of it
family relationships are torn anytime
you have any kind of structure and you
have to leave people who don’t know who
you are
you’re in trouble
I want to move on can I go further this
is my last last Sunday to do this it
just bear with me just a little bit the
other thing I want you to understand
that you have to have in order to be a
leader is commitment you have to be the
last one to leave the ship if you’re
gonna lead you have to hang tough
you cannot inspire people to follow your
lack of commitment
you cannot inspire people to follow your
life a commitment you cannot inspire
people to follow your life of commitment
people follow what they admire you have
to have the mentality that I’m going to
be committed to this and if you’re going
to be a great leader do not commit to
more than your competence have you ever
seen people that volunteer for
everything I’m gonna be in the choir I’m
gonna be in the Russian board I’m gonna
be listened to be in there and then I’m
in there I’m going out in Salvation Army
I’m gonna do this and their heart is so
big that their head is shrinking and in
order to be introspective did not give
you a visual did you think
like the Wicked Witch of the web that’s
what’s happening to the brain it’s just
shrinking they’re shrinking because
anything you’re in charge of you have to
be committed to you have to be committed
to and if you’re not committed to it
you’re not gonna be effective at it and
in order to be committed to it you can’t
do it just for the check you can buy
competence but you cannot buy commitment
commitment has to come from the heart
it’s a hard thing it’s not a check thing
it’s a hard thing it’s not a check thing
and I want you to close the gap between
where you get your money from and what
you’re committed to because if you’re
making money over here but you’re
committed over there eventually it’s
going to pull you apart what you really
want to do is be able to make your money
where your commitment is and then you
will get paid for doing what you would
do for free
does anybody understand what I just said
that’s a good old shopping point right
there number five I want to talk about
character I want to talk about character
because if you have commitment without
character you get Hitler commitment
without character leads to all types of
human atrocities anytime somebody is
committed to something but they don’t
have character to undergird their
commitment at least to monarchy that
needs to travesties that need leads to
degradation at least to slavery and
leads to all types of human abuses of
every kind where people are committed
without character
there I’m up here you may be seated
if you’re looking for a leadership you
don’t always have to look to the front
to find it great leadership doesn’t
start out on the stage
it doesn’t start out as governor’s or
mayor’s or presidents or CEOs or
managers great leadership starts out in
the backs
[Applause]
today we’re going to be talking about
leadership and before you do we want to
prepare your hearts and minds by
understanding that leadership starts in
the pews if you’re in a church it starts
an abuse if you’re in the business it
starts down in the janitorial booths it
starts with menial things that’s why the
Bible said this 5-slot the day of small
beginnings you have to understand though
and I want you to get this in your mind
and in your heart and most of all in
your head about leadership when you
begin to grapple with leadership and
life begins to move your long career
opportunities or I believe the presence
of the Holy Spirit begins to move you
along because promotion really doesn’t
come from the East of the West it really
does come from God it is possible for
life to lead you faster then your mind
is prepared to handle God can move you
into such a place it positionally you
are in a state of leadership but
mentally and emotionally you really
haven’t got a grip on what life has
handed you and if you don’t know what
you have you don’t know how to take care
of it if you don’t know how to take care
of it you can mess around and lose it
the truth of the matter is a leaders
come from ordinary places they deal with
ordinary issues and I’m going to share
some things with you that I think are
very very helpful for you to realize
first of all I want you to understand
that when you’re saying to yourself that
you want to be a great leader and you
want to really go the extra mile and you
want to do what has to be done you are
asking for trouble
you are absolutely asking for trouble
you’re asking for trouble and if you
think about this a minute you’ll learn a
very important concept that I think you
need to understand in the corporate
world in the business world they
actually pay you more money as you move
up the ladder with more responsibilities
okay so if you are a superintendent you
might not make as much as the general
manager a general manager might not make
as much as a regional manager a CEO
would make more than a regional manager
let me tell you something they’re paying
you for conflict
it’s are you hearing what I’m saying if
it’s not enough to have the degrees what
they’re paying you for is your ability
to manage conflict and pressure and
struggles let me speak it since I’m in
church let me speak it in biblical
language to him how much is given much
is required and so the more that is
placed into your hands the more you have
to be but handle and deal with and to be
able to manage it
and I want to say something either those
of you all of us are leaders in some way
all of us believe it’s whether you’re
leading your children or whether you’re
