Monday, June 1, 2009

The Committed Leader – Part 1

For the next three weeks, I am going to be addressing the subject of commitment as it relates to leadership. Without a doubt, a distinctive of leadership has to be commitment. Maybe the reason we see so few leaders today is because so few people are willing to commit themselves to much of anything other than themselves.

Nothing great can be accomplished without commitment. You will not be a great husband if you are not 100% committed to your wife. You will not be a great father if you are not committed to your kids. You will be a lousy Christian if you are not committed to Jesus. Commitment means you are "in" no matter what. NO MATTER WHAT.

Michelangelo is a case study in commitment. The man sculpted his first masterpiece by the age of 21. What were you doing when you were 21? He completed his famous works, The Pieta and David by the time he was 30. Pope Julius II summoned him to sculpt his papal tomb solidifying his place as a public artisan of the highest caliber, all while he was still a young man. His national prominence led to him being drafted to paint a portrait of the 12 disciples on the ceiling of a small chapel in the Vatican. Initially, Michelangelo did not want to do it because he was not a painter. But once Michelangelo said "yes" to a project, he was committed to the task. This commitment led to the expansion of the original project to include over 400 figures and nine scenes from the Book of Genesis. This commitment led Michelangelo to spend the next four years of his life on his back as he painted away. The price – permanent damage to his eyesight. Said Michelangelo, "I was 37 yet my friends did not recognize the old man I had become." The legacy? The Sistine Chapel set a new standard in art which would be copied for centuries to follow. At one point in the painting of the Sistine's ceiling, Michelangelo was found hard at work on the details of a figure concealed in a dark corner where no human eye could see. When asked why the effort on such an obscure portion of the ceiling, his response was, "God will see."

And that, my friend, is commitment.

And while commitment is always the same and easily recognizable when you see it, commitment also means something different to each person. Commitment means one thing to a boxer and something different to the marathoner. One thing to a soldier and another to a missionary. So let me ask, what does commitment mean to you? To answer that question you must answer, first, the question of who you are. Who are you called to be? Who do you want to be? Answer that and you will know what commitment will mean to you.

Passage for Reflection:

Job 5:8 (ESV)
As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause,

"Lord, I commit my ways to your ways. Amen."

Blessings,

Jeff

1 comment:

Dozer said...

To surrender is one thing — to get to the mission field is quite another problem. Carey heard the call: "If it be the duty of all men to believe the Gospel ... then it be the duty of those who are entrusted with the Gospel to endeavor to make it known among all nations." And Carey sobbed out, "Here am I; send me!" William Carey however faced opposition from his Baptist church leadership. At a conference, a prominent leader shouted, "Young man, sit down: when God pleases to covert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine."

Discerning and listening to the Spirit of the Lord, rather than the opinions of men, William Carey went on to India and became known as the Father of Modern Missions.
By following GOD and making that commitment more important, he led the way.

Choosing to be a doer of the word, and not a hearer only... May not be the way to pass Dale Carnegie's "How to make friends and Influence People" but it is effective leadership.

In Christ
Andrew