“THE MEASURE OF AN EAGLE”
Leadership Growth Seminar
A Message Given By:
Stephen Galvano



I. Purpose for Seminar

Why are we having this seminar? The purpose is because of you. I believe in you and unless a leader believes in his people, there is no unity, no value, no worth. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a restaurant, or whether it’s an auto mechanic business, or whether it’s a dealership, whatever it is. I believe that as I mature, I’m putting more value on people. And I think RCCM has some of the greatest people than I have ever known in my entire life. And I would like to invest as much as I know now in your lives. Whatever you receive will help you.


II. Searching for “Eagles”

I would like to share with you what I believe are 10 marks of an “eagle” and what makes an “eagle” move and go forward. Some things you have heard; some things may be new to you, but I know this will help everyone of us.

A question I always ask myself is this: “How can we find staff who have such great potential that we can put them in charge of a ministry and allow them to grow and become an organization?” That has always been my desire for people who work around me. We have had some of our ministries grow such as our Bible school, our Christian school, our Christian Day Care, our church on Goodman Street. Then we went through a time of testing and everything fell apart. I learned one thing: that what I had was a one-man operation and I was pushing everything. If I was here, everything went along fine, and if I wasn’t here, things died. And when this happened, the only thing that really grew strong was our church on Goodman Street. Even our Day Care went down to almost nothing.

I always wonder, “Lord, how can we have people that can make RCCM their home, develop their ministry and really grow as big as they want to—grow unlimited, not only with ministry, but also with finances, and most importantly with souls?” Remember, souls are the purpose for the ministry. I hope you have that in your heart. This lesson will help us to find people who have the potential to really soar higher than where they are now. You think you are all right where you are. You are not. How many are not satisfied with where you are at right now? I can see by your hands that I’m talking to the right people. You are not satisfied, and I’m not either. But I tell you, with all of you together with your vision and your enthusiasm, we can do a lot for the Kingdom of God, regardless of what ministry God has given you. And I believe that in three to five years down the road all of us could be full time in the ministry.

I am going to speak to you, not as the pastor of this church, but as someone who can be very open as an invited guest speaker. I want to speak from you from my heart, as I am able to do when I go to other churches and nations. I am speaking to you tonight as one “eagle” to another “eagle.” Or I’m speaking from an “eagle” to someone wanting to be an “eagle”, or from an “eagle” to some “turkeys!” I hope nobody feels like a “turkey” here.

Every one of us has been called to be equippers. Ephesians 4:11-12 says that the five ministry gifts are to equip leaders and Christian workers to do the work of ministry.


“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ…”

If you think that you are in one of the five-fold ministries and you have not yet equipped anyone, then you are not in one of the five-fold ministries. Do not be deceived. Just because somebody calls you an evangelist, or pastor, or prophet, or teacher, you are not. We need to be equipped for ministry. That is why we are having leadership growth seminars each month. I believe training is the key. The five-fold ministry leadership must focus on developing leaders. And if you want to enlarge your organization, whether it’s Sunday school, or Day Care, or choir, or children’s church, or ushering, whatever ministry you are over, you need to start to train people. Give them your heart, your vision. I believe that we can make a difference in the lives of people who are actually waiting to be ushered into the ministry.

What do I mean by searching for “eagles”? There is an old principle that has revolutionized churches, organizations, businesses, households, restaurants and all kinds of groups of people. And I believe also that this principle is the foundation for this leadership seminar and the purpose why we are here. The principle is this:

“THOSE CLOSEST TO YOU WILL DETERMINE THE LEVEL OF YOUR SUCCESS.”

If you hang around with losers, you will always be a loser, even though you may have goals and guts. If you try to build an organization with people who have no burden, no vision, no direction, no destiny, people who are happy with only their hourly wage or their 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. work day, then that’s all you are going to have. You will not be successful. These people are not “eagles. In other words, the staff members that we have around us, if they are excellent and they are “eagles,” they will add value to us. They will enlarge our ministry. If they are not excellent, and not performing on a high level, and are very insecure and not decisive, they will be a liability to us. You always have to push them and carry them. “Did you call that person? Did you go there? Did you visit that person? Did you do your lesson?” You have to always be on top of them. You don’t need them! Some of you in leadership that work outside know what I am talking about. A boss never gets so frustrated as when he has to tell somebody 1001 times to do something. His job is to remove him or her and put the right people there. That way you can be successful, and achieve and get your ministry, or organization, or business growing and growing. This was the purpose of the Gospel when Jesus sent people out to evangelize.

So again, those closest to us determine our success. Suppose that I surround myself with some key people, men and women with vision, such as evangelists that will go out and reach the lost, our church would be packed today with people. Suppose I surround myself with men who know how to raise funds. I would not have to say to people, “We can’t to this or that, or we cannot give our brothers a raise, etc.,” because money would be coming in. People around you determine the level of your success. This applies in whatever you do, not only for church, but also for any business that you are involved with.

