In the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s the Berlin Wall served as a tangible reminder of the Iron Curtain separating Western democracies from Europe’s Soviet-led Eastern bloc. The East German government erected the wall to stop their prominent citizens from fleeing westward. The wall stood 12 feet high and was 4 feet thick. It stretched nearly 100 miles and was made of reinforced concrete. Soldiers patrolled that wall from watchtowers poised high above with official orders to shoot on sight anyone attempting to scale the wall. Official documents instructed security personnel: “Do not hesitate with the use of a firearm, including when the border breakouts involve women and children…”
There was mounting political pressure to tear down the wall, and in 1989 the East German government finally lifted its border controls. Over the following days, elated Germans from both sides took sledgehammers and chisels eventually hacking their way through the once imposing wall. Artists painted murals on what remained. This historic breakthrough brought freedom for people to freely move throughout Eastern Europe and in doing so, reshaped global politics. (Story adopted from John Maxwell http://www.johnmaxwell.com/products-resources/leadership-on-demand/articles/leadership-breakthroughs/)
Every leader has significant breakthroughs on their life journey that moves and shapes them. Once they happen, our world is never the same. You reach a new level of leadership that can only be achieved once you breakthrough the wall that is preventing you from reaching your goals.
I crashed through my first wall in basic training for the USAF. For weeks, the drill instructors had told us about the confidence course. It was a course designed to intimidate every soldier on every level. There were walls to scale, water to cross, barbed wire to crawl under. To get through it in a certain amount of time seemed implausible. I stood nervously in line waiting my turn watching my fellow soldiers sprint off before me. And when my turn came, I hit it hard. Halfway through the course I realized that the only thing holding me back was my fear and anxiety and as soon as I bypassed them, the race was on. Not only did I finish strong, I finished well within the time limits with a profound sense of accomplishment. It was in that moment that I realized I was stronger mentally and physically than I previously thought. I had traveled through a wall.
My second wall was revealed when I was asked to plant a church. Once again, I questioned my ability and qualifications. After prayerfully counting the cost, my wife and I ventured out of the relative safety of a stable church onto unproven ground. With very little money, a newborn at home, and no committed congregants we started Freshwater Church with a vision to reach the community for Christ. One year into it I realized that this vision was becoming a reality and Freshwater continued to grow. I had traveled through a wall and have never looked back.
My third wall came when I reached the limits of my leadership. Freshwater Church was going well and was growing. The problem was that I was leading too many things and the growth of the church was stunted because I didn’t know how to delegate enough significant ministries off my plate. I distinctly remember lying on a hill in England on a mission’s trip that I just led, determined to return home with a new plan of action. So I wrote out a new leadership plan, returned home and executed it. The church grew by several hundred. It was a wall that needed to be torn down.
In 2009, I was running on all 8 cylinders and things were going good but I was getting tired. I had burned myself out and hit a fatigue wall. My mentor, Leith Andeson, encouraged me to take some time off to recharge; which I did. Taking the month of July off that year, saved my career and my sanity. It has been a yearly time of respite since. I learned that unless I lead myself, I will be of no use to others.
My leadership journey has been marked by significant breakthroughs. I know that I would not be the leader I am today unless I had the breakthrough experiences I just shared. I know that I will face new walls that need to be broken through in the future. The plan is to tear them down one at a time, never losing sight of the vision God has given me to make disciples and develop leaders.
You will face walls in your own life. And what you do or don’t do with these walls will determine how far you go as a leader.