Tag: Gospel

People are Watching

Remember that “People are always watching.” Children watch their parents. Employers watch their employees. The community watches all of us. Everywhere, people are watching.

They also listen. They listen to our words and watch our behavior to see if they are consistent with what we profess.

Nothing is more damaging to our influence than hypocrisy and nothing more convincing than consistency. Jesus spoke of the need to avoid hypocrisy in prayer, acts of kindness, and fasting.

No other gospel handles hypocrisy like Matthew. The take-away is to know that people are always watching, which emphasizes the need to be consistent with our words and actions.

Undesirable

A few years ago, I heard about a leader who simply prayed, “Lord, bring us all those that nobody else wants.” Imagine the response when one by one several, often classified as undesirable, showed up.

If we believe the gospel is for all, then do we work to see that all have opportunity, not just to hear the gospel, but see it in our actions?

The path is not an easy one to walk. However, we are not called to lead only those who are lovable, but those often considered unlovable.

Think about Jesus and the ones He reached out to serve. Are we listening? Will we follow?

Paul…Part 3

Three more qualities stand out as it relates to Paul’s leadership.

Confident: Paul’s confidence was not based on who he was, but Jesus and what Christ had done for Him.

Disciplined: Paul spoke about discipline to ensure the message of the gospel aligned perfectly with the example of his life.

Faithful: Christ considered Paul faithful. Although his past was an example of blasphemy, persecution, and violence toward the church, the Lord saw something greater.

Paul exemplifies many qualities needed for leadership. If we emulate them, God will use us in powerful ways to make a difference.

Indifference and Lethargy

We live in a world too often characterized by indifference and lethargy.

Leaders must find ways to prevent and overcome these characteristics in the church.

What does this really mean? It means we must…

1) Increase the desire of God’s people to be together.
2) Fan the flame of enthusiasm for sharing the gospel.
3) Energize the creativity of brothers and sisters in Christ.
5) Strengthen the hands of God’s faithful.
6) Lift up the hearts that are weak and struggling.

When leaders see the opportunity and do something about it, preparing to make the needed improvements, persevering through the challenges, we overcome indifference and lethargy.

Preoccupied Leaders

Leaders must be preoccupied with a path that leads to godliness, see through the eyes of mission, possess a heart of compassion, and minister with the legs and feet of a servant.

Leaders must be preoccupied with the Gospel, understanding the urgency of reaching each soul, leaving no stone unturned or challenge unmet, and overcoming every obstacle because the salvation of others takes precedent.

While preoccupation is a two-way street, and can easily lead to a negative side, the point for leaders is to be preoccupied in the right and positive ways to change people’s lives eternally.

A New Mindset

Leading others in the cause of Christ requires us to consider the way Paul approached the church in Philippi. In order for the church to have the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5), they need to follow the example of Christ. Notice what Paul identifies.

1) We need to put the gospel of our Lord above ourselves.
2) We need to put our brothers and sisters above ourselves.
3) We need to put Christ above ourselves.

How powerful would the influence of the church be today, if we all possessed this attitude and practiced this mindset with each other?

Amazing News

When the news is exciting, we want someone to tell us and, in turn, we tell others. Good news is often difficult to find.

Sadly, the good news of Jesus is becoming less and less exciting. The distractions of commercialism, family, health, finances, and life tend to exasperate the joy and excitement of something as intangible as a relationship with Jesus.

We need to remember, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

If the news is exciting, tell everyone. When the news is overwhelmingly beyond a level of excitement, be thankful and share.

The Principle of Leadership

A principle is defined as a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct.

We find that principles are foundational to leadership. The world around us measures what they see and hear by the profession of our faith.

If the principles by which we proclaim the gospel do not align with an example evidenced by word and deed, accusations of hypocrisy are rightly made.

When these principles do align, they breathe life into our character.

When this happens, lives change and souls are influenced for the cause of our Lord.

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.