I love watching the dynamics of organizational growth and leadership. It is always interesting to me how people approach the position they are given. Some step up and lead quickly…others take a short time to adjust to the organizational culture before leading…some never move from employee to a leader on a team. I personally like to surround myself with leaders. It’s harder to lead leaders, but, in my opinion, it’s more effective, more productive, and more fun.

I want to encourage you to step across the line to leadership excellence. Too many people never take the initiative to personally become the leader God has equipped them to be.

Here are a few examples of what I mean by stepping across the line to leadership excellence:

There’s a competitive spirit in most of the leaders I know. I saw mine kick in while running recently…

It was 6 AM and already 76 degrees with near 90% humidity. I was casually running, listening to our formal worship pastor Daniel Doss’s song Masterpiece, when out of the corner of my eye I sensed someone trying to pass me. I looked around and it was a girl! She’s the wife and sister of two good friends from college, and a dedicated athlete, so I may have normally been okay with her passing me, but something snapped in me. I said a few nice things and then I gradually picked up speed. I killed myself…but I won! YEA!!! Not that it was a race, and I’m sure she could have taken me had she wanted to, but there was the thrill of victory when I pulled ahead on the road.

I have written this before and I know it creates controversy to talk about, but what if we used that competitive spirit in a way that helped grow the Kingdom?

met with a young leader recently who works for a large corporation. He is sharp, energized, and a hard worker. If he were in a field I needed, I would hire him in without question. He’s looking for a new job.

He’s frustrated that his corporation isn’t moving forward. They aren’t thinking progressively and suggestions he offers for his department are quickly dismissed. He feels undervalued and underutilized. He realizes now he doesn’t want to waste much more of his career with this company.

While this is a secular example, I hear from young pastors every day in similar environments in their churches.

If an organization wishes to be successful today, it must learn to think outside the once considered normal lines of leadership. Research after research has been done and book after book has been written on the subject of leadership being as much these days about the informal aspects of leadership as it is the formal aspects of leadership. In addition to a set of rules, policies and procedures, for a leader to be successful today, he or she must engage a team to help accomplish the vision of the organization. In an informal leadership environment, the way a leader leads is often more important than the knowledge or management abilities of the leader. That may have always been important, but now it is critical.

Here are 5 examples of how a successful leader must lead in today’s environment:

One single act of courage can change a life…often many lives. My trip to Africa, watching the Christian work that has started among a highly Muslim country, where Christians are not always welcomed, I was reflecting on some of those acts of courage we often have to make in life. When God gives a person the burden to do Christian work in a Muslim nation, I assure you it takes a great deal of courage. On our trip, we saw the results of such willingness to walk by faith.

No doubt, if you live a “normal” life there will be decisions you have to make that take courage. You will often have to walk by faith, be willing to risk everything, and trust God for the results.

Here are 10 random examples I came up with…

I fully believe this principle is true. Knowing when to use it is obviously critical, but don’t allow fear of making a mistake keep you from doing the right thing. Ask yourself this question: If nothing changes in your organization, where will the momentum on your team be a year or two from now? If the answer isn’t what you want it to be, it may be time for some change.

Don’t be afraid of growth you cannot understand. It’s messier, harder to contain, even uncomfortable at times, but it also keeps leaders energized, maintains momentum, and helps spur exponential growth.

I love creativity. When we started Grace Community Church, we surrounded ourselves with highly creative minds and allowed them to dream big dreams. One thing I realized early in the life of the church, however, is that creative people are more difficult to lead.

Consider Adam’s story. God created everything; the land and water, plants and animals, and then God permitted Adam to name things. (Genesis 2:19-20) God delegated the responsibility of naming the animals He had created. Surely if God can design and create the intricacies of the human body He could come up with a more creative name than black bear, yet God gave that job to Adam. Something else I find amazing is that it seems that it was while working through the process of naming the animals that the discovery was made of Adam’s deficiency without Eve. (Vs. 20)

Today I’m giving away two copies of a great book just released this week at the Exponential Conference. The book is appropriately titled…

Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement…