Mistakes Leaders Make E-Book

Dave Kraft

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 169

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

You Don't Have to Learn This the Hard Way… Anyone involved in leadership knows that it's tough and mistakes are bound to happen. But some mistakes are more costly than others and can result in the end of effectiveness, the loss of important relationships, and disqualification from ministry. Using the story of a fictitious church team to demonstrate the problems, principles, and practice of finding solutions, leadership expert Dave Kraft uncovers the top 10 critical mistakes leaders make and shows you how to avoid them so you can have ministry and relationships that last.

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“As I speak and consult with all types of leaders around the world, I personally encounter these mistakes time and time again. The lessons in Mistakes Leaders Make are timeless, and this book should be required reading for every ministry leader. Keep it on your desk and read it at least once a year.”

Patrick Lencioni, President, The Table Group; best-selling author, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Advantage

“Far too often among those with strong theological conviction the idea of ‘leadership’ is filed under the banner of pragmatism and discarded instead of studied. I am grateful for men like Dave Kraft who hold strong biblical beliefs and still are deeply tapped into the leadership principles that are both biblical and essential for those who have been called to lead and shepherd the people of God as undershepherds. You can make these mistakes yourself or you can learn from those who have made the mistakes and avoid spilling your own blood.”

Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor, The Village Church; President, Acts 29 Church Planting Network; author, The Explicit Gospel

“Some of our most teachable moments come when we have made a mistake. When we blow it, we are hopefully most vulnerable, most exposed, most humbled, and most teachable. Coach Dave Kraft has devoted his life to helping ministry leaders fully live out their calling and to finish well. Learn from his insights and experiences as you dive into this gem, Mistakes Leaders Make. It could provide you with some of the great learning without having to suffer the pain.”

Daniel Harkavy, CEO, Building Champions; Founder, Ministry Coaching International; author, Becoming a Coaching Leader

“In Mistakes Leaders Make, Dave Kraft tackles the difficult problem at the center of many leadership tangles: the unsettling fact that many leaders don’t want to admit that they make mistakes, or at least not serious ones. This book addresses some basic mistakes on a basic level. A lot of leadership teams would profit by reading this together.”

Douglas Wilson, Senior Minister, Christ Church, Moscow, Idaho

“‘Leaders are born, not made’ . . . not necessarily. Individuals are placed in leadership and, unfortunately, often learn from their mistakes on-the-job. Some would say that experience is knowing you’re making the same mistakes again! Allow me to encourage you to read this book so you don’t have to learn every lesson the hard way.”

Les Steckel, Veteran NFL Coach; Colonel USMCR (Ret.); President, Fellowship of Christian Athletes

“Dave Kraft’s heart and passion definitely come out in this book! It’s not just a read for your mind, but also your heart. Mistakes Leaders Make is not just for American leaders, but for leaders all over the world. It doesn’t matter if you are a leader in New York or a leader in a village in a Third World country; the principles that have been written here span all times and cultures. I strongly recommend that this book should be translated into as many languages as possible so that many global leaders can benefit. All leaders either commit these mistakes or are tempted to. As they say, ‘Prevention is better than a cure.’ By reading this book, young leaders can be prepared to face these challenges and prevent themselves from falling into these same mistakes. If you lead, no matter how or where, this book is a must read!”

Ajai Livingstone Lall, Founder and CEO; Central India Christian Mission; Damoh, India

“Dave Kraft has given leaders a wonderful checklist of key pitfalls that can sneak up on you and destroy your leadership. Go through each area carefully and evaluate which mistake could be a stumbling block for you. Then follow the action steps that can help you walk forward in the leadership that God has called you to. This is a valuable tool for leaders in churches and ministries.”

Dennis Blevins, United States Director, Church Discipleship Ministry (A Ministry of The Navigators), Professional Coach

MISTAKES LEADERS MAKE

OTHER CROSSWAY BOOKS IN THE RE:LIT SERIES

The Explicit Gospel, Matt Chandler with Jared C. Wilson (2012)

Gospel-Centered Discipleship, Jonathan K. Dodson (2012)

Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault, Justin and Lindsey Holcomb (2011)

Redemption: Freed by Jesus from the Idols We Worship and the Wounds We Carry, Mike Wilkerson (2011)

A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table, Tim Chester (2011)

Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself, Joe Thorn (2011)

Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support, Brad House (2011)

Disciple: Getting Your Identity from Jesus, Bill Clem (2011)

Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission, Darrin Patrick (2010)

Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears (2010)

Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, D. A. Carson (2010)

Leaders Who Last, Dave Kraft (2010)

Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears (2009)

Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears (2009)

Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community, Tim Chester and Steve Timmis (2008)

Vintage Jesus (trade paperback edition), Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears (2008)

Death by Love: Letters from the Cross, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears (2008)

Mistakes Leaders Make

Copyright © 2012 by Dave Kraft

Published by Crossway 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.

Page 21: THE WHEEL ILLUSTRATION, © 1976 by The Navigators. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO (www.navpress.com). All rights reserved.

Cover design: Patrick Mahoney and Matt Naylor

First printing 2012

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.

Scripture references marked NLT are from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1986. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Ill., 60189. All rights reserved.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-3249-8 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-3250-4 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-3251-1 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-3252-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kraft, Dave, 1939–

Mistakes leaders make / Dave Kraft.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p.  ) and index.

ISBN 978-1-4335-3249-8 (tp)

1. Christian leadership. 2. Errors. 3. Fallibility. I. Title.

BV652.1.K69         2012

253—dc23

2012007326

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

VP  22  21  20  19  18  17  16  15  14  13  12 15  14  13  12  11  10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

CONTENTS

FOREWORD BY MARK DRISCOLL

INTRODUCTION

 1 ALLOWING MINISTRY TO REPLACE JESUS

 2 ALLOWING COMPARING TO REPLACE CONTENTMENT

 3 ALLOWING PRIDE TO REPLACE HUMILITY

 4 ALLOWING PLEASING PEOPLE TO REPLACE PLEASING GOD

 5 ALLOWING BUSYNESS TO REPLACE VISIONING

 6 ALLOWING FINANCIAL FRUGALITY TO REPLACE FEARLESS FAITH

 7 ALLOWING ARTIFICIAL HARMONY TO REPLACE DIFFICULT CONFLICT

 8 ALLOWING PERENNIALLY HURTING PEOPLE TO REPLACE POTENTIAL HUNGRY LEADERS

 9 ALLOWING INFORMATION TO REPLACE TRANSFORMATION

10 ALLOWING CONTROL TO REPLACE TRUST

AFTERWORD

NOTES

FOREWORD

As a leader, knowing what not to do is often just as important as knowing what to do. Like many leaders, I’ve discovered a lot of leadership “not to do’s” by stepping on the land mines along the way. And like many leaders, I try to share those valuable—and painful—lessons with other leaders in hopes that they’ll avoid the same land mines I’ve stepped on.

I’ve no doubt that there are future land mines ahead of me. So, I’m particularly grateful to my friend Pastor Dave Kraft for writing Mistakes Leaders Make.

I’ve had the privilege to know Dave for years. He was among a handful of older, wiser, more experienced leaders who came and humbly served me in one of the hardest seasons of my life, when I was tired, burnt out, overextended, and trying to figure out how to lead my church through explosive growth.

It was during this time that Dave personally coached me, helping me find proper balance and giving me wise counsel that saved me from burnout, making me a healthier, more effective leader and benefiting my church in many unseen ways. Much of what he taught me he also wrote in his first book, Leaders Who Last. Thanks to Dave’s wisdom, many pastors such as myself have learned how to run and finish the race of ministry well.

Now, in his second book, Mistakes Leaders Make, Dave once again offers valuable lessons for pastors and church leaders, sharing this time what not to do in order to last in the ministry.

Dave brings over forty-three years of pastoral ministry experience to the table. He’s been there and done that. He’s stepped on a lot of land mines. And along the way he’s learned a lot of lessons. His hope is that you’ll learn from his mistakes and the mistakes he’s seen other leaders make. It’s my hope for you as well.

What I love most about Dave is that he’s intensely Christ­centered. His love for Jesus and for those who serve Jesus in the ministry is evident.

Ultimately, at the heart of Dave’s list of ministry leadership don’ts is the most important do—keep Jesus at the center. In the ministry, many things draw our attention away from Jesus onto other things. It’s in these moments when we’re at our weakest, drawn off the path of fruitfulness. This wandering takes shape in many forms, which Dave expertly explores in this book.

Don’t just read this book quickly. Rather, process it. Go back to it time and again to continually remind yourself of what not to do, and to examine your life and ministry to make sure you’re moving forward reliant on Jesus and producing fruit for his church.

We have a high calling as leaders. The pressure is steep. The criticism is high. And the cost can be high both personally and spiritually. These pressures can cause us to stop focusing on the future and seeing where we’re going. That happens to our own detriment. In Mistakes Leaders Make, Dave helps us to look out at the horizon, see potential dangers, and make course corrections before it’s too late.

For that, we should all be very grateful.

Mark Driscoll

INTRODUCTION

My dad was a locksmith for all the years I knew him. He died when he was fifty-two and I was twenty-four. It was a big loss for me. He collected quotes and had them strung across the counter in his business on a clothesline. One of them I remember well: “Show me a man who never made a mistake, and I’ll show you a man who never made anything.”

As leaders we all make mistakes—it’s part of being human. Some mistakes are innocent and are no big deal. Others are serious and are a big deal. In this book we’ll deal with the “big deal” kind.

Some potentially serious mistakes are ones we make only once or twice, and we recognize them, admit to them, deal with them, and then move on. Other serious mistakes are subtler, continue for years, and cause us to derail permanently. They can be compared to a slow leak somewhere in your home that is not discovered for a long time, or termites that have been in the structure of an edifice doing their slow but destructive work for years unnoticed—in due time the damage becomes obvious to everyone. Maybe a mistake has been present in your life for months, even years, slowing eating away, but you have not dealt with it because you’ve been unaware of it.

As you work your way through Mistakes Leaders Make, you might think:

1. He is describing my church, at least in part.

2. I know of a church like this.

3. I have a close friend who is on the staff of a church like this.

My prayer is that in reading this book you will have some aha! moments, have your blind eyes opened, and be led by the Holy Spirit to confess, repent, and be forgiven so you can learn before permanent damage is done. I also trust that you will be able to share the ideas in this book with other leaders you know so they can repent and let the truth of the gospel rule, before it is too late!

As leaders, we can have our “sweet spots,” situations in which we function well and are fruitful and productive, experiencing God’s favor and great joy. We can also have our “blind spots,” where the termites are doing their slow but sure work, which causes defeat, discouragement, and derailment, and eventually leads to the knockout blow that sends us down to the canvas for the count, as we see (for example) in the life of King Saul.

Picture King Saul as the lead pastor of a modern-day, Bible-preaching, Jesus-loving, missional church, and you can visualize how most of the mistakes in his life and leadership would have impacted the church he led. King Saul of Israel could very well be the poster child for mistakes leaders make. He made more than his share of them.

A number of years ago I did a personal Bible study in which I compared David’s leadership to Saul’s. Here are a few of the observations I made based on Saul’s actions and decisions recorded in 1 Samuel 13–15:

Insecurity leads to motivation by fear of failure.

Circumstances, not God’s desires, control Saul’s choices.

Rationalization, not repentance, follows

his sin.

He loses the favor and respect of his son, Jonathan.

He loses favor

with God.

He assumes the problem is with others, not himself, and he plays the

blame game.

He demonstrates inflexibility and won’t admit when he is wrong.

He seems to prefer popularity rather than obedience.

He is unduly concerned for his honor and image.

He refuses to take ownership of his decisions and failings.

He feels that religious activity can compensate for partial obedience.

Now, King David was by no means perfect and sin free. The big difference was that David owned his sin (Psalms 32 and 51), and Saul did not.

In my first book, Leaders Who Last, I dealt with a number of things leaders should do to help them finish well, including:

Drawing on the power of Jesus

Having a purpose

Living with passion

Setting priorities

Living and ministering at a healthy pace

Being clear about calling and gifts

In Mistakes Leaders Make, the focus is on what not to do; this is a strong encouragement to avoid potentially fatal mistakes. We’ll look at mistakes that almost ensure that we finish poorly or not at all, mistakes that “disqualify” us from the race that Paul alludes to: “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27).

Most of these mistakes you will recognize either from past or present personal experience, or because you have seen them in a leader’s life in some ministry context. None of them need permanently trip us up if we recognize them, confess them, and repent of them by calling them what they are: sin, derailers, and booby traps that keep us from being the people and the servants God created us to be.

Sometimes we recognize these mistakes because a faithful spiritual brother or sister, or a spouse, or a close friend points them out. We can receive insight from an article, a book, a sermon, a conference, or a seminar. God can open our eyes as we spend time in Scripture, prayer, and worship.

These moments of insight can occur when we are alone for extended times to be refreshed by the Lord or in the context of relationships—as part of a community group or with an accountability partner with whom we have learned to be gut honest. These times enable us to see the mistakes for what they are, to own them, and to deal ruthlessly with them before significant damage is done. Sometimes we have that aha! moment, but sometimes it takes a longer period of time to see the mistakes for what they are.

Throughout this book, I will refer to the experience of Covenant Community Church (CCC). CCC is not a real church but a composite of churches I have worked with in forty-three years of ministry. Although the church is fictitious, the mistakes are not. I have either made these mistakes myself, been in ministries where they have occurred, or coached leaders who have experienced them personally in their ministry assignments.

We will explore how the leaders and ministry teams of CCC experience ten mistakes over the course of five to ten years and how these mistakes affected the lives of many people in the church community.

We will meet:

Norm, Lead Pastor

Jim, Executive Pastor

Jason, Pastor of Discipleship/Community Groups

Chris, Junior and Senior High Director

Suzie, Children and Women’s Ministry Director

Bob, Elder who oversees finances

Bryan, Worship Director

Brent, Pastor of Counseling/Support Groups

Some of these leaders at CCC learned from their mistakes, dealt with them, and went on to have fruitful ministries. Others were not as fortunate.

One more thing before we jump into the life of CCC. As you read, don’t let your first reaction be to take the splinter out of somebody else’s eye and overlook the log in your own eye. Search your heart and let Psalm 139:23–24 be your prayer as you move from chapter to chapter:

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting!

1

ALLOWING MINISTRY TO REPLACE JESUS

Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.—John Calvin

The first and greatest mistake, which in essence gives birth to all the other mistakes, is not allowing Jesus to have his rightful place in our life and ministry. We often start out well with him in the center, but over time the thrill of seeing him at work, the accolades from those we serve, the lasting fruit from our efforts, and the adoration and respect of our peers, mentors, and network of ministry friends gradually become more important than Jesus. Add to this mix our own sinful egos and selfish ambition (James 3:14) and we have a recipe for disaster.

We often don’t see this mistake because our experience is like the proverbial frog in a pot of water. If you place a frog in a pot of boiling water, he will jump out. But if you put him in a pot of cool water and then heat up the water gradually, a cold-blooded frog’s body will warm up as the water is warmed up, and he will sit quietly until he boils to death. Sin in our lives is often like slowly heating up the water. Our identity in and intimacy with Jesus slowly dissipates, and over time, the ministry begins to occupy center stage in our affections, time, and focus. It is all downhill from there in a leader’s life and ministry.

THE STORY