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You know, as leaders, we're always asking questions. There's the, the what of leadership and the who of leadership and the when of leadership. But maybe the most important question we always have to ask is the why of leadership. Why are we doing what we're doing? Why are we laying down our lives for others? Why are we leading? The why question is everything. It is the foundation of leadership, especially value driven leadership or Christian leadership. Well, today I'm so blessed to introduce you to a friend of mine. His name is Gerald Brooks and Gerald was recently with us at our church speaking at our Serve Team conference. This is a conference for all of the amazing people who volunteer at our church. And I asked Gerald to speak to our volunteers. And so this week we're going to hear from Gerald talking about the why of leadership. And then next week we're going to do another episode where Gerald and I sat down for a Q and A. And that's going to be awesome as well. But I really do believe you're going to enjoy this. Just before we go into this, just want to remind you, make sure that you have liked and subscribed and are following this page so that you're up to date on everything. It helps us with the algorithm and it helps us with spreading the word. And then a big thank you to launch Sunday. LaunchSunday.com they do all of our printing, all of our signage, all of our materials like that, from pens to massive signs to coffee mugs, you name it. Launch Sunday is the group that does all that for us. So thank you to our sponsor. Hey, you're going to enjoy this. I know you're going to love it and I know you're going to appreciate just Gerald's ministry. And make sure to follow Gerald's podcast. He's on all the podcast channels. He's got an incredible audio leadership podcast and you'll love that. So check it out.
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If you're in a room like this, you have to answer the why question. Why would God want to use you? Why would God want you to be a leader? The truth of the matter is, is that's an awkward question because for most of us, here's what we feel. I'm not special, I'm not great, I'm not highly gifted. Why in the world would God want to use me? I can see him using Jabin. He's really talented, he's gifted. I can see him using these other individuals. They're talented, they're gifted, but I'm just ordinary. Why would he want to use me? I Think in Christian circles, the word leadership has gotten a little bit awkward. And a part of it is because the world has always made leadership about the leader. But what God has always done is he's made leadership about helping other people. And so that chasm is something that everyone has to navigate. And Jesus, when he was giving the foundational truths of the Kingdom of God in what we call the Sermon on the Mount, he gave an entry point there. And he said something about everyone in this room. He said something that everyone in this room will ultimately be judged by. He said, there's two things that I really want you to know. And these two things are, number one, I want you to be salt. Now, the thing about salt is salt is about impact. See, when you put salt on food, it impacts it. It impacts the flavor, it impacts the taste. It takes something that tasted one way and it gives it a flavor that is a little bit. It impacts it. But here's the thing about salt. It doesn't matter if it's on the table, and it's just in the salt shaker. See, having salt in a salt shaker doesn't have any impact. It has to be on the food. So what we know is, is the first thing Jesus was saying to you and me is that I want you to be salt. I want you to have impact. But for you to have impact, I want you to impact those that are close to you. So everyone's going to have a sphere of influence. And the first thing Jesus said in your life, you are to be able to have an impact on those that nearest to you, closest to you in your circle. They you are to have an impact. But he didn't just stop there. He said, I want you to be light. But light's different than salt, because light is about influence. See, the thing about light is this. I can drive down the street that you live on. I don't have to be in your house to know if your lights are on at night, because light always finds itself outside. It'll get out somehow. And see, what he was saying is, I've called everyone to have two things. I've called them to be salt so that there's an impact on those that are close to them. But I've also called them to be light. I want to influence them that are around them. So what I know about everyone in this room, from red words, is you don't have to be Jabin to. To be salt. You do not have to be Jabin to be light. And what God's saying is, everyone in this room is to be salt and light. You are to have an impact, and you are to have influence. You're to have an impact and you are to have influence. At our. At our church, we have a school of leadership where we're raising up leaders. And when you begin to raise up leaders, there's a word that comes, and it's the word success. And people say, well, you know, I want to be a leader, but. But what about this thing called success? How do you navigate it? And I said, well, you've got to understand what success