Think for a moment about the people that we have around us. Take the Sunday school department. Are the people around our Sunday school leader “eagles” or are they “turkeys?” Does she have to push them, encourage them, prepare for them, or are they independent self-motivators, ready to come to church and teach their class? Are they creative and innovative? Think about the people you have. I know what I have. That’s why God is telling me to do what I am doing. Things have to change. Otherwise, I’m going to be here forever. Trust me, if we don’t change what we are doing right now, we are going to be the same for the next 30 or 40 years. But if you want to change and grow, then you must change what doesn’t work. Look around and ask yourself, “Is the person who’s working with me a liability, or is he or she an asset?”

I love to teach this because it excites me to the point that I can see without “seeing” that things are going to change. And those people that are seeing this vision will change. And if they don’t change, we will “change them” (if you know what I mean). I believe with all my heart we are at the brink of a mighty worldwide ministry expansion. And God is preparing some foundational people. I passed by Brockport about a week ago. We have about 110 acres of land on Route 19, which we bought in 1989 for a Worldwide Ministry International Center. We want to put up a sign there to let people know what’s coming. We plan to build a Bible school, a prayer tower, a restaurant, a hotel, and a senior citizen home in three stages (independent, semi-independent and nursing home). And I said, “How can we do this?” I see now where we are going and that this place is so needed. But we need “eagles” that will help carry the load and move forward. We cannot start unless we are committed to finish.

I believe now that God is bringing new “eagles” into the church. And they are going to push us higher and higher that we may enlarge our pavilions (or tents) according to Isaiah 54: 2-3.

“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left…”

I believe that the success of this ministry, whether it is teaching, missions, the prophetic, fund-raising, education, or day care, whether it is opening a new Christian school, a Bible school, the Transformation Center, performing arts center or trade centers (cooking, carpentry, etc.) is going to be greatly dependent upon people that I bring in from now on. And we are not going to hire anybody who just says, “I have a desire to work for Jesus.” I’m going to ask, “What have you done? What can you for us?” I’m starting to be bold about this too.

We had a brother call me about a month ago and said, “Pastor Galvano, God told me I should come to your church for a week of revival meetings.” I said, “Well good. Who are you?” He said, “I’m from Texas and I’m coming to the New York area and I know God gave me five messages for your church. I’ll come Sunday through Friday.” I said, “Well, brother, who are you?” So he gave me some credentials and he said, “By the way, before I come I expect to get a hotel room, have my flight paid for my wife, myself and a brother who will accompany me, and I want $1,000 a night.” Listen, this is not strange. This is what we get! I used some wisdom and said, “Good, I’ll get a hotel room for you, your wife and your staff, I’ll pay for the flight, and I’ll give you $1,000 a night. Will you guarantee me 500 people in our church?” He said, “That’s the work of the Holy Ghost.” I said, “Oh yes? Then if you want to come here, and the Holy Ghost is sending you here, then it’s the work of the Holy Ghost to pay you. I promise you nothing!”

You must not be deceived by someone who wants to work at your place. You must see faithfulness. Unless you see their eyes shine like an eagle and they want to go forward, don’t use them. Stay where you are.

This last trip to Italy was very important to me. We only had one church there that was affiliated with us, and when we left we had about 20 churches that wanted to be affiliated with us. And all these pastors ask me the same question, “How can I find good staff for my church?” And I tell you; I really did not know what to say. That’s the problem that we have in every church; people that really, really produce. First of all, it is very hard to find “eagles” or leaders. When I say “eagles” I mean leaders, people that know how to lead, because eagles don’t flock. You find them one here and one there, one here and one there. You just don’t find flocks of eagles. However, I would like to help all of us to know what an “eagle” is; what a leader is. They are to be in our church. They may be already in our church but are not functioning. Or you may even know some Christians that are not functioning anywhere and we can bring them in. I find nothing wrong if there is man or women who has the ability to be an “eagle” elsewhere, I’ll recruit them for our church. The time is short. And if they can get busy and work to help fulfill the vision that God has given us, let’s do it.

First of all, let’s identify what an “eagle” looks like. But before we do that, let me say this. Why in our churches do we look for “eagles” but yet we always find “turkeys?” I believe I have three reasons:

1) Our goal too often is to fill a position and not find the best person. For example, instead of looking for a person with leadership potential, we become “position conscious.” We think we have to fill the position right away. And in doing so this person could become a liability to you. We need to look for the “eagle” or for the leader.

2) A “turkey” always shows up. You have to LOOK for “eagles.” What do I mean by that? People who are not “eagles” are always hanging around. They are looking for a job. And they ask, “Do you have a job for me? Can I do something? Use me. What’s God telling you?” What a cop out! If a person is an “eagle” I guarantee you that person has many job opportunities and people are looking for him or her. A “turkey” has to be pushed. The “turkey” only sees the ground, but an “eagle” sees higher than a “turkey.”

All my life (and I’m above 39!), I’ve never filled out an application for a position. I went to Zion and a friend asked me to help work in a bakery shop. So I went to the manager and told him I had some experience and I can do some baking. And before you know it he wanted me to go from 10 hours a week to full time, but I only wanted to work part time because I was going to school. Then I went to Central Bible College and I was working at the Ramada Inn as a cook. One day it was not busy, and so I made some Italian sauce. The following morning the boss came and said, “Here’s your pink slip. Goodbye.” I said, “Why?” He said, “You made sauce, and at the Ramada Inn we don’t make sauce. We only serve hamburgers, steak, turkey and gravy. So I said, “Goodbye”, and I took a walk and before you know I saw a restaurant. I went in and said, “You need me because I’m a good Italian cook. I can make anything. I can make sauce. I can make sausage, meat balls, lasagna, ravioli, gnocchi, all that stuff.” The man said, “Good, when can you start.” I said, “Right now.” I did not miss an hour of work. They gave me $5.00 an hour (and that was a long time ago.) I was there for one year and by the time I got done I was in charge of 17 waiters and waitresses and 3 cooks. And when I left, my boss, Mr. Marino, said, “Now if you want a job, we’ll give you a job at $l5, 000 a year.” Now, in those days (1970) that was a lot of money.

An “eagle” never has to look for a job. He’s a leader. You see an “eagle” and you’ll see people around him, because he’s a leader. He’s influential. How do you expect to build an organization if you stay in the corner of your room, or you don’t develop friendships, or you don’t call anyone, or you don’t go out with someone for coffee or to a restaurant, or you don’t invite anyone to your house? That’s a “turkey.”

3) What is the environment of your church? Does your church or organization attract “eagles”? Think about it. If any organization is going to go somewhere, its influence and environment must be “eagle” oriented. Don’t be jealous if a new person comes that knows more than you. Don’t put them down by saying, “Well, who is he or she?” Take advantage and say, “Wow! Look, God sent this “eagle”. What can I learn from him or her?” If an “eagle” comes here and the environment is not “eagle-like”, he’ll take off, because no “eagles” want to be with “turkeys.”

III. The 10 Marks of an “Eagle”

What makes an “eagle”? What should we look for in leadership, whether it’s a business, a company or a church? I am going to give these to you in order of importance to the best of my ability.

1. “Eagles” make things happen.

If you were to ask, “What is the chief characteristic of an “eagle”? The answer would be that “eagles” make things happen. They don’t watch them happen. They don’t wonder what happened, but “eagles” make things happen. You put an “eagle” anywhere, anyplace at anytime and something positive begins to happen, providing the church leadership are not jealous, and the people that work with them are not jealous.

“Eagles” have the skill, the gift, and ability to go into something that is average and make it above average, and then before they leave, make it excellent. They have that ability. They go into something where there are no prospects and they find prospects. They have the ability that wherever they go, they change the situation for the better and in a positive way. This is the top characteristic of an “eagle”. They make things happen. They don’t wait until the leader says, “Let’s do this,” and then they move. Sometimes it frustrates me trying to get things done. Sometimes I’d rather do things myself than try to get a couple of people to help me. By the time I explain what needs to be done, it could have already been done. For example, the wall needs to be painted. And they’ll say, “Well, where’s the paint, and where’s the brush. What about a paper to put on the floor?” My response is, “Get up and go get it yourself!” But because you are a “turkey” and I am an “eagle”, I get frustrated, and people don’t like me!

“Eagles” only hang around with “eagles.” And when an “eagle” tries to hang around with a “turkey”, they kill each other! I’m telling you the truth! That’s why you cannot put all the pastors, all the workers, all the teachers, all the children church workers, all the Sunday school teachers, all the day care workers etc., all together. Some will outshine the others. That’s doesn’t mean they are better. It just means they are different.

It is important to know that when nothing happens in a person’s ministry or department within this church, it comes back to my shoulders. Then I have to carry the ball or let it die. An “eagle” finishes whatever he starts. And when he starts something, he doesn’t make a big deal. “Well, I worked two hours (Bless God) with no donuts or coffee here. I had to take a break, etc. etc.” My response is, “Get the work done and go home!” An “eagle” wants to get on to something else. A “turkey” just wants the seed that’s on the floor. Gobble, gobble, gobble! An “eagle” says, “I see no seeds. I see more work. I’m going to finish this work and go on.”

An “eagle” doesn’t make a small job a big job. A “turkey” makes a small job a big job. And then he wants the praises. “Oh look at this “turkey.” Isn’t he wonderful?” Then if you don’t do that, he gets mad and hides under his wing and stays there. “Well, I’m not going to do that anymore.” Then what happens is that when someone makes a big to-do about something, they come to you with a million and one excuses why something cannot be done. Or they point their fingers – “Well, if they can’t do it, why should I do it?” These kinds of people are “turkeys”, not eagles! I know people like this. You know them too!

