Primed to Lead

An Honest Conversation for New & Experienced Leaders

Chris Warszawski

• Publisher: Author Academy Elite
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781647463359
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

"How do I lead well?" / "Where do I start?" / "Who can help me?"

Every day, God is placing the next generation of leaders in the church and the marketplace. If you're one of these new leaders and you're asking these kinds of questions...then you're asking the right ones.

If you're ready for some answers - then this book is for you.

In Primed To Lead, Chris Warszawski offers biblical principles, practical habits, and effective strategies that will encourage and equip you to be a better leader, sooner. Chris shares from his own beginnings of leadership, including challenges he has faced and lessons he has learned from over a decade of leading teams in different ministries and churches.

He'll bring you behind the curtain to hear from experienced Christian leaders, from both the ministry and the marketplace, as they share honest perspectives, real stories, and practical wisdom for new leaders today.

Whether you are stepping into...

• A new leadership role

• A new ministry or organization

• Or you're ready for a "re-start" as a leader

Primed to Lead will give you what you need to start well in leadership, cultivate healthy influence as a servant leader, and create movement as you lead toward the future.

Features discussion questions for small groups as well as "Coaching Moments" for experienced leaders to coach new leaders through honest conversation.

1
The Anchor

Have you ever attempted to scale a climbing wall? I remember the first time I ever saw one. The monstrous gray wall had a face full of different shaped grips and offered three different paths that led to the ultimate goal: to ring the bell at the very top. Almost always, the ringing of the bell was accompanied by cheers from your peers who were spectating from down below.

This particular climbing wall was located at the summer camp I’d attended for years until high school graduation. After my freshman year of college, there was only one summer job I wanted, and it was to work at that summer camp.

Our camp staff team was comprised of mostly college students, and our job was to run all of the exciting activities of the camp. It was probably one of the most fun (and low-paying) jobs that a group of college students could have. At the beginning of summer, we all arrived for training, and each day we learned the ins and outs of how to care for the stable horses, lead trail rides, lifeguard the pond with its inflatables and slide, and run the ropes courses, including the climbing wall.

During our training, I learned something that had never occurred to me during all those years as a camp attendee. The most important role in climbing wasn’t actually the climber. It was the belayer.

When it comes to climber safety, there is a system that involves not only wearing a helmet, harness, ropes, and hardware. Clutching the other end of a climber’s rope is that important partner—the belayer. If a climber wants to scale the wall, he or she needs a secure belayer who knows the task at hand and can be trusted completely. Here’s why:

• The belayer is the climber’s anchor, keeping the climber in the air. Even if a climber slips off the wall, he or she won’t crash to the ground because the belayer is anchoring the climber.
• The belayer keeps a climber from injury by pulling the climber’s slack (extra rope). The extra slack can cause injury if the climber was to get tangled in the rope or fall.
• Finally, if the climber is tired and weary, the belayer can provide rest by lowering him or her down to safety.

Who’s Holding My Rope?

Leadership is a lot like scaling a climbing wall. Leaders have to define their goal, select the best path, take a lot of individual steps, and avoid gaps in order to accomplish the task. But the one question that not enough leaders, especially new leaders, ask is: Who’s holding the other end of my rope?

The truth of the matter is too many of us enter leadership roles excited about the climb but without much thought as to what, or who, is keeping us secure and grounded. It’s why so many leaders find themselves injured when they slip up, get tangled up, or need to let up and rest for a bit.

It’s also a reason why many of us are apt to become weary or embittered. Then there are others who become stuck, feeling unable to move forward. Some of us struggle to slow down and let go of control of some things. What’s the source of these leadership struggles? In our hearts, we’re really not sure or confident about what or who is going to hold us up.

I have felt this as a leader. Early on in leadership I found myself quickly exhausted, frustrated and bitter. Bad habits began forming in my life. Selfishness and wanting to get my own way began to mire me down. A desire for control began to bubble to the surface. At the root of these bad habits was a faulty anchor in my life. I had placed my security as a leader in my own abilities. In other words, I had become my own anchor, and I’ve seen trusting this faulty anchor rear its ugly head in other leaders’ lives as well. Why do we do this?

Because a faulty anchor is always tethered to an inward fear.

The reason we attach our security as leaders to faulty anchors, such as our own abilities, competency, and even relationships, is because we want some sense of control. And this need for control comes from fears deep within us.

These fears come in all different shapes and sizes. For some, we’re just downright afraid of failure and what it might say about us. For others, we far too often hear the voices of people who made a profoundly discouraging impact on our lives, whether they did so with their words or actions. For some, we fear what those we respect may think of us.

Fear also exists in the climbing world. Climbers who have a belayer who they don’t trust will always be insecure and handicapped by some kind of fear. But a climber who has a belayer who is completely trusted will always climb in freedom, even when the climber slips (and every climber slips). The truth of the matter is that if you and I are going to be healthy, effective leaders then we need something or someone who is going to keep us anchored, free, and rested.

