Merry Christmas
From our family to yours, we pray this is a wonderful and blessed holiday season for you and your family.
Category: Daily Leadership
Follow the Map
When traveling, we understand the need for a map or plan to reach our destination in a proper amount of time.
Physically, we make application daily. However, when we think in terms of spiritual matters, what happens can be a completely different story. Yet, the spiritual approach is no different.
We know the destination and we desire to get there. We anticipate arriving, but what will it take to get there?
Since our destination is heaven, the map/plan provided by God can be found throughout the pages of His word. Follow the map He provides and we will get there.
Kindness
The value of speaking with kindness benefits every level of a leader’s influence. When a word is spoken with kindness, notice what occurs.
Providing benefit to another person becomes a priority.
An individual’s value is raised to a higher level.
Unity is exemplified through our efforts to serve one another.
Outreach to the world reflects the nature of God’s love.
Kindness requires us to get our personal agendas, preconceived ideas, desires, and motivations out of the way so we can display our Christian light and glorify God.
Opportunity
An opportunity involves circumstances presenting possibility, either to be gained or lost. We cannot take advantage of opportunities if we are unable to see the possibilities.
Leadership involves the ability to see the possibilities and take advantage of the opportunities the moment they arise.
Consider two significant questions: 1) Do we really see the possibilities of reaching out to the souls around us? 2) Are we ready to take advantage of the opportunities God presents?
Unless we see the possibilities and are prepared to take advantage of the opportunities the urgency of sharing the message of Jesus fades to indifference.
Seek, Ask, and Knock.
I Can
Eliminating the word “can’t” from the vocabulary is vital to the development of strong leadership. We have all heard, “It can’t be done.”
Bo Bennett said, “Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can’t be done.”
The way we see our families, the church, the world, and even ourselves takes on a new perspective when we realize we can do it.
Instead of approaching it like Moses, “Who am I that I should go and deliver this people?” we need more like Isaiah, “Here am I, send me.”
Remember, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Choose to Grow
Some people become bitter at certain difficulties and may cause them to abandon their faith.
Of course, others face giants when it comes to trials in life and they choose to remain strong, and dedicated to their faith.
The difference is a choice. Wayne 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.”
We can choose to feel sorry for ourselves or look at circumstances as an opportunity to grow. Choose to grow!
Precedent
A precedent occurs when a previous event or action becomes an example that is used to justify similar circumstances in the future.
Biblically, we find these practices with the religious leaders. The scribes and Pharisees were notorious for binding various practices. In and of themselves they were not wrong to follow, but they were not God’s law.
We need to be careful not to take a precedent of the past, use it to justify current practices, and then bind it as law on the church.
It may be a good practice, but not practicing it may be okay also. The difficulty arises when it is bound on others incorrectly.
Patient Leaders
Successful leadership does not consist of leading people the same way, because people are not the same.
Timber Hawkeye says, ”Flowers only bloom when they are ready. People are the same way. You cannot rush or force them open just because you think it’s time. Be patient.”
People learn and advance differently. Some advance quickly, while others learn more slowly. An effort to rush or force them when and where they are not ready only creates frustration for everyone.
While most everyone desires patience… right now, the ability to demonstrate patience in the development of others is a treasured quality for leaders.
Hope
Life has highs and lows. There are times we are on top of the mountain, and times when we walk through a valley.
As leaders, we are messengers of hope. People can endure almost anything if they know there is something better ahead. This is the power of hope.
We must help others recognize that our hope is not built on the promise of a better physical life, but something beyond this life and beyond compare.
Hope was the driving force for the early church, even in the face of death.
Better days are ahead, maybe not in this life, but God holds eternity.
Consistency
We’ve all heard “actions speak louder than words,” or “a picture paints a thousands words.” Then, there is the old classic, “I’d rather see a sermon as hear one any day.”
The ideas emphasize the need for consistency in life’s daily activities. People watch everything we do and listen to everything we say. Do they see inconsistencies?
Thomas Jefferson is credited with saying, “”Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”
At times, it’s hard to remember that neither our intentions or words determine who we are, but our actions. People judge our actions!