The Battle of Transitioning

Say it out loud and say it strong, “IT IS NOT ABOUT ME!” Say it again and again. Stand on your porch and shout it. Stand in your shower and say it. Proclaim it from the pulpit. Teach your people, “IT IS NOT ABOUT ME!” Whether it is going well or poorly, say it loud, “IT IS NOT ABOUT ME!”

Wake up before you destroy the people who are following you or the leader that you are under. Life and leadership are easy when we are dumb. But, oh, when we start growing and transitioning from one level of leadership to the next – we can really become idiots and mess things up. Like a teenager who has become aware that he will one day be an adult, we begin to “know everything”. Leaders would never grow or transition up through the leadership chain if they did not desire it. Leaders would never become greater leaders if there was no need or if they did not think they could do it.

It is okay and it is natural for the leader to think she is ready for the next step (and usually before she is). It is natural for the growing leader to begin to reinvent the wheel. We have written of all of this before. We have also written the principle of “It is not about me” and we have talked of how important it is to mature well as a leader rather than just being a know-it-all maverick.

But every leader will, throughout his leadership, face the Battle of Transitioning from one level of leadership to the next. In this battle, our common enemy slips in quietly and messes with the transition. He gets us to focus on our increasing ability and our desire. He and original selfish sin get us to think, “Do they think they are the only ones who know…”, “If it were me...”, and “This is the right…” If we are not careful we begin to become the all-knowing and central source of all leadership and information.

Now, objectively and scientifically, we know that this cannot be true. Step aside for one minute and think about the facts. If we were the ones who were really the better leader wouldn’t all of the people already be following us? If we knew everything, then why have we been learning under this other leader? If we are the “one”, then why have so many served so well for so many years before us?

Yes, we may be one of the next great leaders and we may even be used to lead those who now lead us. Those very people who lead us may one day happily become our support staff. However, the natural progression is for them to choose it because it is right and from our Father. The common enemy wants you to steal leadership, grab it, demand it and be indignant that you can’t get it. If we are not careful, the very people we want to lead will be destroyed along with the work and their dreams as we try to assume leadership and replace the leaders above us. We have to ask, “When did I become my teacher’s teacher? Is this from God? Is this reflective of God’s methods or the enemy’s?”

Leaders above you should allow you to transition. They should share the leadership, move upwards in leadership after securing you, or serve you as God’s hand is on you. Be careful though when you think you are ready and now “the one” for you most certainly aren’t if you are having those thoughts. The enemy will quietly slip in and make it about “you” and “your rights” before you know it. He is devious and we are corrupted in the flesh. Be warned but remember mostly, “It is not about you.”

Even in this discussion, I am not worried about you getting hurt but you hurting the effort around you and the leaders above you. I worry for the leader facing the Battle of Transition because they are prone to creating division among the very people and efforts that they wish to lead. The focus of this battle is always “me.”

Remember, that even with God’s call, God’s anointing and God’s blessing, you still have no rights. If God has not supplanted the leader above you, then you are not supposed to do what He is not doing. There is plenty of leadership responsibility and a perfect plan from our Father for not only your leadership but theirs. Men and women falling in the Battle of Transitioning from one level of leadership to the next forget that those they are following have been called as well. Men and women falling in this battle forget to seek the best for the leadership and call of those above them. It is not about “you” or anyone in spiritual leadership. It is all about God, His Effort and His Desire.

There is only one out in this discussion. If you are following a “not called, not Godly, not well developed, not anointed leader” they may need to be replaced. However, they most likely don’t need to be replaced by you. Want to know why - because you have made the error of following them this long and are certainly flawed much like them.

Be careful, walk slow, be sure, be wise and protect the followers by not falling in the Battle of Transition.