Tag: Jesus

God and Others

Never forget, “We can’t make it on our own.” We need God and each other.

The vital role of leaders cannot be overstated. People are hurting; they lack joy in their lives; they struggle to find answers.

Our spiritual families assemble because they need and want help. They desire a message to help them deal with the pain of life.

We must always remember the necessity of helping others. It may be a friend or a family member. When they seek help, let us lead them to the only One who can ease their pain, Jesus.

Whom Do You Seek?

Throughout the New Testament we find people looking for Jesus, but for different reasons.

Herod looked for Jesus to put Him to death.
The magi looked for the King of Israel.
The Pharisees and Sadducees looked to trap Him.
Multitudes looked to be healed by Him.
An angry mob, soldiers, and religious leaders looked to crucify Him.

Jesus asked, “Whom do you seek?”

Who do we look for today? Can others find what they look for through us. If they look for Jesus, will they find Him? Here is where spiritual leadership begins.

What Do You See?

What do you see when you look at your coworkers, family, people you meet in your community, or your brothers and sisters sitting on the pew next to you each week?

Consider the golden opportunities everywhere you look.

God told Abraham to lift up his eyes and look in every direction. Jesus told the apostles to lift up their eyes and look at the fields white for harvest.

It is time for all of us to lift up our eyes and look. The door is open. What will we see when we look through it? What will we do?

Passionate

Are we consumed with work because we find value in the job, or are we passionate because of the difference it makes in the lives of others?

Our value comes from God. We are created in His image and covered by the blood of His Son.

Value based in work becomes an insatiable task.

Spiritually, if we are passionate about leading others to a greater relationship with God, the perspective changes.

When we have an intense desire and enthusiasm for the work of the Lord, there is a sense of love and joy in fulfilling the true purpose of life.

Spiritual leadership is worth being passionate about and loving.

Think Big

Children know no limitations and, generally, no fear. Nothing seems too difficult or impossible.

Walt Disney once said, “If you can think it, you can do it.”

We should dream, believe, and plan what we want to accomplish. Jesus tells us nothing is impossible with God.

Paul reminds us that God has the power to do far beyond all we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.

Where might our leadership take us if we start on the foundation of these two thoughts?

Let us not limit God because we are convinced we cannot do it?

Think Big.

Delegation

One critical challenge for leaders plays out in the area of delegating.

Robert Half said, “Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too.”

The effectiveness of delegating must be accompanied by leading by example.

Jesus demonstrated this thought with the apostles.

The apostles followed by setting their own example.

Christians are instructed to do the same.

No one is above any task.
No one is too good for the lowest of jobs.
No one is so powerful they are beyond the need for help.

Spiritual leaders must delegate needed work. Delegating this work is never easy, but when we set the right example, enlisting others to help falls into place.

The Right Foundation

Jesus spoke of a wise and a foolish man. The difference between the two was the foundation upon which they were building.

When the bedrock of our leadership is based on spiritual qualities and characteristics, then people have a solid foundation to follow.

We must know who we are following. When we follow the leadership of Christ, we move in the right direction.

We must develop consistency between our words and actions. More than one leader has lost credibility because their actions contradicted their words.

The eternal success of our leadership is determined by the foundation upon which we build and help others stand upon.

A Wing and a Prayer

This phrase originated with the WWII patriotic song Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer, by Harold Adamson and Jimmie McHugh (1942). The song tells of a damaged warplane barely able to limp back to base.

Prayer is a vital part of our spiritual leadership, but our approach to leadership cannot succeed by barely limping along.

Our leadership is about the hope Christ provided at the cross. We have prepared ourselves through trust and obedience to a gracious God who provided a plan to save us from sin.

When we understand our leadership is focused on this kind of hope, we are not leading by a wing and a prayer. We are leading by faith!

Overcoming Fear

Fear is common. The apostles demonstrated fear. The parents of a blind man were afraid. Paul addressed fear when writing Timothy.

How do we overcome fear?

A few suggestions:

Know God. He gives us a spirit of love and power and discipline.

Believe in Jesus. If He endured for us, we can overcome for Him.

Study the book. The more we know of God’s word, the greater our confidence in fearful situations.

Fight the good fight. Paul knew the challenges of the work. He also knew he had to fight.

Let us commit ourselves to overcome and lead with passion.

Others-Centered

We cannot emphasize enough the necessity of an others-centered, servant-style leadership. In an effort to establish the point, Victor Cousin said, “Men are governed only by serving them; the rule is without exception.”

While there are many leadership styles, spiritual leadership succeeds by service.

Jesus said, “By this all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” In the context, Jesus taught the necessity of being a servant.

If we understand the true definition of Biblical love, we cannot fulfill the new command given by Christ without being a servant that is others-centered.