Table of Contents

By Wayne M. Warner

Leadership is an easily squandered, often misunderstood commodity we all value. It can appear like an early-morning fog and dissipate in the midday heat. Yet, if the church is to achieve its mission, it must diligently develop effective leaders.

Leadership development begins with risking personal growth, and more often than not, it results in making commitments. Whether we achieve our leadership potential often depends on our willingness to risk new growth.

Sometimes people prefer to depend on what natural ability they already have. Others use perennial excuses. Consider the report of the accident victim who claimed to have an accident because: "I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don’t have."

Or the driver, who claimed: "The telephone pole was approaching. I was attempting to swerve out of the way when it struck my front end."

These are examples of stock-in-trade reasons we give for avoiding personal accountability. Moses did not begin life as a wallflower, and he became a great leader of the biblical people. Yet, like many of us, he fled early failure and did everything to escape failure’s haunting specters of insecurity, inadequacy, and his unwillingness to risk further exposure. Moses’ most notable early failure saw his compassion boil over, and he lost his cool. Angrily, he killed an Egyptian guard after watching the guard abuse a slave. Forced to flee, he escaped and took on a new identity in the land of Midian. Uncontrolled anger cost him 40 years of princely accumulations and resulted in silent anonymity.

Forty years later, this gentle sheepherder observed a strange sight. Egypt seemed light years away when Moses stopped to look closer at that strange bush. But he quickly recognized a Presence he had felt long ago at his mother’s knee. That was long ago, but not so long ago that he removed his shoes and renewed himself in the faith of his forebears.

Unable to explain the mystery of the burning bush, Moses acknowledged God’s call to return home and empower the leaderless slaves. His deep-rooted heritage unfolded as his understanding slowly matured, and he painfully processed his past failures.

INSECURITY AVOIDS RISK-TAKING

"Who am I, that I should go?" Moses demanded (Exodus 3:11).* Facing Pharaoh would be bad enough, but challenging the Hebrew slaves to follow him out of Egypt could be a monumental task.

Although Moses was raised as a prince of Egypt, he fled Egypt as an escaped felon—an Egyptian fugitive. Without standing among his privileged peers, he lost face with his own people. Worst of all, he could not face himself. Moses was a meek man, but no coward. But his killing the Egyptian only proved his lack of fitness for leadership. Beneath his cultured veneer lived an undesirable alien.

When God calls, He expects us to neither overprice our worth nor undersell ourselves. He expects us to take the necessary risks and grow through the struggles we face. Not unlike us, Moses struggled with his self-image, damaging his relationship with God. When he admitted his princely facade and accepted his Hebrew heritage, he found new courage to face the risks that added life to his years.

Only when convinced of God’s presence at the burning bush could Moses confront his own insecurity and face his impossible task. In rediscovering his lost identity, he found the freedom to face God and accept God’s grace-giving assurance, "I will be with you" (Exodus 3:12).

INADEQUACY IS A COMMON ENEMY

"Suppose I go…and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ " Moses further resisted, "What shall I tell them?" (Exodus 3:13).

I enjoyed the veneer of a youthful appearance and good training as a youth. However, behind the facade lurked the haunting ghosts of insecurity and inadequacy. My youthful appearance made me suspect when trying to model the role of a mature church leader. That only raised further bars of insecurity. As the years unfolded, I began to understand that Bible heroes as well as contemporary church leaders struggled with the fearful ghosts of failure.

The Hebrew name for God, given to Moses, was JHWH—God’s personal name. It expressed God’s self-existence, the "I AM" who "has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14). Leaders and followers each need this lesson: the God who is will also be.

Like many of us, Moses needed to confront the limitations of his own knowledge. He needed to learn that ignorance is seldom an adequate excuse. His real issue was not his skills, but could he trust God’s ability?

Few of us begin the journey with the needed answers. The more obvious answers often appear when we face various forks in the road and find we are inadequate for the task before us. When our weakness appears greatest, we learn to lean on the God who is and will always be, and our grandest achievements unfold.

UNWILLINGNESS NEEDS CONFRONTING

Moses persisted, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me?" (Exodus 4:1). Some have yet to learn that leadership skills do not come in a neatly wrapped package all at once. Nor do they come without personal cost. Too quickly, Moses prepared to deny personal responsibility, blame others, accuse those who follow. His query seemed to imply fear of failure more than fear of God. "I would, Lord," he seems to say, "but the people would not."

Let us not blame Moses too quickly. "Who am I?" and "What shall I say?" are relevant questions. Only when he shifted his responsibility by pleading lack of eloquence did he appear to make God’s ability the real problem. Then, God asked, "Who gave man his mouth?" (Exodus 4:11).

Some have suggested the most significant Episcopal action undertaken by Francis Asbury on the American frontier was simply mounting his horse and being a bishop. He made his rounds until everybody knew him. In the South where churches were few, he gloried in expanding the Methodist circuits. Watching settlers flow west along the Cumberland route, Asbury announced, "We must take care to send preachers after these people."

Everywhere he went he supported Methodism. When Coke wanted to correspond with Asbury in America, he simply addressed his letter, "The Rev’d Bishop Asbury, North America" and it was delivered (Francis Asbury/Rudolph).

Asbury learned early what it took Moses years to learn. We speak the truth when we confess we are slow of speech, unqualified, and lacking in training. We maintain our forms of godliness, but we deny His power when we hide behind our tree of unwillingness. Accepting Aaron to serve as his personal spokesman was not the real issue. Moses had to determine, "Do I believe or disbelieve in God?"

PERSONAL GROWTH MAXIMIZES LEADERSHIP SKILLS

"Lord, please send someone else," Moses concluded (Exodus 4:13). His moment of truth finally arrived.

Previously, he stuffed his excuses into the skin of plausible reasons, and offered them as legitimate. The Lord’s anger was kindled against him, however, and he lost the privilege of speaking for himself; more unwilling than rebellious.

Falling short of expected success is common for many of us. Stuffing our failure into the skin of an excuse is always risky. Finally, Moses had to admit he did not want to go. Beneath his apparent devotion was an excuse stuffed into the skin of his own reasoning. He substituted excuses, wishing to avoid admitting his unwillingness.

On the other hand, transforming his thinking increased his potential for leadership. After that, it became a matter of time until God used him to complete the Exodus. Transformed thinking always leads to personal growth (Romans 12:2). Personal growth often produces leaders who model by overcoming risks.

Before you refuse another assignment, reread the story of Moses. Rediscover how God blessed him when he moved beyond his safety zone. Does God beckon you to some service for which you feel fear, doubt, and inadequacy? In reality, God may be offering His assistance in reassessing and reordering your priorities and relationships. Once you become willing to take the risk, God will make of you all He needs you to become.

Wayne M. Warner is a retired pastor and a freelance writer who lives in Battle Creek, Michigan.

*Scripture references are from the New International Version.