Develop a Thick Skin
In order to balance all these voices, developing thick skin is of grave importance.
This is actually a HUGE leadership lesson—period!
We have to remember that we can’t please everyone. It’s impossible to please everyone. But it’s most important to live out the call that God has put on our hearts, and sometimes that means going a path that some don’t agree with.
It means not taking everything too personally. Some people aren’t going to be called to your church. Some people may have their opinions about the vision or mission. You just can’t please everyone.
Three Ways to Develop a Thick Skin
1. Please God. Worry about only pleasing God. Period. Stop wasting all the energy it takes to please people, and divert that energy to God.
2. Be confident in who you are. When you stop worrying about what others will think, it takes so much pressure off. Now, that doesn’t mean you become a jerk and don’t care about people. But it does mean that you lead in the way you were created to lead.
3. Ask for peoples’ opinions. Yes, I think we need to go after what people really think. Way too often, people hold back from what they really think, and then at the most inopportune time they tell us what they’ve been thinking all along. If we create a culture where it’s OK for people to really share, we will find ourselves less in the magical land of “I wonder what they really think.”
People will have their doubts. People will question your motives. People will say both positive and negative things about you and the church, and some days they will say both.
As much as you can, you must drown out all the voices that pull you down and listen to the voice that matters.
“After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” —1 Kings 19:12
