Chapter 9

True Leaders Are Winners

By Dr. Lester Hutson

Philippians 4:13

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

True leadership is largely an attitude. Men live in a state of victory or defeat in their hearts. Those who don't think they can usually don't. Once a man is whipped in his heart, the external battle will soon be over. Just because one thinks he can win, doesn't mean he will, but it's almost certain that he won't, if he doesn't believe he can.

Without exception, winners have winning attitudes. That seems to be where winning starts. Other people follow winners. They're drawn to them.

On the other hand, losers attract almost no one.

It is an observable and undisputable fact that all true leaders are winners at heart. They may not always win or succeed, but they never quit believing they can. As long as they project that winning spirit, some will follow, also believing they'll win. Leadership is a very complex and fragile thing, and it is certain that one of its basic and vital ingredients is a winning attitude.

A Winning Spirit

When you are around a true leader, you get the idea that one way or another, you are going to make it. True leaders don't have all the answers, but they believe they can find the answer. If it just can't be done, they'll admit that, pick up the pieces and go another way. One way or the other, they're going on. Out of a place of shambles, they pick up broken pieces and start rebuilding. Though they may have just had the breath knocked out of them, they're thinking "Get up, try again in a smarter way; we're going to win. We may have to move, change jobs and totally revise our
strategy and approach, but we will win sooner or later."

Nehemiah was that sort of man. War, the siege, famine, fire and vandalism had laid Jerusalem in a rubble heap. Nehemiah didn't view the bleak scene with an "Oh, poor me, this is so bad; I'm so depressed and defeated" outlook. There were so few workers, there was not enough money, there were not enough building materials, there were vicious and hostile enemies, within and without. You talk about bleak and discouraging. Most preachers would have given up before they ever got started. Old church leaders would have said, "It's foolish to even attempt it." I'm talking about a mind-set that infects too many deacons and dads and older brethren in the Lord's work, and those who are looked upon to set the pace for others.

Nehemiah knew that's how most of his cohorts would think. He didn't want them discouraging the people with their defeated thinking. The people would never follow a bunch of loser leaders, who didn't believe the job could be done, so Nehemiah said in Nehemiah 2:13-16,

"And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the kings' pool, but there was not place for the beast that was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work."

But Nehemiah was a winner at heart. Yes, it would be hard, but it could be done, so he said. "let us build up the wall of Jerusalem." (2:17) A group of supportive leaders rallied behind him and said, "Let us rise up and build." In spite of immense opposition and hardship, "The wall was finished...in fifty-two days," in Nehemiah 6:15.

It is not hardships which destroy leadership. Opposition can hurt, but it can't destroy leadership. Mental defeat will destroy leadership every time. Once you give up, you're done. Men have suffered their legs cut off, but kept their winning attitude. Fanny Crosby was blind, but she was a winner. Fires, diseases, disasters, financial ruin and the most devastating and cruel calamities have come. Too many who've faced them went down in contemptuous defeat, crying, complaining, bitter, mad at God, full of self pity, and like Elijah saying, "O Lord, take away my life," in I Kings 19:4.

A few have not let these things defeat them inside. In the midst of life's greatest knockout punches, they're still winners. If they can't read a word because blindness comes, they'll learn Braille. If they can't preach Christ freely any longer, they'll preach Him in the prisons of Caesarea and Rome, like Paul did. When age takes away the pastorate, they keep preaching and winning souls wherever they can. When disease puts them in bed, they witness Christ to all who come to visit.

In the fiery furnace or den of lions, true leaders are never defeated. They're not quitters and pessimists. They take the lumps of life like everybody else, but whereas everybody else goes down in defeat, true leaders go down, but not in defeat. Even when they're sprawled all over the canvas with blood running out their noses, they're not whipped. I'm talking about the winning spirit you see in Paul who said,

"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed," in II Corinthians 4:8-9.

Why do some dads, some bosses, some pastors, some older Christians go on and succeed where others fail? Here is one of the chief reasons why! Some have a winning spirit and some don't.

Defeat and victory

When anyone is defeated in his heart, the drive and hope seems to vanish. Almost every time, he becomes negative, and begins to put emphasis on "No I/we can't." He starts looking more for reasons why it shouldn't be done than for reasons why it should. It's hard for defeated, pessimistic people to be objective. They seldom are willing to try. They have trouble giving a thing a chance or opportunity to succeed. Their focus is invariably more on ways to fail than on ways to succeed.