leading your family are just leading
yourself sometimes it’s hard to get
yourself to act right but as we go up in
levels of leadership and we begin to
develop more responsibility we also
begin to embrace more pressure and more
problems and more adversity and new
levels bring new devils bring new
challenges bring new opportunities more
of everything somebody just say more of
everything so when you say when you are
where you are right now and you say I
can’t take this I can’t handle this I
don’t want any more than just driving me
crazy you are saying I don’t want to go
any higher you are rejecting the call to
move forward because moving forward and
moving up means more problems in fact
the the problems that you’re dealing
with right now maybe the fact that you
are in training for the next level of
leadership if if you don’t let it break
you if you don’t let it destroy you if
you don’t wimp out and let it beat you
down if you just master the situation
refuse to be intimidated and learn how
to manage the stress on the next level
then then doors swing open there are
this business magical thing about life
and I believe if divinely inspired you
know how you go to the grocery store and
you stand at a certain spot you
even gotten to the door yet but when you
get in close proximity the doors just
start opening when you can stand on a
level of life where you’re dealing with
opposition and pressure and turmoil and
take a lickin and keep on tickin and it
might have stressed you out you might
have felt the pressure you might have
felt like breaking but you didn’t break
doors just started opening up for you to
go to the next level I’m going to talk
more about this in a minute because when
I start talking about being kind of
dealing with conflict all of the
conflict is not external conflict some
of it is internal conflict because when
you come from back there and you start
moving up further and further and
further and every step you take takes
you to a different level of life and
living sometimes your life is moving
faster than your mentality
you can be have the best you’ve dreamed
about the position you wanted the
ministry you want it the opportunity you
want it and everything moved up except
your perception of yourself
are you following what I’m saying to you
and we’re going to share some things
that I believe will prepare you for the
next move and that I want you to
understand something that when when God
begins to move you along in life it’s
not an elevator it’s it’s a step-by-step
process so many people attempt to move
forward in a rapid motion they want to
go from midnight to morning they want to
go from from the basement to the
Presidential Suite in one step that’s
not what you want you don’t want to take
validator because if you take the
elevator and you get it too fast you
can’t handle it you can’t handle it oh
yeah I know you want the money but you
can’t handle the pressure and the
problems and the conflict and the
criticism and the opposition and so God
has designed it that you would move
along in steps in stages not too fast
and every time you take a step you have
to kind of balance yourself
and get used to this level of opposition
this level of controversy this level of
conflict this level of criticism because
again that’s what they’re paying you for
is managing trouble are you hearing what
I’m saying to you and just as soon as
you get it all down pat and you’ve
mastered it and you say could I’m
comfortable now this is now my new
normal
I’m okay with it then all of a sudden
you take another step you’re back in a
situation where you’re learning again
and you’re being hit in places you’re
never expected to be hit before and
you’re dealing with life on another
level and that happens whether you’re in
a corporation whether you’re in a church
or whether you’re a family and you’ve
just had another child every time you
have a child new conflict new problems
new things to deal with more to manage
more to handle you’ve just got used to
having one you come back from the doctor
now you’re getting ready to have two
everything’s got a shift everything’s
got to move everything you learned about
the first child doesn’t work on the
second child come on somebody knows what
I’m talking about but God is so gracious
because he leads you along in steps and
stages and periodically he will stop the
process allow you to evaluate where you
are to better understand where you are
and put you in a position that you can
deal with your heart and mind and
emotions that may still be back there
where you started and people are jealous
of you and envious of you and and
fighting you and they don’t understand
that you still perceive yourself as if
you were where you started but the steps
of the Lord are leading you higher and
higher and further and further and
further than you’ve ever been before
touch them I said take another step
there’s another step waiting for you
there’s another dimension of life
another dimension of leadership another
dimension of problems another dimension
of conflict another dimension of faith
and finances and family and all of that
being afraid that you will reach your
goal but some disaster may result these
are mixed emotions I warn it but I don’t
want all the stuff that comes with it I
don’t want to deal with all the problems
that come with it I don’t want to deal
with all the disasters I don’t want to
deal with the pressures that come with
it
I can’t handle it I’m gonna stay on this
lower level and when you do that and you
reject God’s opportunity you are left
with nothing but the hope of magic magic
it’s when I’m just gonna stay down here
where it’s comfortable but some kind of
