“Approve the things that are excellent.” Philippians 1:10

In the words of Aristotle: “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” There is a reason why mediocrity is so popular: excellence is hard. If it was easy, everyone would be exceptional. The very nature of excellence is to excel, to be better than ordinary. A more specific definition is this: “Excellence is the discipline of consistently performing towards the upper range of your talent and skill beyond accepted levels of mediocrity.” From this truth, we understand three things about excellence.

First, excellence is a discipline. It does not come natural. Excellence doesn’t “just happen,” it is a condition we force upon ourselves: a discipline. Merriam-Webster defines discipline as “training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.”  

Discipline is the athlete who spends hours and hours in the gym perfecting certain routines and motions. Discipline is the student reading and rereading, memorizing and recalling new facts and information to master a certain subject. Discipline is the musician who rehearses hours on end to train her fingers in the proper motions. In each of these examples, the one in training is forcing himself or herself to act outside of their ordinary boundaries. To do something that is above normal or beyond ordinary to them. This is the beginning of excellence: to push beyond ordinary and consistently force ourselves beyond what is easy or comfortable. Those who cannot do that are destined to meander in maze of mediocrity.

Second, excellence is to consistently perform towards the upper range of your talent and skill. In other words, excellence pushes your limits. It stretches you. It forces you to do and be better.
This is not to suggest that excellence requires perfection. Rather, excellence is about giving your best. Perfection, on the other hand, is about being flawless, it’s about delivering a faultless, perfect product. Excellence isn’t about the product, it’s about the performance. It’s not about winning, it’s about giving your absolute, best effort—performing towards the upper range of your skill. The reality is, one can play his or her best game, they can give their best effort, but still not have best score; in fact, they could lose. So, excellence is not about first place, second place or even third place. Excellence is about work ethic.

Moreover, it’s about consistent work ethic. Anyone can do their best, once in a while, especially when someone is watching them. But true excellence is what happens in the dark, when there’s no spotlight and no one is watching. It is a sense of responsibility that obligates you to offer your absolute best effort in every situation regardless of who is watching, how much you are being paid or who is going to know about it. Excellence says, “It is up to me to put forth an effort that makes a difference, and if I do not perform at my absolute best, then I am responsible for the failure that results.”

Third, excellence is consistent performance beyond accepted levels of mediocrity. It refuses to settle for ordinary, even when ordinary is the prevailing mindset of the people around us.

There will always be chickens who try to discourage the eagle from flying. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl. This is what average; mediocre people do; they try to increase their own sense of worth by diminishing the worth of others. They resent those who excel because it exposes their own lack of excellence. This is why eagles—if they are going to soar—can’t fly with chickens.

At some point, your pursuit of excellence will require you to dissociate with certain people—especially people who believe mediocre is “good enough.” Colin Powell, retired four-star General and US Secretary of State is quoted as saying, “The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. It’s a simple but true fact of life; we become like those with whom we most closely associate, for the good and the bad. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.

An important discipline of successful people is discretion in their choice of associates. They don’t surround themselves with people that simply make them feel good by affirming their status quo. They surround themselves with possibility thinkers—people that challenge them. If you are serious about the next level, stop associating with people who are aiding and abetting your mediocrity. Yes, we need encouragement when we fail; yes, we need friends who will inspire us to get up when we are down. But true inspiration and encouragement should never make an eagle feel content about living in a chicken coop, it should challenge him to see his own potential and God-given abilities. It should inspire him to get up and try again, to do better, to flap his wings harder, to fly longer, to expect more from himself until he achieves what God has created him to do.

(This is an excerpt from Gregg Johnson’s newest book, Upward! Taking Your Life to the Next Level. Look for it soon on Amazon and www.greggtjohnson.com)
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MY RESPONSE TO THE DALLAS SHOOTINGS AND BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS

Despite my current travels in Africa with limited access to TV and internet news, I’ve seen the recent American tragedies on CNN, BBC and others. The tragic deaths of Philandro Castile and Alton Sterling and the more recent horror of five murdered police officers along with the six injured in Dallas during a Black Lives Matters protest have become leading news stories around the world.

