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The Greatest Challenge in the Church Today

Personal transformation enabled Paul, who had waged war against Christ and His church, to become an apostle for Christ and urge people to follow his example as he followed Christ (1 Cor. 4:16, 11:1; Phil. 3:17).

This was my first biblical introduction to an important leadership principle: speed of the leader, speed of the team. I have since found it to be the reality in my experience as a pastor and leader, especially when it comes to leading people through change.

No matter how much people respect or believe me, they won’t take the journey of change simply because I’m pointing the way. But they will take the journey of change if I’m personally leading the way. This has been true in every area of my leadership: knowing Christ, relevantly reaching out to the lost, serving the poor, and giving up or changing things I love to fulfill the purpose God has called me to accomplish.

In truth, the greatest catalyst to my effectiveness in leading change has been my willingness to take the journey of change myself. I’ve had to change the way I live, love, learn, think, work, relate and lead.

And I’m finding myself needing to change more now than at any time in the history of my leadership because the realities and circumstances facing the people I lead are changing faster than ever before.

Key Principles to Follow

To help you lead yourself through change, let me share some keys that have helped me experience a measure of success through the years. 

Experiencing God.

As a spiritual leader, this is the single most important ingredient for change in my life.

If I don’t remain intentional at staying thirsty and hungry for God, I begin conforming to the patterns of this world rather than continuing to experience change by the renewing of my mind (Rom. 12:2). 

Exposure.

I read years ago that the most important and valuable changes in our lives will stem from the people we meet and the books we read. The truth is that the changes we need to experience require exposure to new people, thoughts, experiences, environments, information and needs.

If we’re not intentionally expanding our exposure, we will by nature begin to stagnate.