Month: September 2020

Leaders Who Excel…

To excel involves being exceptionally good at or proficient in an activity or subject. Paul encouraged the church at Thessalonica to “excel still more.”

Leaders should always strive to excel, to improve their character and influence.
Leaders need to encourage followers with an appeal to excel still more in their work.
Leaders should remember that striving for excellence does not mean they will be perfect.

We must desire to improve who we are and what we do, no matter how good we are or how well we are able to achieve any task.

We should always seek God’s help to excel.

saltCast041 Let’s Talk about Sojourners

One of the growing works within the church is the National Evangelism of Sojourners. We simply know them as Sojourners and Larry Little shares details about the organization, its purpose, and the leadership work conducted by this wonderful group of Christians. Learn more about www.sojourning.org  

Play

Leading God’s Family…

Nothing is more comforting than going home after being away.

The defining qualities of home make all the difference.

Home is special because we belong, we are members of a family or household.

Spiritually, the church is where we belong, where we are members of God’s family. Perhaps this is why the Bible speaks of the eternal dwelling God has prepared for us.

While on earth, the church should provide the same comforts of home.

Opposite of the corporate body, often connected to the church, leaders need to encourage and strengthen the idea of the church as family…home.

Educating Leaders…

The basic understanding of leadership involves moving someone from point A to point B.

Jim Rohn said, “If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.”

A biblical leader helps those who are outside of Christ (point A) turn from a self-directed life to obediently follow the Savior (point B). A key element to this prescriptive help is teaching.

The need is urgent and relevant to every soul we encounter daily.

Precious souls need encouragement to pursue the right course, a course to find eternal hope.

The Choice: Life or Death…

An examination of Moses’ life highlights the grooming of a godly leader who represents wisdom, strength, and tenacity.

As Moses addressed the nation, he presented a blessing and a curse, life and death. He urged them to choose life that they might live.

Amidst the challenges of leadership in this postmodern, individualistic world, perhaps the simple offer by Moses can redirect our attention to the heart of the matter.

God extends the same offer now as He did then: A blessing and a curse, life and death. The choice is made by each individual.

As leaders, our task is to encourage others to choose wisely.

Leading a Movement…

A movement exists when individual experience, or passion, takes on a life of its own within a diverse array of individuals, and grouping in such a way that it sustains and reproduces itself toward a common end.

The following characteristics are critical to a movement’s success.

First, movements come together to achieve a common goal.
Second, personal, structural and ideological ties hold them together
Third, committed members use existing and significant social relationships to recruit others.
Fourth, an identity-transforming experience brings about a lifestyle change.
Fifth, overall unity in such a diverse collection requires a common ideology.
Sixth, opposition is part of the glue that holds this diverse collection together.

Self-Differentiated Leaders…

Edwin Friedman is one of several who discuss concepts associated with a self-differentiated leader. Three main areas stand out.

1) They know who they are: There is clarity about life-goals and they possess strong self-awareness.

2) They are part of the system, but not controlled by it: They rarely get lost in the anxious emotional processes around them.

3) They are able to take stands at the risk of displeasing others: They have the ability to deal with the super responsible and vulnerable.

Spiritual leaders face situations where leadership maturity is needed. The process of developing into self-differentiated leader is a journey to that maturity.

saltCast040 Culture, Technology, and Leadership

In our final episode with Chris McCurley, we have a chance to discuss culture and technology and the approach leaders need when dealing with these influences within the church. Chris talks about the critical nature of seeing the world through a different lens, that of younger eyes.

Play

Better Leadership…

At the Global Leadership Summit, I heard frequently, “When leaders get better, everyone gets better.”

Wayne W, Dyer says, “With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.”

The gift of growing in opportunities is exciting. God wants leaders to grow. He wants us to improve. The events of life can be tragically difficult. These events make us either bitter or better.

As Dyer explains, “You get to choose.”

Leading by Faith…

Paul told the church in Corinth, “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Co. 5:7). He emphasized the need to live a life guided by God’s word. His word provides direction, motivation, and a secure foundation upon which to stand.

When leadership is guided by God’s word, the results are significant.

There is confidence in knowing the direction is guided by God, Himself.

God’s word provides the greatest purpose for character formation.

Leaders know there is strength when grounded in the truth.

Let us always lead by the faith.