The Leadership Drop Podcast
This is a podcast for Pastors, leaders, and anyone who wants to grow to be all that God has called them to be.
The Leadership Drop Podcast
Embracing Life’s Twists to Lead with Authenticity and Faith
Ever wondered how embracing life's unexpected twists could lead you to greater leadership roles? We promise you'll discover practical advice on navigating transitions in your education, career, and personal relationships by letting opportunities come to you rather than forcing them. We discuss the importance of authenticity and the profound impact of prioritizing your relationships with Jesus Christ and your family over career ambitions. By being fully present and committed to your current responsibilities, you'll find that new doors open naturally, leading to smoother transitions and a more rewarding journey.
Welcome to the Leadership Drop Podcast. In each episode, pastor Jackie, along with selected guests from time to time, aim to drop some leadership insights that are designed to help you thrive, whether you're leading a church, a business, a team, a family or simply yourself. So lean in, listen, laugh and learn as we drop some leadership truth, and watch out for that leadership mic drop moment. Let's go.
Speaker 2:Well, welcome to another one of our Leadership Drop podcast. This one is dropping in the middle of the summer here in Arizona. I've got my summer t-shirt on we Care it is a motto of our church that we care crosschurchcarescom. But one of the things we care about is leadership, and we care about helping the leaders inside and outside of our organization become better at what they do. And last month we dropped a podcast about leadership and timing, and I want to talk to you about something that's sort of closely related to that. I want to talk to you about leadership and transitions. We're in the middle of the summer.
Speaker 2:Some of you may be at camp, or you're going to camp with high school or college age students, and one of the questions you get asked often at camp season by young people who are struggling with God's will for their life is how do I know what God's will for my life is? How do I know what college to go to? How do I know what grad school to apply to? If you're in a job, how do I know when I should look for a new job? Or, if you're the boss or the owner of a company, how do I know when to hire a new person. So all of that is related to seasons of transition in our lives. How do I know when it's time to retire? How do I know when it's time to retire? How do I know when it's time to maybe change career paths? All of that close kin to timing is transitions and they have to kind of work hand in hand together. So let me give you just some real practical advice and I'm going to apply some scripture to it at the end of our time together, but just some real practical advice about how to handle transitions in every sphere of life work or ministry. Number one I would say to you from this is years of experience is let the game come to you. Let the game come to you. Some time ago this has been a long, long time ago I was trying to find a new job and I was basically sending my resume out on bulk mail. I was trying everything I could because there was a time of recession and I needed employment and I was looking, looking really hard. I've never had much success bulk mailing my resume. What I've had success in over the years is just letting the game come to me. So here's just some real quick thoughts, some bullet points on how to let the game come to you, whether you're looking for a college to attend, looking for a new job to start or looking for a transition in a current work environment.
Speaker 2:Number one don't force it. Don't try to pry your way into it. Don't try to force your way and force your hand. You will not like the results of forced relationships.
Speaker 2:Number two don't fake it, and by that I mean don't become something other than who you are in order to get the job you want. Honestly don't. In life you ought to be doing the things that you want to get hired to do, like, if I want to do this thing, I ought to already be doing this thing, and people say, well, you're already doing this thing, why don't you come and do this thing for us? So don't fake it. Don't become something other than who you are. God has given each of you a unique fingerprint, a unique personality fingerprint, I should say, and you should leverage that. The most authentic thing you can be is yourself, and when you sacrifice that in order to get in some temporary position or relationship, then you're really sacrificing your own humanity. So don't force it and don't fake it.
Speaker 2:And then I think this is really important. Don't make it foremost, especially when it comes to jobs and careers and work or education. None of that stuff is the most important thing in your life. The most important thing in your life the most important thing in your life clearly is your relationship with Jesus Christ. Second to that, your relationship, if you're married, with your spouse or with your family. Those are the most important things in your life. And when you let something like a career or a calling even become more important to you than your relationship with Jesus Christ and your immediate family members, when it becomes foremost, you're not going to like the results of that. So just sit back and relax, take a deep breath and let the game come to you.
Speaker 2:The second thing I would say to you, as you're thinking about a transition, either in career or maybe moving somewhere else, is wherever you are, be all in. I know you may want to do that thing over there, but right now you have this job right here and do this job right here to the very best of your ability. Don't be borrowing from the future responsibilities and thought equity. Live in the present and be all in where you are at. Let me ask you this question If things never changed. Could you stay where you're at and be happy? Could you be productive? Could you be a productive part of the kingdom economy, wherever you are? Could you stay where you are and do the thing you're doing and be okay with it? I don't think it's until we get to the point that we say yes to that that God opens up other opportunities for us in life.
Speaker 2:I had a young pastor here been several years ago in the valley, moved to the valley and he's just a sharp, sharp guy, lots of potential, and you could tell that he knew that also, like most pastors do, he had no problem with self-confidence and he was wanting desperately to climb up the ladder of influence of our denomination and network of churches here in Arizona and beyond. And one day I told him I won't use his name, but one day I told him I said man, why don't you just kind of blossom where you're planted? Why don't you just be all in where you're at? And if you do a great job of doing the thing that God's called you to do, other people will notice and then you will get invited into the larger kingdom conversations. And I don't know if he took that advice or not, but I do know that is exactly what happened in his life. He is now pastoring an amazing church, very large ministry. He has multiple campuses and he's very tied in to influence in the larger kingdom family.
