Jon asked me to join in this summer series called, “Lead Like Moses” and to share my personal leadership development story. You would think that would be a fairly simple thing for me to do, because I have been in ministry for the last 47 years. I was the Senior or Lead Minister at 4 churches over a 34-year period and each of those churches experienced growth. I served as the Director of Church Ministries at Lincoln Christian University for 12 ½ years and have been a Church Relations Guy at Ozark Christian College for the last year. I served as president of a mission organization for 16 years – traveling and working with church leaders in several African countries, Thailand, Haiti, and have consulted with dozens of churches and leadership teams over the last 14 years. I have taught a two week, “Church Leadership” class at a Bible Institute in Mexico three times.
So, when Jon and I sat in Panera and he told me about the series and what he wanted me to do…my first inward response was very similar to Moses, “Who am I?” Because after 47 years of church leadership I still, at times, feel inadequate. When a church asks me to conduct a leadership training seminar I wonder why anyone would want to listen to me. Who am I? What am I supposed to share with a church leadership team trying to deal with problems, or going through a crisis. or wanting to make an impact in their community? Who am I? Who am I to stand before you this morning and teach about leadership? Those are questions I still wrestle with, and to be as honest and as transparent as I can possibly be, I hope I always wrestle with them. Because what I have learned to embrace and lean on is what I think Moses had to learn when he asked, “Who am I?” You see, the answer to that question is that it doesn’t really matter who I am; it doesn’t really matter who you are; what matters is, who God is.
And here’s the deal, I do believe that God has called all of us to lead in some capacity and that leadership is going to look different from person to person and from position to position. But there is a common denominator or truth in every leadership opportunity and role, and here it is, “It’s not about me; it’s all about God.” It’s not about, “How am I going to look.” It’s about, “How can I help people look to God.” It’s not about, “I hope they will listen and follow me.” It’s about “helping people listen to and follow God.”
So let me suggest that the first leadership lesson we need to learn and practice is simply this: It’s not about me; It’s about God.
Let’s go back to Exodus 3 and look at Moses’ first reaction when he encountered God at the burning bush …
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
Do you see his first response, his first emotion when encountered God? It was fear. He was afraid. Now I happen to think that was a good thing; that his fear was appropriate. Moses was having a conversation with the God who spoke the world into existence. Wouldn’t it have been abnormal if he would have said, “Well it’s about time you showed up. I have a couple of things we need to talk about. And I have a few ideas of how you can do things a little better.” If Moses would have responded to God in that manner, I doubt if we would still be talking about him today.
I want to suggest that fear can be a very healthy response when we are given opportunities to lead. We should not let fear cripple us or stop us, but it can be healthy to lean into our fears. I remember when I first started preaching, how nervous I was standing in front of people. I enjoyed it but was still nervous. And in the next several years I felt less nervous, but the nerves were still there. And here is how I know the nerves were still there. Every Sunday morning I had diarrhea. Aren’t you glad you came this morning? After I became a little more confident, and didn’t really feel nervous, guess what? The diarrhea was still there. And I wondered why. I wished it would go away until one Sunday a thought hit me. “I am going to open the Word of God this morning; that is a huge responsibility. I should be nervous. And I hope I will always be reminded of that; a little fear is a healthy response. (Now I know that some of you probably wish that I had never mentioned diarrhea in a sermon and others of you want to know “What about this morning?” Well, that’s none of your business! Let’s move on.
One of the obstacles we often let block us from stepping into a leadership position or growing in our leadership and influence is fear. Like Moses, we can say, “Not me. Find someone else.” But we need to lean into that fear. We need to have a healthy respect for that fear. We need to allow that fear to make us move forward instead of run away. I just mentioned that early on in my ministry, it dawned on me that I was about to open up the Word of God and how that should make me nervous. And because I have a fear of mishandling God’s Word, I need to study. I need to prepare. I need to pray for wisdom. I need to seek wise counsel instead of allowing my fear to cripple me or prevent me from preaching.
Does that make sense? [Give me an “Oh Yeah!!!”] OK, before we move on, let me ask a question: What are you afraid of? Is there something that you are allowing to prevent you from developing your leadership skills or stepping into a leadership role? I want to encourage you to lean into your fears instead of running away from them.
Let’s go back to Moses … Exodus 4:1-3
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, The Lord did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
Moses still wasn’t ready to say “Yes” to God, and you can tell that he was still operating from fear when he asks, “What if they don’t believe me or listen to me?”
So, what does God do? He gives Moses one more thing to be afraid of by turning his staff into a snake! And Moses ran from it! But then he came back, picked it up by the tail and it became his staff once again.
Now God did this to give Moses a sign so the people would believe him, but I would suggest there are leadership lessons from this experience.
• Moses was a shepherd. For the last 40 years he had taken care of sheep.
