3 Ways Humility Creates Better Leaders.

Last week I attended the annual Harvest Network International assembly (pastor and leader’s conference) in Minnesota. The music, speakers, workshops and fellowship/networking were out of this world. I’m so glad I decided to go this year. This conference is designed to help leaders take their ministries and lives to the next level.

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This year we had an awesome lineup of speakers; Ken Roberts, Francis Frangipane, Jim Anderson and Kirk Bennett. I took tons of notes and the Spirit of God spoke heavily to my spirit. I want to focus on talks given by Francis Frangipane and by Jim Anderson. Their focus; humility.

The main theme of the event was on taking steps to be in alignment with the steps of God. Not doing our will, but focusing our mind, heart and soul on the Holy Spirit. When God made Adam and Eve, he created them in his image, the very image of God (Gen. [1:27]). In that light, wouldn’t it make sense for us to align our lives with the one who created us?

In order for us to truly know what it means to live a humble lifestyle, we must first understand that it’s God who desires us to draw near his heart so he can instill his life principles in us. I believe that no matter the walk of life we’re walking, we can learn something about who we are by looking at who created us.

As leaders, how can we become humble while leading with purpose? Three ways:

Humility begins in the heart. Have you ever come across someone who’s self-asserting, maniacal or plain stubborn and rude? You’re already thinking of someone. When we begin to think through what it means to have a contrite and humble heart, we first must look at pride.
We’ve all heard that; “…pride comes before the fall.”. What is pride? It’s the total sense of I don’t need God because I have myself. We find in the Hebrew scriptures; “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” In other words, they think they’re above contempt, better than others and with their pride affront to God.

We will either be brought down by destruction because of our pride or by repentance. If we truly want to live lives of humility, we have to realize it’s not about us, it’s about God working in us.
Humility takes courage. Popular preacher and personal pastor to Justin Bieber, Judah Smith said, “It takes courage and humility to recognize we are as messed up as the drug addict next door, and many of us never get that honest.” It doesn’t mean that we’re really drug addicts, but we are addicted to self. It’s no less intoxicating and in-fact it can be worse.

If we don’t take the courage to stand up to our own temptations, we’ll succumb to them. The Bible tells us to take every thought captive. If you’ve read the accounts of bravery of the men of World War 2, you’ll read countless stories of courage to stand and fight. Our mind is no different. Joyce Meyer said this; “If you only do what is easy, you will always remain weak.” Take courage, resist temptation and be humble.

True humility begins at the cross of Christ. It’s in that moment we begin to realize how much in need of a Savior we are. Christ wants to dwell within, we have to be willing to allow him room. This is the beginning of being humble as a leader, allow Christ to be ours.
Humility longs for accountability. We like to think it’s all about me. It’s a mindset that hinders our success with people. The power of humility is put to the test when we ask others to speak into our lives. I’ve heard Michael Hyatt, Seth Godin and others say, “You are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with.”

There are several people I let speak–in the good times and the bad times–into my life. Accountability allows us as leaders to make mistakes and then own them. As Michael Hyatt said, “It will restore people’s confidence and increase your influence.” This is where humility comes into play, when we’re accountable to others they help us see the error of our ways, praise our successes and give us insight for the future.

It’s time for leaders to stand and be humble. Humility doesn’t come natural to us, that’s why we need God’s help. If we learn to align our will with his, he’ll take care of the details. We don’t have to live life on our own; we’re not our own gods. If we put our trust in God, take temptation captive and seek accountability with godly men and women, there’s no telling the success we can have in our life.

Humility allows us to lead with purpose and that purpose comes at a cost. That cost, being willing to admit that we cannot lead alone.

[reminder]What are you doing to take action to become a humble leader?[/reminder]