The grief and anger we all feel for these senseless tragedies are beyond words. It is overwhelming, and understandably so. We feel the need to cry, to shout, to vent and to blame someone, to try and make sense of it all and hold someone accountable. These reactions are not only reasonable, they are righteous and speak to a deep seated sense of justice that every sane and civilized person should have.

Unfortunately, these feelings, as powerful as they are, can drive us too far. The anger, the fear, the pain, if left unchecked can become a toxic resentment pulling us into the very injustice we claim to oppose. It can turn fair minded people into racists and loving Christians into callous, judgmental hatemongers.
Of course, the news reports with their 24/7 replaying of the events and the politicians with their polarizing speeches only pick the scab and make it harder to heal. The media and the politics provide an endless supply of both targets and ammunition that pull people apart and make enemies of friends. Social media is even worse. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have provided a relentless flood of hateful insults, unfair accusations and misinformation meant to manipulate the small minded and control the uninformed. Of course we support our police. And of course we believe black lives - and all lives matter. We are tearing our country apart, and we need to stop.

We need to stop the politicizing, stop the name calling and stop the blaming. The fact is the deaths of the police officers in Dallas were not the fault of the NRA, Black Lives Matter, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. And for that matter, we need to stop all the simpleminded stereotyping. All African Americans are not hoodlums, all white people are not racists, all cops are not bad, and not everything that happens is the result of some political agenda. 

Sometimes, bad things just happen; and tragically, sometimes really bad and really horrible things happen. 

We live in a fallen, broken world – made up of fallen, broken people. And, unfortunately, those broken people get guns, sometimes they get bombs, sometimes they get planes, and they do horrible, evil things. Sometimes they do it with malice and forethought. Sometimes, they use really bad judgment and make horrible mistakes. But that doesn’t mean that everyone who wears the same uniform or has the same color skin will act just like them. 

What it does mean is that we are all broken. All of us. All of us have a nature that has a twisted bent toward selfish, uncaring and even cruel behavior. It’s why God calls us sinners and why Jesus died on the cross: we are all without hope outside of God’s incredible act of love on the cross.

But when faced with the evil that men do, is it appropriate to get angry? Absolutely. Is it okay to protest? Absolutely. Should we raise our voices and make our opinions known? Absolutely. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do so. 

The right way is with respect and honor toward others. There may not be agreement, but there should be respect. Every person should be treated as a valuable creation of God, made in His image. 

The right way is in a spirit of love that does unto others as you would have them do to you. You don’t have to “like” them, you may even be offended by those with whom you disagree, but your own personal integrity and sense of excellence should demand that you respect and treat them with honor.

The right way is to remain calm and controlled, not hyped up and angry and ready for a fight.

The right way is to focus on solutions, not look for an argument—to work together, not take up sides. 

The right way is to find common ground, not treat those who oppose as bigots and boors—to listen to one another, not shout each other down. 

The right way is to have conversations that hear and respect each other’s opinions, not lower ourselves to blaming and name calling. We all have opinions—very strong opinions, but we must not allow our passion to turn into poison. We cannot allow our truth to become toxic. If we can’t do this, then we become part of the problem. We become another voice of condemnation and accusation pulling our nation apart and doing the enemy’s work for him.

If you are a Christ follower, you will obviously be affected by these recent, tragic events. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to respond. Be sure that the response you show does not rise unchecked, out of broken, human emotions. Rather, be sure that it is tempered by the Spirit of God within you and the Word of God which is your guide. 

The days in which we live will only get darker and darker. These are the times when the light of Christ within us must shine the brightest.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:16
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The story is told of a boy who found an eagle’s egg on the forest floor. Unable to return the egg to its mother, he put it in the nest of a prairie chicken who accepted it as one of her own. Eventually the eagle hatched from its shell and grew up the community of little prairie chickens.

