Seminary, Part Six

Few leaders finish well. Most quit, leave early, or fail. Life can be considered like a chess game: there is an opening game, a middle game, and an end game. Decisions made in the opening have a profound effect on the middle game, and it's in the middle game that your choices make the biggest difference. Most chess games are won or lost in the middle game. However, poor choices in the end can ruin the best of games.

What does it take to finish well? Most of us try to do whatever it takes but we usually have the criteria wrong. We are trying to finish in the wrong way or in the wrong things. We must know God deeply, know ourselves deeply, and be known deeply in community. We need humility and discipline, and we need a learning posture. My host in Colorado Springs was a great example of finishing well. After 88 years of living, he amazed me several times with his wisdom. He had lived a full life, including more than 60 years of marriage with never raising voices at each other. When I stayed at his house he was filling his schedule with social activities, family activities, and hospital visitation. Even as a lifelong introvert whose wife had led him in social interaction, he forced himself to visit people in the hospital and bring them hope and joy because he felt called. He believed that we must never stop giving - when you stop giving, you lose purpose for living. Many years back he had trained himself in evangelism so that even if he ended up in a nursing home he'd be able to give the Gospel to others at the home.

There are several barriers that we must overcome if we are to finish well. A major one is finances - their abuse or misuse. Another is power issues or inordinate pride. Many leaders fall victim to sexual immorality, and others fall victim to family-critical issues. Others never overcome emotional wounding. Still others plateau and become content with the status quo. To avoid plateauing we must ensure that we always seek mentors.

What leaders have you seen who finished well? What were their secrets? Or do you know more leaders who didn't finish well? What did they fall victim to?