When I'm Weak, Then I'm Strong
A Review of From Weakness to Strength: 8 Vulnerabilities That Can Bring Out the Best in Your Leadership, by Scott Sauls
One of my ongoing reading goals is to share more highlights with others of what I read and learned. Today I share highlights from Scott Sauls’ excellent book, From Weakness to Strength: 8 Vulnerabilities That Can Bring Out the Best in Your Leadership. Sauls’ book made my list of My Favorite Books I Read in 2017.
I heard an interview with Sauls a few months before the book came out. In the interview he shared part of the reason why he wrote From Weakness to Strength. He watched a few pastor friends of his leave vocational ministry because of either sin or burnout. He wrote this book out of his desire to help other leaders so that they wouldn’t have the same story as his friends.
When I’m Weak, Then I Am Strong
After serving in full-time vocational ministry as a marriage pastor for 12 years, one thing I’ve learned is that I will continually run into problems because of my weaknesses. I’ve struggled with anger, gluttony, insecurity, selfishness, lust, comparison, and so much more. At the same time, in spite of my resume of weaknesses, I’ve watched God continue to use me to love and lead others.
I’ve also watched God use others just like me to help bring glory to Himself and help others. God continues to use my friends and peers in spite of their weaknesses. As a staff team, we often quote the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. After pleading with the Lord to take away an unnamed challenge he faced, Paul writes:
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
At the risk of being the master of the obvious, God chooses to use us in our weakness. In this book, Sauls writes, "in the end, our greatest influence may come not from our vision, our preaching, our leading, or our achievement—but through our weakness."
A few highlights/quotes:
From the Foreword by Joni Eareckson Tada: "God’s most effective leaders don’t rise to power in spite of their weakness; they lead with power because of their weakness."
"In America, credentials qualify a person to lead. In Jesus, the chief qualification is character." Jesus offers a radically different way to lead, and Sauls unpacks His ways in this book. How you respond to the challenges and thorns in your life will make or break you as a leader.
“We are famous in God’s eyes through Jesus… and that should be enough."
“… making much of his name is a far superior ambition than making a name for ourselves."
My favorite line is his prayer: "Father in heaven, Always grant me character that is greater than my gifts and humility that is greater than my influence. Amen."
Sauls warns the reader about self-focused ambition and the dangers of isolation (the soil of collapse). He points out the sin in comparing ourselves to others. And he reminds leaders of the benefits of criticism as it can help us see blindspots and develop character in us.
My personal favorite (and most convicting) chapter was the one on “insecurity." In this chapter, he captured my struggle with feeling insignificant, especially when compared to others. On a regular basis, I feel small and useless compared to the gifting and achievements of my co-workers. This might be my most glaring weakness and struggle. Sauls reminded me I would continue to struggle with insecurity until I found my security in Christ. The Father’s love for me, evidenced most in what He did through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, proves His outrageous love for me and for you.
The book is soaked with scripture and includes powerful stories. It’s written by a guy who’s in the trenches, rather than one who is removed from real leadership challenges.
I recommend this book for any pastor and for anyone who leads in ministry, whether vocationally or as a lay leader. This is a book I will return to in the future.
Your Turn:
What are some ways you lead out of your weakness?
Any leadership books you enjoy or would recommend for others to read?