Larry Kreider over the last several weeks landed on several top national shows. As a ‘result’ of our collaborative work his book ‘21 Test’s of Effective Leadership’ placed on Amazon’s Top 100 Leadership Bestseller List!

“Larry Kreider is a true servant to the Church—a leader whose dimension of effectiveness in advancing the Kingdom and shaping leaders evidences a level of gifting and humility that is so apostolic that it doesn’t need that title to certify it. I trust this man because his heart is pure and his mind is clear.”

Jack W. Hayford, President, International Foursquare Churches; Chancellor, The King’s College and Seminary; Founding Pastor, The Church On The Way, California

8-10 – minister at the Kairos Leadership Summit near Lancaster PA

19-21 – minister at Prayer Seminar and New Life Christian Center near LA in CA

22 – meet with church leaders in Bend OR

March

1-4 – studying at Southwestern Christian University near Oklahoma City, OK

5-6 – minister to leadership team at a church in Western Tennessee

12-13 – minister at the DOVE/Hopewell Leadership School, New Holland, PA

29-31 – minister at the DOVE Leaders Conf. at Sandy Cove MD

April

9-10 – minister at the DOVE/Hopewell Leadership School, New Holland, PA

11 – minister at Petra Christian Fellowship in New Holland PA

14-15 – in Dallas serving on the board of SLNI based in Fort Worth TX

16-18 – minister at Mentoring Seminar and Impact Harvest Church near LA in CA

20 – minister at a pastors gathering in Lewisburg PA

28-30 – at Eagles Wings Board meeting in Buffalo NY

May

1 –  minister at a church at Broadlands VA

7-8 – minister at The Fathers House in Longview WA

10-11 – minister to interdenominational pastors gathering near Albany OR

Achieving your God-given Potential

21 Tests of Effective Leadership

By Larry Kreider
January 2010 KAIROS

At the start of a new calendar year, who isn’t thinking about how they can improve themselves for maximum Kingdom productivity? Be encouraged – you may have already passed some of the tests every leader has to face. This article will give you some tips for passing the next test God sends your way.

Every person with the potential for leadership—and that is everyone—will face a series of tests. None are exempt. I know. I have faced test after test in life during the past 40 plus years in both the business and church worlds. And it did not stop there. My marriage has been tested, my family tested, relationships tested, my security tested, my reputation tested and our finances tested. In fact, I have faced so many tests that a few years ago I started to compile them into a list: I now call them “21 tests of effective leadership.” But before I go on, allow me to give you some good news up front. God does not set up this “leadership training course” for us to fail! You will, however, continue to face the same tests again and again until you pass them.

With Flying Colors

I am writing this from the seat of United Airlines flight 681, flying to the West Coast of the USA. I am certainly relieved this airplane has gone through a safety test before it took off from the Chicago Airport a few hours ago. Imagine boarding a plane that has not been tested for safety. It would be ludicrous to trust such a plane. In the airline industry, everything is methodically tested. The pilots have been tested during years of prior training. The flight attendants were also trained and tested. Even every passenger was examined (tested) before boarding the plane to be sure they did not bring a weapon on board.

All of us will be tested so we can stand in the heat of the battles we will face. The greater our call to leadership, the greater the tests we will face. The Bible is filled with examples of those who were tested and then went on to become phenomenal leaders—some leading God’s people and others providing leadership to whole nations. From Daniel to Joseph to Moses to Deborah to Jesus, we see those who led with endurance and strength, but they all faced great tests.

In the Bible we read, “When troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:2-4).

There is a great need for leaders today to be willing to be examined by the tests of life, so they will endure during difficult times. Our God allows tests in our lives to prepare us for our future roles of leadership. If we lack anything today in the world we live in, it is secure, mature, consistent leaders who have been willing undergo testing. We don’t need more positions filled. We need leaders in all walks of life who will lead in humility and strength. This type of leader can only be developed by embracing, enduring and passing the tests they will face.

My life has been a series of tests. I have faced the test of insecurity many times. I have been tested with the test of perseverance so many times I have lost count. I have experienced the tests of my calling, the humility test, the teamwork test, the releasing test, the priorities test, the transition test, the criticism test, the conflict test, the test of unmet expectations, the test of timing … the list goes on and on.

So then, I invite you to join me on my journey as I share with you 21 tests that I have faced personally. My guess is that you will also need to embrace these same tests as God prepares you for your present and future role of leadership. It really helps to know what the tests look like before we take them so we can be prepared for these tests when they come.

For the record’s sake, I am still facing these and other tests so I can be the leader God has called me to be. This list of 21 tests is by no means exhaustive. But I can promise you that if you will embrace these 21 tests and allow the Lord to develop your attitude, your character and your abilities, you will be prepared for the leadership He has for you. Here’s my list.