magical way I’m believing that I’m gonna
get a blessing up here while I’m staying
down here you can’t do it
it’s like believing God that you’re
gonna get pregnant and not gain weight
and I’m want the baby but I don’t want
the pregnancy I don’t want the weight I
don’t want the stretch marks I don’t
want any I don’t want to throw up in the
morning no all of that goes along with
the process and if you will allow anyone
anything any voice on the inside to talk
you out of this moment you will forfeit
it and be stuck washing your nets when
there’s a great drought of fish waiting
you if you have the courage to believe
what really stops us from taking the
lead and coming to the forefront a lot
of times it’s not the lack of talent
it’s not the life of resources sometimes
it’s nothing like of education I’ve been
amazed at the people I have met who are
highly educated and failing highly
educated and failing highly educated and
homeless
i-i-i worked with the guy who has a
doctorate in economics and it’s washing
cars this can’t seem to get it together
so education alone is not the solution
i’m for education i think it’s important
it’s a good thing or we wouldn’t be
building have built the school next door
i think it’s very important but I have
seen people educated and stuck I’ve
worked in penal institutions and seeing
people who were very gifted and
incarcerated just because somebody is
incarcerated or homeless doesn’t mean
that they don’t have talent in fact I’ve
seen people with less talent than you
doing more than you and until you’re
willing to look bad in the face and say
what am i doing to sabotage my own
success of moving to the next level
you’ll never get there until you walk
and and this is what causes jealousy and
envy when you look and you meet other
people who have less to work with in you
and yet they’re in higher positions in
you you can either become jealous or
bitter or you can begin to challenge
yourself to say what is wrong with my
belief systems that’s stopping me from
going to the next level in this area
okay I want to deal with some irrational
beliefs
that will stop you from moving up to the
next level this is not about money
necessarily this is not about prestige
necessarily this is about progress
because it’s a shame to live long and
have no progress I want to have progress
in every area of my life
I want to see progress in parenting I
want to see progress in my relationship
with my wife I want to see product if
I’m going to go to work every day I want
to see progress I’ve been washing these
toilets for 27 years at least let me be
the manager of the toilet washers in 27
years I want to move up anybody maybe
it’s wrong is there anybody in here that
wants to move up okay I’m gonna point
out some things that may be hindering
you from reaching that and some of you
may already be reaching it you may have
already mastered this just endure this
review okay I’m gonna pull out six
things fix a rational belief patterns it
may be hindering you from going to the
next level
one of them is undeserving I do not
deserve the good measure that flows with
success I just don’t deserve it I just
can’t see myself as being in this
position I don’t I don’t deserve it
this often comes from things that people
said to you or about you and they have
convinced you they programmed you to see
yourself in a limited parameter and so
when you see opportunities beyond how
you’ve been programmed you reject it
because you don’t feel like you’re
deserving of it the other one is beyond
undeserving is ordinary I do not want to
stand apart or be different I want to
fit in you’d be surprised at the people
because they have a belief system that
that holds on to being ordinary they
will not take the lead
I am afraid that I will become a target
and you will i want to let me say that
to you too in the name of honesty if you
take the lead
you will become a target but just
because they’re shooting at you doesn’t
mean they shot you
in fact some of you should rejoice in
the fact that that that somebody has
emptied out their quiver of arrows
shooting at you and you are still here
and that person that wouldn’t go out and
do what you did for fear of being shot
at didn’t recognize that because of your
faith and your convictions you have been
able to pass through the arrows that
have been shot at you and survived but
you have to have courage to do that and
you have to get rid of your fear to do
that and you have to be able to see
arrows singing by you people hating on
you the controversy rising all around
you and you have to say like job though
he slay me yet shall I trust him
the third belief system that may be
hindering you is social change
I fear rejection loneliness or claims
that I have changed or sold out I don’t
I don’t want to be rejected by my
sociological environment and this is
very very important to minorities
because when you are a minority there
there is a clammy survival mechanism
that fits in no matter what kind of
minority you are in any situation I was
in Mexico a while ago and a gentleman
came up and said to me if you’re gonna
rent a boat cuz I like to rent boats and
go fishing he says you’re gonna rent a
boat grid of boat for me cuz I’m an
American because then that setting he
was the minority and the ideas we have
to stick together watch out for Weez
because people will control you with the
we
and you will miss your opportunity at
what may be the best deal for you trying
to be loyal to the we it’s what we teach
our children about peer pressure and all
of a sudden in order to fit in in your
sociological environment you passed up
