I have spent a good deal of energy and time in my professional life overcoming my weaknesses. I have learned to recognize them and studied how to overcome them and to rely on other people around me whose strengths can compensate for my weakness. Of course, ultimately, I recognize that the negative effects of human weakness can only be mitigated by the strength of God. As I have learned to rely on God in the areas of weakness, it has been a blessing to see God work despite my weaknesses, sometimes by doing so much more than I even hoped and prayed he would do. While I remain concerned about my weaknesses, it's my strengths that may be the undoing of my leadership.

This became evident to me recently when our church interviewed a candidate for youth pastor. His strength was a dynamic and engaging personality. It was clear that young people would be drawn to him. He said that his weakness was administration. He had struggled with being organized. He told us that he had really come a long way ...