“And in the end it is not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln

One word came to mind when I read this quote: Legacy.

How we live our life, not how long we live it, determines the type of legacy we leave behind. Whatever we want to leave behind, we must be living now.

What do we want others to say about us when we are gone?

Are we striving to achieve and leave behind a physical imprint of our life, or spiritual?

How do we want to be remembered?

However we answer these questions, the truth is the same. We must start now! There are no guarantees of tomorrow’s sunrise. There are no crystal balls allowing us to look into the future. We cannot become so disillusioned to think there is plenty of time and nothing to worry about.

Legacy is living today what we want left behind tomorrow.

Is our leadership about the number of years we lead or the type of leadership behind those years?

It is a thought worth considering.

We are all striving to reach the location. In every facet of life there are peaks and valleys. There are good times and bad.

When we are on top of the mountain, life is good, everything seems to be going exactly as we want, and we are at our best.

The valleys bring a shadow of darkness developed from conflict, trials, tragedy, and controversy. We question our faith. We begin to doubt if there is any hope. We search for answers to questions and no answers are given. Our attitudes are altered and we struggle to make decisions.

Leaders experience both the valleys and the mountain tops. Learning to reach the top and striving to stay on top is the path each leader desires to walk.

We are not alone.
The wisdom gained by others is an invaluable gift.
Tomorrow presents new opportunities.
Strength comes from knowing, not emotions.
God is still on His throne.

Each day, try focusing on the positive, give the negative to God, work on what can be changed, find balance in family, and seek good counsel.

Somehow, it all seems to work out.

Have you ever made a mistake and thought; “I wish I had one more chance to do it again?” It might be easier to ask who has not been in this position.

Face it, we all make mistakes. We say and do things we wish we had not said or done. Sadly, when it comes to life, there are no “Easy” buttons, or “do-overs.” We all have to consider what we are going to do once the mistake is made.

Having the opportunity to receive one more chance depends on how we deal with the mistake.

Acknowledge the mistake.
Take full responsibility.
Evaluate every possible solution.
Take appropriate action toward resolution.
Act quickly!

Too often a prideful approach is taken and results in greater conflict, paranoia, and resistance. Arrogance demands we take our extreme views to even greater extremes creating a “lofty” separation.

However, when we approach our mistakes with humility and a decisiveness toward appropriate actions, there is opportunity for one more chance.

Is this not what God has done for us?

A new class of students began a two year journey this week. The anticipation unfolds into reality. There is an overwhelming feeling too difficult to describe.

What have I gotten myself into?
How will I ever get all this work done?
Is it possible to keep this pace?

When facing overwhelming challenges, even self-inflicted, the most important question to ask is “how well will we finish?”

Spiritual leadership faces many challenges which can and will be overwhelming. These challenges can distract and/or discourage us. We must remember to ask; “how well will we finish?”

Finishing well requires a few simple steps.

Determine the priorities. Discouragement leads to quitting. Leaders cannot allow this to happen. Know what is worth dying for and give yourself to it.

Work hard. I recently read a post about the Mumford & Son’s band. The reason given as the secret to their success is this simple, but powerful truth. They work hard.

Keep your eye on the goal. Challenges bring distractions. Peter encouraged Christians facing persecution to keep their focus.

How well we finish is just as important as how we begin.

Is the beginning of a thing better than the end? There are good arguments supporting both ideas. There is a great deal of excitement in beginning something new. As well, the victory celebration is enjoyed at the end.

A leader sees the goal and communicates it to the group. A leader is instrumental in developing the plans to reach the goal.

The reputation of a successful leader is often measured by the victories achieved, or goals reached.

However, a leader has an important task when striving to reach any goal. What must be done to create buy-in? How can we create excitement in reaching the goal? Will others be willing to work the plan?

The answers to these questions all unfold in the beginning. Victories are enjoyed by those who have earned them. To earn them, there needs to be a great beginning.

We must believe it first.
We must paint the picture and set it before others.
We must examine every possible detail.
We must pursue the course with enthusiasm.

Is the beginning of a thing better than the end? It can be!