the promotion you wouldn’t buy the house
that was the best deal for you because
it moved you out of the neighborhood
that you were defined by you passed up
the position that you wanted to take
because now your girlfriend’s won’t like
you because you’re now managing the
girls who used to run with and so in
order to fit in you’re going to stay in
the seat that I started this sermon from
rather than to take your rightful place
behind this rostrum because you want the
people you’re sitting beside to like you
and accept you
and you don’t want to be a sellout oh my
this the next one I want to deal with is
fleeting
my success will be temporal and I will
not be able to sustain it you have
performance anxiety
you’re afraid that it won’t last it
won’t last good things won’t last
you don’t want to go out on the date
because if he does if you go out on the
date you start the relationship and
things start go away that’s not gonna
let a girl likes did nice before it
didn’t land some shred it didn’t last a
gym it’s not gonna laugh I’m not gonna
take this position because if I getting
this position I may lose this job it’s
not gonna last
I’m not gonna go back to school because
I may not complete it it will not last
and you have a fear that the blessing is
fleeting so you won’t get back out on
the boat and throw your nets again
because you have already programmed
yourself that nothing else exciting is
ever going to happen to you again and as
I go through these belief systems I want
you to look for the ones that sound like
you have I hid anything yet
the next one I want to talk about is
perfectionism I will have to behave as
if I am perfect and I am NOT I believe
this was part of Peters problem when he
saw the power of God to bless him he
recognized the power of God to destroy
him
think about that when he saw the power
of God to bless him he recognized the
power of God to destroy him and said get
out of here Jesus depart from me why
because I know I’ve got imperfections
and I don’t want to get in the light
because somebody might see them and so
I’m gonna be secretly talented I’m gonna
sing at home
I’m going to leave the church and say
what they ought to do and what somebody
ought to say and what somebody ought to
write a book about that and somebody
ought to get up and say something and
I’m going to drive home locking my
treasure up inside of me because I am
imprisoned by my imperfections and I
don’t want anybody to know that I’m not
perfect even though I’m good at this I’m
weak at that Peter said look you may be
a great fisherman but I’m a sinful man
go I reject the opportunity to be
blessed because I know something about
myself that I don’t want anybody else to
know and I’m more concerned about the
security of my reputation than I am my
progress perfectionism I’m not gonna get
involved with him because if I get
involved with him and he gets too close
to me he will see that I’m not perfect
[Music]
being able to balance your impression
and they may not even be more
imperfections in the case of didn’t
dating it may be physical and profound
though he couldn’t face me want me I’m
too fat where you don’t give the person
the chance to accept you because you’ve
already criticized herself over – you’d
be surprised at the people who talk
other people out of loving them convince
them that you’re not to try – oh no no
no no don’t look at me do God you know
exactly what to do to move up until the
next position but you don’t want the
light on you because you have issues
newsflash everybody has
issues pastor Robinson just shouted out
junk in the trunk
everybody has junk in the trunk and if
you’re waiting to clean out all the junk
before you put your pedal to the metal
and drive and go forward you may be
stuck 20 years cleaning out the truck
I’m going to this next one besiegement I
will be besieged by others warning
things for me my loved ones will feel
entitled to a measure of my success I
don’t want all the controversy that goes
along with this I don’t want this I
don’t want this don’t give me the power
of attorney mama because I don’t want to
deal with my sisters and brothers I
don’t want the don’t give me the
position because if I become manager of
the department my friends won’t invite
me out anymore and you start doing crazy
things trying to prove to them that you
are still who you were because people
will put pressure on you to stay low and
all of a sudden you’re afraid that
they’re going to demand things from you
and it is true as you go up there are a
great deal of people who associate with
you because of where you are and not who
you are and and and people start
fighting over your level of success if
you don’t believe it talk to any NFL as
to lead anybody who goes pro in sports
all of a sudden people change when they
think you got a little
something-something
and all of a sudden it was just fine
they normally would just be talking
about everything in life but people have
a way of having these little
conversation you know child I’m going
through I’m just going through
I’m just going through I’m just going
through my room I rest like three months
behind man
I know it ain’t no big deal for somebody
got all the kind of money you got cuz
you load you know y’all had to deal with
no kind of stuff like that but you know
twenty four hundred dollars will set me
straight that’s probably changing you
but man I’m telling you
the pressure is so great when I was in
South Africa years ago
and-and-and the first generation of
blacks in South Africa who were
oppressed today apart that were now
freed and becoming successful that some
of the articles said some of them were