All his life, the eagle believed he was just another chicken. Sure, he looked different, walked different and sounded different, but that didn’t matter. He knew he was a chicken and so he did what all good chickens do. He scavenged the dirt for insects and seeds. He clucked and crackled and twitched his large white head and hid from the predators above. On occasion he would flutter his wings and hover a few feet off the ground. But no more than that, for that’s how prairie chickens were supposed to fly.

After several years among the chickens, the eagle, now much older, happened to see a magnificent bird flying far above him in the sky. With admiration he watched as this beautiful creature seemed to hang among the clouds with graceful majesty on the powerful currents of wind.

“What an extraordinary bird,” the eagle-chicken said to his fellow prairie chickens. “What is it?” “That is an eagle, the king of birds,” they replied. “But you could never be like him. You’re a chicken!” they told him. So the earth-bound eagle never gave it another thought. He lived the rest of his life and died, thinking he was nothing more than a chicken.

What a tragedy for the eagle. He was designed for greatness, built to soar—to rule the heavens. But he never got off the ground. Instead, he spent his life scratching in the dust for bugs and kernels, never even dreaming of soaring above the mountains.

It’s the story of so many—not eagles, but people. It’s what happens when we settle for a life among the chickens. We accept limitations where God never intended they should be and miss the greater purpose for which we were created.
Perhaps it’s your story. Perhaps you feel as though you were meant for something greater—a purpose far greater than what you have achieved. You have a yearning to excel beyond ordinary and to surpass a mediocre existence that has kept you grounded, dwelling among the chickens.

Daniel the Prophet is described as one who “distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him.” (Daniel 6:3) He was an eagle among chickens.

He lived in Babylon. In 610 BC, he was taken from his homeland of Jerusalem and forced to live among the pagans. In Daniel chapter one, we see him refusing to defile himself with the king’s delicacies and negotiated the approval of a diet more consistent with his Jewish convictions. The result was a healthier mind, a heartier countenance and the favor of his handlers. Although he had been forced from his nest, to live among chickens, this eagle refused to diminish his identity to that of a chicken.

Over the course of his life, the eagle would soar. He demonstrated excellence in everything he did. As a result, he was distinguished with such significance that even “the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.” (Daniel 6:3) The lesson is clear. In an environment where the prevailing attitude is mediocrity; excellence brings promotion. It will take you to the next level.

Daniel’s excellence rose from a sense about himself. He knew he wasn’t a Babylonian, he knew he was an Israelite, a son of David, a child of Abraham, a member of God’s covenant people. From that awareness of his purpose he could never accept being a Babylonian. In Daniel 1:8 we read, “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank…” It was not that he thought himself to be better, he just knew that he was created for a specific purpose. And it was this sense of purpose that empowered him to stand apart.

When you know what your purpose is, you can never settle for being something other than what you know you were created to be. The king’s delicacies will seem repulsive. On the other hand, people who have no sense of purpose will eat anything. They spend their lives trying to conform to some idea of greatness they have seen in others—or have been told by others that it is what they should do. Even if that to which they aspire is a noble thing, even if it is an achievement highly regarded and brings fame and fortune, if it does not align with one’s purpose, it’s nothing more than an eagle trying to be a chicken.

​(This is an excerpt from Gregg Johnson’s newest book, Upward! Taking Your Life to the Next Level. Look for it soon on Amazon and www.greggtjohnson.com)

Excellence almost killed him. More specifically, the people around Daniel who resented his excellence wanted him dead. The governors and satraps contrived a plan that forced Daniel to choose between his king and his God. No one was allowed to pray, except for the king. Disobey and you die. They knew Daniel would never compromise, it was part of his character, his excellence. Daniel would rather face a den of lions than sacrifice his integrity—and that is exactly what they were counting on.