Speaker 2:But I think first of all he had to get to the place that he was just going to be all in, where he was at, and when God sees that we're faithful with a small thing this is in the Bible. It is not until we are faithful in the least of these things that God allows us to be faithful in the larger thing. So be faithful in the least and God will open up the door, a transition moment, where you can be faithful in the larger thing. So first point is let the game come to you. Second point wherever you are, be all in. You may not always here's the third thing you may not always get what you want, but know this God will always get what God wants. You may not always get what you want, but God always gets what he wants.
Speaker 2:Over time you're going to have to learn to lean in and trust in God's sovereignty. Remember I've said before in this previous podcast with God, time means nothing, but timing is everything and God may have plans for your life that you may not see. The Apostle Paul wanted to go over here and a door was shut and then there was an open door. That's when he received the Macedonian call to go over here. That wasn't Paul's original plan, but it was God's perfect plan. Let me say it this way you need to learn to be happy with the twist of sovereignty in your life. Now let me say that again for effect you need to learn to be happy with the twist of sovereignty in your life.
Speaker 2:A classic example of a twist of sovereignty for me was as a fourth grade boy and I had this come back to me recently I was doing a funeral in someone's home and there was a little she looked to be third or fourth grade girl just weeping uncontrollably at her grandfather's funeral, and I always have empathy for kids of that age at funerals because I remember my first funeral I went to was for my grandfather who died when I was fourth grade, and to me the sun rose and set on him. He bought me my first cow and I remember just driving around in his truck with him and he was just. He was bigger and larger than life to me, and then we received the news. I can still remember sitting at our dining room table in our little rental house that my parents lived in and getting a phone call that he had passed away. And not that he had passed away, I guess, that he had been taken to the hospital. And so we drove overnight through the night to get back to where my family, he and my grandmother lived, only to find that when we got there he passed away, and it rocked my world.
Speaker 2:I thought my world had ended, but I had to learn to be happy with a twist of sovereignty. Because of that, our family moved back to where my grandma was at to help take care of the family farm and some of the oil wells that they had, and because of that I started going to church, because a cousin older than I came by and started picking us up, taking us to church. We'd never gone to church before and as a result of that, myself, my sister, my mom and dad all came to faith in Christ. We're all baptized because God, through a twist of sovereignty, use the death of my grandfather my world figure to me at the time to bring our family to a place where we would come to know him. And so I don't know it may not be that dramatic in your life, but there could be twist of sovereignty, that God is working behind the scenes in ways that you don't know.
Speaker 2:There's an old hymn that says when I can't trace his hand, I have to trust his heart, and so sometimes we just have to trust that God's leaving me in this position or God's providentially moving in a new position or a new thing in my life that I didn't really plan on. But God is at work. And so you just remember you may not always get what you want, but you will always get what God wants. And then, in closing, let me just encourage you by Scripture and say this you need to remember the lesson of Hebrews 5, verse 4. Let me read it to you. We've been preaching through Hebrews. I've got my Hebrews mug right here. We've been preaching through Hebrews, and so I've been living in Hebrews in my quiet time.
Speaker 2:And in Hebrews 5, 4, it says no one takes this honor on himself. Instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was. Now think about that. I know it's talking about specifically, ministry and all of this, but honor is something that is inferred by God, not assumed by us. You may try to break into some social circle, or you may try to break into some business circle or some church circle and try to wrestle honor away from those in charge. But don't forget, honor is something inferred by God, not assumed by us. And when you are given honor and some of you will be given honor in some very profound ways let me encourage you to do two things when you are given honor. First of all, pour yourself out for others. Pour yourself out for others.
Speaker 2:The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4, verse 6,. It says but have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. And then Paul would later go on to say that I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and so just remember that you are not there. God doesn't give you a promotion to give you more power. He gives you a promotion to give you more possibilities to serve others and to expand his kingdom. So use that as a platform to pour yourself into others and then pray your people up. Pour yourself out and then pray your people up. Hebrews 5, 7,.
Speaker 2:Going back to Hebrews says During his earthly life he offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his reverence. Oh, wouldn't that be great that be said of us. During our earthly lives, people remembered us for our prayer life and that we were praying for others, one of the things I do routinely in my prayer journal. This is my Bible, not my journal, but I have a journal and I write out. And sometimes, if I'm not able to write out, I use windshield time just driving.
Speaker 2:I drove to Tucson the other day and just use that time just to pray for people that God has put me in position of leadership in their lives and praying God's best for their lives. Listen, there's not a more powerful thing you can do than to pray for those people that you lead. And as you're in transition and if you come out of transition and you have been put in a position of honor, don't use it as a whipping board to get people to tell everybody how good you are. Use it as a platform to pour yourself into them and to pray them up to God. Hey, I'm praying for you as you become a better leader, and may we all become better leaders in the world that we live in and the organizations that we lead. God bless and until next time.