ready to leave South Africa because so
many people were pulling and clawing at
them because when you first start going
up amongst people who haven’t gone up
they have a tendency to be like crabs in
a barrel and they start trying to pull
you down because they say you know
you’re the first one in our family to
get a degree you ought to take care of
this and you ought to take care of that
and after a while they pull you down
solo some of you know what I’m talking
about it they pull you down solo then
some people for fear of having that
pressure on them forfeit the success and
stay down rather than to go forward
I’m preaching
the inability to manage these fears
create self sabotaging self handicapping
situations where you’re incapable of
moving forward because you just can’t
handle the pressure on this level it’s
and it makes you a chronic underachiever
a chronic underachiever and when you
start going up too high you do little
things
subconsciously sometimes unconsciously
sometimes to sabotage the next move so
you can stay down here where it’s safe
there maybe they’ll like me better
syndrome keeps you locked into a system
that you can’t get out of it’s true it’s
true and if you don’t give yourself
permission to go forward you will cancel
out your opportunity to lead not because
of external conflict I’m gonna get to
that next but because of internal
conflict you are tripping over your own
foot you’re talking that man out of your
life you’re talking your boss to give
that assignment to somebody else because
you don’t want to shine out and end up
dealing with another level of problems
and so you’re gonna stay down here where
you were you’re comfortable and you’ll
never become all that you can be because
you can’t deal with the conflicts you
have inside of you are you following me
now we’re gonna get to something else
we’re gonna talk about the external
conflicts because you will have them
there is no way that you can go up and
not have external conflicts there is no
way you can go where others have not
gone and not find the breeze and
obstacles in the way that is to say that
if you’re a leader now if you’re a
follower you don’t have to listen to
this because whoever you’re following
will clean
half for you
and so you can just walk in their
footsteps and get right behind them it’s
a this is so nice this is so cool this
is so good thank God for all of those
who have gone before me and cleared the
way but if you’re a leader and you go
where none have ever gone before you
encounter the sticker Breyers you
encounter the thorns you encounter the
adversity and you’re clearing a path for
the next generation you are supposed to
have external conflicts anytime you are
a trailblazer you are going to have
external conflicts because you are doing
something that has never been done
before it will be defined often after
you’re dead you’ll be gone before people
understand you and if you have a need to
be understood you’ll never go any
further because you’re doing something
new and whenever you do something new
people always reject it at first
whenever you’re doing something new
people always reject it at first so if
your need to be accept it becomes more
more powerful than your need to go and
do something fresh
you will backtrack you will just move
walk like Michael Jackson going all the
way back into the safety zone and
whether you know it or not
you are imprisoned by fear you’re coming
in Trailblazers do I have in here
[Applause]
Trailblazers clear the way and confront
the conflict in a strategic non
emotional way you can’t be a trailblazer
and bialy my god it was evil Oh Oh God
what is clearing the debris in a
non-emotional way dealing with the
conflict without being hysterical the
whole department is freaking out and
everybody’s upset you can’t be the
manager and walk in there leaders have
to be the voice of reason can you deal
with the external conflict in a
non-emotional way your detachment from
it emotionally is an expression of faith
that you can handle it why would you
become emotional about something you are
called to fix
do you notice how calm Jesus was when he
hurt Lazarus was dead and it was his
friend say the reason he was calm he was
called to fix what other people were
hysterical about and if you believe that
you can fix it then why are you
screaming you either are going to be
emotional or rational boxers will tell
you you will lose the fight if you get
too angry the moment that guy that’s why
the talk I’m not you out I kill you I
kill your unborn children I’m to your
mama your grandmama and if they’re
trying to get you to be angry because
when you’re emotional you’re not
rational and winning is strategic
touch three people say think like a
winner think like a winner think like a
winner
now if you don’t understand this you can
only go so far now there there are
degrees of leadership I want to talk a
little bit about this their degrees of
leadership you can be a leader you can
be a leader and not be the leader so you
don’t want to just keep going up beyond
your giftings and callings you may be a
leader and you may be called to lead in
a myopic style you can lead over a
particular thing you can lead over a
particular dimension of a bigger
organization you don’t want to be the
CEO of the company but you want to
manage the marketing department you say
I can handle this on this level don’t
let people push you beyond your
competence so you you have to understand
when you you want to be challenged yes
you want to be stressed but you don’t
want to pop a rubber band is designed to
be stretched and when you stretch it
you’re using it the way it was designed