is. In Christian circles, what success is, is when someone looks at you and says, God used you to change my life. It's the greatest compliment you will ever receive this side of heaven. See, success isn't you possessing something. Success is you being something that changed someone's life. Because you're going to be salt and you're going to be light. Now, here's what I wished I could do. I wished I could take you back to 1987. And most of you, you know, the only way you'd know 1987 is you'd have to get some kind of book and Google and go back in time. But in 1987, there's going to be an event that's going to capture the attention of. Of the United States. And it is going to be one of those things that was just unique. Today we have 24.7news. Back then, they didn't have 24.7news. But in 1987, there's going to be an event that's going to unfold, and it's going to be 24. 7. Every TV is going to be watching it, every newscast is going to be about it. Everything's going to happen. And what's going to happen is that there was a young girl who is visiting her grandmother. She was just a toddler, and she's going to won her out in the backyard, and all of a sudden she's going to disappear. And when she disappears, the grandmother's going to go out there and look for. Can't find her, but hears a noise. She goes over to a portion of her yard and she sees that there's a top that had been moved off a pipe and that this little girl has fallen down a shaft that is 22ft deep and 8 inches wide. And she's way down there. The grandmother begins to go frantic. And, Sam, what in the world can I do? What can I do? And word begins to get out. And as word begins to get out, you know, the police come. And then the fire department comes, and then people begin to hear. There's this little toddler down there, 22ft, crammed into this eight inch. And they're trying to get her out because they know she cannot survive down there. And literally, it begins to hit the news. Every newscast is about it. Everything is focusing. And people are coming from everywhere. Drillers are coming from West Texas that are used to drilling in oil wells. Engineers are coming that are used to strategizing and coming up with plans. People are beginning to come who have various skills. The paramedics, the nurses, the doctors, everyone is coming, and they're trying to come up with a strategy. There was one man who showed up that was born with different kinds of joints than most of us, and he could compress his body. He offered that he would go down there and get the child. And so people were coming. There were thousands of them. But they finally came up with a strategy. And what they were going to do was they were going to drill a parallel shaft, but they were going to go down 24ft, and they were going to then go over 2ft. And one of the rescuers would pull the little girl down. But to pull her down, he unfortunately was going to have to take her leg. And where it was fixed, it was going to end up being broken just to get her down there. And so everyone's watching, and it is going to take 57 hours. Everyone's glued to the TV, glued to the TV. No one, you know, steps away. But what's gonna happen is there's gonna be this scene. And I can remember it to this day. And the scene is going to be this. When they finally bring little Jessica up. I can remember this day. They have this tripod. They bring her up, and as they begin to bring her up, they hand her to the paramedic. Everyone in the nation is in tears. A little girl who seemed trapped forever is now on the course to having life. My question is, how many people did it take to save one little girl? It took thousands of people. It took doctors, it took nurses, it took drillers, it took the fire department, it took the police department. It took the paramedics. It took thousands. But let me ask it this way. How many people does it take to save a soul? So imagine, one of my heroes in my church are single moms, because single moms are in a challenging circumstance. Most of them work two jobs, so they get up in the morning and. And. And they literally get their kids up and take them to school, and then they go work two jobs, and then they come home in time to pick their kid up from school and then feed them, do homework and put them to bed. And they do this day after day, night after night, week after week, month after month, with no one to help them, no one to giving them. And what happens is, is that these single moms, they get their back up against the wall and they feel the pressure of being perfect. I have to be perfect to work. Cause I can't afford to lose my job. I have to be a perfect parent because I'm the only parent that these kids got. I've gotta be perfect at being able to do this. And. And sometimes the pressure of perfection can get on them so much that some of them think it's not worth going on. So I want you to imagine that a single mom walks in here tomorrow and she's at her edge. She's thinking to herself, I don't know that I want to go on any longer. But she's heard about a church like this, and she says, you know what? I don't know if this God thing's real. I don't know if this God thing's true. But what do I have to lose? I'm going to give it a chance. I've got to do something or it's over. And so she walks in. But when she walks