Jesus gave some incredible advice in Luke 14:28-30. Let's dive into five areas where we need to be willing to pay the price as a leader:
1. There is a financial cost. Books cost money. Conferences cost money. Putting yourself in a position to be stretched and grown costs money.
AND one of the qualities that I've always noticed in leaders who were "getting it done" is that they were personally willing to pay a financial price. (I actually wrote two previous posts on this—here is part one and here is part two in case you missed them.)
2. There is an emotional cost. Leading in the church is one of the most emotionally draining things you will ever do.
You will discover that you can go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows with one email or phone call. Your heart and motives will be called into question. Critics who don't know you (and don't want to know you) will malign, misrepresent and attack you.
On most days, you will feel overwhelmed and unworthy of your calling ... and all of this requires that we be willing to pay the price emotionally.
3. There is a physical cost. Laziness and leadership do not go hand in hand. It takes blood, sweat and tears in order to be developed to your fullest leadership potential—which means you must get your butt out of bed and go to work!
And yes, rest is essential ... but it isn't possible to burn out if you've never actually been on fire. There are seasons where lots of time, energy and focus are demanded—period.
4. There is a spiritual cost. The more influential you become as a leader, the greater the intensity of spiritual attack will be on your life.
(By the way ... I've had shots taken at me for saying this, but it's true. I've experienced it personally ... in the Scriptures, we see in Acts 19 a demon literally having a conversation with seven guys ... he tells them he knows Jesus and has heard about Paul, probably because he was causing such a disturbance, but then he tells the guys that he hadn't even heard about them!!! Like it or not ... the enemy doesn't pursue everyone with the same intensity.)
You will experience spiritual warfare. You will encounter temptation on a level that is greater than anything you could imagine. You have to be willing to fight the fight and pay the price if you want to be a godly leader.
5. There is a personal cost. All of the things listed above come around to this: There IS a personal cost when it comes to leadership. It will NEVER cease to affect you.
Jesus knew this when He was in the garden, and yet He still fully surrendered to the Father and went to the cross.
Galatians 6:9 is a promise we should take to heart as leaders. Do not give up ... do not throw in the towel. At times, the price is incredibly high ... but none of us has been asked to pay the price that the One we say we follow had to pay! His assignment was MUCH tougher than ours—and it brought Him joy to fulfill it.
So, let's keep our eyes on Jesus and keep doing exactly what He has called us to do, knowing that He is with us, has equipped us, empowered us, and that 2 Corinthians 4:7 is as true today as it was when Paul wrote it, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."
Don't give up.
Perry Noble is the founding and senior pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina. The church averages 25,000 people during weekend services at multiple campuses throughout the state.
For the original article, visit churchleaders.com.
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