to be used but if you over stretch it
you’re gonna break it
have you learned your limitations do you
know what’s too much for you what are
your breaking points what are your
boundaries because if you don’t know
your boundaries you don’t know what
would pop you
if you’re gonna be the leader you can’t
have a 90-degree dimension of leadership
and vision you have to be able to see
360 360 now when you are the leader
talking to leaders you have a room full
of 90s and you’re a 360 and I’m going to
tell you it is a very difficult thing to
have a conversation with the roomful of
90s when you’re a 360 thinker because
the 90 degree person will get angry
because you made a decision that wasn’t
great for their department but because
you are in charge of the whole vision
you have to make a 360 decision and not
a 90 degree decision and you have to be
strong enough to withstand the conflict
that comes from your own team
because they are a myopic thinker they
think in a tunnel and you hired them to
think in a tunnel and they’re supposed
to think in a tunnel and they’re
supposed to be thinking about what’s
best for the marketing team what’s best
for the publications what’s best for
this department what’s best for that
department what’s best for the choir or
whatever it is but that is not your role
and if you stop thinking 360 and start
thinking 90 then you become a
micromanager and you come down from your
position and there you are directing the
choir instead of doing what you’re
supposed to be doing am i saying
anything that’s helping anybody you when
you are delete or whether you’re the
leader of your house it’s a great deal
of difference between a woman who is
that who is the head of her house a
single mother and how she thinks and how
she has to make decisions as opposed to
a married woman who has a husband and
she has the luxury of thinking on one
level whereas you you have to think like
a woman and deal like a man because
there’s nobody for you to come home and
tell them what happened at work and I
need you to go down and straighten those
people out and the mechanic lied to me
you have to be the person who’s been
lied to and the person who goes down and
say wait a minute this receipt said
now both women are a leader but when you
are the one in charge you are the leader
and you have to think in a 360 and not
in a 90 are you following me now when
you do that you’re gonna have some
conflict you’re gonna have some
conflicts from people who are
legitimately with you so you have to be
a leader enough to understand that
somebody can disagree with you and still
be with you and you have to have the
wisdom to understand they disagree with
you because from their perspective it
was not the best decision because they
looked at like for instance in this
ministry
they looked at how many people we could
feed if you brought the restaurant truck
and you didn’t do it you looked at in
order to buy the restaurant truck
we need more finances than what we have
it is a great idea but buying the truck
will sink the entire organization
so are you leader enough to have a
disagreement with somebody without
starting to dislike the person because
they disagreed with you understanding
that that disagreement doesn’t mean
betrayal but because your life’s ability
has put you in a 360 position but you
still have a back role mentality now
you’re in a position with an old
mentality that makes you so sensitive to
anybody saying anything to you that
rather than think you fight
and you drive away people who were with
you because they didn’t understand the
difference between being a leader and
being the leader
that’s a good clapping point right there
you miss the good so that brings me to
my next point so you have to become
comfortable with controversy now we all
have controversy but before you take the
lead before you take the lead you have
to become comfortable with controversy
and what I love about God is that God
will expose you I mean I got to come all
the way down here
God will expose you to controversy on
this level so that the only reason
you’re getting it on this level is so
that you’ll get tough enough to handle
the controversy on this level and then
when you get to this level about the
time you get used to being shot at at
this level
he calls you on up to this level and
then to this level and then to this
level and when you get up here you want
to go down there and thank all the
people who fought you on this level at
this level at this level because they
trained you to be able to handle contra
[Applause]
God is preheating the oven getting you
ready so that you are now comfortable
with what you are called to do because
controversy is part of the call either
you will be controversial or what you
did will be controversial you will get
it both ways some will I don’t like him
others I don’t like what he did most
people will say I don’t like him because
most people are macro thinkers they
don’t even think I don’t know him
[Music]
they were bypassed the fact that they
don’t know you and decide that they
don’t like you what they really mean is
I don’t like what you did but they
haven’t progressed in their thinking
enough to be able to communicate
effectively so they say I don’t like him
and if somebody would tap on their show
they say have you met him so from this
day forward I want you to make me a
commitment that you will never again say
that you don’t like somebody that you
don’t
[Applause]
controversy is so much a part of
leadership when I think of illustrations
I could think of some contemporary ones
all you have to do is look at the
election and you can see the controversy