21 Tests of Effective Leadership

1. The calling test: An effective leader will discover his calling and trust God to manifest it
2. The humility test: Effective leaders give credit to others
3. The teamwork test: An effective leader finds a way for his team to win
4. The releasing test: An effective leader knows how to empower others
5. The priorities test: An effective leader determines what his priorities are in life
6. The transition test: An effective leader understands and leads the process of change
7. The criticism test: An effective leader accepts criticism and grows in the process
8. The dependency test: An effective leader depends on help from God
9. The conflict test: An effective leader embraces healthy confrontation
10. The vision test: Effective leaders inspire and articulate a vision and bring others with them
11. The love test: An effective leader makes decisions motivated by love
12. The integrity test: Effective leaders are the same in public as in private
13. The security test: Effective leaders find security in who they are, not in what they do
14. The grace test: Effective leaders know success depends on the grace of God
15. The expectations test: Effective leaders avoid unmet expectations
16. The finance test: Effective leaders take fiscal responsibility for their mission
17. The comparison test: Effective leaders only compare up
18. The perseverance test: Effective leaders refuse to quit!
19. The success test: Effective leaders never forget where they came from
20. The timing test: Effective leaders understand times and seasons
21. The kingdom test: An effective leader focuses on the eternal kingdom

Pressing Through and Letting Go

The twenty-one tests of leadership found in this article are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more, of course. As we become aware of them, we can pass these tests and go on. Even if we fail, when we are faithless, the Lord is faithful. He will give us another chance. He gave Peter another chance, Jonah another chance and He gives you and me another chance.

But there is one more important truth that we must understand, lest we live our life in introspection rather than receiving and experiencing His grace moment by moment. Ecclesiastes 11:3 tells us: Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie.” Beware of too much introspection. Some things that happen in our lives are for a reason, and many things that happen in our lives are tests to teach us how to live. However, everything that happens to us is not necessarily a test from God, even though He will use these difficult situations in our lives to make us more like Him. Remember, “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Some things in life just happen and we must be careful not to fall into the trap of trying to figure every little detail out. Sometimes the tree just fell. No reason. It just fell. Sometimes we need to let the tree lie right where it is, and go on! Stop trying to figure everything out! There may not be an answer to that “why” question you are asking.

For those areas of our lives that are tests we need to pass, let’s press in to know the Lord better. Let us trust Him and discern the difference between the tests of life and the “trees that just happen to fall.” My prayer is that you will experience great grace from the Lord as you pass the tests of life and leadership, as He prepares you to be the leader He has called you to be.

And as you face each test of life, never forget your Heavenly Father’s words of affirmation to you: “You are my beloved son or daughter, and I am pleased with you!”

This article is adapted from Larry Kreider’s book, 21 Tests of Effective Leadership to be released January 1, 2010, Destiny Image Publishers, Shippensburg, PA. Please see ad in this issue.

Larry Kreider is the founder and international director of DOVE Christian Fellowship International, a family of churches established on six continents. As an author of more than 30 books and a speaker at conferences and churches, he travels extensively training Christian leaders and believers. Larry and his wife, LaVerne, live in Lititz, Pennsylvania. They have four children and three grandchildren.

Effective leaders avoid unmet expectations.

Dave and Josh met playing football at Golden State. They just clicked. When Josh’s dad invited his son Josh to join Diamond Technology, a small start-up company, after college, he immediately thought of Dave as the right person to join him in this venture. Initially, Dave loved his new job leading the manufacturing arm of the business.

But gradually something changed dramatically. He now felt he was being held to an impossible standard. Lately he had experienced an ava­lanche of criticism from both the company owners and from many of the other employees he was overseeing. He realized he was not a gifted administrator. His gifts were in public relations and in helping the team leaders with people problems. But the expectations his employers and fellow employees had for him as a leader really went beyond what was ever stated in his job description, he thought.

As a matter of fact, these expectations were not in writing. His fellow employees and others in management just assumed he knew about them. Now that he failed to meet their expectations, tensions flared. The owners felt he was disorganized and lazy because he missed meetings and came unprepared. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, he just didn’t love meetings. He would much rather be involved in “manage­ment by walking around,” dealing with people issues rather than sitting in boring meetings.

He felt ready to give up. Yet he knew he couldn’t. He did not want to be a quitter. But the unmet expectations that he was experiencing were just overwhelming. He didn’t want to fail as a leader; he wanted to grow as a leader. What steps could he take to make this all work?

Dave was faced with expectations that others had of him that were not being met. And Dave was also not experiencing what he had expected when he took this job. Welcome to the world of unmet expectations!

So many families, marriages, churches, ministries, and businesses are not fulfilling their God-given destiny because of experiencing the disap­pointment of unmet expectations. The issue of unmet expectations chokes the life from us—a wife that expected Prince Charming and got a man who hasn’t grown up yet, the hard-working employee who was overlooked for a promotion, a leader who expects God to do something a certain way and it didn’t work out that way at all.

