Leadership - Putting the Team Together
Jim Collins gets a lot of recent credit for the concept of getting the right people on the bus first, and getting the bad apples off the bus before building strategy and execution plans. And rightly so. But it's a biblical principle, an age-old truth. We see it in the life of young David in his late twenties, as he was about to become king over Israel and Judah by age thirty.
Time and again, we also see King Saul knowing the right thing but choosing evil instead. In this season of great awakening and growth in the Father's Kingdom, it's essential that we build our teams well. Whether you're in a small business or a multinational conglomerate, it's vital to root our teams in time-tested principles, and that includes good people in leadership.
You see, God will not ultimately bless the braggarts. He sees arrogance, pride, and boastfulness, and He simply will not bless it. God blesses the contrite, the humble of heart, those who turn to Him in light of His righteousness and judgment on sin, with a repentant spirit, fasting, and a focus on the power and might of God.
The Bible, and our own experiences in organizations and relationships, show us that people do things in the name of God that have nothing to do with Him. Think of Saul consulting the witch of Endor to summon the deceased Samuel (1 Samuel 28:3-25) - what could possibly go wrong? Or those who flippantly claim God's blessing because they have more money or stuff than their neighbor. Yes, we constantly hear that nonsense.
Samuel the prophet anointed David as king when David was just a boy, early in Saul's reign, after Saul had already proven his weak character. At the end of 1 Samuel, when Saul dies, we see who truly follows the Creator and who pretends. When Saul died, "the men of Judah came to David at Hebron and anointed him king over the house of Judah" (2 Samuel 2:4). Notice it was the whole community, not one scheming family, not one plotting power-grabber clinging to control, like we see in so many organizations and governments today.
But Saul's military commander, Abner, had his own intentions and loyalties to himself. He appointed Saul's forty-year-old son Ishbosheth as king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel (2 Samuel 2:8-9). Here, there's no direct overlap in the claims: David was crowned over Judah in the south, while Ishbosheth's rule covered the northern tribes and regions of Israel, setting up a division that would play out in death for Ishbosheth.
As a quick aside, I know those of you in the Canadian oil and gas industry who read this blog are eager for Canada, or at least Alberta, to break out and prosper on common-sense policies, good governance, and leveraging our natural advantages and resources. Keep going. Keep fighting. God is not done with America yet, and He certainly isn't done with Alberta. God isn't being slow; He is patient, and He always comes through for those who obediently follow Him in word and deed.
What's on my heart this morning is this: God will repay evil men for their evil deeds (2 Samuel 3:39). It's true, a sobering yet encouraging reality. Like Judas Iscariot (Matthew 26:14-16), many so-called Christian leaders ask themselves every day how much money they can make off Jesus. It's a shame, to say the least. They see every day as an opportunity to profit from the King's table, caring nothing for the least of these.
Just last week, I heard a senior executive with considerable influence in American conservative circles suggest that in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), it's unclear who the real master is and who the servants are. Unbelievable. Scripture is not unclear. God really is the Master, and He truly places on His servants, every believer in Christ, responsibility for the gifts and resources in this brief life, with accountability for what we do. Our so-called leaders can mock God by claiming His standards don't apply to them, but in doing so, they reveal they don't know Him at all and are wicked servants deserving the reward they'll get from the Master.
Such evil men who mock God by their actions and how poorly they treat others doubt Jesus' sincerity in the Parable of the Talents. Men, in this time before the King's return, we downplay Jesus at our great peril. Let's double down on following the King, not rejecting Him or pretending His message and commands are unclear.
Jesus, our loving Savior, is also the judge of every person. He will say to many who claim to be Christians, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness" (Matthew 7:23). They will be sent to hell, earning the reward for their lives and what they've done with them - evil men with many evil deeds. You can't mask selfish ambition, greed, hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance by calling it "Christian" or with an occasional nod to Christianese. We must see the godly fruit produced. As Jesus says in Matthew 21:43-44: "Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him."
So what can we do? Choose our teams well. Get the bad actors off the team ASAP - today. Do not wait. If you're in a horrible company with a horrible culture, get out as soon as you can. Pray hard for those around you and influence for godliness while you're there. But don't associate with evil. Want nothing to do with the devil's men and their schemes from hell.
God is the assessor of what we do with His resources. It truly matters how hard we work today and every day, loving and serving others for God. He has no favorites; He requires each of us to carry our load. No fat soldiers, no lazy generals. None of us is exempt from obedience to invest, work hard, and produce well for the King.
To those evil men who claim to know the King but prove otherwise by their actions, God will say: "But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth'" (Matthew 25:26-30).
Men, Jesus' blood confirmed the new covenant between God and His people. God's prized possession are believers in Jesus Christ: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). The new covenant is what God's people stand on. By the blood of Jesus alone we are saved, and our hope of new life in eternity is through the Son of God. The woman with the expensive alabaster jar of perfume knew in her heart the value of our Lord and King, and she anointed Jesus for His burial out of love for Him (Matthew 26:6-13). We too must assess the worth of following God and getting it right with our teams and organizations here on earth, for it has eternal consequences.
Lord Jesus, please give us wisdom today, Your wisdom, for we so desperately need it. Please help us to be the real deal, taking risks for You, Lord Christ. Please help us to invest, work, and be faithful in what we produce for You. Amen.
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