in, the first thing that happens is someone begins to greet her and smiles at her. And single moms don't get smiled at. They get ignored because they're the outcasts. They don't fit the social structure of what we're at. They don't look like it because they. They look like a problem showing up. But someone smiles and says, ma', am, we're so glad that you're here. And for that lady, she's thinking for the very, very first time, someone's smiling at me. They're happy that I'm here. I'm not the problem asking for money. I'm not the problem who needs help with the kids. I'm not the problem. Someone's smiling at me. And then they notice these kids that she has, and they began to talk and they said, hey, we've got a great kids ministry here. Our kids ministry is fantastic. And then all of a sudden, they begin to say, can I show you where the children's department is? And they began to direct her. And she thinks to herself, you know, my kids have never been wanted in any room because they're sort of the ones that are the poorest kids, and they're the ones that are on the edge. And then all of a sudden, as they begin to direct, she goes, room. And someone looks with a smiling face and says, we're so glad to have your kids here. And no one's been glad to have her kids anywhere. And then she walks into church service, but she doesn't know the words. She doesn't know anything. But someone, as she begins to walk in, hey, here's a great seat for you. Why don't you sit over here? And so for the first time, someone smiled at her. Kids are welcome. They're safe someplace. And then all of a sudden, someone has directed her to a seat, and she begins to watch. She hears about how great is our God? And she hears those words being sung because she doesn't need downward, she needs upward. And all of a sudden, she begins to hear, how great is our God? How great is our God? How great is our God? And as she begins to hear that, she thinks, well, maybe it's true. And maybe he's great enough that he can help someone like me. And then someone gets up and they begin to preach and communicate the word. And for the first time, someone says something like this. It doesn't matter where you are in life. Our God knows where you're at, and God can be there for you. And she begins to have hope. And then there comes a time when they ask people, do you want to have a God who can give you hope? And she raises her hand. See, here's what I want you to know for a soul to be saved. It took a smiling face at the front door. It took a caring person in the children's department. It took an usher that was beginning to stand back here and began to point to the seat. It took a worship person who is beginning to exalt God. It took someone communicating the word of God, but then she accepts Christ. It takes somebody who's going to follow her up and going to be in her presence and help her take next steps. But for the first time, she feels welcomed. See, here's what you need to know. How many people does it take to help a broken marriage? How many people does it take to help a teenager who's addicted get free? How many does it take to help someone who's bound in trauma in life to get free from that trauma? The answer is it takes everyone. See, what people don't realize is there's things that God wants to do that he cannot do without you. Now, I want to say that slowly because it's one of those things that we don't really let get into us. There's things that God wants to do that he cannot do without you. See, God needs you. God's waiting on you. And God's depending on you. God needs you. God's waiting on you. And God's depending on you. See, those are the questions we ask of God. We come to church and say, well, you know, I need God. And then we say, well, what's going on? Well, I'm waiting on God. And then we say, well, how are you? I'm. I'm depending on God. Do you realize the same three questions Christians ask about God when they come to church? God's asking about us. God's saying, there are people I want to help, but I can't help them without you. There are people that I want to deliver. I can't deliver without you. There are people I want to restore. I can't restore without you. And what God's saying is, I need you. I'm waiting on you. And I'm depending on you. I need you. I'm waiting on you. And I'm depending on you. I need you. I'm waiting on you. I'm depending. But see, our problem is, is that this concept of. Of leadership gets messed up. And the reason it gets messed up is because we let the world define what leadership was. And see what the world defined leadership as being. Was it about. Was about position. Whoever has the highest position, they're the leader. It was about power. Whoever has the most power, they're the leader. And then it was about possessions. Whoever has the most stuff, they're the leader. But Mother Teresa was none of those. The truth of the matter is, is that the world defined leadership. And most Christians don't want to lead. Because every time we turn on the news, we see people fighting for power, position, and possession. But what God says is leadership is about people. See, at our church, I came up with a phrase that I wanted our church to know. And it's a very simple leadership principle. When you become a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself.
