Holidays always tend to bring out the articles and posts that parallel the occasion with a spiritual connection. The independence celebrated by this country is no exception when considering the independence celebrated in Christ.

Rightfully so; there is a wonderful analogy with physical freedoms compared to the greater spiritual freedoms enjoyed by those who share in them.

Considering the sacrifice made by Jesus: willingly, lovingly, and graciously, the value of what was accomplished to open the way to the Father is exemplified.

From a spiritual leadership perspective, a leaders’ example should be one that demonstrates the same willingness, love and grace to open the way for others to the Father.

The greatest joy of celebrating our own independence is to help others celebrate the same by introducing them to the way, the truth, and the life.

The life, the abundant life promised by Jesus, is one of freedom from the consequences of sin that introduces a celebration of independence.

Our leadership today should always help others understand the price paid for this celebration.

As David expresses the need to be silent before God and praise Him, he concludes by saying, “And to You the vow will be performed.”

Without going into a complete background of the Psalm, the two words that stand out in this passage are “vow” and “performed.”

The idea of a vow indicates one who enters an agreement to which they must be committed to fulfill. Solomon emphasized the seriousness of vows when he wrote, “It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5).

The word translated “performed” is joined with the vow; indicating that when the vow is paid, “it completes an agreement so that both parties are in a state of shalom” (peace) (Lloyd, 1999). As a note of interest, the word translated “pay” in Ecclesiastes is the same word translated “performed.”

A leaders first responsibility is to God and then to those who follow. They must be committed to fulfill the responsibility of the relationship to which they have entered as leaders.

When they do, both parties are in a state of peace.

*Carr, G. Lloyd. “2401 שָׁלֵם”. In Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, edited by R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr. and Bruce K. Waltke. electronic ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1999.

The synonyms for the word this week make for some interesting application. Honest, sincere, genuine, and trustworthy are a few that seem natural and positive. However, candid, frank, forthright, and straight are words with a little more spice to them.

Considering the opposite of truthfulness leads in one direction, deception.

Leaders need to not only be truthful in relationship to followers, they need to be truthful with themselves.

One of the greatest challenges for leaders is to be honest enough with themselves to make the kind of decisions that demonstrate their integrity.

Being truthful with the direction we should take may not always align with our initial choice.

Being truthful with those who are invested in following will not allow us to be self-centered.

Being truthful with God will always lead in paths of righteousness.

The application of truthfulness often falls short because leaders can fall prey to justifying their actions and convincing themselves something is true, when in reality it is false.

Leaders must be careful not to allow good intentions to vindicate their pretentious actions.

Be truthful with self, others and God in all areas.

Today marks the beginning of the last half of 2013. If you are like me, it is hard to believe we are on the backside of this mountain.

A common question often asked when looking back on the year is “where does the time go?”

Perhaps a more pertinent question is “what did we do with the time we were given that will leave a lasting change in the lives of others?”

With six months behind us and six ahead, we need to be evaluating what we have done and considering what we should do to transform the lives of those around us?

Our time would be well served to let our minds dwell on the following questions.

Will we introduce someone to Jesus? When?

Are we living the kind of life that provides a greater influence for the kingdom?

How will we most productively use our time to serve the Lord’s church?

With six down and six to go to complete 2013, we need to be thinking more about our influence and how we are leading others. Think Souls!

“Live the way you would want others to live, but do not expect it of them.” Chase Turner

When leaders place expectations on others to measure up to the standard of behavior they have established for themselves, disappointment will result.

What this thought teaches us can be laid out quite simply.

First, we need to stop measuring others by our own behavior, even if that behavior is right. The problem is we become judges of the conduct and motives of others.

Second, we limit the potential of others if we are constantly frustrated when they fail to conduct themselves accordingly. We often limit our leadership when we are frustrated with others.

Third, everyone is at a different level of maturity. Not everyone has benefited from the same family background, education, life experience, or spiritual growth opportunities.