• • •

We live in a culture that loves to prop up stories of self-sufficient, successful, “self-made” men and women. However, I have some news for you. None of us are “self-made.” We all have a maker. In the Bible, Colossians 1 tells us that He was there at creation, and that all things, including you and me, were made by Him, through Him, and for Him. At this very moment He holds all of creation together. You and I, because of our evil deeds, were at odds with God. So, He offered a solution through His blood on a cross, and, as result, we could have peace with God again.

My hope is that you have responded to this Gospel (or “good news”) by trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. This means placing your faith in Him and the truth that His life, death, and resurrection are perfectly enough to grant you the forgiveness, status, and peace with God that you need.2

Having a vibrant, personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ is everything – and my hope is that you have experienced this relationship. If you have not, or if you find yourself discouraged in some way, I encourage you to take steps toward Him: have a conversation with a friend who you know is a Christian, get connected to a Bible-believing church, and seek God Himself through prayer.

Here’s why all of this is so profoundly important – If you are beginning a new leadership role, the very first step to being a healthy, effective leader is tethering your security as a leader to Jesus Christ.

If you’ve already been leading in a role, it’s possible that you may feel the need for a “re-start” or refresh as a leader. I’ve been there. While already in a leadership role, I came to realize that I needed to deal with my inward fears and finally anchor myself to what God says about me. It made all the difference.

Life and leadership are full of challenges and changes. If we allow ourselves to be tossed and moved by the ups and downs that we all experience in leadership we will become weary. Far too often, we take too much of the successes and encouragements we experience in leadership to heart, as well as all of the criticisms and discouragements.

My friend, we must look to the sure anchor. Whatever is happening as we lead, we must be anchored by the truths of who we are in Jesus Christ:

1. I am made by God (Genesis 1:27)

2. He loved me before I loved Him (Romans 5:8)

3. Nothing can separate me from His love (Romans 8:38-39)

4. In Christ, I am completely approved of by God (Romans 3:24)

5. I am secure because God always keeps His promises (2 Corinthians 1:20)

One of my favorite songs that our church sings on Sunday says, “I’m no longer a slave to fear; I am a child of God.”3 When we are secure as to who we are in Christ, we experience much more freedom as leaders. We recognize that leading well is not about mitigating or deflecting our fears anymore. Rather, leading is an opportunity to be faithful with whatever God has given us, while remembering that who we are in Christ and our future security will never change.

Do not miss this when I say that the different roles we find ourselves in are great places to add value, but they are awful places to find our value.

From a young age we are taught to seek accolades and acclaim wherever we can. From blue ribbons at the spelling bee, to the honor roll in high school, to hundreds of likes on social media— these are just the beginnings of an appetite for recognition. For some of us, accolades, recognition, and success can be like a drug that we will exhaust ourselves to find more of. To be clear, being recognized for doing well is not a bad thing. It is a good thing! However, we have to keep our appetites in check by recognizing where our true value comes from. When we do, we will feel free to rest, understanding that He holds not only the world, but also our careers, our ministries, and all that we’re responsible for in His hands.

Am I Doing This Right?

Many of us are hands-on learners. We almost need to try before we’re given instructions. As we try, we’ll often ask someone who might be an expert, “Am I doing this right?” As you’ve read through this chapter, you may be asking, “Am I doing this right? Am I finding my security in Christ?” While I wish I could say there was a perfect system or metric for measuring this, there is not. However, as we seek to have Christ as our anchor, here are three habits that I would encourage you to pursue on a consistent basis:

1. Find Ways to Be Reminded of Who You Are in Christ

The core truths of who we are in Christ are found in God’s Word, so we must first look there. Seek and even write out scriptures that speak to the five truths aforementioned in this chapter. Obviously, I’ve given you a head start by providing some scripture references already.

Don’t only be in God’s Word by yourself. We each need to spend time in community with other Christians who will help keep us grounded as we remind each other of who we are in Christ.

2. Ask For The Belief

In Mark 9, a father asks Jesus if there is anything He could do to help or heal his son, and Jesus tells the father, “All things are possible for one who believes.” I love the father’s response: “I believe; help my unbelief!” Often, we know the truth of what God says about us, but, at the same time, we struggle with believing and need His help to believe. May we never hesitate to ask God to help us believe Him and His Word.

3. Do A “Rub Check”

At certain points in leadership we feel tension. I call it the rub. It’s where we feel a conflict or tension within us because someone or something is rubbing against the inward fears we talked about earlier. Different situations create these inward tensions in leaders. Here are a few examples:

• We feel the need to defend ourselves when we are asked why we handled a situation a certain way.
• We feel frustrated and bitter towards a leader of ours who doesn’t necessarily buy into our idea of how a project, effort, or strategy should go.
• Someone we lead offers feedback on how we can be a better leader. Instead of considering at least some of their feedback, we completely disregard it and possibly begin to disregard that person.
• When an effort we lead isn’t going well, we feel the need to control and micro-manage rather than ask for help.

When we begin to feel tensio...