Tag: Church

Measuring Our Leadership

We tend to gauge success by tangible measurements, but is everything that easily measured?

How do we measure someone’s knowledge? How do we measure the long-term impact of the gospel once the seed is sown? How should we approach our leadership within the church?

Leave the measuring to God. He has an accurate way of measuring what happens.

Be consistent. Measure growth in another location by the same standard in our own.

Remember, goals are important and our job is to plant and water.
God will give the increase.

If we do our part, God will do His and the measurement will always be right.

A Vigilant Leader…

Vigilance means to be watchful, specifically a careful watch regarding areas presenting danger or difficulty.

Few areas rival the need for leaders to be vigilant concerning their responsibilities.

Leaders carefully watch over…
…the spiritual growth and development of each Christian.
…the physical concerns inside and outside of the church.
…the influence of the church within the community.
…the missional outreach of the gospel to the world.

The list could address more but the direction is obvious.

The responsibility is great and when leaders are vigilant to the task before them they can take advantage of beautifully choreographed God given opportunities.

What Do We See?

Vision is not just about sight, but insight to see beyond what is right in front of us.

When we look at the world around us, what do we see?
When we look at our neighbors and friends, what do we see?
When we look at our families, what do we see?
When we look at the church, what do we see?
When we look at ourselves, what do we see?

Our vision strongly affects the way we see others and ourselves. Our vision is foundational to our understanding of and approach to the urgency before us.

A Trustworthy Leader…

Can God trust us to love His church, be a good student of His Word, share the gospel with others, make the right choices, and lead His people?

Will others trust us to lead with consistency, competence, and connect with them?

How would we answer these questions?

Paul claimed “…it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy” (1 Co. 4:2).

As stewards of all God has entrusted to us, are we trustworthy?

Let us develop a character that is worthy of trust, God’s and other’s.

Ontogeny and Leadership…

Ontogeny is the process of an individual organism growing organically.

Thinking of the church as an organization goes against the living and growing organism God intended.

We understand the need to care for, protect, provide, and strengthen plants, animals, and human life because they are organisms that are alive, and proper growth only occurs when we practice the right care.

How much more so would God want us to demonstrate the same toward His church?

Even if we never see the word “ontogeny” again, let us practice the necessary areas to produce growth of the one organism that required the life of Jesus.

Possibilities of Can…

Eliminating the word “can’t” from our vocabulary is vital to the development of strong leadership. Have you ever heard, or perhaps said, “It can’t be done”?

The limitations built around this idea paralyze the growth and development of God’s people, individually and collectively.

Instead of shackling ourselves with these limitations, consider the difference made by realizing what “can” be done. With God, all things are possible.

The way we see our families, the church, the world, and even ourselves takes on a new perspective when we realize we can do it.

Leadership Development…

One of the great struggles facing the church today involves leadership development.

Congregations struggle with poorly equipped––if not unqualified––leaders, or no leadership at all. Sadly, far too many congregations have no idea who will fill the needed leadership positions of tomorrow.

It raises the question, “Are we suffering the consequences of past failures to plan for leadership?”

As we gaze into 2021, God’s people should recognize the challenge, and current leaders must rise up to prepare leaders for the future.

What we need is a vision that benefits the Lord’s kingdom with experienced leaders in the next generation, because it impacts our children and grandchildren!

Developing Others to Lead…

Managers within the Chipotle food chain are promoted on the bases of how they develop leaders among their employees.

Instead of being consumed with the fear of being out-performed, shown-up, or otherwise replaced, imagine the growth of the church where leaders constantly develop others to lead.

Imagine what would happen within the church.

Jesus demonstrated this in developing the apostles for the task of evangelizing the world.

Paul instructed older men to set an example of a godly life and older women to teach younger women matters of the home.

We influence others everyday. Let us mentor them to lead.

Redirecting Our Focus…

We are all molded by the events of the past, whether teaching, experience, or influence. Each of these take on both a positive and negative trait.

Paul’s family heritage, academic credentials, knowledge of scripture, and zealous attack against the church left a mark he did not forget from his past.

However, he did not allow the past to dictate the direction of his future. Paul had a new spiritual focus.

Leaders must learn from the past in order to prevent repeating areas that hinder our Christian influence.

The challenges of yesterday are past. We need to redirect our attention toward a spiritual future.

Unprecedented Leadership…

Unprecedented seems to be the most common description of 2020, more specifically, the coronavirus pandemic. As uncertainty looms, how do leaders respond?

As we explore the possibilities, one factor is clear: Returning to the way things were before is not a reality, at least not in the foreseeable future.

Perhaps we should ask if returning to the way things were before is best for the church.

Crises present opportunities. How we approach these opportunities impacts the direction of the church and her leaders.

During these times, let’s focus on how to use these opportunities to lead in ways that grow the kingdom.