Let me repeat this: One thing about an “eagle”, wherever he goes, things change. Nothing stays the same. Tonight some of you will be energized, full of the power of the Holy Ghost, and full of vision, for your own life. God made you to be special in your own right and to have dignity. God made you to be men and women of valor. And you cannot stay on the level where you have been for the last 20, 30 or 40 years and not go higher. God wants to bring you higher and higher and higher. You have it in you. If you think you are a “turkey” and not an “eagle”, I will explain to you how you can change.

When I say an “eagle” makes things happen, I mean positively. I don’t mean that he goes to a church and divides it. He doesn’t run the pastor or the leadership out of the church. Or try to uncover what has been covered, if there was anything covered. They do things and make things happen in a very positive way. I’m praying that God will raise up men and women that are “eagles” in this body, or that He will bring them in. I want to see departments outshining other departments.

“Eagles” always have relationships with other “eagles”. An “eagle” will come and remove some of the work from your hands. So when you put an “eagle” in a church department, or a store, or a business, he brings new ideas. He brings in a new slogan, signs everywhere. Why not? He uplifts the morale of the people. He puts new color on the wall. I’m tired of seeing the same old stuff in the same old classrooms. I don’t know what it takes to change, but I’m looking for new ideas. I only have so many ideas! “Eagles” get together to get ideas. That’s leadership. “Eagles” have many different activities. The place is always a beehive of activities. People come and go, come and go, like our church is becoming on Saturday morning. Thank God! If you come on Saturday morning, we have things going on; kids washing cars, the dancers rehearsing, cooking in the kitchen, etc. It’s all to edify the body.

Let me ask this question, “Why do people not achieve?” John Maxwell answers that question. He says,

1) “It is easier to settle for average than it is to strive for achievement.

2) It is easier to be saturated with complacency than to be stirred with compassion.

3) It’s easier to be skeptical than to be successful.

4) It’s easier to question than to conquer.

5) It’s easier to rationalize your disappointment than to realize your dreams.”
“Oh, I try so hard, and nobody is with me. I can’t even do this anymore. I’m so discouraged.” Please, don’t say that around me. I’ll rebuke you in the Name of Jesus! And then he says, “It’s easier to dish out the baloney than to bring home the bacon.” This man is powerful. I like him and I like his books.

Many people are burning with passion about the calling that God has given you. This is the only thing that is forever. Everything else will come to an end when you die. But your ministry will have everlasting results upon your life and that of your family, your community, your children and the rest of the world. That is why I’m so passionate about what I am doing. Because what I am doing tonight is going to last after I’m dead. It’s going to go on. It’s not going to stop here. You may not receive what I’m giving you. I wish when I was younger, and in the church in Niagara Falls, that I had a pastor with vision and passion. I would have been better off today, because I appreciate people with vision and enthusiasm.

So many people who should be burning with passion give 1001 reasons why “it cannot be done”. “Eagles” make things happen. They always find a way. In 1982, I had a secretary by the name of Mary. I asked her to find a phone number of a certain brother that we wanted to speak at a conference at our Bible school. She’s said, “I’ve looked everywhere Pastor. I don’t have it.” She looked everywhere, and I tell you she was a top-notch secretary. When she left our church she went to be the personal secretary of Brother Tommy Reid who has a church of about 3,000 to 4,000 people. She was very elegant and expert, second to none at that time. (And God is bringing other people to our church now with that same enthusiasm and class, and I appreciate it.) So what happened was that she came to me and said, “Pastor, I cannot find it.” I said, “Mary listen. You and I are going to go to your office and we are going to find the telephone number.” I went there with her. We went through every drawer and every file, every book and every Bible. After about 45 minutes, I said, “Mary, I found it!” I said, “Don’t give up too fast. Look until you find it.” An “eagle” always finds a way. You can never say it cannot be done. Praise God!

And let me say this tonight, I will never accept for myself that I cannot do certain things. No sir! If I need to build a wall, and I don’t know to do it, I will do it. And I am no builder at all. Because I believe there is a way you can do it. “Eagles” always make things happen. I believe I told you Sunday morning about this famous coach who went to this famous restaurant. And he asked for some toast. This coach is an “eagle”. He coaches a big team. The waitress said to him, “We don’t serve toast in this restaurant.” He said, “I tell you what then. I’ll have a chicken salad sandwich. By the way, put that on toast, will you please? And also, would you please hold the mayonnaise, and will you please hold the chicken back too. Just bring me the toast!” Don’t tell me it cannot be done!

I don’t care what you do in the church, at work or at home. It can be done. This is how “eagles” think. They absolutely refuse to accept what the “turkeys” accept. That’s why they can’t live together. It’s not an “eagle’s” nature to accept that something cannot be done. And it’s not because they are rebellious or stubborn, but because they refuse to accept that something cannot be done. Wouldn’t it have been sad if the man who invented the airplane said, “I cannot fly over the ocean?” Look today at the blessings of flying. What about the man who invented the light bulb? We wouldn’t have had lights tonight. You are no less than these people. We are no less.

