An Unhurried Leader by Alan Fadling

Author:Alan Fadling [Fadling, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2017-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

A GOOD TREE BEARING GOOD FRUIT

The Pharisees were masters of cultivating what some have called a false self. Many leaders have taken the same tack: we learn how to look a certain way in certain environments. We think, This kind of person wins, so I’ll become that kind of person. But there is absolutely no better self for your leadership role than your true self. Jesus wants to make you—God’s unique and treasured creation—into a good tree so you’ll bear good fruit. The tree of who you actually are is the most fruitful you that you can possibly be.

In the short term, a false self may appear the more fruitful option. But God made us unique. No one else can do what I can or you can to honor and build God’s kingdom, to embody some aspect of the Father’s character. Making the tree good is about fully becoming our true self. Then we will produce good fruit that lasts.

The path to becoming a tree that produces lasting fruit may not be what we expect. I have a friend who is a farmer who often consults for other farmers in California’s Central Valley about how to improve the health and increase the productivity of their crops. One time a large almond grower contacted him. Concerned about his trees, he asked my friend to visit. My friend told me, “When I looked at his orchard, I said, ‘You haven’t been pruning these trees well enough. They aren’t going to last you more than a few more years unless you do. If you prune them really well this season, your productivity is going to go down significantly in the short term, but these trees will live a lot longer and produce a lot more in the long term.’”

Not able to see past those few years of low productivity, this farmer didn’t take my friend’s advice—and his trees only produced for a few more years. The substance of my friend’s counsel was basically “Make the tree good,” but the farmer could only see the immediate loss that would come if he followed that advice. He was afraid the cost of making the tree good was too high, when in fact making the tree good would have meant years of productive farming rather than ownership of, essentially, acres of firewood.

In terms of becoming a good tree in the spiritual sense, it helps to ask, “In what way was Jesus’ own life a good tree?” In the Gospels, Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (Jn 6:38). Jesus lovingly and humbly surrendered his will to the wishes of his Father. That means, for instance, that Jesus saw the crowds with compassion, as harassed and helpless sheep without a shepherd (Mt 9:36). That submission also means that he did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many (Mt 20:28). Jesus’ leadership

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