FOLLOW THE LEADERGood leaders have learned to look for life – rather than dwell on death.
They focus on possibilities rather than problems...opportunities rather than
opposition...victories rather than defeats. We see this spirit of “realistic
optimism” in Paul when he described his ministry at Ephesus:
“I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide
door for eff ective service has opened to me, and there are
many who oppose me” (I Cor. 16:8-9).In this situation at Ephesus, Paul could have either focused on the “...
wide door for effective service...opened to me”; or he could have
focused on the reality that “...there are many who oppose me.” He was
certainly not ignorant or naïve about the very real opposition that awaited
him on the other side of that “...wide open door for effective service.”
He already “...bore on his body the marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:17) as a
result of often walking through such open doors of opportunity into the
face of violent opposition! He was willing to pay the price of pain in order
to seize the opportunity! Paul’s life and leadership is a challenging example
of a person who chose to focus on the opportunity rather than upon the
opposition. As a result of that timely leadership decision, a vibrant church
was born at Ephesus – perhaps one of the greatest churches he ever
birthed! Without it, we would not have the Book of Ephesians – oftentimes
called the “Queen of Epistles,” which gives us the highest New Testament
teaching on the church! It has always been true: “The greater the opportunity,
the greater the opposition – but also the greater the outcome.”
Principle: “Th e greater the opportunity,
the greater the opposition – but the greater the
outcome.”As John Piper has rightly said: “Spiritual leaders are optimistic not because
man is good but because God is in control.”^3 Earlier I referred to this mind-
set as “Providential thinking” because it is God-centered thinking rather than
man-centered thinking. Thinking that is based on a wrong view of man
will ultimately lead to disillusionment, depression, despair, and defeat.
Focusing on God will lead to a supernatural optimism – even if one is not
naturally optimistic! Spiritual leaders constantly remind themselves of
Romans 8:28: “For God works all things together for good for those
who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”