How many times in the political arena do we hear the thought expressed of someone being extreme left or extreme right?

Being extreme, however, is not limited to the political arena. We quite often find the beast of extremism within the church.

In the limited time I have been given on earth, I have personally seen numerous “issues” that have become a major hobby horse for well intended brethren.

They became so dogmatic or extreme in their approach to these issues it led to, 1) a division in the church, 2) leaving for a more liberal mindset, 3) attending with another congregation, or 4) leaving to start their “own.”

We do not find these options in scripture.

Only Christ has the power to remove the candlestick from any congregation.

Our responsibility is to learn the difference between Biblical doctrine and personal opinion.

Spiritual leadership is about finding the proper balance to maintain the unity needed with the Lord’s church.

In a time where people are trying to prevent the world’s influence on the church, let us not become so extreme that our actions portray what we are trying to prevent.

“In times like these it is good to remember that there have always been times like these.” Paul Harvey

No matter what these times may be in our lives, this is a great quote to remember, especially as leaders.

Over the past 50 years we have all seen several changes within the church. Some of these changes have been good and some destructive.

There have been “times like these” on several occasions. At the time we may have wondered if this was the only time something like this had happened. Have others faced the same challenges and struggled with the same feelings?

Solomon reminds us there is nothing new under the sun. Paul Harvey expresses it another way, but the thought is the same.

Leaders will always face challenges when leading others. It may be a different generation, culture, gender, age, or time of day, but the outcome is the same. There have always been times like these.

Let us remember to seek God’s counsel and listen to His word. Here is the only place we will find the true answers to solve the problems we face.

I have been blessed to spend time with my granddaughter the last few days. One of her favorite movies is Tangled (each time we are together we watch it several times). She has a special way of singing along with the various melodies throughout the movie. I am a little biased, but it is incredibly cute, to say the least. One particular song is entitled I Have A Dream.

I have and continue to learn much about leadership from each of my grandchildren, especially observing what they love to watch and do. What they dream and how their imagination works to achieve those dreams in their mind lifts my spirit. It helps me understand more why Jesus teaches us we need to be like children.

Several questions came to mind in listening to this song.

Do we have a dream?
Is our dream focused on us or others?
Is our leadership pursuing that dream?
Have we shared our dream with others?
Have we invited others to help achieve our dream?

Without a dream, it becomes challenging to develop vision, set goals, make plans, and achieve success. Are we dreaming yet?

Andrew is one of the least mentioned apostles in the New Testament. Most references are connected to the listings of the apostles in the gospel accounts. To our knowledge, we have nothing written by Andrew. However, there is one account with a powerful lesson that makes him a great leader?

Andrew was the one to lead his brother, Peter, to Jesus. Andrew was first introduced to Jesus and, recognizing Him as the Messiah, he then went and found his brother and testified, “we have found the Messiah.”

We are aware of the powerful affect Peter had on the day of Pentecost and then in preaching to Cornelius, along with his influence through his letters. He had been given the keys to the kingdom and he used them powerfully.

One of the lessons we need to know about leadership involves leading others to Jesus allowing Him to work through those vessels to accomplish His purpose.

Who knows but the very individual we lead to Jesus is the very one who will lead thousands to the Savior.

Following the example of Andrew will strengthen the depth of our leadership.

To cause to grow and become more mature or advanced.

If there was one word leaders need to understand for the future of the church, it would be develop.

Throughout the writings of the apostles, they continued to emphasize the need for the church to develop. Prayers expressed requests to God for help in developing the church.

His word was written to bring maturity. The goal of preaching was to present every person mature in Christ. God gave gifts to various individuals for the purpose of helping the church achieve unity and maturity in the faith. We also find the use of imperative language regarding Peter’s instruction for Christians to grow.

Developing faith and relationship with God is the responsibility of leadership.

We must lead others to a greater love and understanding of the word of truth.

We must assist Christians in an understanding and involvement of their God given abilities in His service.

We must encourage the expression of God’s grace through sharing the love of Christ at the cross.

We must provide an example in all the above.

Leadership is about development. Let us get started.

To lead yourself use your head. To lead others use your heart.

There are two parts to consider in this powerful principle. The first involves an inward focus and the second an outward. Sadly, we far too often see leaders using the opposite approach.

Using our head in leading ourselves means we:

…think before we speak or act.
…consider short and long term consequences of our words and actions.
…weigh the evidence and ask evaluating questions before making decisions.

Using our heart in leading others means we:

…devote ourselves to learning and serving the needs of others.
…prioritize our time toward maturity in relationship development.
…risk the temporary satisfaction for the eternal gain.

This principle of leadership is not always easy to put in place. There are going to be challenges internally and externally. However, if leaders work to develop and practice a more “others interest” in their leadership, it will change the future.

Leadership is worth the time we take to ensure we are invested in leading others in preparation to stand before God.

Souls are precious. Let us always be mindful to lead others with our hearts. Think Souls!

“The essential part of creativity is not being afraid to fail.”  Edwin H. Land

Why is the fear of failure so prevalent in our society today? Whether school, family, business, or even the church, we fear failure.

We do not want to be known as someone who failed. Is failure something to be feared? Are there benefits to failing?

Fear of failing hinders us from seeing opportunities clearly. We become unnecessarily cautious.

Fear of failing lessens the creativity of our leadership. If allowed, fear limits our leadership.

Through failure, Edison learned what to do to invent the light bulb.
Through failure, Macy learned how to run a successful business.
Through failure, Orville and Wilbur Wright learned how to fly.

Failure can be devastating if we allow it. Instead we need to use the failures in our life to become the stepping stones to the power of success.

We are going to make mistakes. Some mistakes are unintentional and some are the result of bad choices. Regardless, the success of our leadership depends on how we look at and deal with the mistakes we make.

Several variations of the “Golden Rule” have been given over the years. For some, it is “do unto others as they have done unto you.” For others, it is “do unto others before they do unto you.”

However, Jesus was clear when He said; “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The implication of Jesus is to do unto others first.

Leadership always brings several interesting twists in the development of leaders and followers. This is especially true within the church.

How do we want others to treat us? Do we want to be treated with respect, integrity, love, appreciation, patience, etc.? If this is how we want to be treated, then Jesus would tell us to treat others this way first!

We must be careful not to allow the practice of culture, or society, to influence and direct our approach to relationships.

If we are not careful, it is easy to react, instead of acting as we should. Sadly, we must be careful to guard against overreacting.

Leaders must learn to act in keeping with the way we want others to act.

Few Bible leaders top the leadership of Josiah. He was young when ascending to the throne. His leadership was extremely beneficial to the nation of Judah.

What was it about Josiah that made his leadership stand out?

Josiah did right in the sight of the Lord. Josiah brought powerful application of God’s word. He removed idolatry and caused Judah to enter into a covenant with the Lord. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following God.

Josiah walked in the ways of his father David. This stood in contrast to the leaders of Israel. He was not involved in David’s indiscretions, but David’s obedience to God. He did not turn to the right or left.

Josiah began to seek God. Josiah was active in learning and following God. When the book of the Law was found and read, his reaction was one of humility and inquiry. He desired to know how to observe God’s will.

The reign of Josiah is a record to help spiritual leaders learn a very simple formula with life long application to serving as God would have us serve.

At times a “made up” word can be just as powerful as an “identifiable” word. A friend and fellow worker in the kingdom, Garry Hill, crafted this new word. What does this have to do with leadership?

Garry uses the word referring to what is going on in and around the mission work.

I thought Garry’s usage was humorous, but it also caused me to think about leadership. Garry serves in leadership at the Chimala Bible Institute and he needs to know what is going on in the work.

He needs to know what is going on with the staff and students who are part of the school. He also needs to know what is going on in the development of the church as a result of the Bible Institute’s outreach.

As spiritual leaders, we also need to know what is going on with those we influence everyday. We need to know what is going on in the church and the world around us. When we know what is going on, we can provide what is needed. Goingson? Try it and see how leadership grows.