This vision cannot go anywhere without you. But I don’t want to work with “turkeys”. I want to work with “eagles”. An eagle takes responsibility. Don’t say, “Well, you show me how, but I don’t want to be responsible.” Have some guts. That’s what faith is. Faith is guts. There’s a Scripture in the Bible that says, “With God, all things are possible.” And Paul says, “I can do all things…” I’m not telling you anything that’s not Biblical. Let me tell you what upsets me as an Italian-American. In 1990, the top selling tee shirt in Japan was, “We are No. 1.” In the same year in America, the top selling tee shirt said, “Under Achiever and Proud of It.” That is disgusting. That same spirit has entered our churches. And we have more people on welfare than there should be. We have people that are poor. They don’t need to be poor. We have people living in rented apartments that should own their own homes. We have people driving broken down cars that should have something better. We have been conditioned to be under achievers and proud of it. Well, you are talking to the wrong man. I’m not proud of it.

2. “Eagles see opportunities and seize them.

That means they have to be able to see opportunities around them and immediately seize these opportunities. Someone said, “Usually opportunities are very seldom labeled.” You have to discover them. Someone said, “The reason why some people miss many opportunities is because instead of standing in front of the door and progressively move forward, they go in the backyard looking for something else.” Opportunities pass by and they never see it. Many of you have heard of Mr. Lee Iacocca. When Jimmy Carter became President, Mr. Iacocca was in debt $200 million dollars. To me that’s a lot of money. He went to President Carter and said, “We are going to lay off people. I have a plan how to keep my workers. If you can loan me some money, I promise you I will pay you back in three years.” And then he went to his staff of thousands of people and said, “Some of you are making right now about $17.00 an hour. (This was in the 1970’s.) How many of you want to save your job by working for $12.00 and hour until we get going? The moment we get going then we will go back to your original amount and probably receive a raise.” Everybody said, “Sure, we’ll stay. $12.00 is better than no dollars.” What happened was that Mr. Iacocca sold the hotels they owned that they didn’t use and were losing money. A year later he flew to Washington and gave the President the check for the entire amount that he had borrowed a year before. President Carter said, “How did you do that?” He said, “I saw an opportunity and I went after it. I investigated it. It worked. I took action and I did it. Here’s your money.”

People are coming to our church, people with gifts and talents and abilities. Many of you probably haven’t met Bro. Bill yet. Bro. Bill is a cabinetmaker. He makes first class kitchen cabinets. He had found himself in a difficult situation financially. We have building at St. Bridgets, which is empty and cold, with no water, and it was not being used. He said, “Can I move my shop in the basement of the church?” I said, “Go for it.” This is what I’m talking about. If you see an opportunity, seize it! What Bro. Bill is going to do now is train young people to do woodwork. Someday he will give us a testimony of what he is doing. He’s not only training young people, the church building is being utilized for now until we do something else with it. Do you get the point? Praise God!

3. “Eagles” influence the opinions and the actions of other.

How many have heard people say, “You know I go to my boss and I cannot talk to him.” He doesn’t want to talk to a “turkey”, because you have nothing to offer. But let me tell you, if you are an “eagle”, you will have influence and you will be listened to. “Eagles”, leaders do influence the opinions and the actions of others. I am doing what I am doing now because people have influenced my life and my heart. I see people like Creflo Dollar, Oral Roberts, Billy Graham, Larry Lea and John Hagee, and many other men that God has prospered. Let me tell you, they haven’t come there the easy way. For example, they didn’t go over the top of the elevator. They went step by step by step. Everybody wants to go on top of the elevator. They want the easy way out. Church, it’s not going to happen. Some of you that God is starting to bless, you know how hard it is to go one step at a time. But this is how God is going to prosper and bless. There are people who do not influence anybody’s opinion. Some people say, “We’re not going anywhere.” Well what have you done to influence your department? Everyone wants to preach on the platform, but what are doing where you are right now at home, or at work, or in your department. Are you really growing? Is it worth having you speak publicly? What can you do you have to offer?

There are many good people in the church, in businesses, in restaurants, and in factories. They are good people; that’s all. Jesus loves them. We love them, but nobody listens to them. They are not influential. But “eagles” are influential people. Also, an “eagle” is like a mother. A story is told of a six-year old child. When this child was in school, he had to recite a verse in front of the whole auditorium. So, this child gets up in front of everyone. And you know children that age are not shy, but they want to show off. So what happens is the boy forgets his line. But the mother is an “eagle”. Mothers don’t stand in the background like many Christians do. When their children recite something they go in the first row. And that’s how they watch their child. So when the boy forgot his line, the mother repeated the line to him. And the mother said, “Jesus is the light of the world.” The boy got it. And let me tell you, he got so excited and with a cheerleader’s voice says, “My mother is the light of the world.” We’re talking about influence! That’s influence.

This is the kind of “eagle” that everybody wants around him or her. For those of you in leadership that have responsibility whether it’s at home, at your company, or even in the local body here, remember, assignments can be delegated, but influence can never be delegated. It must come out of you.

