It is one thing to follow a leader. After all, we are experiencing a leadership crisis so quality leaders are hard to find. However, it is something completely different to find not only a leader worth following, but also worth sacrificing for.
Such a leader is NorthStar Church’s senior pastor Mike Linch. In addition to being an incredible pastor, communicator, and friend, you should also check out his Linch With A Leader podcast. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
On January 21, 2024, the church launched a capital campaign called “Whatever It Takes” for building expansion. Mike’s initial message was a masterclass on how a leader who calls people to sacrifice.
I broke down his message shown below into 32 Qualities Of A Leader Worth Sacrificing For. First watch the message and then I will provide the qualities along with quotes from Mike’s sermon.
32 Qualities Of A Leader Worth Sacrificing For
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Raise The Bar Of Expectation And Commitment – “Today we start what I think is the most important series we’ve ever done at NorthStar.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Are Great Storytellers – Stories are important because we can see ourselves in them. Mike said, “I love this story of the guys of ripping off the roof… It’s one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Give You Context – To help people better understand Mark 2:1-12, Mike gave the congregation the context of the passage. He said, “Most people who lived back then thought he committed a sin which caused that… Back during that time it meant you were shunned from society… Let me tell you how houses worked back in that day.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Make Jesus The Hero Of The Story – It’s all about Jesus. “When Jesus showed up, lot’s of people showed up.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Use The Bible As The Primary Tool For Discipleship And Life-Change – Nothing changes a human life like Biblical preaching and teaching. Mike helps NorthStar’s attenders build a Biblical framework for addressing the issues of their life.
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Ask Great Questions – If you ever hear Mike preach, one of the many things you will notice is how frequently he asks the audience responsive questions. Wisdom is in great questions, not great answers and Mike asks the audience great questions. “How many of you hope when you’re lying on your mat in life, you have some friends who believe in you like these guys believed in him?”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Give Us A Clear Picture Of Success – During the message, Mike painted the picture of what an “extra mile” person is. It is important to give people a target of success to aim at.
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Create A Sense Of Urgency – Quoting Convoy Of Hope founder Hal Donaldson, Mike said, “Hope only works if it gets there on time.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Effectively Use Humor – Mike effectively uses humor. Humor disarms people and makes them open to hearing a challenging message.
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Do Not Confuse Activity With Accomplishment – “What good is walking if you’re going to die anyway? Jesus forgave their sins.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Properly Evaluate Reality – “Ladies and gentlemen, we live in a world full of people done with God.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Speak To All Ages And Demographics – “We’ve got a bunch of high school students here, middle school students, a bunch of college students, folks literally from every age and gamut.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Are Highly Relational And Value Friendships – “This guys life was changed because of four friends.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Help Recognize And Meet Needs – “The greatest need in our community is forgiveness.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Give Quotes Which Are Easy To Remember And Repeat – Memorable quotes help people remember the message long after Sunday. “Today, some of you thought you had given up on God, but God hasn’t given up on you.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Give People Hope – Successful leaders are dealers in hope. “Father, You are the master at giving hope in hopeless situations… Hope can be found in you.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Touch The Past Before Moving Into The Future – “We sit in this room because in 1996 a group of mat carriers who didn’t know your name, believed in your story.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Are Restless And Uncomfortable – “NorthStar is in the top half of the top 1% of churches in America. It’s awesome. But there’s a word in the dictionary which will get you and the word is ‘Comfortable.’ “
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Pray BIG Prayers – “‘If you’re prayers don’t intimidate you, they are an insult to God.’ That (statement) rattled me hard.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Share Pressing Needs – “We are out of space.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Call People To Action – “Today is the beginning of the next phase of NorthStar. I believe our future is going to be traced back to a day like today.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Give Clear Instructions – “We’re going to create space.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Show People Images Of A Preferred Future – Mike not only spoke about the church’s space needs but showed pictures and architectural drawings. Much like stories, people see themselves in pictures.
- There Are Things Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Can’t Stand – “Ladies and gentlemen, two weeks ago at 10:10 every children’s building on our campus, every children’s room on our campus had to be closed for capacity issues. Families walked away. 15 families went home. I can’t stand it.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Have A Personal Stake In The Church Or Organization – “Both of my kids’ faith was formed in this church.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Provide Data To Support Their Thoughts – “80,000 people live within 15 minutes of this church who don’t go to church. Many of who are lying on mats and waiting for someone to bring them. Where are we going to bring”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Understand The Times They Are In – “I believe this church was put here for this season at this time to do whatever it takes for names and faces we don’t even know yet.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Personally Sacrifice – “Ann (Mike’s wife) and I have prayed about it. We are going to make the largest financial commitment over our tithe we have ever done.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Let You Know The Consequences Of Not Doing So – “We’ll build it and they will come. If we don’t build it, they’ll quit coming.”
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Invite Others To Join Them – Did you notice the first word in the previous quote – “We’ll”. Mike communicated it will take everyone’s sacrifice to make the project a reality.
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Build A Great Team – After the conclusion of his sermon, Mike welcomed the church’s chief of staff Stephanie Ford to the stage for instructions about the upcoming capital campaign. Stephanie is one of many individuals who make up the incredible NorthStar staff. Mike has built an elite team.
- Leaders Worth Sacrificing For Are Trusted – John Maxwell teaches that people buy into the leader before they buy into the leader’s vision. This did not come up in the message but the level of sacrifice is directly linked to the level of trust you have in the leader. Mike is deeply trusted by the congregation at NorthStar and that is what makes campaign success a real possibility.
What is one thing you learned from Mike’s message which will help you become a leader worth sacrificing for?
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