“And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king's decree: ‘Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?’ So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” (Daniel 6:12-13)

It wasn’t Daniel that the governors and satraps hated. They hated his excellence. They hated that his excellence distinguished him. They hated that his excellence promoted him and gave him exceptional favor with the king. His excellence was a threat to them, it made them look bad and feel bad about how they looked. The way Daniel lived, spoke and carried himself was a reproach on their mediocrity.

There’s a little known fact that the more successful you become—happier, healthier, more content—the more some average people will resent you. They may not conspire to have you thrown into a den of lions, but that may only be because there are no lions available. The reality is many people simply cannot handle excellence in others. They love to be around the average, the low achiever, even the failure because it makes them comfortable. By comparison, they feel pretty good about their mediocrity. But when they get around someone who pursues greatness, it makes them uncomfortable. They become critical, toxic, judgmental and gossipy. Learn a lesson from Daniel: be prepared for rejection on your journey to the next level. Here are six quick truths to bear in mind.

​Some people will leave you. Don’t worry, it’s not the end of your life, it’s just the end of their role in your life. Don’t hold onto people who have let go of you. It cheapens you and makes you look like a victim, as though their approval has power over you. Realize that some relationships are for a season. They were there to help you get to a certain level; but, what got you there can’t get you to where you are going. Let go and move on.

Be kind to everyone you meet, for some are fighting a great battle. Realize that many with critical spirits are not reacting to you, they are reacting to the pain they have been carrying for years. For some, anger and confrontation are their comfort zones and they are not happy unless they are creating chaos. Don’t be infected by their toxic attitude, stay above the fray and demonstrate your excellence. Remain calm and be professional and allow your excellent spirit to speak for itself.

Smile, not because your happy but because you’re strong. Winston Churchill said, “I like a man who grins when he fights.” Criticism can hurt. It’s painful to be thrown to the lions, especially when you’ve done nothing wrong. But this is when excellence shines brightest. When everyone is against you and there seems to be no reason to hope—smile. Exude confidence and enthusiasm, not because you’re enjoying the pain, but because you know greatness is in you, and God is with you, and He causes all things to work together for the good.

Insecure people try to increase their value by diminishing the worth of others. When people gossip and criticize you, when they mock and oppose you, it’s often because your excellence is a threat to what they know about themselves. It’s what a man believes about himself that fuels his treatment of others. This is why so many people love to gossip and tear others down. Pointing out the flaws in those who excel, makes those who are average feel a little better about their own perceived inadequacies.

Never comfort someone else’s mediocrity by compromising your own excellence. Steve Jobs said, “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” The temptation is to lower our standards so people around us won’t feel pressured or intimidated. Big mistake. We must choose between being accepted and fitting in, or being excellent and risking the lion’s den. Most people want excellence, they respect it and respond to it. Unfortunately, they lack the capacity to provoke it in others. Be a leader who challenges status quo and incites excellence—and discover how your value increases.

Never allow the “virtue of authenticity” to become a celebration of mediocrity. It seems that today, “authenticity” is the new excellence. In other words, being flawed and failing is “in.” You can under-perform, and be sloppy, lazy, and weak—as long as you are “being true to yourself” and “not judging others.” Excellence and confidence have become liabilities; we want people who are frail and vulnerable. While it is true that transparency and humility are essential qualities, we should never feel good about accepting mediocrity as normal. Neither should we project weakness in order to make a good impression. Everyone should do their best, be their best and expect the best from others. This is not being judgmental, or critical, or a perfectionist—it is called “having standards.” It’s called excellence and it should be celebrated without apology.

​(This is an excerpt from Gregg Johnson’s newest book, Upward! Taking Your Life to the Next Level. Look for it soon on Amazon and www.greggtjohnson.com)
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Promotion doesn’t come easy. Just ask the mother of James and John. Her encounter with Christ exposes the miscalculation that many make when desiring “the next level.” In Matthew 20:20-23, she came to Jesus with her sons, knelt down and asked something of Him.

 He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on    Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom." But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able." So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father." 

