Only a few people never think about what happens when they let someone else down. Generally, we all have that voice inside that moves us to the core when we think that we might potentially let someone down.

Sadly, the desire to not let someone down leads us to try and please everyone, which is impossible to achieve. Even though we know this truth, we still try to achieve it.

Our challenge is we often spend time and effort to please people. Granted, nothing is harder to face than realizing our decisions, words, or actions let someone down.

How often do we consider how our decisions, words, or actions let God down? Spiritual leadership carries some of the greatest responsibility on earth and we never want to let those we are leading down. Above all, however, we never want to let our God down.

If we focus on Him and pursue His will, we may let someone else down, but our relationship with God remains secure. Putting that relationship on hold to insure we please people comes with great consequences. Let us focus our priorities on Him.

What we learn from children is amazing. Among all the qualities that set children apart is their ability to use their imagination.

They possess the ability to take a stick and a handful of rocks and become the greatest baseball player of all time.

Children can take a few boxes, cushions from the couch, along with a bed sheet and create an outdoor adventure to another land.

Somehow, when we get older our imaginations seem to lose their luster. Remember the movie Hook. Peter Banning (Peter Pan) grows up and, as an adult, he forgets his youthful spirit and imagination.

As leaders, we can get so caught up in the daily grind and routine that we fail to allow our imagination to take us to another level of thinking. We get blinded to how things have always been and often refuse to consider how things can be.

The worst part is the fact that opportunities may only come once and if we do not use a little imagination and get outside the box, we may lose the opportunity God is giving us to grow to heights beyond our imagination.

The phrase is coined often about being “present in the moment.” Not to take away from the significance of that need for every leader, but the idea behind this word takes a variety of directions.

When leaders are present, they exist now, in this very moment.

Spiritual leaders also present themselves to the Lord. The idea is based on an Old Testament reference to sacrifices. When one of God’s people brought their sacrifice, it was presented to the priest as an offering to the Lord, meaning they were surrendering all rights of ownership and any plans for future use.

Consider the idea as it relates to Paul’s instruction to Christians in Romans 12 that we present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice.

When leaders understand what they present to the Lord, the entire perspective changes concerning how they stand before God’s people to lead.

If we could all wrap our minds around the significance of this one practice, the culture of the church would change and our influence in the world would be immeasurable.

May we all present ourselves to the Lord!

Building on the need for silence as a leadership habit, this week we turn to reflection. Out of the depths of silence, we find the power of developing the habit of reflection. Reflection allows leaders to think deeply and carefully about their leadership.

Reflecting on areas of our leadership increases out ability to learn from the past, gain perspective for the present, and adjust for the future.

Every decision deserves careful reflection as to the implications and consequences of making that decision. Reflecting on the consequences of any decision brings a different level of clarity before the decision is made.

At the end of the day, a time of reflection helps give perspective to the work that was done and what was left undone. Reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of our leadership in the interrelationship with others also promotes growth.

Just to accompany our 21 days of silence, end the day with 10 minutes of reflection. Notice how the time of silence takes reflection to another level for decision making and relationship building in our leadership.

“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” Henry Ford

No one gets excited about failure. One of the areas listed as most feared by people is a fear of failure. Our society is one that honors and thrives on success. The difficulty with success is the subjective nature by which it is defined and by whom it is defined.

Just like the adage, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure,” success for one person may not be for another. Interestingly enough, failure is much the same.

Recently, a friend expressed how their employer worked to rush employees into failure. They actually wanted people to fail, but the reason is because of the benefit for each person.

Through failure people learn what does not work, thus eliminating the need to try the same path.

Failure becomes what Ford describes as an opportunity to start over with greater knowledge.

Several have modified the idea that “success is not final, failure is not fatal.” As much as failure is unpleasant, if we learn from it, greater success will be part of the future.

The use of community raises both a positive and negative response. The word “community” relates to several words we use on a daily basis: fellowship, common, public, communion, and more. Regardless of where we might stand on the idea of community, we should consider the biblical use of this concept.