When our expectations are not met, we can become deeply disappointed.

The key Scripture this entire biblical concept is built upon is Hebrews 12:15: “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” When our expectations are not met, we can become deeply disappointed. If those unmet expectations take root and plant a root of bitterness deep in our hearts, it will choke out our dreams and vision and the blessings that God wants to give us.

Great Expectations

As a leader, you must gain awareness of your internal desires and moti­vations. These are your expectations. You have expectations of yourself. You have expectations of others. And there are expectations that others have of you. If you do not clearly disclose your desires and preferences to those around you, you will resent it when they fail to meet those needs or fail to understand you. Even if you say what you expect of others, they may not understand. Often the result is miscommunication prob­lems along with frustrating mixed signals. Both parties start to resent each other. That’s where the root of bitterness starts to grow.

Do you realize that the plan of the enemy is to keep you from ful­filling your destiny? Why do great leaders sometimes fall into horrible sin and make terrible decisions? In many cases, it is directly related to unmet expectations. This whole process does not happen overnight, but through small steps, not unlike the proverbial frog in the kettle of water who doesn’t know he is being boiled.

Unmet expectations often begin with disappointment and continue on with anger, hurt, helplessness, and low self-esteem.

Unmet expectations often begin with disappointment and continue on with anger, hurt, helplessness, and low self-esteem. Sometimes we have expectations of what we felt God would do for us, and it didn’t happen. Or we may have expectation of ourselves that we haven’t ful­filled, and we feel disappointed. We may be disappointed with our spouse, our church, our children, or another Christian leader. The list goes on and on.

If we forgive and release and apply the grace of God to our lives, we will receive grace from the Lord and find steps to freedom. We can go back to the first stage of unmet expectations that is filled with disap­pointment and forgive ourselves and others. We can release those unmet expectations and then walk in freedom.

But if we do not forgive, we will soon begin experiencing discontent­ment. The grass begins looking greener on the other side of the fence. We become negative. We stop seeing the positive in our lives and in the lives of others. When we enter into negativity, we are no longer sure we can trust people again, because of someone who has hurt us. Or we may find it much harder to trust God than in the past. Perhaps a prayer was not answered in the way we had thought it should be answered.

One of the main hindrances to effective leadership happens when our wants and needs—our expectations—are threatened.

Proverbs 13:12 describes the pain of unfulfilled expectations, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick . . . .” Like the writer of this proverb, many leaders experience the pain of longing for something that forever seems out of reach. We know the pain of hard work toward a goal that is never actualized. We thought we expressed our needs and expectations, but they were ignored, dismissed, or outright defied. It is in those times that the heart feels sick. The difference between our assumptions and theirs leaves us with unmet expectations, and it starts to affect the way we relate to others. One of the main hindrances to effective leadership happens when our wants and needs—our expectations—are threatened.

The Rough Road of Unmet Expectations

Every leader goes through the rough road of unmet expectations. Sometimes it seems as if they may not get repaired anytime soon, as this author realized:

The road by my house was in bad condition after a rough winter. Every day I dodged      potholes on the way to work. So I was relieved to see a construction crew working on the road one morning. Later, on my way home, I noticed no improvement. But where the construction crew had been working stood a new, bright-yellow sign with the words ‘Rough Road.’1

As we travel through life, it may seem as if there is just a “rough road” sign posted and the repairs have not been made. Life is filled with rough spots, and we will continue to face disappointments, but we don’t have to be devastated when our expectations aren’t met. What we need to learn is that having expectations is normal and not the problem. How we deal with unmet expectations is what can make or break our relationships.

If we instead take our hearts, broken in disappointment, to God, He will restore us and give us the ability to love unconditionally the ones we perceived have failed us. When we realize we must live for God alone, seeking only His approval, it will be amazing to see how our relationships will succeed in a way that they did not while we had expectations of them.

I am a promoter. I love to help others fulfill their dreams, but some­times I have given others unmet expectations by telling them the potential I see in them without laying out the requirements they will need to see that vision fulfilled. As leaders, we must be careful of what we speak. If we speak vision over people’s lives concerning what we see in them, and it does not come to pass in the time frame they expected, or they do not know how to go about fulfilling the dream, they will be hurt and disap­pointed. We need to be careful that we do not set in motion expectations that cannot be met, which can lead to disappointment.

In the Church and in business, we often hope the people we serve with will continue to serve with us for a long time. When people leave, it can be a test for us. Once while I was in Hawaii I sat with a pastor and his wife; she blurted out, “I hate last suppers!”

“What is a last supper?” I asked.