She wanted her boys to go to that next level. “Grant that my sons may sit, on Your right hand and Your left, in Your kingdom.” This was her prayer. The response however, from Jesus was quick and to the point. “You don’t know what you’re asking,” He implied that she was so focused on their promotion, she failed to recognize the process involved to get them there. There is always a process—a series of actions or steps that must be taken to achieve a particular end—and Jesus wanted her to understand there could be no promotion without a process.

First, Jesus said there is going to be a cup. It is the same cup His Father would give to Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a cup of betrayal, humiliation, rejection and crucifixion. Second, Jesus referred to baptism. The baptism was His immersion into death and burial in the grave. In this metaphor, Jesus emphasized that before He could be promoted into that kingdom of the sons of Zebedee’s affections, He would have to suffer and die—as would anyone who would join Him. “Be careful what you ask for,” Jesus is saying to this mother, “What you’re asking for requires a painful process because I won’t promote them if they won’t drink that cup.”

What is perhaps even more revealing is the response of James and John. Jesus puts the question to them directly. He says, “Are you willing to drink the cup and suffer the baptism in order to get to that seat?” James and John, without hesitation—without a thought—say, “Yes, we are able.”
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This illustrates how we underestimate what it takes to get to the next level. “Sure! We can handle it. We can take it. We got this!” Too often we show no appreciation for the hardship and difficulty involved in the process. It’s like enrolling in college without calculating the commitment, or getting married without embracing the selflessness, or having children without understanding the sacrifice. We want the degree, but not the long hours of study. We want companionship without selfless living. We want a happy home full of loving children, but not the midnight cries, dirty diapers, and sacrifice of personal comforts. But if we are to achieve those things (college degree, happy marriage, healthy children), there must be a death to who we are now and resurrection of a new person, with new attitudes and a new willingness to drink what’s in the cup.

Jesus was telling them, there can be no crown without a cross, no chair without a cup and no promise without the pain. He was saying, the promise requires a process. With every ascent, there will be some agony: if you want riches, you must experience poverty; if you want success, there will first be failure; if you want a higher level, you’ve got to face a higher devil. Between you and the seat, there will always be a cup.

(This is an excerpt from Gregg Johnson’s newest book, Upward! Taking Your Life to the Next Level. Look for it soon on Amazon and www.greggtjohnson.com)

Have you ever seen those preachers offering special anointing oils or “Holy Ghost” hankies that supposedly contain supernatural power to make you prosper, receive a miracle, or catch a healing?

Recently, while in East Africa I heard about the “anointed broom” with which you can sweep the devil out of your house, or the “prophetic pen” that guarantees an “A-grade” to students who use it on exams. Of course, there’s the ubiquitous “miracle anointing oil” that will heal any sickness, break any curse, release untold riches, and generally invoke God’s blessing on anything it touches. It’s modern day heresy in a clerical collar.

What amazes me more than the heretical gimmickry coming from pulpits is the eager gullibility of those who actually buy into it. It’s indicative of a mentality so prevalent in the human condition today. We want “it” now. It’s the “quick-fix,” “easy-come,” “give-it-to-me-right-away” attitude. We want the devil out of our house, but we don’t want to fast and pray or do spiritual warfare. We want an “A-grade” on the exam, but we don’t want to study, prepare, or memorize. We want the miracles, but we don’t want to hear about the responsibilities we have that facilitate such works. It’s like the mountaineer who says he wants to go the next level, but is unwilling to climb. Just lay hands on me and prophesy, just pour oil on me or pray and let God float me upward without any effort being expended on my part.

Sorry; it doesn’t work that way.

Here’s the truth, the way to the next level is a struggle. It’s a difficult journey. There’s no quick prayer, no anointing and certainly no magic broom. If you want to be more effective, there will be struggle. If you want to be more successful, there will be a struggle. If you want to be happier, healthier and even holier, there will be a struggle because you can’t have fulfillment, satisfaction or any kind of success in life without facing hardship along the way.

