Tag: Growth

Confidence

Confidence in one’s ability diminishes when leaders experience failure, suffer discouragement, or they are harshly criticized by others.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal” is the powerful thought expressed by Winston Churchill. Recognizing that the only time failure exists is when we give up helps us redirect our thinking when success is beyond our reach.

Suffering discouragement generally follows moments of failure. We begin to overcome discouragement by evaluating the cause and seeking help to address it.

Criticism, even when harshly given, provides growth benefits if we are able to see them in this way. Instead of “reacting,” we need to “act” appropriately as a spiritual leader.

Wilderness Leadership

A common thread found among the leaders of God’s people is time spent in the wilderness physically and emotionally.

Consider the time Joseph spent in Egypt, from slavery to the dungeon.

Think about Moses, who, after fleeing Egypt, spent 40 years in the land of Midian.

Then, we have Jesus who spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness.

What is it about time spent in the wilderness that helps prepare someone to lead God’s people?

This time identifies a need for and dependence upon God.

A walk through the wilderness is neither desired or pleasant. However, the time provides opportunities for growth and prepares us for leading God’s people.

Using Our Time Well

The year is almost half over. How are you doing with your goals?

Our goals must be important and, at times, urgent?

If we have been procrastinating the necessary actions to accomplish our goals, we have no time to waste.

If we are waiting to decide what is most important, we have no time to waste.

With so much to do, people to lead to Christ, Christians to strengthen in faithfulness and personal growth, time is of the essence. No commodity is more valuable than our time.

Let us use the time God has given us wisely and never be known for wasting it.

Knowing God

Spiritual leadership involves qualities, traits, virtues, and principles that are instrumental in guiding one’s character formation.

The foundation is to know God.

Jesus said eternal life aligns with knowing God and the One sent by Him.

Paul also spoke of the significance of knowing God by claiming his willingness to count everything as loss for the “surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:8).

Heritage, material possessions, academic achievement, and religious position were all worthless in view of this knowledge.

Leadership God’s way is driven by a passion to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

Focus

Leaders focus on growth and advancement. They look to grow personally, strive to help others reach their greatest potential, and help advance the cause for which they lead.

Leaders look for new and refined ideas that promote opportunity, innovation, and creativity. The abilities that exist among followers is amazing, and leaders need to seek ways to involve everyone in using their gifts for God’s kingdom.

Leaders recognize the ever changing world surrounding them. The development of God’s kingdom is not about changing the message, but the methods need to allow for ideas that reach out to this ever changing world.

Choice of Leadership

When we question our leadership, consideration should be given to the followers. Have we really considered where others will end up when they follow our leadership?

The choices include the following and similar ideas:

1) Closer to, or further away from God…
2) More spiritually, or more worldly focused…
3) Stronger, or weaker in faith…
4) Growing, or declining in knowledge of God’s word…

There are many more possibilities, but the point is the same. Our leadership should be important enough to consider the destination followers will reach by following.

Be willing to blaze the type of trail that when others follow they will end up in heaven.

Mentoring…part 4

The mentoring relationship is a mutual relationship designed to establish and achieve specific well-defined goals.

These goals are connected to developing the ability to know, think, and perform.

The ultimate purpose and design of mentoring is to create a relationship that nurtures learning.

A number of elements essential for a learning-centered mentoring program include: reciprocity, learning, relationship, partnership, collaboration, mutually defined goals, and development.

The design is to promote stronger relationships that motivate, inspire, and contribute to development and growth.

This relationship is collaborative and channeled to achieve a support system of success. The mutuality in mentoring increases the viability of the desired purpose in the relationship.

A Leadership Challenge

While a challenge often involves a form of competition, the most relevant definition describes a task or situation that tests someone’s abilities.

Two primary thoughts should be considered in relationship to leaders.

1) Leaders must challenge themselves. We must find ways to test our abilities to strengthen the character of our leadership.

2) Leaders must challenge others. The idea is to present tasks or situations where the abilities of followers are tested to produce personal growth.

People arise to what is expected. If little or nothing is expected, then little or nothing is given. However, experience has proven that when leaders provide encouragement and expectation, followers come through.

The Future of Leadership

Leading is about the future. From a spiritual perspective, nothing is more important than what the eternal future holds.

However, on a more pragmatic level, leaders need to consider what the future of their leadership looks like.

Will the future hold growth and development for the church or will we be stagnant?

Will our vision point to a future where leadership is stronger or will leadership decline?

Asking questions can be unending. Yet, in the end, we must consider the necessity of planning today to ensure the future of growth and stronger leadership.

To do so, requires us to have a vision for it!

Potential to Grow

The following expression is significant: “Every conversation is important. When a specific wording is missed or an inappropriate judgment made, it can temporarily or permanently stunt another person’s potential to grow in leadership.”

If we understood how our words might promote or hinder the leadership potential of another person, would we give more careful thought to what we say?

Solomon reminds us that the power of life and death are in the tongue. With our words we either build up or tear down.

We must not allow anything to influence our words in such a way that it would discourage someone from reaching their leadership potential.