Trust and Inspire

By: Rev. Scott Armstrong

Recently, I was recommended a book by Stephen M.R. Covey. Although Trust and Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others was written for leaders in all walks of life, I find it interesting that several times the author uses Christian concepts, especially stewardship: “A fundamental belief of a Trust & Inspire leader is that leadership is stewardship. Put another way, leaders are stewards. Stewardship is a responsibility that implies the highest level of trust or being entrusted.”

This book makes the case for, of course, leaders who “trust and inspire” as opposed to those who “command and control.” It would be hard to find any reader who would disagree with that premise, especially within the Christian Church. However, the issue is that – consciously or unconsciously – we live in a Command and Control world. It’s our default mechanism. We might not always enjoy it, per se, but we are used to it. And – yes, even in the Church – commanding and controlling can become more natural and (could it be?!) comfortable for us as leaders than trusting and inspiring.

“Most Command & Control people aren’t bad people,” Covey writes. “Most are decent people with fine character and good intent. But far too often their style gets in the way of their intent.” I have found this to be true with many pastors and other leaders. In many cultures, authority figures are respected due to age or position, even if the respect is not always intentionally reciprocated (from “top” to “bottom”).

“We all want to be trusted,” Covey maintains. “To be trusted is the most inspiring form of human motivation. People who trust those they lead bring out the very best in them—and in all of us.” Trusting someone else – especially someone young or inexperienced – means not knowing the outcome. Failure is possible, and sometimes likely. It is easier for us to talk a good game about empowering others and then still call the shots.

“Similarly, people yearn to be inspired. It can feel as vital to our existence as air is to our lungs. In fact, the word inspire comes from the Latin root inspirate, which means ‘to breathe into.’ Put another way, inspire means to bring life into something that is lifeless. So, to inspire someone is to breathe life into them.”

Reflect on that correlation between inspiring and breathing life into someone. Many biblical passages illustrate how God breathes into us and fills us with life (Genesis 2, Ezekiel 37 and Acts 2 are classics, among others). The Holy Spirit is the true source of our inspiration! The question is: are we as leaders inspirating, that is, breathing life, into our churches, our neighborhoods, and our world?

How, specifically, might we do that? “To inspire is to take an experience and imbue it with purpose, to take a job and make it meaningful. It is to encourage a worker to become a creator, an employee to become a colleague, a vendor to become a partner, a group to become a team.”

I know that I have fallen short too many times in this area. I have oftentimes chosen expediency over investing in others, task instead of relationship. So let it be clear: from now on, I desire to be a Trust and Inspire leader. I long for our denomination and region to be known for that. Although we may have been known in certain seasons more for operating from Command and Control, let us in these coming decades be recognized for empowering and equipping God’s Church to impact the world!

I will end with Covey sharing what he believes is the most “epic imperative” for any organization to achieve: “the ability to create a high-trust culture that can attract, retain, engage, and inspire the best people—and thus win the ongoing war for talent.”

Is your ministry a place where people adore serving? Are they more effective leaders and more in tune with God and his mission after being a part of your culture?

Trust.

Attract.

Retain.

Engage.

Inspire.

Let us be known for these characteristics, Church.