• Now God was calling him to lead and to be a shepherd of his people.
• Being a shepherd was who he was. And a shepherd was what God needed.
• Remember, Moses had grown up in the house of Pharoah, one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful leader in the world.
• But God didn’t want a leader like Pharoah. He called Moses. He called a shepherd to lead His people like a shepherd leads his sheep.
• We can have a sermon series today called, “Lead like Moses …” because Moses led like himself.
Which is another leadership lesson for us today. We need to be ourselves. God wasn’t calling Moses to be another Pharoah, and He isn’t calling you or me to be another Moses. We can learn lessons from Moses, but God wants you to use what you have in your hands. He wants to use what you have in your heart. He wants to use your gifts and abilities. He wants you to be you, for Him.
I struggled with that concept for a long time because I would look at other preachers. I would watch other church leaders. And in my mind, they were so much better than me. So, I tried to be more like them.
• And it made me feel like I was an actor, simply playing a part, which is what I was really doing (instead of being who God made me to be).
• When I first started working at Lincoln Christian University, and a church leadership team asked me to come and help them through a difficult time, I would work on what I wanted to say to them. This could sometimes sound a little harsh because they had not handled a situation well.
• Then I would go to Don Green and bounce it off him. He never said, “Do not say it that way” but I could tell that my wording needed some work. And then off the top of his head, he would say, “You might want to phrase it more like …” and what came out of his mouth was perfect.
• And I remember once responding with, “Don, if I say it that way, they will know it didn’t come from me.” And I wouldn’t say it how Don said it … but I listened to him, and I learned from him, and I found a better way to say what needed to be said; but the way I would say it.
So, this morning, I would simply ask you, “What do you have in your hand? What do you have in your head? What do you have in your heart?” God wants you to be you and He doesn’t want us to all be the same.
Several years ago, when I was preaching at Rochester, I used an illustration in a sermon about how we had people from all kinds of backgrounds when it came to previous church affiliations, family situations, employment, social status, political preferences, etc. and how we were a melting pot. Later that morning, one of the guys in the church came to me and said he had a better analogy than a melting pot. He said that in a melting pot, no matter what goes into the pot, everything becomes one melted blob. He said that he preferred to think of us as a stew. If you have a pot full of carrots; it will taste like carrots. A pot full of green beans will taste like green beans. A pot full of potatoes will taste like potatoes. But when you fill a pot with potatoes, carrots, green beans, corn, onions, etc; it tastes so much better together as a stew. I like that.
God doesn’t need you to be like everyone else. The church doesn’t need you to be like everyone else. Study leadership lessons from Moses and other leaders; but you have to be yourself.
Jon asked me to share my personal leadership development with you and so with the time we have left, let me give you a quick overview of the last 47 years (although I will start even farther back than that).
I grew up in a small country church (South Fork). When I was in 3rd grade, my teacher was Chelsea Simpson. She asked a question one Sunday and I raised my hand and gave the correct answer. Chelsea gave me a big smile and said, “David – you should be a preacher someday.” I had no desire to be a preacher someday, but the seed was planted. And the reason I shared that story is because I believe that churches need to start planting those seeds of leadership and Kingdom service in the minds and hearts of young people at a very young age.
I had made a commitment at church camp after my sophomore year in high school to go to Bible College for a year. To be honest, I did not want to keep that commitment, but I reluctantly decided to attend Lincoln Christian College for a year and then my plan was to transfer to Western to try walking on to the baseball team and study pre-law, then law school, and then have a career as an attorney.
I think I adapted to campus life fairly well and seemed to fit in OK. But I basically put on a mask and went through the motions spiritually. Because on a Bible College campus you want to fit in and you want people to think you are a spiritual giant. So, I got better at saying and doing the right things. I was a fake, not because I wanted to be. And I didn’t really even know it. I just was because I was trying to be like everyone else.
My one-year commitment came to an end and for some reason I decided to come back, not because I felt like I had to. This time I really wanted to. I liked the other students. I played baseball and enjoyed it. I had a good time. I was always doing something, pulling pranks, breaking the rules. Nothing bad, just having fun. I’m fairly certain that none of the professors viewed me as a future Kingdom leader! But my senior year I ran for senior class president and was elected to that position. But do you know why I ran for senior class president? It wasn’t because I thought I would make a good leader – it was because at graduation the president of the class would stand before everyone and lead in turning the tassel. I thought everyone who attended graduation would think I was pretty cool.
My sophomore year, I became a weekend Youth Minister in Plano, IL – which was a 2 1/2-hour drive every weekend. So, I was a minister. I was a leader who had no idea what I was doing and still didn’t want to do ministry my entire life. About 3 months after beginning that ministry, a 15-year-old girl in the youth group asked me to baptize her. [tell story]. And that was the day I surrendered. That was the day I said, “God, I’m not much and I don’t know what I have to offer; but I’m in. Do whatever you want with me.
