by Perry Noble
Charisse, my five-year-old little girl, looked up at me with really big eyes just the other day and informed me that I was going to need to start putting the toilet seat down because she had recently went to the bathroom and “fell in!” (Lots of men have had this same conversation with their wife/daughters!) It brought FIVE things to mind . . .
- When we get in a hurry as leaders we tend to not pay attention to how our decisions might impact others. (If we are going to lead like Jesus we MUST be way more concerned about others than we are ourselves!)
- If a leader will take a little extra time and make sure the details are covered it makes it a lot easier for those who are following him/her. (A person who does not take a little time now will have to take a lot of time later repairing the damage from the “mess”—I can promise you she will not forget “falling in!”)
- Laziness as a leader will often result in unfortunate circumstances for those who follow. (I can promise she was not happy about “falling in!”)
- When unfortunate circumstances take place (falling in the toilet) a good leader will always ask “what could I have done differently in that situation” (put the lid down), instead of blaming someone else for the mess. (Sure, I could have told her to make sure the lid was down. The reality is that if I had taken the extra time and did what a good leader/father should have done, then she would not have gone for a swim!)
- Two of the MOST POWERFUL WORDS for a leader to say are, “I’m sorry,” when they are confronted with a careless mistake that they made rather than trying to rationalize the situation.
BELIEVE ME. From now on, I am going to make sure the lid is down! (And every woman out there said, “Amen!”)
Perry Noble is the founding and senior pastor of NewSpring Church, which has campuses in Anderson, Columbia, Florence, and Greenville, South Carolina. At 11 years old, the church averages over 10,000 people across all campuses. Perry is a gifted communicator and teacher, convicted about speaking the truth as plainly as possible. God has given him a vision and a passion for helping people meet Jesus, and each week he shares God’s Word and its practical application in our daily lives. Perry, his wife, Lucretia, and their daughter, Charisse, live in Anderson, South Carolina.
