Near and Far Faith

We know that we have to fail to learn - and we do. But do we as leaders, in any field, choose failure from time to time?

I know it's typically not a strong leadership quality, but I think if we looked deep enough, great leaders choose the knowledge that comes from failure at the onset of a task.

Here are some great examples: a missions trip that seems way too expensive, a service change that is edgy enough to drive people away, or raising up a leader no one else will touch.

I love listening to Clayton King when he's filling in for Perry Noble. A few months ago he left me with this nugget: "Why do we feel like we have to pray about the things that God has already commanded us to do?" Like sharing the gospel. Why? Because we hate choosing failure and God may be leading us down that road on purpose occasionally. It's a pride thing and deep down we all know it... we don't want to look like a loser.

These are the qualities that good leaders risk that make them great. If I can just put these all together, I could actually speak from experience.