We all can become deceived both in our personal lives, our relationships, and our ministries. Here are some significant questions and observations that will allow you to evaluate your leadership and the leadership of others.
• How many of you have a significant problem with self-deception?
• Those who don’t know don’t know they don’t know.
• You can go through you entire life only seeing from one perspective.
• As leaders it’s difficult for us to get an objective view of our leadership.
• The higher you rise in an organization, the more difficult it is to get objective truth about yourself.
• The problems you don’t know about are the problems you can’t fix.
• In the church world, there are problems we don’t know about that unchurched people recognize… whether its in our culture or environments.
• You have a lot problems that need fixing but you don’t even know about them.
• You have a lot of problems as a leader and you’ve got to make an effort to find out what you need to fix.
Three Principles of Self-Deception
1 – We as leaders have a limitless capacity for self-deception.
• Example: King David and Bathsheba.
• Healthy can mean the absence of problems.
• When there are no problems at all, healthy can be a way of saying, “we aren’t doing anything right now.”
• It’s not OK when people outside of our church doors are going to Hell.
2 – The longer we believe lies, the harder it is to hear truth.
• Psalm 36:2 – For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.
• There are a lot of us in Christian leadership that are so flattered with our ministry that we fail to recognize significant sin in our own lives.
Previous generations did us a disservice by telling us that we are good at everything.
• When you are teachable, there is greatness in you.
3 – The leader’s lack of self-awareness is the leader’s greatest barrier.
• It’s our greatest barrier to forward movement in the Kingdom.
• The self-deceived leader can always find someone or something else to blame.
• Don’t you ever say that people won’t… take ownership.
• Own your own limitations.
• If you delegate tasks, you create followers.
• If you delegate authority, you create leaders.
• If you just tell people what to do you won’t attract, build or release leaders.
• Your self-deception is the barrier to what God wants to do in your church.
• Know where you need God in every area of your life.
Uncovering the Truth About You
1 – Pray
• Search me O God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. – Psalm 139:23-24
• We cannot overcome a challenge we cannot identify.
• If there was something that was limiting your effectiveness, you would want to know about it.
• PRAY.
2 – Listen
• He who listens to life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. – Proverbs 15:31-32
• Listen to the Spirit of God and listen to people.
• The more convinced you are that you are right about something, the more likely you are wrong.
• Whatever you do, build a team that craves and gives helpful feedback.
• Can you give and receive correction?
• Implement annual 360 evaluations for every team member.
• Everyone around you gets the opportunity to critique your leadership
anonymously.
• What has God been trying to show you? Write those things down.
3 – Change
• Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. – James 1:12
• Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. – John 8:32
• The problems you have in your organization aren’t someone else’s problems, they are your problems. It’s a leadership issue.
• Some of you are too proud, deceiving yourselves, and ignoring your sin by ignoring your problems.
• Are you having an affair with your phone?
• Are you a workaholic?
• Is your body in trouble?
• Is your marriage or family suffering?
• God wants you to do more than survive.
• You can’t lead people to life and life more abundantly if you aren’t experiencing abundant life yourself.
• Pornography is a big deal.
• It’s time to get help.
• It’s time to get honest.
• It’s time to come clean.
• Confess to God for forgiveness.
• Confess to people for healing.
• There is a world that needs Jesus.
• So do you.
• The more we rely on God for His forgiveness and power the more we can lead other people to experience it for themselves.
Notes from Catalyst Conference on Leadership. Used by permission.