On the surface, I seem to be the least qualified person around to speak on this topic, and I have spent a long time asking myself the question: Am I a man worthy of being followed?  Am I a leader?  I’ve held a number of positions and titles that imply leadership – Teacher, Coach, Director, Principal, Coordinator, Husband, and Father just to name a few.  So how have I done? 

 
The answer is a bit of a mixed bag but more often than not, I have failed.  Every position listed points me to disappointments and shortcomings that can easily be considered my destiny.  As a teacher, I didn’t reach every student I needed to.  As a coach, I didn’t prepare my players as well as I should have.  As a director, oversights were made.  As a principal, the school did not fulfill all of the expectations placed upon me.  As a coordinator, I have been passive in pursuing the things I needed to pursue.  As a family man, I am a divorced, single father of two.

 
Some of you may read that and say I’m being too hard on myself, but I’m not.  This is my past – the track record that precedes me.  Yes, I know that mistakes are our best teachers, but they are also one of the few things in life of which we can take full ownership.  This is my truth and as a man of God who wishes to take the roles of leadership in his life more seriously, I must begin my search for the solution here.

 
Sanctus Real has a song on their new album that speaks specifically about the marital difficulties that one of the band members went through a few years ago.  It speaks not only to men in struggling relationships, but I think it gives us insight into the responsibilities we have in every relationship we pursue – especially in those situations where we have been cast into the role of a leader.  Notice how the song presents a sense of reality that many don’t see on the surface.  The lyrics are provided along with a link to YouTube.

 
Lead Me by Sanctus Real  –  Click Here to hear the song via YouTube

 
I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying…
 
“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can’t
Don’t leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?
 
Show me you’re willing to fight
That I’m still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”
 
I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They’re just children from the outside
I’m working hard, I tell myself they’ll be fine
They’re in independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying…
 
“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can’t
Don’t leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?
 
Show me you’re willing to fight
That I’m still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”
 
So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I’m called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won’t You lead me?
 
To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can’t
Don’t want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up
 
I’ll show them I’m willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone
 
Father, lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone

 
It’s a classic contradiction, but once again we see that in order for men to be the leaders we were called to be, we must first be led.  I want the students I serve to have the best educational experience they can have.  I want to be the best father I can be to help raise my children so that they might fulfill their Kingdom destinies.  And when given the opportunity, I want to be an effective leader of my household, bringing blessings and honor to the Proverbs 31 woman God has called me to lead. 

 
So Father, Lead me.  Make me the coordinator, teacher, worker, writer, son, brother, father, husband, and man you have destined me to be.  I will surrender to You, Lord.  I will follow wherever You lead because as the song says, I know that I can’t do this alone.  I’ve tried things my way, it’s time to do things Your way.  In big ways, in small ways, always…I love you.
This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. – Isaish 48:17