One of the greatest qualities of leaders is the ability to elevate or stimulate someone morally or spiritually.

Too often, the primary place of influence is the pulpit and it can easily become a place where we seek to support agendas, pet peeve’s, a hobby horse, or the latest religious fad.

Consider two key principles for public preaching:

1) A reminder of what the Bible says about sin is good, but unless the entire congregation is caught up in a specific sin, pointing out the specific sins of a few does not elevate the brethren morally or spiritually. Approach those caught in a trespass in a biblical manner and save the pulpit for encouragement.

2) Remember, those assembling together on Sunday (at least the majority) assemble because they want to do what God says. These faithful brethren strive to live according to God’s will. The time we are given is an opportunity to encourage them, lift them up. Using this time to belittle, degrade, or condemn them is counter-productive.

Much more could be said, but consider the importance and value of lifting others up in leading them to the cross.

Growing up, most of us knew the menu when mom said, “P B and J.” A peanut butter and jelly sandwich seemed to speak of a healthy lunch, the perfect combination of protein, grains, and carbohydrates. Although subjective, few items go together in the same way.

From a leadership perspective, P B and J carry another important thought.

Promise: Leaders hold promise for a better tomorrow. While emphasizing the superiority of Christ, the writer of the book of Hebrews points out that Jesus provides a better promise because of the better hope in His sacrifice.

Belonging: Every person wants and needs to fit in. A sense of acceptance exists when we belong. Leaders who make it possible for others to belong possess the ability to give others the security of a stable environment.

Journey: The path to success brings numerous challenges, but also rewards. Success is not about a destination, it is the journey. How good and bad are perceived throughout the journey determines the level of success.

The next time we hear P B and J, maybe we can remember the leadership connection.

“Have the wisdom to walk away from things and people that aren’t good for you.” Thema Davis

Pondering today’s thought leads to several interesting ideas.

First, leaders who desire to please everyone, in reality, end up attempting to please only those who matter least. This element usually consists of the minority who speak loudly and critically of any decision or activity that does not originate with or is controlled by them.

Second, it takes wisdom to identify the people who aren’t good for you. This is usually subjective to the individual. However, a few qualities stand out in this category: negativity, cynicism, malicious, deceptive, self-centered, and venomous are a few that are unhealthy for any relationship.

Third, the ability to walk away rests upon knowing the value of one’s own mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Walking away also involves courage, a courage to do what is right, even if it is not popular or even accepted by the majority.

The wisdom to know the people who aren’t good for us and the courage to walk away from them are steps toward a happier and healthier leadership.

One of the greatest fears people have today is public speaking. However, fear of the unknown tends to rank near the top. Perhaps it is because it encompasses so many different areas.

We fear the unknown with the economy.

We fear the unknown with our own job security.

We fear the unknown with health and safety.

If we allowed it to, we could fear the unknown with every area of life. Certainly, the unknowns of leadership would also qualify.

The task before us in spiritual leadership is to remove those unknowns for others. When we consider death, there is a fear of the process of dying and what happens at death, the unknown.

The answer has been provided in Scripture. The body will return to the dust, but the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Because of the death and resurrection of Christ, the fear of death has been removed. The unknown has now been made known. We can provide no greater confidence to others than sharing this hope. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Think Souls!

We are all familiar with this common phrase. The idea is that no matter what happens in life, or what the need might be, there is an app for it.

Generally, this thought is pretty accurate. There are apps that deal with health, fitness, world news, travel, banking, social media, photography, weather, education, leadership, and the list is unending. You may be one of those reading today’s post from the Leadership Fund app right now. If so, thanks!

More to the point: when we consider the far reaching nature of our leadership, are we influencing others in areas concerning life’s circumstances and their various needs?

Imagine the impact on others if they knew that leaders were a resource they could turn to instead of a technological device.

Granted, leaders are not equipped to address “every” area of life. However, the greater our ability to provide answers to the circumstances and needs of life, the greater our opportunity to influence others in the right direction. Ultimately, isn’t this why we are leading?