Biblically, we read about the early church having all things in common; no needs existed among them.

We refer to the Lord’s Supper instituted by Christ as “communion” because we come together for the common purpose of communing with our Lord, remembering His life, death, and resurrection.

Paul referred to the church at Philippi in community with him concerning the gospel. They shared, participated, and enjoyed fellowship in the same task.

The idea of community comes from the Latin word communitas, referring to a sense of sharing and intimacy developed among people who experience a transition period that brings them together into a group characterized by prescribed forms of conduct.

When this commonality exists, leading in community takes on a new perspective and deserves research to provide strength for the community of God’s people – the church.

A common phrase to encourage perseverance is “hold on.” We learn that holding on for a few more minutes can make the difference in securing hope, gaining a measure of strength, finding the answer, or reaching the goal.

When we consider giving up, the question becomes, “hold on to what?” Success seems elusive and passion dwindles to little more than an ember. What can we hold on to?

Reflect on the past. The past holds many keys, one of which is how God has helped us overcome obstacles in the past. Reflecting on how God walked with us during those times strengthens us to look for His presence in the current circumstance.

Remember we are not alone. The Elijah syndrome is easy to develop, but looking around reminds us that others walk alongside us. Their involvement in our lives is a gift that God provides to guide our steps and strengthen our heart.

Realize faith in the vision. Great vision requires a great God and He is the One we serve. We need to realize challenges may be God’s way of helping shape our character for something greater than we can imagine.

This week’s word involves bringing different elements into a relationship that will insure efficiency or harmony. We further find that it involves negotiating with others in order to work together effectively.

Coordinating is one of the top significant areas needed for successful leadership.

From a spiritual perspective, few areas carry greater weight than the ability to work with different people in different situations and pull everything together into a relationship of harmony and effective work.

An obvious challenge to this way of thinking is the stubborn, obstinate, self-driven, self-serving, or arrogant attitudes that are often displayed by those within any organization, including the church, who find their place in trying to destroy good ideas or plans.

Regardless, working with people is going to surface the good and bad in others. Therefore, a leader’s responsibility involves finding ways to work with these individuals and situations in ways that reach the ultimate good of the whole.

Nothing is easy. If it were, everyone would do it. Thus, we must take the time to invest in the areas needed to help us tackle the challenges with godliness and grace.

Making a list of potential leadership habits that strengthen our influence could result in a lengthy document. Considering the potential, however, we ask: Are we willing to spend 21 days to develop habits that grow our influence?

The first habit is difficult: spending 21 minutes every day in silence for 21 days. This idea is challenging for at least two reasons.

1) Silence makes us uncomfortable. Try spending 30 seconds in silence before responding to someone asking a question, or waiting until they finish an expression of thought. Observe how uncomfortable they become waiting.

2) Our lives are filled with noise. We often cannot sleep without the television, music, ocean waves or something of like nature playing in the background. The same is true with getting into our vehicles; we turn the radio on, plug in a cd, or bluetooth our music from the phone.

Our minds never rest. The idea of sitting in silence without praying, thinking about work, or a hundred other thoughts is not normal.

If we could, however, develop a habit of silence, we might be surprised how our attitude changes toward others, situations, and our spiritual growth.

“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” Brian Tracy

We all want control of what happens to us, but we are also aware of the impossibility of such. Plus, even though we have the ability to control our attitude, we tend to cast blame on others in order to justify the circumstances experienced.

The focus of today’s thought is more than a glance at controlling what happens to us, or even developing the right kind of attitude. The thought is a great challenge to the mastery of our lives.

When we do an honest self-evaluation, what facts rise to the surface, especially when it comes to the “things” that control or master our lives?

No one enjoys examining these factors, but if we are to master change, we must discuss every area necessary for developing our Christian character as God would want from us.

The outcomes are worth the journey. Let us lead with such conviction.