Issue #110, July 26, 2013
Paul continues his quality checklist for Timothy by noting that the leaders chosen must “not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6). At first glance it may seem like Paul is against young leaders. However, he is writing these words to Timothy, a young leader. But Timothy had been a believer in Christ for many years and was not a recent convert. Paul’s instruction is not focused on age but maturity in faith. Paul’s instruction implies that even if a seasoned leader comes to faith in Christ, time is needed before he or she is ready to be a servant leader. Paul recognizes leadership maturity does not automatically develop with time but cannot develop without it. Time provides experience that allows leaders to mature and develop. There are no shortcuts or ways to speed up the process, the only thing which can be done is to effectively use the time to produce maximum maturity. Servant leaders do this in several ways.
Servant leaders use time to reflect on their experiences.
Leaders automatically gain experience with time, the question is what they do with that experience. Servant leaders learn the discipline of reflection to turn their experiences into wisdom. They use time for reflection to learn from their mistakes as well as successes. As they reflect, they are able to identify personal deficiencies in character and ask God to change them. They identify weaknesses in competence and develop plans to strengthen their skill. In reflection, they learn to hear God’s quiet voice giving direction. They take time to reflect because they desire to maximize their experience for the glory of God. Inexperienced leaders often impulsively keep running ahead with little time to stop and reflect.
Servant leaders use time to gain new experiences.
Servant leaders acknowledge that time is a precious gift from God to enable them to carry out the vision that He has given to them. They see each day as an opportunity to grow and gain new experience that will allow them to more completely fulfill that vision. They recognize that God’s plan for growth demands that they continually stretch their own capacity to lead. They refused to be satisfied in their comfort zone. They recognize that if they are not a growing in gaining new experience in leadership, a much younger leader will soon surpass their maturity. Inexperienced leaders quickly stop growing and stretching.
Servant leaders use time to share their experiences.
Servant leaders are not simply interested in building their own personal leadership potential; their focus is on serving others. They want to build into the next generation what God has taught them and actively find ways to do this. This happens sometimes informally, at other times in public speaking events, or through deliberate writing or blogging about their experience. Inexperienced leaders overlook opportunities to investment in the next generation.
Paul himself is a great example of a servant leader who was not a recent convert. He took 3 years in the desert before any act of leadership. He continually reflected on his leadership and acknowledged “I have not yet obtained all this.” He continually yearned for more with a vision for the “regions beyond.” He continually invested his life and experience into younger leaders, including this passage he wrote to Timothy. (See Gal. 1:18; Phil. 3:12, 2 Cor. 10:16, and 2 Tim. 2:2). He used time to build leadership maturity.
Take a moment to ask yourself if your leadership maturity equals the time you have followed Jesus.
For further reflection and discussion:
- Do you build into your schedule time for reflection? If not, what needs to change? If so, what have you been learning about yourself and leadership in the past 3 months?
- Reflect on a mistake that you have made in leadership. What did you learn from that experience? Have you made changes in your leadership to avoid repeating that mistake?
- What new leadership challenges have you faced in the last 6 months and how have you responded to them? Have you used them as opportunities to grow and develop your leadership ability?
- Are there leadership opportunities before you which you have not accepted simply because you know they will require greater levels of commitment and sacrifice? If so, what will it take for you to move out of your comfort zone?
- Have you deliberately invested in the life of a younger leader, freely sharing your experience with them? If not, what is God inviting you to do in this area?
- Are there opportunities God has given to you to share your experience with others that you have declined? (This could be opportunities to speak or share with the group publicly, an opportunity to write or teach either formally or informally.) If so, reflect on why you missed this opportunity and what needs to change.
- If you are a young leader, what are you doing to deliberately learn from those who have more experience than you do?