“When people in the church take us out for a meal and then tell us why they are leaving our church!” she said. This pastor, like most, had the expectation that his members would be loyal and stay and support the church, but it does not always work out that way. People will leave. If the pastor’s faith remains in Christ, he can face those disappointments and won’t be devastated when his expectations are not met. We must guard our hearts from taking an offense when personal expectations are not met. We must forgive others because the Lord has forgiven us. Forgiveness and speaking blessing to those who have hurt or disappointed us will cause us to pass this test. And remember, forgiving does not mean that what they did was right. It was probably wrong. But forgiveness releases both us and the one who has hurt us to experience the Lord’s intervention in our lives.

We must respond to the unmet expectations of life in ways that create solutions by finding ways to heal the wounds of letdowns and injustices. Ask the Lord to give you the desire and willingness to release your expec­tations of yourself and others, to not insist on your own way, and to com­promise and to adjust. Ask the Lord to soften your heart!

The unmet expectations between Dave and Josh and the other company owners and employees had led to a growing sense of failure, frustration, and even depression on Dave’s part. He was concerned he might get fired. He was determined not to allow the gap between his own expectations and the expectations of others at Diamond Technologies to become too great. They were already experiencing increasing tension. Since administration was not his strength, Dave realized that he must be honest and open with both the owners and his fellow employees about what he was experiencing. He forgave his fellow employees in his heart, received grace from God, and his attitude began to change. He knew that he had to find out what was really expected of him and build a team that would allow others’ strengths to shine where he was weak. He made a commitment that he would work through his feelings of failure and the awkward staff meetings. He appealed to the owners, and they began for the first time to write job descriptions for employees. He found a trusted mentor who had experienced much of what he was presently experiencing ten years prior, and this friend gave him clear steps to take. He would not bail out and give up. Instead, he would do what leaders do in time of crisis—he would lead his department through the rough road.

The Humility Test
Effective leaders give credit to others.

The Teamwork Test
An effective leader finds a way for his team to win.

The Releasing Test
An effective leader knows how to empower others.

The Priorities Test
An effective leader determines what his priorities are in life.

The Transition Test
An effective leader understands and leads the process of change.

The Criticism Test
An effective leader accepts criticism and grows in the process.

The Dependency Test
An effective leader depends on help from God.

The Conflict Test
An effective leader embraces healthy confrontation.

The Vision Test
Effective leaders inspire and articulate a vision and bring others with them.

The Love Test
An effective leader makes decisions motivated by love.

The Integrity Test
Effective leaders are the same in public as in private.

The Security Test
Effective leaders find security in who they are, not in what they do.

The Grace Test
Effective leaders know success depends on the grace of God.

The Expectations Test
Effective leaders avoid unmet expectations.

The Finance Test
Effective leaders take fiscal responsibility for their mission.

The Comparison Test.
Effective leaders only compare up.

The Perseverance Test
Effective leaders refuse to quit!

The Success Test
Effective leaders never forget where they came from.

The Timing Test
Effective leaders understand times and seasons.

The Kingdom Test
An effective leader focuses on the eternal Kingdom.

21 Tests of Effective Leadership is a timely tool to correct the trend of failing leadership. In the wake of Enron, WorldCom, and other corporations who damaged others’ liveli­hoods and well-being by their lack of integrity and greed, Kreider states, “There is a great need for leaders today who have been willing to be examined by the tests of life so they will endure during difficult times…We don’t need more positions filled. We need leaders in all walks of life who will lead in humility and strength. This type of leader can only be developed by embracing, enduring, and passing the tests they will face.”

Kreider’s life has been a series of tests. He invites readers to join him on his journey as he opens his life and shares the 21 tests that he has personally faced. Tests include humility, teamwork, priorities, criticism, conflict, integrity, finances, comparison, perseverance, success and timing. At the end of each chapter, Kreider offers the reader a place for personal growth and reflection with a series of questions for contemplation and discussion. Leaders will be encouraged and challenged to pass the test.

Larry Kreider currently serves as International Director of DOVE Christian Fellowship International (DCFI), a worldwide network of churches.

At age 18, Larry began working with a group of unchurched young people in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. As the teens made commitments to Christ, they found it difficult to fit into area churches. To help meet this need, Larry and a team of young leaders planted a new church called DOVE Christian Fellowship in 1980. Within ten years, the church grew from 25 to over 2,000 members. In 1996, DOVE decentralized from one church into several different congregations to become an apostolic movement known as DOVE Christian Fellowship International (DCFI). Today DCFI is a growing family of churches and ministries scattered across eighteen states and more than twenty nations in six continents of the world.

During the past two decades, Larry has trained Christian leaders nationally and internationally to make disciples with the small group concept. He teaches and writes from experience and passion to reach those who have not yet heard and encourage the body of Christ.

He has written more than twenty-five books. Over 300,000 of his books have been sold and translated into over ten languages. He and his wife LaVerne, have been married 37 years, have four children, three grandchildren and live in Lititz, PA.