If we would learn to focus on developing our own standard of conduct, constantly measure ourselves by the example of Christ, and nurture our relationships with others to help them do the same, then we are developing true leadership.

As the psalmist identifies the source of his strength in God, he concludes by pointing out that God is also his portion forever.

The word translated “portion” is often translated “reward.”

The power behind this thought is key to spiritual leadership. Realizing that God is our strength gives us confidence, but knowing that He is our reward gives us hope.

Spiritual leaders must always portray confidence of God given strength. However, one of the most powerful components to great leadership is the ability to instill hope in others.

The world is filled with so many challenges, discouragements and disappointments. Among all the needs, or perceived needs, hope is one of the top.

When leadership provides others with hope; no matter how high the mountain, how low the valley, or the size of the obstacle, then we can endure and overcome.

With this in mind, let us lead with an understanding of what the future holds for those who are faithful followers.

Leaders should constantly examine their leadership: abilities, style, resources, and growth.

One of the critical concerns for leadership development is learning to ask the right questions. Based on their book Primal Leadership, Learning To Lead With Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee examine five discoveries needed to make an emotionally intelligent leader.

These discoveries involve asking the right questions for leadership development.

Who do we want to be as a leader? Considering the answer to this question must go beyond surface or superficial answers.

Who are we now? Leaders must constantly examine both strengths and weaknesses to determine where we are in our leadership.

Do we work on developing who we want to be, or what someone else wants us to be? This can be one of the strongest challenges leaders face.

Are we willing to form new habits of practice? Developing a new mindset and implementing the necessary changes to grow in our leadership is key to reaching goals.

What emphasis are we placing upon developing relationships? The power of relationships help build confident leadership.

Consideration of these five areas will point us in the right direction for leadership development.

Risk involves the possibility of danger or harm, as well as, a person or thing regarded as likely to turn out well or badly within a particular context.

There can be no risk, low risk and high risk, but risk is going to be involved in leadership.

The key to understanding the role of this word in leadership is learning how not to fear risk, but manage it instead.

A number of websites provide powerful information about risk management, especially where it applies to areas of leadership.

However, two thoughts came to mind in application of the risks involved for spiritual leaders:

1) What are the risk factors involved if we decide not to lead others to Christ?

2) What are the risks of waiting, or procrastinating, to lead them?

When we honestly look at how the risks weigh out in the direction of our leadership, from a spiritual perspective, we will find the possibility of danger or harm involved is found when we are unwilling to take the risk.

Opportunities are circumstances providing possibility, either to be gained or lost.

It’s a matter of faith. If we cannot see the possibilities, we will never take advantage of the opportunities.

We must not fall into the trap of thinking we can sit back and wait for opportunities. If we do, chances are we will accomplish little, if anything.

Leaders have the greatest opportunity to influence the lives of others by example and instructional guidance when leading them to heaven. This is obviously a twofold application, as it includes leading the lost to Jesus and helping grow the faith of those who belong to Him.

How will this opportunity be fulfilled to its greatest potential?

1) We must open our eyes to the needs, physical and spiritual, of all people. This specifically involves those who are not like us.

2) We must be ready to get involved; meaning there is a need to get the hands dirty.

3) We must also rely completely on the power of God to open the doors and use us to His glory.

Seize the opportunities by seeing the incredible God given possibilities God.

“There is no passion to be found playing small — in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” Nelson Mandela

We are left to wonder what could really happen if leaders knew how to think big. The passion that drives greatness, especially from a spiritual perspective, can be nothing short of global.

The challenge of settling for less than what we are capable of is only coupled with the limitations placed upon what God is capable of doing through us…if we will only let Him.

We often believe God will not do it because we are convinced we cannot do it.

The “grasshopper syndrome” of the spies in Numbers 13-14 illustrates our own defeat. The problem was not how the Israelites appeared in the eyes of the giants in Canaan. The problem was in how they saw themselves as grasshoppers in their own sight.

Leaders must not fall prey to this mindset. There must be a passion that is driven by and for greatness; a greatness that is only measured by the power of God to work in amazing and powerful ways.