3 Critical Leadership Lessons from a quick glance visit to Liberty University

I had never seen Liberty University and, like most people, had only a caricature knowledge of its founder Jerry Falwell. Standing in Lynchburg and seeing a campus that is now reaching (with internet) some 50,000 students, I couldn’t help but be inspired. Here’s a few thoughts about leadership that struck me as I spent little more than a couple of hours there. Nothing new but any leader can file them in the reminder category:

Vision matters – The power of leadership begins and ends with God putting vision into the heart. It’s a simple lesson but, while simple, can easily be skipped over in its importance in the crush of every day life.

I love it and it inspires me deeply that the entire university I was seeing was simply a picture and a passion in one mans mind a mere 38 years ago. Friends of mine happened to be there when a young Pastor announced his dream of a university and the goal of 50,000 students. Falwell’s wife even admits she didn’t think his big ideas would work. But, they did. Even after he is gone, they keep working.

The power of vision is an amazing leadership gift – the closest thing God has given us to an act of creation. We THINK about something and it can take on reality. Don’t let vision fade or be drowned beneath lesser ideas and overly busy lives. I need to keep it sharp, refreshed and alive in front of myself and those following.

Hard Work matters – I love Falwell’s wife going on to say (In Her Book,”Jerry Falwell, his Life and Legacy”), “Jerry believed nothing was impossible with God through prayer and hard work.” It’s easy to forget that second part. I believe in the amazing power of prayer. I have also watched how God will answer prayers through applied principles that have to be worked through. Falwell was a hard worker, pure and simple. When he first founded Thomas Road Baptist Church he knocked on 100 doors a DAY, six days a week. . . that’s a DAY.

Sometimes I think we look at visible and high impact ministries and think to ourselves there must be some kind of magic formula they know or, worse yet, we may think they somehow compromised to reach those success levels. The more I learn I have noticed the exact opposite. The Falwell’s, Warrens, Hybel’s of the world, when you go back to see what they did to reach the places of prominence they have, their “secret” was just simply working harder than most people are willing to. It makes me think that those of us who pay smaller prices are the compromisers.

Big, universal ideas matter – Liberty stands for a conviction that Christianity is a world view that has something to say in all areas of life. Education is core to that. Falwell was a man who wanted to impact the WORLD. His vision for a university that taught a variety of subject matter from a Christian perspective is something that can be carried on and embraced for generations to come. The proof is in the fact that he died two and a half years ago and the school is thriving and moving forward in its mission. What large concepts do our dreams and projects represent and stand for? What ideas can people lock into even after we’re gone? Beyond buildings and current successes how do we make an impact in the marketplace of ideas beyond our own lives and limited circles?