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Beautiful.
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See, most people, it's all about them. But when you become a Christian leader, it's about other people. And so when you become a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself. But our mistake is we let the world define it. And it's been about everything other than helping other people. Or it's like this. We've seen more bad leaders than good leaders. Everyone in here has seen more bad leaders than good leaders. I mean, haven't there been places you've worked and you've gone home and you've said this. I would never treat people the way they treated. I would never do what they do. I would never respond the way they respond. See, the truth of the matter is, is that there are more bad leaders in this world than there are good leaders. But the reason is the church left leadership to the world. And when we leave it to the world, they reproduce what the world does. But if the church would ever create leaders, people who understand I've been put here for a purpose, to impact other people, lives would begin to change. Or there's this myth only a few people can really lead. And it's just a myth. See, Paul created this whole dialogue about how important everyone in this room is. And what he did in First Corinthians, chapter 12 was he compared it to a physical body. And he said, in a physical body, there's a whole lot of parts, and all these parts are different, but all these parts are important. And what he says is, is that you're one of those parts. And what the Bible says about you In Ephesians, chapter 2 and verse 10 is that you're the workmanship of God. You're the masterpiece of God created to do his work. God made you special to do his work. And in the book of Esther, it says that you've come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Now, I don't know why you're here on this planet, but I know one day God will ask you, did you do what I asked you to do while you were on this planet? And he's going to ask you that question. And so you've got to be able to determine exactly. But see, most people don't ever do anything because they just don't feel that they're that important. Well, who am I? You know, I'm a nobody. I'm a nothing. But Paul was trying to convey value there when he said every part of the body. The hand doesn't say to the eye. I don't need the eye. The eye doesn't say to the foot. See, here's our problem. And American society, American Christianity, we make visual a statement of value. So whoever's on the stage is most valuable. Why? Because they're most seen. So if you're Jabin and you're up here, he's most valuable. If you're on the worship team, you're most valuable. We always equate value to visibility. So what happens is, in a physical body, someone can walk up to you and you look at them saying, man, you have Beautiful eyes. You have a gorgeous smile, man. You really have beautiful hair. You see those things, but you never look at someone and say, wow, those are amazing kidneys, man. You're rocking it with that pancreas of yours. Nobody ever says that. But see, you could live without eyes. You can't live without kidneys. And so visibility does not equate to value. Just because someone's more visible doesn't mean they're more valuable. They just may be seen more. It's like seeing someone's eyes. But you've got to understand something. God created you, and you may not be visible, but that doesn't mean you're not valuable. And your value has to be exact at first. So why is it when God creates. Sorry, I stepped on my shoestring here. Remember those shoes? I wanted you to notice. It was really the shoestrings that I wanted you to notice. But here's the thing. God begins to look at us and he says, I want you to step up to your value. But why is it that most Christians don't step up to their value? Why is it that people don't ever step into the role that God has them? Well, a couple of the things is this. You can't wait for everything to be perfect. See, some people, here's the way it goes. Well, I just don't feel good right now. Other people, you know, I'm going through a hard time. And, you know, me and God, you know, we're struggling a little bit. I want to ask you, if we have to wait for the day that you feel good and you feel God, how many. How many days are you going to be able to serve God? We may get you on leap year. I mean, because let's just be transparent here. Aren't there a whole lot of days you just don't feel good? And aren't there days when you don't feel God? You don't wait for everything to be perfect. So some people, they're waiting. Well, you know, it's just not a good time. You know, our kids are young. Well, you know, our kids are in sports. Well, you know, our kids are in college. And so I've literally watched people in our church that as soon as they have a kid, it's like they lose God. And God's just sitting there. You know, these kids are to be a blessing. They're not to be an obstacle. And so people sit there. Here's another thing. You're good at something. Do it. Whatever you're good at, do it. See, some of you do have a great smile. I mean, aren't we being frowned at enough