Leadership
by Pastor Bob Guaglione

Leadership is influence. Whether it be a sports franchise, corporation, university, non-profit, or church, this one maxim rings true: Everything rises and falls based on leadership. When our God seeks to do a work in this world, He doesn’t call a group or look for a committee, He generally calls an individual. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Once God calls someone, He then begins the refining process of equipping that individual for service. A.W. Tozer puts it this way: "A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to lead, but is forced into a position of leadership by the inward pressure of the Holy Spirit and the press of the external situation. Such were Moses and David and the Old Testament prophets. I think there was hardly a great leader from the apostle Paul to the present day but that was drafted by the Holy Spirit for the task and commissioned by the Lord of the Church to fill a position he had little heart for. I think it might be accepted as a fairly reliable rule of thumb that the man who is ambitious to lead is disqualified as a leader. The true leader will have no desire to lord it over God's heritage, but will be humble, gentle, self sacrificing, and altogether as ready to follow as lead, when the Spirit makes it clear that a wiser and more gifted man than himself has appeared."

At CCDC our mission is to become servant leaders, men & women who have a passion to see God move in our church, our community, and our world. We long to follow the legacy of Jesus, who being the greatest and most competent leader who had ever lived, washed the feet of those men who had followed Him for three years. We desire to put a serving towel over our arms and to help lead people to maturity in Christ. We do not seek a false humility, but rather an authentic and genuine work of the Spirit in our hearts.

Leadership can be a lonely place. Criticism, second-guessing, and having to make the tough calls can weigh heavy upon the leader. This is why in the church we must constantly remember the words of Jesus, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) The Lord has big shoulders; we need to remember this. I leave you with the words of Teddy Roosevelt that hang on my wall and that I reflect on often: "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, …who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."