Why Joy Is Essential to Leadership
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:02.580 | - We're back with Francis Chan,
00:00:06.300 | who joins us from San Francisco.
00:00:08.040 | And Francis and his wife Lisa wrote a new book
00:00:10.480 | titled You and Me Forever, Marriage in Light of Eternity.
00:00:14.820 | And in the book, you write this, Francis,
00:00:17.520 | quote, "No woman wants to be led by a joyless man,"
00:00:22.360 | end quote.
00:00:23.400 | Unpack that for us a little bit.
00:00:24.880 | Why is joy so central to leadership in the home?
00:00:29.160 | - Well, joy is one of the fruit of the spirit,
00:00:32.160 | but it's one of those fruit that is so contagious.
00:00:36.000 | I mean, we have the ability to bring life or death
00:00:40.740 | to a situation, whether it's your family or your workplace.
00:00:44.680 | You know, those people that just walk in
00:00:47.440 | and their joy just lights up a room
00:00:50.200 | and then others where, gosh, they're just joyless.
00:00:53.880 | They're just negative and it rubs off.
00:00:58.320 | So when it's in the home, I mean,
00:01:00.240 | that's a lot of time spent with that person.
00:01:03.040 | And, you know, scripture tells us that our joy,
00:01:06.520 | our forbearance, and that lack of anxiety
00:01:10.400 | should be evident to everyone in Philippians 4.4.
00:01:13.680 | I mean, this is what makes us attractive.
00:01:17.140 | And I think about, you know, as a kid,
00:01:20.980 | I was just not a joyful person.
00:01:24.320 | I just remember comments my dad would make,
00:01:26.940 | like, you're never happy.
00:01:28.920 | And my aunt would say the same thing.
00:01:31.940 | But when you come to know the Lord, that changes.
00:01:35.480 | And I remember a pastor interviewing one of my daughters
00:01:39.720 | and said, "Hey, describe your dad."
00:01:41.720 | And the first word she used was joyful.
00:01:44.640 | Like, oh, he's just so joyful.
00:01:48.000 | And, you know, when I heard the interview,
00:01:49.680 | I'm like, wow, who would have ever guessed
00:01:53.040 | that would be the adjective for me, you know,
00:01:55.120 | like on the upper, because that's what Christ does.
00:01:57.580 | And I see so many women that you look on their faces
00:02:01.380 | and you just kind of go,
00:02:02.940 | I don't think she has a great husband.
00:02:04.940 | You know, I wonder, you know, or when, you know,
00:02:09.000 | some of you men, if you're listening,
00:02:10.580 | if your wife, before you met her,
00:02:12.860 | was this joyful, lively person, and she isn't now,
00:02:17.140 | you've gotta take some of that on your own shoulders.
00:02:20.540 | Being married to you has actually caused a burden,
00:02:24.420 | because we're supposed to bring life
00:02:26.660 | and light into their lives.
00:02:28.280 | And so I think it's a cause for, you know,
00:02:31.460 | we should pause, I'm not saying any woman that's depressed,
00:02:34.820 | it's your husband's fault, or vice versa.
00:02:37.600 | You know, and women, obviously, same thing, so.
00:02:41.220 | - That is worth reflecting on, humbling and challenging.
00:02:43.940 | Thank you, Francis.
00:02:45.360 | And on a related note, Pastor John has addressed
00:02:47.780 | dad's role in leading with joy in the home
00:02:50.100 | back in episode number 256 of this podcast.
00:02:53.580 | And then I also asked him what steals his joy
00:02:56.340 | in episode number 256 as a follow-up,
00:02:58.800 | which became a very personal episode
00:03:00.980 | about leadership and joy in the home,
00:03:02.940 | and how the home can actually be a joy drain.
00:03:06.540 | Those are episodes number 255 and 256 in the archive.
00:03:10.720 | We will return with Francis tomorrow on Friday.
00:03:13.660 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke, we'll see you then.
00:03:16.100 | (silence)
00:03:18.260 | (silence)
00:03:20.420 | (silence)
00:03:22.580 | [BLANK_AUDIO]