is a part of leadership but I won’t use
that when I’ll use Moses
I will bypass the opportunity to point
out that the race to the White House is
training you for the hell in the White
House
[Applause]
just because you’re trying to do a good
thing doesn’t mean that you’re going to
be recognized for doing a good thing and
so if you’ve moved in the leadership I
want to get rid of that that sensitive
heart that you have from being on the
back row and toughen it up a little bit
to understand that not only will you
have controversy from the people on the
outside but also the very people that
you’re trying to help will be fighting
you while you’re trying to help them if
you don’t believe that ask Moses what
happened to him when he started leading
the children of Israel out of Egypt
trying to save them and save their
situation he got more grief from the
children of Israel than he did from
Pharaoh because often the people you’re
trying to help the most will be fighting
you the book I can’t believe he brought
us out here to die he should have left
us alone kept us back there in Egypt
where we were kept us comfortable kept
us safe and all the while he’s trying to
save them they’re trying to destroy him
he said he doesn’t know what he’s doing
he must be crazy and you’re trying to
help people that are hurting you and
you’re fighting off this over here and
you’re trying to fight off them over
there and all of that you must become
comfortable with if you’re gonna be a
leader
how many of you have ever tried to help
somebody who was hurting you
in fact Moses becomes a good
illustration of it but as a leader you
need to develop the weaponry of Nehemiah
Nehemiah is the great illustration of
great leadership because Nehemiah is
building back the walls of Jerusalem
which is helping the people of Jerusalem
while he is being fought on every side
and he begins to build the wall with the
trial in one hand a trial but you cannot
become so distracted by what you are
called to do that you don’t have a sword
in the other hand to fight the people
who are trying to kill your destiny so
you’ve got to have a two-handed approach
to leadership building with one hand and
fighting with the other
I got something for you this morning I
got something for you that’s gonna
change how the rest of your year turns
out you can’t stop building and just
become engrossed in fighting and you
can’t stop fighting and become engrossed
in building that’s why God gave you two
hands build with one and fight with the
other
[Applause]
Oh Tesla my said don’t forget you got
two hands
don’t forget you got two hands you got
two hands
you can’t stop building and you can’t
stop battling you got a battling bill
battling bill battling bill battling
bill battling bill in fact the more you
build the more you battle the more you
feel the more you battle the more you
bill to law you matter in finally you
get to a place where the folks who were
fighting you will change their mind and
the wicked shall cease from troubling
and the weary shall be at rest
testify sound almost there I’m almost
there mom we’ll see
[Applause]
are there any two-handed people here
this morning
[Applause]
to him who much is given much is
required you cannot build anything that
won’t bring a battle and if you’re going
through a battle right now it’s only
because you’re building something
because people don’t fight people who
don’t build they’ll only fight you look
at your neighbor and say the battle is
because you’re building
[Applause]
if you weren’t building anything nobody
would battle you if you weren’t going
forward they wouldn’t fight you but the
more you start building the more you
gotta battle think it not strange that
these trials have come upon you this is
a part of your job
why are you here this morning because
you’re next
I was talking to Andy young and you know
who he is what a trailblazer he’s been
in in this nation not only working in
our government working in the civil
rights movement and just seeing so many
things happen and we were having a
conversation then I was talking about
the complexities of the time that we’re
in right now that controversy that goes
along with it in the the criticisms that
you have to deal with it and and and all
of that and I said you know it’s just
just terribly perplexing times now to be
a leader and to be out front he said
that’s not anything he knew I was
looking for a little sympathy hook up he
said I was with dr. King he said they
were fighting him on every side
he was put out of his denomination I’m
not talking about you here about the FBI
side and and all of that but you don’t
hear because of those who are preaching
and saying they are the next dr. canes
were the very ones who put him out
he said they were fighting him
internally they were fighting him
externally they were bugging his house
they were fighting him on every side not
to mention your own personal problems
and he said that’s unkind away bishop he
said we managed to make progress he said
I don’t know how we did and he said
there was always murmuring and
complaining and bickering and we didn’t
know from day to day what was going to
happen we didn’t agree amongst ourselves
while we were marching sometimes we were
debating issues for some kind of way we
made progress until eventually and we
begin to understand that we could not
wait for the controversy to stop for the
movement to go forward
and so I thought it was worth telling
you since you might not get to talk to
Andy young that you can’t wait for the
controversy to stop for your movement to
go forward you just got to let them say
whatever they’re gonna say fight them
