The need to succeed.
Do you have that? I do. Embedded in me by my parents I became driven to succeed. One person even commented to me, “you seem to have such a need to succeed.”
When the need to succeed becomes the driving force in the life of a leader, compromise is waiting at the door. Relax the standards just a little and the success will be greater, quicker, more evident!
The words of Jesus come crashing that party, pointing to real success. His words? “I appointed you to go bear fruit, fruit that will last.”
What? Can we have temporal success and not fruit that lasts? Apparently! And the key factor to fruit bearing, according to his words is not PERSONALITY!! Nope.
And not SKILLS ALONE!!
The key factor Jesus highlights is completely ironic, against everything we are told. It is remaining in him! The key factor is the connection of the leader to the Lord. All success that lasts flows from that connection – period!! So when we are too busy to sit with the Lord, too much to do to keep driving the success, we may be turning heads with our stats and methods, but we have lost the life that flows from the head of the body. And as a result, our success is temporal!
How’s that for going against our “silver bullet” mentality? The top priority for leaders who want to make a difference is being with the difference maker so that the difference is first embodied in them. Then and only then are the results what we really want.
Personality is not the key factor. Skills, though significant, cannot bring lasting fruit. Connection is the key. “If a man remains in me and I in him he WILL bear much fruit.” The work of God is always powerful in me before it is powerfully through me.