One of the frustrations of leadership that we experience here is that we have staff that is not stable. People come and go in our day care. Our Sunday school teachers and ushers come and go. How can they excel; how can they serve; how can they bless if they are not responsible to be here? This is a frustration that we all have. You delegate someone who has no influence. And no one wants to help them. I tell Bro. John, “John, you don’t have to clean the church by yourself every week. Ask people to help you.” So, he asks people and nobody follows him. I’m just trying to make the point that there has to be influence. If you delegate someone who has no influence and nobody follows him.

· THERE ARE 5 LEVELS OF INFLUENCE:

1) He or she influences their friends. How many influence you friends the right way. (This is the lowest level of influence.)

2) He or she influences the laity, the people in their departments such as the ushers, children’s church, or the nursery.

3) He or she influences the entire church. The church knows you have the ability to influence people. This is bigger than your own department or the place where you work.

4) He or she influences their colleagues; people that are their peers or on their same level.

5) He or she influences people that are above them. (This is the highest level of influence.)

How many can influence even leadership? Now when you influence those above you, then you know that you are an “eagle”. Successful people may not necessarily be leaders. Leadership is influence. Do you now that makes you a leader? When people follow you. John Maxwell says this,

“He who thinketh he leadeth and has no one following, is only taking a walk.”

4. An “eagle” adds value to you and your organization.

· THERE ARE 4 KINDS OF PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE:

1) Those who add to your life and ministry.
2) Those who subtract your life and ministry.
3) Those who divide your life and ministry.
4) Those who multiply your life and ministry.

You have these four kinds of people around you all the time. Anyone who walks with you does one of these four things in your presence. And the larger you become in your ministry and organization, people around you will either increase you or decrease you. Please understand this. This is a powerful leadership principle. Anyone around you that divides will divide your group. Some will take away from you. If they add, they may give you one or two. But if they multiply, watch out. You then have an “eagle” with you. Keep that person. Don’t let that person go! Whatever it takes, get them involved; put them in charge. Serve him or her. Remember, it’s not about you. It’s about God’s work.

And let me say this, whether you are married or single, every relationship will affect you, either good or bad. Those who do not increase you, without a doubt will decrease you. There is no standing still. Hang around with a loser for two years and before you know it, you will start to be like a loser. I know by experience. I told my kids, “Hang around with winners. And don’t glorify losers.” I want somebody to add to my life, like I want to add to your life. I want to add value to you by talking to you, speaking my heart to you, and lifting you up to a higher level, motivating you with the Word of God and some thoughts I’ve learned over the last 30 years.

How do “eagles” add value to my life? What kind of people do I want around me? I want people:

a) That would love me unconditionally and would die for me.

b) That would make my vision become their vision. “Eagles” to a certain extent, give up part of their life to buy into another “eagles” life. “Eagles” can have their own vision. They can soar as high as I can. If I have an “eagle” in this church, they don’t need me. They can go on their own and do what they want to do. But “eagles” catch the vision of another “eagle”. If they are smart, they will say, “By myself I cannot do as big as I can with him. So I am going to combine my vision with his vision and we’re going to make it grow.” Why do you think Billy Graham, Cliff Barrows, and George Beverly Shea, after 53 years of ministry, are still together? Although we hear about Billy Graham, you never hear about the other two “eagles” that stood by him. The worship service and the singing to millions of people was brought by Cliff Barrows. Billy Graham can’t sing. And what about George Beverly Shea? He’s an anointed songwriter and singer. But whom do you see? The bigger “eagle”.

If we all go on our own, we will be small. Let’s get together. “Eagles” are not affected by a name. They say, “Yes, let’s work together.” I recognize that. Anybody that comes to our church, I will give them all they need to produce. Take by brother, Alfonso, for example. He was excellent. He would do everything. Then we promoted him to pastor another church. I added value to his life. We gave him people. We gave him finances and we gave him a building. This is what “eagles” do.

I want my “eagles” to help me not their own ministry. A good “eagle” when he or she shares the vision of the main “eagle” will say: “My work is secondary. My job is to help you. What is your vision?” Also, a good “eagle” will represent the head “eagle” very well. A good “eagle” that joins with the main “eagle” in the church will transfer the loyalty of others to me. They don’t divide. They will transfer the loyalty of others to the main “eagle”. This is what makes a church grow. An “eagle” that adds to my life compliments my witness. I remember at the beginning of the ministry, Pastor Torres, was my associate pastor. We had some tremendous growth in the church. He knew his place, and I knew my place. Although I was the senior pastor, I never to my own knowledge ever made him feel that he was not as important as I was. There are things he can do that I cannot do. I recognize that. I am aggressive; I have vision; I have guts; I move forward. But other “eagles” have other strengths that can add to me.

5. “Eagles” draw “eagles” to them.

