BY DEAN DEGUARA, LEAD PASTOR OF REAL LIFE CHURCH - SACRAMENTO one of the most misunderstood gifts being transferred to the next generation of leaders today is the gift of legacy. Legacy as it relates to leadership is defined as a gift received from a predecessor. We know as it relates to the holiday season, gifts come in different sized packages and are uniquely wrapped to hide its contents. Just as we would never discard a gift that hasn’t been opened, so it is with the gift of legacy. Legacy is a gift that must be received and given an opportunity to be revealed in order to be maximized by the leader receiving it. The problem is that leaders are discarding the gift of legacy because they misunderstand the power it will bring to their life and leadership. Therefore many leaders find themselves strug gling to start over rather than picking up where their predecessors left off.
WHY IS THE POWER OF LEGACY MISUNDERSTOOD?
I believe legacy is misunderstood because many leaders fear their future will never live up to the past. The gift of legacy should not be something to be feared, but instead something to be honored. When leaders honor the legacy that’s already been created and gifted to them, they release an unstoppable momentum to sustain and build upon which becomes the future legacy they will leave behind. Also, many leaders who become successors fall into the trap of comparing themselves with the predecessor and cut themselves off from receiving wisdom, input and feedback from the predecessor who could bring a lot of value to them if a healthy relationship was fostered. I was recently with a Legacy Leader who recognized at 73 years old, the time had come to hand off a magnificent church and ministry to a successor that could continue to build upon the legacy God created and blessed him with. At the time of the transition the church still had 2,000 people in attendance but it was definitely clear that he needed to find someone to hand off the leadership baton to. God highlighted a successor who honored the gift of legacy and two years later the church has doubled in attendance. I asked the Legacy Leader why he thought the transition has been such a success and he told me one of the keys to their success is that he and his successor meet for lunch every week. Compare this with a similar story I heard where a successor received a thriving church with a ton of momentum, but as soon as he got the keys to the building he cut off the relationship with his predecessor. Unfortunately the successor has not been successful in honoring the gift of legacy and the church is in rapid decline and experiencing many internal organizational struggles with the possibility of imploding. One of the most misunderstood things about legacy is the wealth of wisdom and relational strength it brings to the one receiving it.
LEARNING TO STEWARD LEGACY Two years ago I received a gift of legacy from my predecessor who built a great church that at the time was 11 years old. Imagine how much time, treasure and talent went into those 11 years. Think of all the people that have walked through the doors, attended services and sowed and sacrificed to see a vision come into fruition. This is why learning to steward legacy is so important. When you steward legacy it’s not just about a dream or a vision, it’s about the people behind it. With that understanding, here are just a few things I’ve learned about stewarding legacy: 1. BE A CAREFUL STEWARD OF THE GIFT. Stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care. When you receive the gift of legacy you have to care for the past more than you fear it. The leader you’re following and the legacy you’re receiving is a blessing not a curse. I have maintained a healthy relationship with my predecessor and he has cheered us on from a distance and has encouraged through text messages and attending whenever he’s in town. He’s given us advice and input on how to handle different people who have both stayed with us and transitioned out. There is a huge advantage when your predecessor is in your corner.
- RUN WITH THE GIFT OF LEGACY.
Every church or business has a history that consists of a vision and mission which points to the reason why it exists. Don’t be tempted to change or recreate the vision immediately. Instead, be ready to run with it. Sure there may be an opportunity to revise the vision in the future at an appropriate time, but understand a steward’s first responsibility is to care. When you care about the legacy that’s been gifted to you, people will be more open to the change that is needed to continue running at full speed. When you show concern for what people sacrificed for they will be open to allowing you to lead them into the future with the change that is necessary to sustain the legacy.
- RECOGNIZE GOD’S TIMING IN TAMPERING WITH THE GIFT OF LEGACY.
There is a right time and a wrong time when it comes to stewarding legacy. The gift of legacy is not absent of navigating change because every transition comes with a need for organizational transformation. Yet it was important for me to understand God’s timing. More often than not, leaders know what to do, why they want to do it, how they are going to bring it about, but they lose sight of God’s timing. I would strongly encourage you to allow your deadlines to be overridden by God’s timeline when it comes to receiving the gift of legacy. God is the gardener and He knows exactly when to prune your staff, uproot sacred cows, and cultivate the garden of legacy. Be patient. You are not running out of time and you definitely don’t want to get ahead of God’s timing. As leaders receiving the gift of legacy, we must be willing to learn how to steward it in order for the power of legacy to continue to create momentum for the future of the ministries and churches God has called us to lead. Stewarding the gift of legacy prevents you from having to start over and instead gives you a running head start towards a promising future.