Anyone who has experienced success, anyone who has mastered some aptitude or achieved some level of greatness; at some point, on some level, had to face the struggle. One cannot succeed without it. Hard work, self-denial, sacrifice, adversity, suffering, loss, rejection—it’s part of the journey, it’s part of the process.

It’s the kind of struggle that produces a certain kind of wisdom and strength that people who make it to the next level have. That’s why we want to go there. We see the caliber and quality of people at that level and we want to be like them. But what we don’t see is the struggle that got them there. The long days and sleepless nights, the countless tears and fears of the unknown, the cost, the sacrifice, the pressure and the pain. It was the struggle that made them wise, it was the fight that made them strong, and it was the journey that forged their confidence that those below so eagerly admire.

The words of the Apostle Paul from Philippians 3:21-14 make it clear:

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” 

The “next level” is not an overused cliché of self-help gurus and motivational moguls. For Paul, it was a way of life—it was his daily ascent. Never was he content with what he had achieved or how far he had come. Paul was always going higher, achieving more. He did not want to pass from this life with things undone. He wanted to reach the full potential of his existence, to achieve every purpose for which he was created.

There is untapped potential in your life. There is another level for you to achieve. Too many pass from this life believing the lie that they “can’t” or that they are “not good enough.” Let the journey to fulfill your purpose begin now. Embrace the struggle and realize that there is a life you have yet to live; a joy you have yet to know. The joy of overcoming, achieving, pushing through, and accomplishing what you never thought possible and what everyone knew you could never do. For there’s no greater joy than doing what everyone thought was impossible, if we do it for the glory of God.

(This is an excerpt from Gregg Johnson’s newest book, Upward! Taking Your Life to the Next Level. Look for it soon on Amazon or here on the site). ​

Character is essential, but it is never enough.

It’s the David Dilemma. Every person, regardless of how strong their character, will be promoted beyond what their character can support.

He was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). This is why God chose David. In 1 Samuel 16:7, He told
the prophet Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature... for the LORD does not see
as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Obviously, the Lord saw something pure and upright about David that qualified him to be king.

Unfortunately, David was still a man. As good as his character may have been, he was still a depraved, fallen creature. As such, he was subject to the corruption that often comes with absolute authority.

It’s the peril of our insidious, human nature. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." As good as one may be, if there are no restraints or restrictions upon him or her, if a person is free to act without any accountability or answerability, that person will be corrupted by his own depraved desires and driven to satisfy his own carnal interests. It is a sad fact of human nature, power without accountability corrupts.

The failures of King David, the man after God’s own heart, demonstrates why leaders, even good leaders, need structures of accountability. Transparency, reportability, fiduciarity, humility, collegiality all work together to provide the leader with the structures needed to maintain his integrity—and his credibility.

Leadership without accountability is leadership without credibility. Structures of accountability are not meant to hinder leaders or hold them back, they are meant to empower leaders and propel them forward. They are guardrails keeping leaders centered and secure. Followers, investors, employees who see leaders with such guardrails will be more inclined to trust them and follow wherever they may lead.

To learn more click here

Leaders are responsible for culture. It is up to the leader to set the pace by creating an environment where team members serve, not for themselves but for the good of the team and for one another. The following are attitudes that each leader must demonstrate to create a culture of humility and servant leadership. 

​MODESTY 
In His landmark book, Good to Great, Jim Collins identifies Level 5 Leaders. He explains how these leaders are common to the most successful corporations in the US. Rather than being highly charismatic people who drive the organization by the force of their personality and seem to have all the answers, the Level 5 Leader is marked by modesty. He writes, “Level 5 Leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious—but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.” These leaders may be strong and even forceful, but they are known more for their meekness. 

TEACHABILITY 
Teachability is the capacity to “esteem others better than yourself” (Phil.2:3) and “receive instruction” from them (Prov. 10:17). The proud person believes that he has greater gifts, more experience and better skills than those around him and therefore has no need to listen to or esteem others. But the teachable spirit is willing to admit, “I don’t have all the answers.” This is a foundational element of trustworthy leadership. It means the leader must never be so arrogant and high minded that he is beyond correction. Trustworthy leaders are collegial. They can be instructed, they can be taught; they can be corrected or rebuked. And because they are teachable, they will be wise. 