back and keep on building I’m a bar one
Apollo white statements and say slap
your neighbor upside the head and say
you’re next
[Applause]
kind of go just a little bit further
[Applause]
surely you often think that Jesus was a
great leader watch Jesus when he says
his disciples who do men say that I am
here comes controversy your
controversial Jesus some say that thou
art Elias some say the dark Jeremiah
some say that our desires and you are so
controversial that your enemies don’t
agree now that’s what it’s getting good
when your enemies don’t agree you get
good then he says to his followers who
do you say that I am now before I quote
what Peter said let me let me underscore
that it is not Peter statement that
amazes me it is not the statement of the
one that amazes me
it is the Silence of the eleven who do
you say that I am 11 disciples said
nothing so often when you are in
leadership you are leading people who do
not know who you are
if you can get 1 out of 12 to understand
who you are then you’re doing as good as
Jesus anyway you’re doing pretty good if
one guy will speak up for you and say
thou art the Christ I know who you are
you’re the president of this company I
know who you are you’re the mastermind
behind this project I know most people
who are sitting under you don’t have a
clue who you are and they don’t value
who you are because they don’t
understand what they have and if you
don’t understand what you’ve got you can
fool around and lose what you got
because you don’t understand the
magnitude of what has been given again
to him who much is given much is
required that’s not just on the person
on the stage but it’s also on the people
who are following them it is much
required of you to follow somebody close
enough to have a clue who you’ve got
anybody who’s in leadership you’re
leading somebody who doesn’t know who
you are you’re struggling to do it
because you’re being underappreciated
you’re being become frustrated people
will handle you any kind of way because
they don’t know the value of what they
have
temptation is to walk away from people
you’re trying to help who don’t know who
you are one guy says thou art the Christ
the Son of the true and living God I
know who you are I figured out I have
followed you long enough to know who you
are
and on the basis of that knowledge Peter
gets to preach the inaugural message at
the birthing of the church because you
cannot pass your mantle to people who do
not know who you are
I wish I don’t have time to do this
justice because look at Elijah and
Elijah and Elisha says I want a double
portion of Elijah’s feed he said no not
yet you haven’t seen enough when you’ve
gone through this with me and that with
me and the other with me and that way
and if you’re still here when I’m taking
up now I’m going to give you a double
portion of my glory because you can’t
have my mantle if you don’t know who I
am
marriages are being lost because of it
companies are being lost because of it
family relationships are torn anytime
you have any kind of structure and you
have to leave people who don’t know who
you are
you’re in trouble
I want to move on can I go further this
is my last last Sunday to do this it
just bear with me just a little bit the
other thing I want you to understand
that you have to have in order to be a
leader is commitment you have to be the
last one to leave the ship if you’re
gonna lead you have to hang tough
you cannot inspire people to follow your
lack of commitment
you cannot inspire people to follow your
life a commitment you cannot inspire
people to follow your life of commitment
people follow what they admire you have
to have the mentality that I’m going to
be committed to this and if you’re going
to be a great leader do not commit to
more than your competence have you ever
seen people that volunteer for
everything I’m gonna be in the choir I’m
gonna be in the Russian board I’m gonna
be listened to be in there and then I’m
in there I’m going out in Salvation Army
I’m gonna do this and their heart is so
big that their head is shrinking and in
order to be introspective did not give
you a visual did you think
like the Wicked Witch of the web that’s
what’s happening to the brain it’s just
shrinking they’re shrinking because
anything you’re in charge of you have to
be committed to you have to be committed
to and if you’re not committed to it
you’re not gonna be effective at it and
in order to be committed to it you can’t
do it just for the check you can buy
competence but you cannot buy commitment
commitment has to come from the heart
it’s a hard thing it’s not a check thing
it’s a hard thing it’s not a check thing
and I want you to close the gap between
where you get your money from and what
you’re committed to because if you’re
making money over here but you’re
committed over there eventually it’s
going to pull you apart what you really
want to do is be able to make your money
where your commitment is and then you
will get paid for doing what you would
do for free
does anybody understand what I just said
that’s a good old shopping point right
there number five I want to talk about
character I want to talk about character
because if you have commitment without
character you get Hitler commitment
without character leads to all types of
human atrocities anytime somebody is
committed to something but they don’t
have character to undergird their
commitment at least to monarchy that
needs to travesties that need leads to
degradation at least to slavery and
leads to all types of human abuses of
every kind where people are committed
without character
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