“You can lead without character. But character is what makes you a leader worth following.”
Andy Stanley
“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the unfaithful destroys them.”
(Proverbs 113:3, NET)
Just the other day, I was hanging out with our church Elders at a local coffee shop. I was talking to one of the owners when she revealed some shocking news, “I stopped drinking coffee!” I gotta’ admit, it gave me pause to think, “if even the owner of this place doesn’t use the stuff, am I wasting my money on this overpriced addictive beverage?” Then I started to wonder, “isn’t this the same problem many people have with the leaders in the church?” In an age when people are pursuing a leaderless church, “is it possible that they are turned off because they only see leaders who don’t really ‘use‘ what they are ‘selling‘?” The integrous leader will stop trying to convince people to follow God, and start living through Him. The integrous leaders will stop trying to persuade people to embrace their theology, and start living their theology. Here are just a few ways that a leader can become a man, or woman, worthy of being followed.
First, the integrous leader is developed through brokenness. The story of David is just one example. Time after time, for more than a decade, David was beaten down and broken while pursing God’s call on his life. In the midst of great persecution at the hands of Saul, his leader, David found a way to build an army and keep them focused on the promise of God.
Second, to become a leader of integrity worth being followed, one must be intentional about developing the inner Man. As leaders, we must invest in the health of our soul. Nobody plans to fail, especially leaders. But to ignore the condition of your soul is the equivalent of planning to fail (1 Timothy 4:12-16).
Third, leaders worth following are willing to face and embrace current reality regardless of how discouraging or embarrassing it might be. A leader must must be relentless in their quest to know the truth about what is happening and deal with it head on (1 Corinthians 1 cf..).
In the long run, leadership effectiveness hinges on who you are rather than on what you can do. Anyone can learn how to act like a leader. Anyone can develop the habits of good leadership. Anyone with the right personality can draw a big crowd and keep their attention with motivational speeches. However, people will not follow you for long, and God will not honor you, unless you are a leader with integrity who is worthy of being followed (1 Timothy 3:1-13).
Go back to the DNA of Integrity
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