October 2006

There are probably a zillion and one books on leadership out there (and probably that’s a zillion too many), and the list grows daily. Pastors and church leaders have jumped onto the leadership bandwagon, and every autumn are drawn by the magnetic promises of gurus who invoke special techniques and cite magical disciplines that are guaranteed to anoint one’s leadership skills with success.

Biblically, the real tests of leadership are never founded on techniques or methods; successful leadership in any of life’s endeavors is always a matter of character. Former US Senator Alan Simpson nailed it when he said, “If you have integrity, nothing else matters; if you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.”

This ministry has learned a great deal in its short history about need to “read the culture” when crossing international and inter-ethnic frontiers. Tastes differ: some folks shudder at the thought of a hot dog but relish a tasty fried insect, and for others half a world away, the very opposite is true. Similarly, values and moral codes from one culture do not easily translate into another. But I’ve discovered that biblical standards of character are universal; everyone reveres integrity. The leader who lives the truth of what he or she says will command the respect of anyone.

That is why a Broken Jars seminar can be so different from the glitzy alternatives that abound in the leadership whirl. Nothing fancy, nothing shocking – just the wonderful truths of God’s Word explained and exposed in a way that can make a difference. God’s words, true and universal as they are, acted upon with integrity, have been changing the world since the Spirit first began to utter them.

“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” [1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NIV]

Amazing things happen when we simply trust the power of the Spirit to operate through the integrity of our character. If that’s the only thing you ever learn about leadership, that’s sufficient.