If you want an “eagle”, get an “eagle”. If you want an “eagle” and you get a “turkey”, you’ll get “turkeys”. Like attracts like. This is a principle. When you are an “eagle” you always gather “eagles” around you. “Turkeys” attract “turkeys”.

· THERE ARE 4 TYPES OF LEADERS IN THIS CATEGORY:

1) Leaders who have followers (like a pastor of a church). You follow me. You come to church; follow the singing, preaching, dinners, missions, etc.

2) Leaders who attract followers. People want to follow somebody.

3) Leaders who develop leaders. These people are equippers. These people equip others to go forward and be men and women of excellence.

4) Leaders who attract leaders from other organizations. For example, people will see that you have a world conference, or a Christian school, or a drug center. And they will leave their organizations because they want to come and help you. You don’t go after other leaders on purpose. They come to you because they see what you are doing and want to become involved.

My goal for the people at RCCM is to raise your level of leadership from where you are tonight to be at least an “Eagle No. 8”. And I believe as I continue this Leadership Growth Seminar every month, God’s going to add more “eagles” to the group. I believe these are the most important meetings I’ll ever have. I want you to be the best to:

1) Give glory to God.
2) Portray an image for the glory of His Name.
3) Provide quality leadership.
4) Provide you with purpose.

An “Eagle No. 4” cannot attract an “Eagle No. 8”. Like attracts like. My goal is to put you much higher. If you are a No. 4, I hope tonight you will become a No. 5. Then you can attract leaders who are No. 5 leaders. Let me be honest with you. I despise being at pastoral meetings with other leaders and I have to hear stupidity when I believe the world is at stake. I have no time for that. Please put me with leaders on my same level. I want to be with people who will listen and obey and are committed so we can reach the world for God. My job is to put you a notch higher than where you are now.

6. “Eagles” equip “eagles” to lead.

“Eagles” have the ability to produce “eagles”.

· THE FOLLOWING 4 ESSENTIALS ARE VERY IMPORTANT:

1) “Eagles” want respect.

You have to have respect to equip “eagles”. “Eagles” won’t allow you to come into their lives to equip them unless they respect you. I have no right to speak into your life tonight unless you know and respect me, even though you might be “eagles” on a different level. An “eagle” won’t let a “turkey” teach them. They resent it.

2) “Eagles” add relationships of value.

What does this mean? It means that both “eagles” are gaining knowledge and information from each other. You don’t want to be a yo-yo or a “yes” person. If you are an “eagle” you want to gain knowledge and respect from the other “eagle”. You gain respect from each other. .

3) “Eagles” want their time to be significant.

When “eagles” get together, they want the time spent to be significant.
This means, “I don’t want junk food. Don’t waste my time. I’m too busy.”

4) “Eagles” want lessons to have corresponding application.

“Eagles” process information very quickly. You don’t have to explain things to them 100 times. In other words, you don’t have to keep reminding the Sunday school teachers to be in church Sunday morning at 9:30. You tell them once and that’s all. When you teach an “eagle” how to do something, you only have to show them once, and they do it. A “turkey”, even if you tell them 100 times, they still won’t do it right.

7. “Eagles” provide ideas that help your ministry or organization.

Some time ago, I stopped going to pastoral meetings because too many times, the leaders brought nothing to the table. I went there to get ideas. “Eagles” provide ideas. “Why are we not growing? Why are people not returning? Or, why are people coming. Why are the conferences growing? Let’s get better ideas.” “Eagles” are creative and very innovative. They travel around. They don’t want to be in a structured environment. Turkeys like to stay in the coop. But an eagle flies in the air.

8. “Eagles” possess an uncommonly great attitude.

That’s one thing we all need! Let me say to all of you parents, leaders, single people and all those who God is going to raise up in this body here. You cannot buy an attitude for a million dollars. Bro. Chuck Swindoll said, “Success is 99% attitude and 1% work.” Those of you who work in different companies, know how hard it is to work with people with bad attitudes. I despise working with people with bad attitudes. I try to sing when I come to the church in the morning. Then my secretary knows I’m in a good mood. Even if I don’t feel like it, I like to sing. And I like to put people in a good mood also. When I come early Sunday morning and things seem down and not exciting, I begin to say, “Bless the Lord oh my soul. Lord, thank you for the blessings!” I do that to get myself out of that down mood. I’m human like all of you, but I am self-motivated. Nobody has to lift me up.

“Eagles” have a good attitude that gets them to high altitude. What brings you to a high altitude? It’s not aptitude, but attitude! I don’t care how smart or famous you are. If you have a rotten attitude, nobody wants to be around you, including me. You know I like Joseph in the Bible. I like that Genesis 50:20 principle. “You guys meant it for evil, but my God meant it for good.” That’s powerful. What an attitude! A “turkey” might say, “Well this morning, the church was half empty. The “eagle” says, “Oh, praise God, the church was half full!” It’s all about attitude. When you lead people, they copy you. If you have a good attitude and say, “We’re going to make it; we’re going all the way”, things are changing. And before you know it, things will change.”

