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The Turners

How we approach life on a daily basis comes down to a choice. No one knows how long they have left on this earth. Between terminal diseases, tragic accidents, or untimely (and unexpected) health issues, the only guarantee we have is right now. As we are aware, life can change in a matter of one tick on the clock.

With this in mind, doesn’t it make sense that we choose to live each moment to the fullest that God intended.

Roald Dahl said, “I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. If you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it full speed. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good.”

Based on the conversation Jesus had with the church at Laodicea (Rev. 3:14f), we find a biblical precedent to avoid the middle of the road, lukewarm, half on /  half off approach to our life as Christians.

Of all people, leaders must choose to live enthusiastically. It is contagious and it changes all who follow.

What motivates us? Success? Money? Security? Relationships? Power? Survival? Growth?

Whatever it is, we need to know the necessity of motivating others as a leader. Knowing how to motivate others involves knowing how to stimulate or excite action toward desired interests.

Reading through the New Testament provides a number of examples that help us learn the power of motivation, but not in the way one might think.

The motive for being first or greatest in the kingdom is about being a servant of all.

The motive for receiving is based in presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice to the Lord.

The motive for being blessed is about giving to others rather than receiving.

The motive for not forsaking our assembling together is through exciting others to love and good works.

Our list could go on, but think about the spiritual leadership we offer others. Do we motivate others toward the desired interests? Do we set the example based on what motivates us in the same direction?

Here is where our leadership begins. We must be motivated to motivate others to an eternal home.

I received this several years ago. It is lengthy, but worth the read. As leaders, we need to give thought how we can apply it.

When war broke out between Spain and the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents. Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba – no one knew where. No mail nor telegraph message could reach him. The President must secure his cooperation, and quickly.

What to do!

Someone said to the President, “There’s a fellow by the name of Rowan who will find Garcia for you, if anybody can.”

Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia. How “the fellow by the name of Rowan” took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, and in three weeks came out on the other side of the Island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia, are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail.

The point I wish to make is this: McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, “Where is he at?” By the Eternal! there is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the statue placed in every college of the land. It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this or that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies: do the thing – “Carry a message to Garcia!”

Yesterday, we talked about standing on sacred ground and it reminded me of a time when a friend referenced leaders standing on scared ground. The thought raised two questions.

Why is leadership so scary? Answers to this question are abundant. Consider the responsibility of leading others spiritually with eternity in mind. Knowing that leaders deal with answering questions pertaining to goals, plans, maintaining morale, personality conflicts, providing resolution, etc., it does not take long to determine why the ground upon which leaders stand can be a scary place.

How do we overcome the scared ground for sacred ground? Spiritual leadership is a God-given role and He will help us overcome whatever challenges we face. Spending time in prayer will help us reach a more sacred footing rather than standing in a position of being scared. Studying individuals throughout the Bible, such as in Hebrews 11, who were able to overcome with God’s help will help us as we approach sacred ground.

It may not seem like much, but it is a start and sometimes getting started is half the battle.

The leadership of Moses is one worth more time in study than we can give in one post. However, the introduction of Moses to God at the burning bush is a wonderful read.

As Moses approaches the burning bush he is told to remove his sandals because he is on holy ground. The idea of an ordinary bush becoming extraordinary because of God’s divine activity is incredible. His presence made this ground upon which Moses stood sacred.

God continues to do the same throughout the Bible, even today. His presence takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary with divine activity.

Twelve men: fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and others who were ordinary, “common” people, yet with God working through them, all of them became extraordinary.

Today, we need to also recognize the extraordinary nature of God working through the events and people in our lives to take something ordinary and make it extraordinary. When these “burning bushes” exist, we need to stop and realize the sacred ground upon which we are standing. Pay attention to the activity of God that is shaping our leadership.