Home Pastors Articles for Pastors The Painful Secret All Great Leaders Share

The Painful Secret All Great Leaders Share

For example, in my own life, the stubbornness, perseverance and tendency to move forward for the sake of Christ in spite of all obstacles is connected to how, in my childhood, I coped with rejection, isolation and pain through making a name for myself by excelling in street fighting, sports, music and in other areas of life—all to carve out a name and identity for myself so I would be praised, respected and celebrated by my peers.

Although this developed in me qualities of perseverance in the midst of pain and suffering, it was for my glory and not for God’s glory!

Thus, the development of qualities I use to this day as part of my leadership portfolio—my gifts and abilities—are directly connected to the habits/patterns I developed out of my sin nature and my desire to carve out a name for myself for the sake of self-worth and self-esteem. This shows me that God even used my sins for His glory!

In summary: The gifts and abilities I use today as a leader in the Body of Christ were originally inspired, molded and developed in the fiery furnace of self-survival in my childhood, which all emanated out of a desire to make a name for myself and not for the Lord Jesus Christ!

So my gifts and calling are inextricably connected to the very sin nature Jesus had to die for! This is why God has to continually allow great challenges, pain and suffering in my life as a way of tempering my tendency to depend upon myself, honor myself and trust in myself for results!

The greater the leader, the more stubborn they have to be to resist temptation, to stay focused and to be successful—even though this same stubbornness may have originally developed and emanated out of their personal rebellion against God before they were saved!

Thus, there is always a fine line between our great leadership qualities and our sinful tendencies to rebel against God and build our own kingdoms! (This also explains why great leaders often fall into scandal, especially if they allow their hectic schedules to crowd out their continual need for spiritual formation in God’s presence.)

Going back to the Apostle Paul: As he matured, he actually bragged more about his weaknesses than his accomplishments so the power of Christ could rest on him! 

What a far cry from some of today’s preachers who are constantly bragging about how much victory, power and accomplishments they have in their ministries!