Most leaders grow weary of the vision they were given by God. They begin to withhold their hearts from others and turn away from the influence they could have. Norm Willis pinpointed the problem in his book The Ancient Path:
The curse of our day is withheld hearts. Some will give their money, give their time, even give to the point of sacrifice and yet all the time withhold the giving of their hearts. The focus of the fourth chapter of Malachi and the first chapter of Luke is on the heart. God is after our hearts, both the giving of our hearts and the receiving of another's heart. The only way the discipleship process can work is if the hearts of the disciple and the "discipler" are given to each other (Kirkland, WA: Christ Church, 1998, pp. 21-22).
Has your heart grown cold to the influence you could have on others? I invite you to read this issue of GRTL to see 5 warning signs about not finishing well, and 10 things we can learn from Jesus about how to finish strong.
**Remember, you can't ever have a new beginning, but you can start today to make a new ending.
Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and Ken McElrath reported the following in their book The Ascent of a Leader (1999, Jossey-Bass p. 14):
"After having conducted extensive research, Dr. J. Robert Clinton, professor of leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary, believes that more than 70 percent of leaders do not finish well.
"He bases this startling statistic on six criteria, gleaned from common traits among leaders who did not finish well according to their self-analysis, the analysis of their peers and followers, or the teachings of their professed religion.
First, leaders who do not finish well lose their learning posture. They stop listening and growing.
Second, the attractiveness of their character wanes.
Third, they stop living by their convictions.
Fourth, they fail to leave behind ultimate contributions.
Fifth, they stop walking in an awareness of their influence and destiny.
Finally, leaders who finish poorly lose their once vibrant relationship with God."
"It is finished"--10 things we can learn from Jesus about finishing well
Many people intend to finish their work, their ministry, without effectively passing the baton to those who come next. In the church, commerce, politics, education--indeed, every area of life--we could learn from what Jesus did.
After all, in three years of earthly ministry Jesus took 12 ordinary men, equipped them to change the world, and they did it.
Gunther Krallman in his book Mentoring for Mission describes Jesus' discipleship technique (Waynesboro, GA: Gabriel, 2002, p. 124):
his approach was relational
his approach was informal
his approach was oral
his approach was mobile
he modelled
he taught
he enabled practical application
he encouraged
he corrected
he stressed the indispensability of divine empowering
In short, Jesus walked with his disciples so much that his cry on the cross, "It is finished," was not only a proclamation of his conquering of death and sin--it was also a statement of his finished work in training disciples who would take the message of his redemption to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Start with today's youth. Look around. Our youth may only be 15% of the population, but they are 100% of the future.
Don't worry about being formal. Just relate with others and talk about what is important. Model the truth. Ask God to give you daily ways to apply what you know.
Above all, rely on God--not your own knowledge and confidence--for success in preparing those who will succeed you.
Pass The Baton
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