I would imagine few, if any, will check the Leadership Fund today. I will not be writing it on Christmas Day either.

However, I want to take a moment to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

I hope you enjoy a special day with family and I pray God will bless each of you with many years of leadership in His kingdom.

Thank you for reading the Leadership Fund each day.

Please share it with others.
Merry Christmas!

The obvious question is the night before what?

As with each of you, I have heard and read “Twas The Night Before Christmas.” From this poem a number of important thoughts stand out. The parallels to leadership can be quite interesting.

There is always hope of knowing that leadership will show up to provide the direction needed.

Vision is a key component to the success of any leader, and vision must be shared with others.

Leaders cannot afford to hesitate. They must always be ready to spring into action quickly.

Expecting the unexpected prepares leaders for any event, even if it is not what they expected.

No words can express the value and importance of remembering names.

Sometimes leaders need to get dirty to get the job done.

Never forget the importance of making a good first impression. Smile!

Life is too short. Enjoy the little things.

The reward comes at the end.

Take a few minutes to read the poem again and see the connections. Lessons in leadership can be learned just about everywhere, even in a Christmas poem.

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!”

Scripture often uses a figurative use of the word “walk” to describe a way or conduct of life. Interestingly enough, Paul uses this terminology most often to describe a Christian way of living. Perhaps this is why the Christian life is characterized by walking in a manner worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1), walking in love (Ephesians 5:2), or walking in the light (1 John 1:7).

One of the most powerful descriptions that characterizes the Christian way of life is walking by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). Paul’s use of faith is connected to the word of God. We are to walk by “the” faith, not by sight.

Leaders set the example for others. No greater example can be found than a life that is characterized by continually walking in keeping with the qualities described above.

Consider the influence of a spiritual leader who lives each day by the word of God. They will be one who walks with God. They will put the needs of others above themselves. They will seek things above, not on this earth.

Leaders, we just need to keep on walking.

The answer to this question may greatly depend on what we want to achieve. The fact that success is defined in numerous ways increases the challenge of how we determine success in our lives.

As leaders within the spiritual setting, the ultimate determination of success will be made on the other side, at the throne of God.

Until then, however, there are some ways we can consider to determine success.

1) Having smart goals and plans to reach those goals is the foundation for success.

2) Continuing to grow and develop in relationship to God and others will always be a formula for success.

3) Using the truth of God’s word as the standard for our decisions results in success.

4) Assisting others in reaching their potential, and seeing they have the tools to do so, brings success.

5) Never allowing failure to be final will always bring success.

6) Knowing God…

I realize there are other ways to determine or define success, but if we can implement a few ideas from the beginning success will 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 on 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 is through exciting others to love and good works.

Our list could go on, but think about the spiritual leadership we are offering others. Are we motivating others toward the desired interests? Are we setting 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 appreciate ideas for leadership and today’s post is no exception. Recently, I talked about Standing On Sacred Ground when a friend mentioned the idea of leaders standing on scared ground. The thought raised two questions.

Why is leadership so scary? The 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, accountability to God, etc., it does not take long to determine why the ground upon which leadership stands can be a scary place.

How do we move from scared ground to 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 knowing we are not alone.

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

Are we dying from the destination disease? What is it?

This is the final week for some of the students at the Bible Institute. Over the past 47 years several students have graduated the program.

It is not unique to any educational institution for students to face the destination disease upon graduation. The idea involves completing a goal and thinking it is the end, no need to study anymore, to work, or to grow. Basically, this is the top and nothing more needs to be done.

This is a dangerous place to be. Why?

One loses creativity. There is plateau of knowledge. The passionate fire of learning is snuffed out.

In the end, a form of mental death occurs.

The question we should consider is how can we avoid this disease? Based on The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, three ideas come to mind.

Be content with what you have, but never who or where you are.

Remember there are no shortcuts.

Always do the extra credit.

The destination disease can infect anyone. We need to work constantly at keeping the passion alive in life to be a student.

The pursuit of excellence should be on every leader’s mind. If leaders do not excel, it becomes increasingly difficult for followers to excel.

Biblically, we find the idea of excellence used frequently. The apostle Paul commended the church at Thessalonica and urged them to “excel still more.”

Perhaps the most significant use of excellence is found in the writings of Peter. Christians are instructed to keep their behavior excellent among the Gentiles. Without too much detail, the idea involves Christian character in the world.

The definition of the word used by Peter surrounds the idea of conduct contributing to the salvation of others.

The thought is powerful in light of the example of excellence leaders must demonstrate. We must look at the conduct of our life and ask, does my manner of life contribute to the salvation of others? If the answer is no, then we have a responsibility to change. Spiritual leaders have been entrusted with the souls of others. We must pursue a standard of excellence in order to lead the lost to Christ and aid Christians in reaching a dedicated level of faithfulness.

One of the most impressive areas of leadership does not involve what has been accomplished. Rather, it involves our legacy.

Chris Musgrove said, “Success is not measured by what you are leaving to, but what you are leaving behind.”

Thinking of all the accomplishments of leadership, nothing will be more important than leaving a legacy.

Among the ideas regarding legacy, perhaps the most significant is the need to live the legacy we want to leave.

There will not be a second chance to leave it when we are gone.

Drawing near to the end of life is too late. We must begin living it now. We must be what we want others to be.

Faith, trust, integrity, credibility, understanding, patience, and a good work ethic are but a few.

In spiritual leadership, the idea of our legacy needs to be a greater priority. Ultimately, it comes down to recognizing the need to duplicate our leadership.

John Maxwell is famous for saying, “If you want to grow, lead followers. If you want to multiply, then lead leaders.”

When it is all said and done, what will we leave behind?