How well do we listen? Consider the barriers: phone, email, computer, television, preconceived ideas, responsibilities, hunger pains, future plans, etc. Our minds tend to wander. We get easily distracted when someone else speaks.

Listen leaders. Consider two major listening techniques: active listening and reflective listening.

Active listening involves observing behavior, body language, tone of voice, and words spoken. One must fully concentrate, understand, respond, and remember what was said.

Reflective listening involves a greater focus on the words spoken, but with a twist. One is required to listen and repeat back what was said to confirm understanding.

Imagine the impact on our leadership if we learned to practice both.

Numerous questions exist when thinking about leadership in the next generation. Tim Elmore’s book, Habitudes, uses images, relatable stories, and experiences that are designed to help the next generation of leaders form the right habits and attitudes.

A few questions need to be considered within the realm of spiritual leadership: what are we doing to make a difference in the direction of the church for the future? How are we preparing the next generation to lead? We need more than a conviction of the situation. We need to take legitimate steps to change the crisis we face in the current generation. Let us lead with that in mind.

Leadership and the discussion about change seem to go hand in hand. Yet, we find an extreme contrast in the way our world thinks about change, and there is often much resistance to it.

Every breath introduces some form of change; our bodies constantly change from conception to eternity; the earth changes with every turn on its axis; and every organizational decision produces change.

For some, the idea of change will always represent moving into a bad place. Maybe the reason is because the approach has been to tear down or destroy the past. Perhaps the positive side of change can be realized if we do not remove the old, but use it as a foundation to build toward the new.

Dan Millman says, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

We can accomplish great things when we look through a different lens.

One down and fifty-one to go. Weeks clip by amazingly fast, and before you know it we will face another new year. But, before we get ahead of ourselves, lets consider the next fifty-one weeks.

Most of us are adjusting to routine again after the holidays, and that is good. Take a deep breath and relax for a second.

Instead of adding another activity, responsibility, or assignment to our full-plate, what if we considered ways to eliminate something that helped simplify our lives?

The thought can be frightening, because it is challenging. However, if we prioritize life just a bit, we might find that removing areas on the fringe not only simplify life, we also de-stress it.

Imagine the benefit to our leadership.

I love a thought expressed by Henry Ford, “Don’t find fault; find a remedy.” In the sports world, we find more than a few “arm-chair” quarterbacks, coaches, and officials. We seem to believe we have a better understanding and view of how the game should be played in the comfort of our home, as opposed to the heat of the battle on the field.

The church often follows the same pattern. If we are not careful, we can easily find more faults with the church than can ever be solved. However, recognizing areas of concern or fault does not change anything. It is time we stand up and present a solution. Perhaps, we might modify the thought by saying, “Don’t find fault, unless you plan to present a remedy.”

“In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact.” Les Brow
As leaders, how will we use our time? Make the most of influencing others for the cause of Christ. We might just bring hope to someone in a hopeless world.

Everyone knows the value of good planning. Leaders will especially appreciate the need to make proper plans to reach established goals.

Sunday night we say goodbye to a year through which we will never walk again. We cannot relive it. We cannot change it. All we can do is examine it and make plans to create a difference for the future.

Plans are not New Year’s resolutions.

Plans are not goals.

Plans involve the activities necessary to keep our resolutions and reach our goals.

How vital is it we have plans? There is an old adage, used by several, that says; “those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”

We all need personal, short, and long-term goals. The same is true at every corporate level. However, how we plan to reach our goals makes a difference.

Before we commit to our New Year’s resolutions, before we set up goals for the year ahead, let us sit down and establish the details of a proper plan to ensure success for 2018.

As spiritual leaders, it is important to take a backwards look on the past year.

This Sunday night represents the time people celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. Generally, we tend to look at areas of life we want to change and make a resolution to improve in the year ahead.

Rarely do we examine the year and consider the whole of our influence in leadership. When we look back over 2017 we need to ask a few questions.

Were we good stewards of our time in leadership?

Are the lives of others better because of our influence and example in leadership?

How many souls did we reach with the gospel?

Were we able to accomplish the necessary goals for the year?

What changes should be made to better improve our leadership?

These five questions represent a few of many we should consider as we close out this chapter in history. As we set the stage for the year ahead, take a backwards look over the past year, ask a few questions, and make the needed adjustments for 2018.