During the next 34 years, I preached in Plano, IL, Havana, IL, Harrodsburg, KY, and Rochester, IL. As I mentioned earlier in the message, all four churches experienced growth. I served on a mission board and was happy being one of the trustees and then the president died suddenly. They asked me to serve as president. I didn’t really want to be the president. I had doubts about my leadership abilities, but reluctantly, agreed to do so. And if I had to describe my overall leadership development it would be this: I am a reluctant leader. Being a leader isn’t something I wanted or pursued or fought for. In fact, I tended to resist leadership. But for whatever reason, leadership opportunities seemed to pursue me.
Then, in 2012, I was called to be the Director of Church Ministries at Lincoln Christian University. A position I loved for 12 ½ years, until LCU closed at the end of May in 2024. When the announcement was made that LCU would be closing, Ozark Christian College in Joplin, MO asked me to join their staff to serve in the area of church relations, as they wanted someone to represent them in IL, IN, IA, and WI. Ozark is a very good school, founded in 1942 and faithfully preparing students to serve for the last 83 years. They have had the same mission and focus from the very beginning and that focus is to train and send out Kingdom workers. There have been over 16,000 alumni who have served in all 50 states and over 100 countries around the world. And while many of our Bible colleges are struggling and closing, Ozark had the largest graduating class in school history this past May. When LCU closed, the seminary was given to Ozark and is now called, “Lincoln Seminary at Ozark” continuing the legacy of Lincoln.
Lakeside has become a partner church of Ozark and we appreciate the prayers and financial support that you offer. There is a table with Ozark information, and I would invite you to stop by and pick up information that tells about the school and opportunities for students and churches. The Next Level videos are a great resource for those wanting to learn, grow, and develop your leadership skills.
To be completely honest, I struggled with the decision of whether to join Ozark’s staff. I had been Lincoln all my life and it felt a little bit like I was a traitor. Even after I accepted the position, those feelings were still there. Last June, a few weeks before I started working at Ozark, my wife and I took a few days to visit Michigan. One day we were at Mackinaw Island and my wife was not finished shopping, but I was more than done. So, I sat on a bench outside one of the many fudge shops and I looked down and realized that I was wearing an LCU shirt … and was carrying an OCC backpack they had given me. [Show picture]. It served as a reminder that my loyalty was not and should not be to a school. My loyalty is to the Kingdom of God. Those feelings of doubt disappeared.
I’m getting older … and I have a lot more years behind me than I have in front of me. When it came to the question, “What do I do next?” the answer seemed fairly apparent. I want to help raise up Kingdom workers. I want to help prepare leaders to serve in the church and various mission fields. And Lakeside, I want to thank you for your commitment to partner in preparing those Kingdom Workers.
So, even though I still question, “Why me?”, I’ve grown more comfortable with leadership because I know who God is and that is so much more important than who I am. I have made a ton of leadership mistakes over the decades and God seems to use those mistakes, as I meet with various leadership teams, to (a) remind them that we all make mistakes and that’s OK, and (b) as an example of what not to do.
Leaders can set an example of what to do even when we blow it, when we make a mistake, when we hurt someone by saying the wrong thing or at the wrong time. We can set an example of how to say things like those 3-word phrases, 12 words that are so important, “I was wrong.” “You were right” “I am sorry” “Please forgive me” (My “go-to” after 44 years of marriage: “Let’s go shopping”)
Let me wrap up with one more leadership lesson that I believe should be a part of every leader’s DNA …. You are replaceable. And please know that I don’t mean that in a negative way. I don’t mean to make light of what anyone does. But the truth of the matter is that we are all one car wreck, one heart attack, one cancer diagnosis, one stroke from being replaced.
It is not a question of, “Am I replaceable?” The answer is “Yes!” The question we should be asking is simply this, “What am I doing to replace myself?” Just think what a game-changer it would be if at every level and position in the church we were all pouring into someone who will take our place.
Moses was a leader. We don’t have all the details but Jon addressed the importance of building a team last week or the week before. Moses shared the leadership. He recruited or appointed others to help carry the load. And when he was gone, Joshua stepped up and continued to provide much needed leadership.
I don’t know what happened or what didn’t happen in the ensuing years when it came to raising up and preparing future leaders. But apparently, there was not a “replace myself mentality or plan” – because look at what we read in Judges 2:10 …
After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.
Judges 2:10
That has to be one of the saddest verses in the Bible. After everything God had done for Israel … it only took one generation for the people to forget God.
Let’s do better than that. Let’s commit to taking up the baton of leadership, to running the race, to serving God, to building the church: but let’s also commit to passing that baton on to others, to those coming behind us.