SUBMISSION 
No matter how high in position a person may be, no matter how great their authority or position, no one is beyond needing counsel or even being corrected. Leaders, like anyone else, must know when to submit. Let’s be clear, submission is not agreement. Anyone can submit when he or she is in agreement with their leader.  True submission is demonstrated, not in times of agreement, but in seasons of disagreement.  It is one’s ability to resist that surge of disagreement rising in one’s heart—it is that discipline to quell an impulse of assertiveness against another’s criticism, advice or counsel that proves true submission and the presence of real humility 

UNITY 
Most leadership teams have an inclination toward either trust or suspicion. Boards that are unhealthy and dysfunctional act like watchdogs, making sure no one “gets away” with anything. As a result these teams are made up of adversarial relationships believing their role is to protect the organization from other inept or corrupt leaders. Sadly, any organization rises or falls on the strength of the relationships that make it up—especially on the leadership team. Leadership teams that lack unity and collegiality are doomed to fail. 

ACCOUNTABILITY 
David Watson wrote, “Anything that is subject to human limitation or error requires the collegial presence of another person to ensure responsibility. It is a fact of life. Human frailty demands our need for accountability. People are not always so upright that they just naturally do what they should. Structures will always be needed to ensure that people carry out their responsibilities. People fall short, they forget. They get sidetracked and lose interest. They slack off and just plain shirk their responsibilities. This is why accountability is needed.  

Leaders are responsible for culture. It is up to the leader to create a culture where modesty, teachability, submission, unity and accountability are norms for all – and preserve the trust of leadership.

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​Everywhere He went, He was leading, He was teaching, He was creating a new culture for those who would follow Him.  

When the children came to Jesus, He embraced them with tenderness. When the woman touched the hem of His garment, though unclean by her flow of blood, He accepted and healed her. When demoniac of the Gadarenes, disheveled and filthy, chased after Him cursing and swearing, He set him free and put him in his right mind. When the prostitute washed His feet with her hair, when the adulteress was condemned before Him, He offered them forgiveness and restoration. He said love those that hate you, forgive those that malign you, give to those that ask you and pray for those that spitefully abuse you. And when He wrapped a towel around His waist, took a basin of water and a rag and knelt before His disciples and washed their feet one by one, He was showing them a new way to live and lead. It would be a culture where every person was valuable and no one, regardless of their title or position, could lord their authority over another. It was to be a culture of collegiality. 

The gospel of John tells the story: “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. …So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.’” (John 13:3-15) 

This is leadership according to Christ. Yes, one may have a title; and yes, one may have authority and the right to command others; but never should that leader seek to elevate his worth over others or somehow imply that he is more important. Each of the disciples whose feet Jesus washed would become the future leaders of the church He was building. The message to them was clear: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.” Do not elevate yourselves over one another. Don’t allow your egos to get in the way of serving together. Be a servant to one another. Value each other more than you value yourself. Defer to one another, support one another, trust one another and serve one another. The culture of leadership in His Kingdom was to be a culture of collegiality. And when leaders serve as a collegium, then the trust of leadership is secure. 
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So how does a leader promote collegiality? There are several practical elements that come together to demonstrate it. 
 
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The presence of humility in the life of the leader is demonstrated by “servant-leadership.”

The phrase “servant leadership,” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf wrote: “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

Greenleaf further wrote, “The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?”

Taking our example from Jesus Christ, a servant-leader primarily focuses on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While carnal, self-centered leadership pursues the accumulation power, servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.

This is the humility of leadership. It is the lowering of one’s own self and giving preference to others. It is caring about others more than I care about myself. It is building a vision that is more important than my popularity—a vision that will outlast my life. This is the rock of leadership. This is the trust of leadership: I lead, not for my own benefit, but for the benefit of others.

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