On the other hand, winners at heart are looking ahead. They're not blind to realities, but they do not think any reality can defeat a man who has Christ in his heart. They take personally I Corinthians 10:13 which says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

Habakkuk was such a man. Listen to him in Habakkuk 3:17-18,

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; and the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."

I'm talking about a man with a winning spirit. I'm talking about a person who is more interested in what can be done than what can't be done, and who is looking for ways to do it instead of reasons why it can't be done. I'm talking about a person whose focus is on success, not failure. Whichever the attitude, it will show. It will show in what is said. Little statements begin to give them away. Their actions or lack of action becomes a tattle-tale.

Where a true leader is up and trying, the defeated one is sitting back and criticizing, or waiting for it to fail. He's the first to think, "I knew it wouldn't work" and to say "I told you so." The defeatist preacher is an expert on labeling the success of others as "the energy of the flesh."

When a church has a pastor and other leaders with a winning attitude, the buildings will show it. They'll be clean, well-kept and maintained. The grounds and grass will reflect it. The approach to church life will reflect the winning spirit. There'll be a confidence and expectancy in the church. Where there's a winning spirit in leadership, the gloom and status-quo are not there. Instead, you'll find zeal and optimism. It'll reflect in the sermons, Bible lessons and in the singing.

But where a church has leaders with a losing spirit, just the reverse is true. The deadness reflects in everything from the sermons to the sidewalks. The reflection of the spirit of leadership, in a multitude of ways, can just as easily be read in homes and businesses. In time the spirit invariably shines through. A self-pitying negative, defeated spirit is extremely infectious. Praise the Lord, a winning spirit is extremely contagious. People are going to sense your spirit, and it's going to rub off onto them. Your wife, your children, your employees, your younger brothers and sisters in Christ, your church will become more and more a reflection of your spirit. The way you respond, they'll respond. The things you value, they'll value. Your spirit becomes their spirit.

Why do some churches seem to have such a vibrant, winning spirit? Leadership, sir. The people have picked up the winning spirit of their leaders. Beware, leaders, that you do not lose your winning spirit. You can't become internally defeated, develop a negative attitude, and keep on winning. Jesus said in Matthew 26:31 that when the shepherd is smitten, the sheep will be scattered abroad. When the wind goes out of your sails, it will go out of theirs, too.

Goliath and the Philistines are a striking case in point. The Philistine army was all full of starch and fight as long as Goliath was out there making his boasts. When he fell, their morale broke, and they ran like powerless wimps. You'll see it in I Samuel 17. Especially note the latter part of verse 51 which says, "And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled."

What a vivid example of the impact leadership has on the people! Don't ever get to thinking that your spirit and attitude won't matter. It will! If you are going to be a true leader, especially in the spiritual world, you're going to have to learn to be a winner at heart. Whether you are or are not a winner at heart is one of the biggest reasons why you are or are not a true leader.

A Winning Congregation

There's no legitimate reason why every believer shouldn't have a winning spirit. Every saved person has the Spirit of God indwelling him. I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, Romans 8:9 and John 16:7 all prove this to be true. The presence of the Holy Spirit of God in a believer's life also means the availability of the power of God in that believer's life. Thus, Ephesians 3:20 speaks of "the power that worketh in us." Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Yes, a believer has God's power in him. "Our sufficiency is of God," II Corinthians 3:5 tells us. "He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world," I John 4:4 encourages us. That's the basis of promises like I Corinthians 10:13.

Now if God is in us, and His power is available to us, why should we ever have a spirit of defeat? There's really no just reason for it. You see, a winning spirit is based on the power of God in us, not on our own power. When a man has God's power, he can win whether he's rich or poor, sick or well, in bondage or freedom, and regardless of all external circumstances. That's the reason Paul could say, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain," in Philippians 1:21. In life or death he'd be a winner. No wonder he continued in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

In Christ, we can win, always, every time. There's no reason for a defeated spirit. Our confidence is not in the arm of the flesh; it's in God. Why shouldn't we be winners? We belong to Jesus. He's in us, "Christ in you the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27). It's not your good looks that gives you a winner's heart. It's not your money or your talent or your youth. A winning spirit is not based on freedom from adversity, suffering or poverty. It comes from knowing who you are and the power and potential that's yours through Christ. When that soaks in, you know you can win. If it really gets a hold of you like it should, the thought of permanent defeat will never cross your mind. You know you may get knocked down, but you'll get up again in your heart and you know it.

Folks, I'm describing a winner's spirit, and all true church leaders have one. They may be the cheerleader type or they may be the quiet strength type, but they're winners, and people are drawn to them. They lead and succeed where others fail. A winning spirit is an absolutely vital element of leadership.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"