in life right now? Maybe you need to be the greeter for that single mom and you just smile. You have the gift of smiling. When you smile, you don't look like the Joker. You look like you mean it. It's intentional. You're good at something. For some of you that know history, Rosa Parks was good at sitting, and she changed the history. But then there's another thing don't wait for. It's perfect. You're good at something. You can't help everyone, but you can help someone. People just sit there and say, hey, there's just too many problems. You know, I can't help. Help somebody. Just. Just. Just help somebody. I've had people come to me and say, pastor, you know, I've helped people before and. And they never thank me. And I looked at them and I said, people may not thank you, but the truth of the matter is, is that all the time, when you start contributing your life to other people, some people are just gonna walk by and they're not gonna stop and write you a thank you note or say, hey, you were this. But that's all right. I mean, this is a dynamic church. But you understand, in America, the average person stays at a church 2.8 years. I made a mistake one time. You, Shannon, you gotta help Jabin. He's gonna follow down my road. There are things my wife has made a list of that I should never say from the pulpit again. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And mine's longer than the Ten Commandments. And so one Sunday, I just got up there and I was just letting my personality just bubble over, and I said, why don't you turn to the person next to you and say, didn't I know you? At the last church I went to, my wife said, put that on the do not ever say again list. So I'm giving you that one up front that's free. Jabin, don't say that. Our life is to be a contribution. And some people think, well, I don't have a title. I don't have this. I don't have that. Your resume is not what people are looking at. People are looking for help. See, when I first went into ministry, I became an associate pastor at this small church in West Texas. This church only had about 70 people, so it'd be probably this first two rows here. And when I was the pastor there, back then, you used to hand out business cards. They're little cards for people and their business cards. But this was a real poor church. And being a poor church, the stock of paper, the quality of paper, determined how much it would cost. But then they also charged by the letter. So unbeknownst to me, they had printed up business cards. And here's what my card, when they gave it to me, it had ass. Period, Pastor. Because associate was going to cost too much money. So I'm handing out business cards that say, ask pastor who knew that I would last 48 years. Some asses are just bigger than others. Shannon, will you tell Jenny that there's another one to add to the list? Will you just text her and say, there's just another one? But I remember giving my. Because I was proud. I mean, it's my first bit. I gave it to my mom. My mom looked at it and she said, I knew it all the time. Here's what I can tell you. When I went to the emergency room and someone's kid had been in a car accident, no one cared what my business card said.
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Brilliant.
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See, every leader just needs to decide, are you here to make a difference? Will you just make a difference? And don't let your problems define you. Just. Just don't let them define you. Let them be a part of who you are. In my family, we were. We were a reality TV show before there were any. We didn't know that you could make money being dysfunctional. I mean, we would have been wealthy. And so at Christmas, what would happen is my mom wanted us to have Hallmark moments. That was her dream. But we were a Discovery Family Channel. We were not Hallmark. And so what that meant was this. Every year, she would try to give us something to distract us from the fact that we were together. And so she would buy these giant puzzles. So when we would go through the TV room, we would look at these. This puzzle, and we would sit down and we would start putting it together. So these puzzles were like 5,000 pieces. And we would spin. And at the end of the holiday season, we'd get it all put together. And when we get it all put together, she'd take a picture of the family together. And this would be my mom's Hallmark movie. But one year, we had this puzzle, and there was one piece that was missing. We thought it had fallen under the cushions. We pulled the cushions. We thought it had been sent out to the trash. We checked there. We checked in a vacuum, thinking it had been vacuumed up by accident. It was not there. What happened was every time someone would come and visit us, they'd look at the puzzle and they would look at it and they would say this. You realize there's one piece missing. Nobody ever said to us, great job on the 4999. Everybody noticed the missing piece. My question to you is, are you the missing piece? I want to remind you, God needs you. God's waiting on you. And God's depending on you. Jabin, I'm so proud of you. Shannon, I'm so proud of you. Thank you so much.