Tag: God

Where There Is No Leadership

Two times in the book of Judges, we learn that where there was no leadership, “every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

Looking around at the world today indicates that far too many people live as though there is no leadership.

While leadership is not always what it should be, our influence as Christians must be different.

Christians are not following leadership in the secular realm. We are following the leadership of the almighty God.

As we measure up the example of our life before others, perhaps leading with such intent will instill hope for a better tomorrow.

The Speed of Leadership

Life often goes by at “break-neck” speed and we struggle to keep up. Occasionally, a slower pace would be nice.

Life, however, is not always as easily planned as we might like.

Such is true in leadership. There will be days we accelerate the pace to accomplish certain tasks or reach specific goals. Other days move us to slow everything down.

The key is to prioritize what must be done today, be flexible – fast or slow, never hesitate to ask for help when needed, and trust in God’s providence.

It is amazing how and where God is working.

Change the World

Perhaps it is only a dream. Maybe it is a scam or an incredible sales pitch. Can it be true?

As long as we limit our thinking that the opportunity to change the world is an impossibility, we never will.

Change occurs one person at a time, but if we take that one person and guide them to do the same, we multiply our sphere of influence.

The power of possibility is magnified to incredible heights.

This is how we change the world and it all begins with you and me. May God use us to do so!

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 Lonely Place

Leadership can be lonely.

However, the truth about spiritual leadership is that no matter who walks away, God is always there. Paul reminds us that no one can bring a charge against God’s elect, no one can condemn or separate us from the love of Christ. We are not alone!

This truth makes it possible to lead with confidence, grow stronger in faith, overcome any obstacle, and instill hope.

When we understand we are not alone, perhaps we will learn how to meet the needs of others who need to know the same.

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.

Action, Risk, and Confidence

“Never be afraid to act. You never know how far away you are from your goal — sometimes just reaching out and putting in a little bit of effort can be enough. And, even if it’s not — you tried, and that’s far better than just sitting and waiting for a chance to present itself. If you want to achieve something you have to act, you have to take risks and you have to believe in yourself.” Author Unknown

Act: We cannot simply be hearers, but doers.

Take risks: Taking risk promotes greater impact.

Believe in yourself: A lower self-esteem hinders action and risks.

God’s power must not be limited by our lack of action, risk, or confidence.

Leadership Representatives

We understand the importance of having proper representation. This is true in the realm of law, and the same is true in standing before God.

We do not want to stand before Him alone. We need proper representation, and that representative is Jesus.

Leaders are also representatives. Followers need those they can turn to who will help, guide, protect, advocate, and provide representation.

Representing others indicates an activity designed for someone else, literally a wider group of others. The application to leadership is rather fitting.

Modeling the characteristics found in Christ is a great starting point for fulfilling the need in our own leadership.

Opportunity for Development

Leaders often experience times when events escalate and are seen as distractions or hindrances to their leadership development.

Is it possible God is opening doors of opportunity for us to grow and develop in our leadership?

Consider these questions.

Do we really believe God’s power is unlimited?
Do we believe God can do far more than we ask or think?
Can we get excited about how He will use the power within us to accomplish His purpose?

We have tried things on our own for too long. It is time to trust in God’s power and prepare ourselves to do His work.

Lead Like Jesus, Part 2

To lead like Jesus is to love God and others with all of our being. Jesus did not love God or others when it was convenient or suited His personal desires.

In modern terminology, Jesus was “all in.” Nothing stood between Him and serving His Father in ways that demonstrated loyalty and faithfulness.

Jesus was also completely focused on both the physical and spiritual needs of others.

We can learn much in striving to fulfill this one thought, “If you want to lead, lead like Jesus.”

If we truly desire to lead, we need to give more thought to how we lead.