Tag: Faithfulness

Joseph

Joseph endured adverse circumstances: rejection, slavery, temptation, false accusations, wrongful imprisonment, and forgotten.

HOWEVER, the entire account teaches us wonderful lessons about spiritual leadership.

No matter what happens, God is always with us. Throughout we find the phrase, “and God was with him.”

Remember God is always working toward a greater purpose. Joseph trusted God to be at work saving Israel, not just his own well-being.

Faithfulness will exult an individual and a nation. Joseph was eventually elevated to power over all of Egypt, which ultimately saved God’s people.

If we can learn these lessons, our leadership will move in the right direction.

Constant Leaders

Leaders who are constant display persistence, consistency, faithfulness, and they are unchanging.

When leaders are persistent, they are resolved, driven with purpose. Leaders who are consistent represent stability that is dependable. A faithful leader demonstrates loyalty and devotion. The unchanging character of a leader provides enduring, yet predictable follow through.

Obviously, more could be said about each of these, but the overall focus is defining the constant nature of leadership and how it looks within the perspective of followers.

Qualifying Results

A consequence, effect, or outcome generally defines results. When application is made of specific principles or designs, results are expected. We expect to receive something for the effort generated.

Nothing seems more important to the credibility of leadership than their results. People want to know that a leader has a proven track record of getting results.

However, danger exists when quantity becomes the defining characteristic for results, because how do we quantify faithfulness, spiritual growth, or leadership development? Are these results not as significant as the others?

When leaders learn how to qualify results in ways that help generate enthusiasm for followers, the results will far exceed expectations.

Leading with Constancy

Have you ever heard the phrase “constancy of purpose?” Constancy involves dependability or faithfulness. There are strong implications in leadership. Once leaders understand their purpose, constancy is demonstrated in four areas.

1) Faith: We need to know and trust that our God is able and He will be there each step of the way.

2) Focus: Without focus, Satan is masterful at distractions, which take our eyes off God’s purpose.

3) Fortitude: We need fortitude to stand firm when distractions and challenges arise.

4) Follow-through: Once we commit ourselves, constancy will follow-through with the plans.

Constancy helps leaders accomplish more for the Lord’s kingdom.

Faithfulness…

Faithfulness is rooted in the very character of God. Reliability, steadfastness, constancy, fidelity, dependability, trustworthiness are all words that describe the qualities of God’s faithfulness.

Amidst the increasing instability of our culture we discover several obstacles to faithfulness.

Nurturing the temporal and disposable elements of life challenge lasting faithfulness. Shunning commitments and focusing our loyalty on improper objects become obstacles to our faithfulness as leaders.

However, we cultivate faithfulness when we celebrate God’s abiding presence, lift Him up in worship, keep our promises, and tell the truth.

Kenneson raises several powerful questions and provides suggestions to the other-directed nature of faithfulness on pages 194-195.

Stop Picking Up The Slack…

Who picks up the slack when someone fails to fulfill their responsibility? Usually, it is a leader.

When leaders take the responsibility because someone a) does not know how, b) is unwilling, or c) is too lazy to do the work, they create challenges to their leadership.

In order to turn the situation around, consider the following.

1) Evaluate all the details.
2) Learn the art of delegating.
3) Start with smaller responsibilities and increase as faithfulness is demonstrated.
4) Equip others with the proper tools.
5) Trust the job will get done, and reward accordingly.

These few steps help leaders move forward.

A Waste of Time…

When we give our energy, time, and talent to achieve success, we may hear a voice that says, “What you are doing makes no difference. You are wasting your time.”

Life can be filled with “time wasters.”

However, leading is never a waste of time when we lead someone to Christ, or when we lead them to a greater life of faithfulness.

The number of events working to attack the use of our time will never end. The choice is ours in how we deal with those events when they occur.

Always remember that leadership is never a waste of time for the one we lead.