9. “Eagles” live up to their commitments.

Leaders follow through. They start and finish. Commitment is another word for success. Did you know that the Confederate Army had better generals in the Civil War than the north? The reason why the Confederates did not win the war was because they had no resources, no money and they had a very few people. But the Confederates had better leaders than the north. And the story is told about Mr. Jeff Stewart who was working for General Lee (the Confederate General). Every time Mr. Stewart signed a letter that he had written to General Lee, he signed with these words: “Yours to count on.” In other words he was saying, “Sir, I’m in your corner. You can count on me. I will not let you down. Yours to count on, Jeff Stewart.”

Would it be wonderful if all the church people would go to the pastor and say, “You can count on me. I’m committed.” This is exactly what “eagles” do. “Turkeys” promise you things, but their “fingers are crossed”. When the way gets tough, they lie. They’ll say, “I never said I’d do that.” But “eagles” hide nothing – no crossed fingers. They are honest. When they say they will do something, they will do it. “Eagles” carry through no matter how difficult or how hard; whatever the cost.

10. “Eagles” show fierce loyalty.

They are not yo-yo people or “yes” men or women. They are loyal. Submission requires submission, and authority requires authority. “Eagles” show fierce loyalty to the body. If someone talks about another member of the body at RCCM, I’ll say, “Hold it, hold it, I’m not going to listen to this”. This point might be No. 10 on the list, or at the bottom, but if you don’t do No. 10, then you are disqualified to be an “eagle”. Why? If you don’t do No. 10, you are disqualified even if you have the other nine qualifications. Without loyalty there is division, envy, strife, bickering, bitterness, and the devil comes in and destroys.

I remember in 1970, Bro. Alfred Palma, was a spiritual father to me in the ministry. I was under him when I came to Rochester. He was the general overseer of the association we were formerly with. Bro. Palma was my covering. When he installed me in the church on Child St. where we had five people, he told me this, “Stephen, in the ministry your biggest challenge are people whom you cannot trust.” I was so lively in the church. I had been there for three months. I loved all the five people. It was a tiny church but I wanted to let it grow. We had a design for a new church. And I was crushed when Bro. Palma said that to me. I could not imagine that there would ever be a problem. And I remember Bro. Palma telling me that, “You must understand that the higher you go, every time someone comes around you, you must ask, ‘why are they around me? Why are them coming around. Is it because they love me, or because they believe in me, or do they want something for themselves.’”

Loyal people are people you can trust, even though they may not be “eagles”. I know people in this church that are not “eagles”, but I can trust them with my life. This applies to any church, any business, any organization, or any family. So, if you think you are an “eagle” and you have all the other qualities but are not loyal, then you are not an “eagle”.

How many of you can say tonight that God has given you a larger vision for your own life and ministry? Thank you for coming and listening. I love you all very much, and I believe what God gave me to share with you might be simple. But God is searching for “eagles”. To be an “eagle” is not an overnight thing. It takes work, commitment, loving on people, listening to people, and understanding people, that you might win them for the Kingdom. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not for RCCM or anyone here. It’s for the Kingdom of God.

If I can influence you to do one more thing that you couldn’t do this morning, I’m satisfied. But I pray that out of this meeting, some of you are going to be on fire. We have been praying for this meeting, and I pray that God will give you ideas and how you are going to surround yourself with key people that will enhance you to a higher level. It’s God that promotes you or takes you down. I’m looking forward to seeing you growing to a higher level. You have grown already, but I want to see you go to a higher level. I appreciate some of you that are really taking steps of faith. I see so much happening in the body. I believe we are really growing, and I thank God for you. Praise God!

Let’s come together in agreement. Let’s ask the Lord, “Whatever I heard tonight, whatever I need to receive as your servant, please Lord, make it real to my spirit, not my mind, but my spirit.” I believe that God is raising you a notch higher tonight, and those of you who are waiting to get a ministry started, you are about to embark into it. And I thank God that by faith you are going to embark into it soon. And we are here to elevate you to a higher level. Whatever ministry God has given you, let us know and we will help you. You want to be that “eagle” that God has called you to be. And God will send men and women to be around you to elevate you and add to you and your vision. The church is nothing but a group of people carrying the vision that God has given us. Together we can do a bigger job.

“So Father, I pray over these your servants. Lord, nobody forced them to come. They came tonight because there is a hunger for serving you, Father. I pray for wisdom on how they should move a step higher. We don’t want them to stay on their present level, in the Name of Jesus. We pray that even tonight while they are asleep, give them revelation or dreams on how to achieve a higher level of growth. I thank you for every one of them. I pray over them Your blessing, Your anointing, Your prosperity, and Your favor. I pray that whatever they do will prosper, and that not a word of what they have heard or say will fall to the ground, but will bring forth good fruit. I thank you for it. In the Name of Jesus I ask. Amen!

Pastor Stephen Galvano
Rochester Christian Church Ministries International
www.rccm.org