Since Adam, every man has had a natural inclination to remain silent when he should speak. A man is most comfortable in situations in which he knows exactly what to do. When things get confusing and scary, his insides tighten and he backs away. When life frustrates him with its maddening unpredictability, he feels the anger rise within him. And then, filled with terror and rage, he forgets God’s truth and looks out for himself. From then on, everything goes wrong. Committed only to himself, he scrambles to make his own life work. The result is what we see every day: sexual passions out of control, uninvolved husbands and fathers, angry men who love to be in the driver’s seat. And it all began when Adam refused to speak.3
Note to Male Readers
If you bought this book for yourself, I commend you for taking the initiative. If your wife, girlfriend, or mother gave you this book, or if a church leader decided this would be a good topic for your small group to study, you may be wondering why they selected it for you. No matter how the book came into your possession, by reading it you are taking an important step of self-leadership, which is where we all must begin to become the leaders God wants us to be.
I think you will discover that What God Does When Men Lead is different from the leadership books that occupy significant shelf space in bookstores today. For example, numerous books on leadership focus on one area, such as organizational or community leadership, but this book covers every area of a man’s life. Many other books tell you how to be leaderlike—how to dress, run a meeting, and exude an aura of confidence. There are even books that coach you on how to shake hands, answer the phone, and order from a menu like a leader. You won’t find those topics in this book—not that these things are necessarily bad. It’s just that they don’t have much to do with leadership—at least from God’s point of view.
According to God, leadership is more about who you are and the choices you make. It’s about believing that what He says about you is more important than what press clippings or your résumé says about you. It’s about understanding that putting on the armor of God is infinitely more empowering than putting on an expensive suit and power tie. It’s about what drives you—not what you drive.
It is our substance, not style, that qualifies us for leadership. And our substance—the stuff at the core of our being—is formed from the choices we make day by day, hour by hour, at the private, intimate levels of life. Who we are up close and personal is the proving ground of true leadership.
At the end of each chapter you will find a section called “Living as a Faithful Steward” with questions for personal reflection and small group discussion. I encourage you to ponder and personalize the principles that hit home with you in each chapter. Take time to write down your thoughts and make them your own. Discussing them in a group will help you even more.