“You can’t find the right answer if you are asking the wrong question.” John Maxwell

At first, I thought how simplistic, yet how true. How often do we work at finding the right answer, yet we spend our time asking the wrong questions?

Several ideas will help us in developing the right questions.

1) Think before speaking. It is easy to say the first thing that comes to mind. However, without thinking first we generally ask unrelated questions.

2) Questions must be clear and direct. Vagueness breeds vagueness. To get the right answer, our questions must be understood.

3) Be genuine. Questions are commonly used defensively. When someone speaks and is questioned, they  tend to feel challenged and react on their perception.

4) Do not assume anything. Assumptions will leave us with more questions than before.

5) Learn what should “not” be asked. To ask the right questions, we should learn this point. Questions that remove opportunities and do not allow for clarification should be avoided.

There are answers, but we must learn to ask the right question to find the right answer.

One provides a solid foundation and the other is shaky. Jesus spoke of a wise and a foolish man. The difference between the two was the foundation upon which they were building.

People build on one or the other based upon leadership. When the bedrock of our leadership is based on spiritual qualities and characteristics of Scripture, then people have a solid foundation to build upon.

A few ideas will help us in developing this foundation.

First, we must know who we are following. A great leader is a follower. When we are following the leadership of Christ, we are moving in the right direction.

Second, we must develop consistency between our words and actions. More than one leader has lost credibility because their actions contradicted the words they proclaimed.

Third, we cannot allow ourselves to get in the way. It is easy to begin believing the hype and think too highly of ourselves.We are leading people to Jesus. We cannot fulfill the task if “we” get in the way.

The eternal success of our leadership is determined by the foundation upon which we build and help others stand upon.

The idea emphasizes “a poor condition, but just managing to get the job done. This phrase originated with the WWII patriotic song Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer, 1942, by Harold Adamson and Jimmie McHugh, which tells of a damaged warplane, barely able to limp back to base.” Later, it became the title of a 1944 film.

Prayer is a vital part of our spiritual leadership, but our approach to leadership cannot succeed by barely limping along.

Our leadership is about the hope Christ provided at the cross. Through His willingness to be the forerunner, He has entered into the very presence of God for us. No one will barely get into heaven. No one will get in by accident.

We have prepared ourselves through trust and obedience to a gracious God who provided a plan to save us from the eternal condemnation of sin.

When we understand our leadership is focused on this kind of hope, we are not leading on a wing and a prayer. We are leading by faith!

God desires growth. He commands us to grow, expects us to grow and designed the church to grow.

Growth involves change and change is never easy. We tend to be resistant to change. We like the status quo and change makes us uncomfortable.

However, change is Biblical. Imagine the challenge before the Jews on Pentecost. For more than 1,500 years they followed the Law and now Peter instructs them to change.

As Christians we must continue to change. This change occurs with growth.

I am not one who likes learning areas of Biblical teaching requiring me to act differently. I am a routine kind of guy. I love getting up at the same time, participating in the same activities, and going to bed at the same time.

Talking to non-Christian family, neighbors or strangers about Jesus, preaching lessons on financial giving, marriage, divorce and remarriage, or reaching out to Christians who leave the church makes me uncomfortable.

If we do not do it…who will? If we do not lead by example…how will others know how to follow? If we do not change…how will the church grow?

What or who determines failure? Why is failure seen as negative in our society? How can leaders deal with failure, learn and benefit in ways to improve their leadership?

The first step is to recognize failure is inevitable. No matter who you are or where you are, failure takes place.

Second, acknowledge and take responsibility. Do not ignore, deny, or cast blame when failure occurs. Victory goes to the team. Failure falls upon leadership.

Third, failure is not fatal. Winston Churchill is credited with saying; “success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Fourth, do not hesitate to act. Hesitation comes with a high price. Waiting to act creates a perception of apathy.

Fifth, take appropriate steps to learn from failure. Study the strengths and weaknesses of the present circumstances. Determine and implement the changes needed to overcome the circumstances and prevent the same mistakes.

Making the necessary adjustments to move beyond the circumstances will help build confidence in others toward leadership. Work to build a series of successful events or programs to reassure the strength of the leadership.