The definition of today’s word introduces an interesting concept for leadership. Metabolism refers to the chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life. If that were not enough, we also learn that two kinds of metabolism exist: constructive and destructive. One involves the work of synthesis among various components that strengthen life and the other breaks it down.

The application to leadership is not a large gap to cross. Leaders carry the responsibility of pulling together the processes needed to maintain life in this living organism called the church. We are also aware that two types of leaders exist in this realm. Constructive leaders work to synthesize the components needed to strengthen life and destructive leaders seem to constantly look for ways to tear it down.

We need to focus our energy as leaders in striving to be positive and build up the direction of the church through our leadership.

There will always be challenges to our leadership and obstacles to overcome, but constructive leaders will focus on ways to pull it all together and strengthen the fabric needed to maintain life.

Leadership is about relationships. The ability to work well with others is vital to the growth and development of leaders.

The challenge is learning how to approach our relationships with others. Here are a few suggestions to consider:

1) Think before speaking or writing. Relationships are destroyed when we speak out of anger or frustration without considering how it affects the other person. We can apologize, but once spoken, we cannot take it back and the wounds do not heal quickly. Think before opening our mouth or hitting send.

2) Consider the other person’s needs and feelings before our own. Too often, we are only concerned with how a situation reflects on us than on others. Relationships are strengthened when people know they are important to the one who leads them.

3) Invest a little time. The most precious commodity of our day is time. If not careful, we fill our time with trivial matters and we fail to invest in the kind of relationships needed for the future.

Building strong leaders means building strong relationships and these are a starting point for developing leaders for the future.

“Time decides who you meet in life, your heart decides who you want in your life, and your behavior decides who stays in your life.” Ziad K. Abdelnour

Today’s thought carries a depth of meaning that should motivate us to think more seriously about our personal influence as it connects to relationships and developing as leaders.

Regardless of one’s domestic or international travel, our paths cross with a variety of people from all walks of life. Throughout the course of life, we may experience relationships with hundreds, if not, thousands of people.

During these encounters we make decisions about those individuals we want to spend more time with in order to develop a deeper relationship. These relationships make us vulnerable as we begin sharing our personal lives: failures, weaknesses, and even our inadequacies.

How we conduct ourselves in developing those relationships determines the few that become lifelong friends affected neither by time or space. Leaders rarely enjoy the kind of intimacy that creates a bond exceeding superficial cordialities.

The effort we put forth to develop these kinds of relationships extends beyond this physical life into eternal realms.

The world’s population is beyond my comprehension. When I consider the fact we are approaching seven billion people, it simply becomes a number.

Traveling to places around the world, the reality of this number becomes even more incredible.

Think about the plethora of languages in the numerous countries globally.

Think about the inability to communicate adequately.

Think about the brief time we can spend in each location and may never see again.

Think about how all these people can come to know Christ.

Think about their soul!

Think about what can and needs to be done.

There are more questions than answers. However, the best way to make the greatest difference in the world, spiritually, is to train men who know the culture and language to teach their own people.

We need to give thanks for the dedication and willingness of mission minded brethren who have and continue to labor on foreign soil. We must pray for the opportunity t0 build upon their efforts and work with them to step up our work in ways to reach so many people.

The Leadership Fund was started with the goal of investing in future of leadership. The primary purpose is to invest in spiritual leadership.

As a result, we should think about the daily approach to leadership on a number of levels. Several areas stand out as necessary for leaders to consider as a daily investment.

Pray…

Look at the goal…

Share the plan…

Help someone…

Read, grow, learn personally…

Take a few minutes for yourself…

Listen closely…

Rest…

We may insert a variety of activities on a daily basis, as well as, emphasizing the necessity of practicing these activities numerous times throughout the day. We may even practice a few of these on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. Never let a day go by without making each of these a part of your life in spiritual leadership.

It is an investment with imperishable returns.