I am an imperfect leader helping to lead an imperfect organization. Sounds logical [to my wife], but there are days and weeks that I don’t believe this is true. I feel like First Priority of America, being an evangelistic local church strategy to teenagers, is better than or equal to anything else a person could give their life to. I feel like God has placed me in the perfect place and nobody else in the world has the privilege I do. Have you ever felt that way? My pride comes before my fall, every time.
I am an imperfect person, helping to lead an imperfect group. So what does imperfection mean for me on a daily basis? It means that I need to manage myself and put structure in place to keep me humble and focused. Andy Stanley says, “Don’t trade your blessing for a bowl of soup.” He is referring to Isaac and Jacob when Jacob trades the generational blessing of his father for his immediate need for food. I need to put priorities on my thoughts, actions, words, deeds, emotions, physical health, spiritual health, finances, marriage, and time. I cannot allow my immediate physical desire to have a bowl of ice cream to override my goal of being below 190 pounds for the rest of my life. At the moment, I am at 199 pounds, so the answer is no. If I am at 189 pounds, then the answer can be a yes.
What does this have to do with leadership, especially leadership in a Christian movement? Everything.
When my wife and I started to manage our finances well, we each lost 10 pounds. It wasn’t because we were focused on our weight, it was because our pile of finances got cleaned up and we saw another layer of life that was a mess. Jay Strack says, ‘Eat the big frog first.’ Why do all the little ‘easy’ things all day if you are going to get fired for not doing this one hard thing you are avoiding? If you aren’t going to do it, just quit at the beginning of the day and save yourself the day of worry. Get up and exercise today [speaking out of imperfection again today on this one], then the next difficult task at work will be easier cause you’ve already overcome the biggest mountain of the day: to exercise.
This is important because today is important. Today matters. Justin Irving said, “Your barrel of leadership can only be as full as your shortest slat.” If you are emotionally distant because you are fighting with your wife, the rest of your relationships will be affected.
I offer friendship and perspective from experience as an imperfect leader helping to lead an imperfect organization.
Confession: I have committed all 7 deadly sins, most recently, at a Pizza Ranch buffet.
