Tag: God

The Design of Leadership

What is our leadership designed to do? I once read, “A ship is safe in the harbor but that is not what it was designed to do.” Unknown

The answer is simple. We were designed to lead.

Too often I hear of situations where men are qualified to lead, but unwilling to step up and take the responsibility.

Why? Because they feel safe. Most want to avoid challenges, controversies, and confrontations.

Our leadership was never designed for such.

The Lord’s church needs leaders. Rise up men of God and lead!

Our God has called us to the greatest task on earth.

Enduring Leaders

Endurance is often challenging. To endure involves bearing up under the load, far more than being patient.

While we are to be patient, to endure takes us to a level that challenges our ability to hold on, and hold on longer than we can imagine.

What will help us endure these challenges?

Remember, “If God brings us to it, He will see us through it.”

God is faithful. He is with us and He is for us (Rom. 8:31-39)!

No matter how difficult, do not forget that challenges are temporary.

With proper perspective we can endure, especially knowing our God is in control.

Leading with Prayer

I recently heard a question asked, “Do we believe in prayer?”

Most people can attest to God answering prayers in powerful ways.

Perhaps the struggle we have deals with the temptation to doubt when various trials arise and challenge our faith in God’s power to answer.

There is no magic formula, special words, proper position, or time of day that makes a difference in prayer.

For Christians, prayer is about the simplicity of a humble heart that trusts God to answer in His time, in His ways, and in our best interest.

We may not always understand, but prayer is foundational to powerful leadership.

Timing is Everything

Timing is everything. How many times have we heard this statement or one similar? Yet, it is true on a number of levels.

When addressing a delicate situation, timing is everything.

When faced with life changing decisions, timing is everything.

When waiting for answers to test results, timing is everything.

When confronting a family member, fellow worker or employee, timing is everything.

God reminds us there is an appointed time for everything (Ecc. 3:1).

If we step back, think for a moment, and ask ourselves, “Is this the right time to continue in this direction?” maybe we can handle whatever life throws our way.

Conversations Worth Talking About

Do we have anything worth talking about?

Far too many conversations revolve around subjects of little consequence. Kin Hubbard says, ”Don’t knock the weather. If it didn’t change once in a while, nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation.”

When we consider our influence for Christ, it makes sense that we focus our conversations on spiritual matters?

When we consider eternity, our conversations change with those we encounter in life?

When we consider the condition of our world, do we ever wonder about our responsibility to others?

Our time on earth is more than the trivial pursuit of fruitless knowledge.

The good news of Jesus is something worth talking about!

Enthusiastic Leadership

How we approach life comes down to a choice. No one knows how long they have left on this earth.

Doesn’t it make sense that we choose to live each moment to the fullest God intended.

Roald Dahl said, “I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. If you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it full speed. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good.”

Leaders must demonstrate the choice to live enthusiastically. It is contagious and it changes all who follow.

Scared or Sacred?

Why is leadership so scary? Knowing that leaders deal with answering questions pertaining to goals, plans, maintaining morale, personality conflicts, providing resolution, etc., it does not take long to determine why the ground upon which leadership stands can be a scary place.

How do we overcome scared ground for sacred ground? God will help us overcome many challenges. Prayer helps us reach a more sacred footing rather than a scared one. Studying faithful people, such as in Hebrews 11, will also help us as we approach sacred ground.

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

Extraordinary Leadership

As Moses approached the burning bush he was told to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. An ordinary bush became extraordinary because of God’s divine activity. His presence made this ground sacred.

God does the same throughout the Bible, even today. His presence takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary with divine activity.

Twelve men: fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and others who were ordinary people, yet with God working through them, all became extraordinary.

We need to recognize how God works through the events and people in our lives to take something ordinary and make it extraordinary.

Balanced Endurance

I was once given a small level inscribed with the phrase “man of God.” The passage associated with this thought was Isaiah 40:31.

The combination of the text in Isaiah and the visual image of the level communicates two powerful messages.

One, Isaiah indicates the man of God is one who is waiting for the Lord. Such activity is supported by obtaining new strength and an ability to tirelessly endure.

Two, the image of the level is a constant reminder that the man of God must remain balanced. Regardless of the challenges that tend to create imbalance, the man of God remains balanced/level.

Leaders need both.

Success

The bottom line does not always give an accurate assessment of success or failure.

When we gauge success strictly by the numbers we miss how God works to achieve His will. To God, success is found when husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church, when wives submit to their husbands as to the Lord, when children obey their parents, and when fathers train their children up in the Lord.

Success is found in the moral and ethical behavior of Christians in the world.

When Christians feed on the word of God, mature in their faith, and the pattern of leadership is followed, God sees success.