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Do you want to develop the number one quality of a leader who leaves a legacy?
No, it doesn’t have to do with talent. It doesn’t even have to do with accomplishment.
It has to do with raising up others to do what you do, better than you do it yourself. It’s time to raise up the next generation.
The Number One Hindrance To Raising Others Up
But there’s a weakness in the life of every leader that can derail the best of them from this goal. It’s not lack of skill. It’s not even failure.
It’s a bit more subtle and easier to mask.
Yep, you guessed it. Pride.
If you don’t struggle with pride, you can stop reading now. Better yet, keep reading because it’s probably worse than you think.
Deal with pride on in the inside
Pride is primarily an inward issue. Most of us don’t walk around trumpeting our awesomeness. We feed upon it inwardly.
I’m an expert at this. Rather than dealing with my pride with violence, I’d rather pull a Spiderman and just mask it. I’m starving for the praise of man. I’m craving to “one-up” someone and receive accolades for my accomplishments, gifts, my ministry. To make matters worse, I even relish to be recognized for my humility. That’s like the Osama Bin Laden of pride in my book.
So let’s recap.
I’d rather mask my pride than deal with it.
I’m starving for praise.
I take pride in my humility.
Lord, help me.
Probably not the best life disposition for a full-time worship leader, right?
How To Be Killing Your Pride Before It, Well, Kills You
But there’s a way to kill pride everyday. I wish it were as simple as a medical procedure, a pill, or pulling a tooth (I think I’ll go with the pill, actually).
Like all good things in life, it’s more of a process:
Go make someone else great.
When we pour our lives into another, a number of things will happen that kill your pride. Here’s why I think it’s the best way:
1. You take your eyes off yourself – in our quest to being the best, we tend to leave others in the dust. Rather than a relentless obsession with self-improvement, make it your goal to improve someone else.
2. You bring attention to someone else – pride is murdered when you share the spotlight with someone else – particularly if they’re better than you. It’s a little uneasy at first. You wonder, “Will I be forgotten? Will this person take my place?” But inwardly there’s nothing better you can do. You improve someone else while slaying the dragon of pride within.
3. You begin to prioritize the “Kingdom of God” over the “Kingdom of self” – when you pour into someone else, it becomes about the kingdom – developing leaders, releasing them into ministry. If you neglect this, you’ll continue to build your own selfish kingdom, which will crumble in the end.
4. It’s action oriented – rather than just saying things different or thinking different thoughts, making someone else great is an action. It’s physical. There’s no hiding the impact it will make. Pride will eat you from the inside out and its defeat demands a tangible action.
So I’ve decided that rather than climbing a ladder of success on my own, I’m climbing a mountain, harnessing others to my rope. And if they pass me up, great. We’re all on the same team, right? The better I can make someone else, the more impact we can make on this world together.
So whether you’re a worship leader, pastor, musician, writer, or any creative for that matter, don’t forget to invest in the life of another.
But how do you really start making “raising up the next generation” a reality? Glad you asked.
The First Step
A few years back, I heard Andy Stanley deliver a message on apprenticing leaders. It was so helpful, I want to include some of his thoughts here.
I can’t think of something more important for worship leaders. We want to leave a legacy. We want the work of God to continue beyond what we can carry with our own hands.
We want to raise up the next generation, engage the young, and capture the imagination of the artists in our midst.
Imagine the possibilities. When your ministry has come and gone, when you’re no longer as effective as you once were, your influence can live on in those you apprentice.
The first step? Never do ministry alone.
It’s a paradigm shift. Getting things done as a leader is different than getting things done as a doer.
It’s less about a task list and more about empowerment.
You see, your goal at the end of the day isn’t to say, “I accomplished this, this, and this.” Your goal is to say, “Look at these people who were discipled. Look what we accomplished together.”
The Problem With Apprenticing
But there’s only one problem. We avoid it.
Apprenticing is scary. I know you’re thinking it. You have a hard enough time managing your own disorganized, creative self. How are you supposed to manage another?
It’s messy, but it’s not as overwhelming as you may think.
That is, if you do it right.
3 Myths We Believe About Apprenticing
There are typically 3 myths we believe about apprenticing:
1. You need to be an expert.
We all feel this tension. “Well, I just don’t know enough. I don’t know everything there is to know about leading worship. How can I apprentice?”
Let me just free you up. You don’t need to know more than Paul Baloche and you don’t need to know everything there is to know. You just need to pass along what you do know.
“Well, what if I feel incompetent?” No problem. Bring someone into the messiness of what you don’t know and be honest. Figure it out. Don’t work alone.
2. You need to schedule more meetings.
No, they just need to join you on your mission. It’s not about, “Let’s drink this latte together.” It’s about “Let’s climb this mountain together.”
Many of us avoid apprenticing because we only have time to do our job. We don’t have disposable time for more meetings with more people. That’s a mistaken notion about apprenticing.
Invite someone into your vision. Do ministry together. Allow them to step out on their own.
3. You might be out of a job.
It’s scary to ponder being replaced. What if your apprentice is better than you? As Andy says, “in a healthy organization, if you replace yourself, you will always have a place.”
Raising up other leaders is a quality of an indispensable leader. If you do this well, you will always have a place.
I remember times when I hesitated to even have another singer sing because I knew they were better than me.
It’s rather sickening. We don’t want to be replaced. We don’t want to be forgotten. We want to be wanted. The truth is, you become twice as effective as a reproducing leader.
Remember your MEDs
How do you apprentice? Take these few points from Andy Stanley:
1. Model – Here’s what I do
2. Explain – Here’s why I do it
3. Demonstrate – Here’s how I do it.
No, you don’t have to know everything. You don’t have to be the best in world. But you must empty yourself of all that God has given you.
Your Homework Assignment
This week, I want you to identify who your “one” is – who is the one person you are going to invest in? Bring them into your workflow and begin to model what you do, explain why you do it, and demonstrate how you do it.
Then, let them try it. Maybe it’s something as simple as an administrative task in the office. Maybe it’s something as large as leading worship next Sunday.
Whatever it is, start being intentional about apprenticing. View your task list and work week through this lens. I know it will change your life.
P.S.
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