As many of you have already heard, former pastor and “America’s Leadership Guru” John C. Maxwell was arrested on charges of possessing a handgun while trying to board a plane a the Palm Beach International Airport. There are many lessons to learn from this, especially the way that John, who is a mentor and really a hero to so many of us, handled the situation. Let me give you some insights that I had during the situation.
First of all I was with John over the weekend while he was at Church of the Highlands. On Saturday evening, before he spoke on Sunday, Charlene and I took John and some friends out to eat and have a wonderful time together. I am always amazed how such high profile person can be such a close and authentic friend….but that’s John. Then on Monday I was at his home in Florida for a meal with leaders and pastors and on Tuesday I was at the roundtable where he, Tom Mullins and Chris Hodges were speaking. It was a great few days with John and reaffirmed my respect and appreciation for him.
Then, the news…John Maxwell was arrested at the Palm Beach airport. My heart sank. My first thoughts were of sorrow and pity. My wife Charlene and I began immediately to pray for him. I can’t imagine being arrested… however, as a Louisiana State Policeman early in my life I have been the “arrester” and have been responsible for taking many people to jail, I have never been on the other end. It is humiliating, embarrassing and makes you feel like, “Life as I’ve known it is over.” But no matter how difficult it is at the time is happens, what’s most important is how you handle it. John Maxwell revealed to us all exactly the kind of man he was by the way he handled this situation. There are some lessons to learn from what we all have witnessed by his admission of making a mistake, making it public by publishing it on his blog, and taking full responsibility for his actions. What an example of leadership when under the stress and embarrassment of making such a personal blunder.
Lesson #1 – No one is exempt from making mistakes… Admit it and own it. This is exactly what John did. I was aware that John had been given the gun as a gift. It was an act of generosity and love to a man from a man that wanted to bless John with a personal gift. It would have been easy to say, “Some guy gave me a gun and put in my briefcase…I was unaware of it.” But he didn’t he took all the blame.
Lesson #2 – You control when negative information about you is revealed. John was in control of the information for the first 24 hours. He could have waited for the news to reveal it, or hoped that it would get swept under the rug somehow. He could have “spun” the facts to avoid looking “stupid.” (See John’s blog at www.johnmaxwellonleadership.com) But he chose to tell the world of his mistake before they could spin it. Two examples of leaders who tried to hide it stick in my mind…here they are.
a. When President Clinton tried to hide the ongoing sexcapade with Monica Lewinsky. First he tried to keep it hushed, then he lied about it by denying it on national television by saying, “I never had sex with that woman, Ms Lewinsky!” Bad choices that revealed his lack of character.
b. President George W. Bush was asked on the Oprah Winfrey Show, “Is there anything that you have ever done that is not public knowledge that you want to tell us about?” I remember his reply, “I’m running for President!…and he laughed it off.” Within a few weeks news broke that George W. Bush had been arrested in college for DUI. He blew it. He had control of the information and could have become a hero to every family that has had to deal with an alcoholic in their family or have had a loved one or friend lost in an automobile accident because of a drunk driver. He could have been the poster child of MADD and AA if he would have just said, “I was cited for DUI in college, learned a huge lesson from it and have stopped drinking alcohol as a result.” But he didn’t and the rest is history.
Lesson #3 There are still great people in the world. John is a great man. Living in a era where Wall Street, politicians, pro athletes, and way too many pastors have let us down by wrongdoing and lies, it is refreshing to know that God has His people in places of influence and that we still have leaders that we can look up to and respect. We still have leaders that we can depend on to do the right thing. We still have leaders whose word we can trust and whose lives are examples that we can and should follow.
So no matter what comes of this tragic incident I thank God for John C. Maxwell.
