Tag: Know

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.

Knowing the Sheep

What does it means to know the sheep? The task is not easy and will require much of the shepherd. I am not referring to knowing “facts” about the sheep (whose sick, in the hospital, etc.). I am talking about knowing their strengths, weaknesses, their struggles, where they are tempted, etc.

Sadly, there are too many shepherds today that never see members outside of the building Sunday and/or Wednesday.

Knowing the sheep requires spending time with them, demonstrating a greater level of approachability.

Unapproachable shepherds are often seen as intimidating, and they are usually unaware of it. They can be seen as harsh, abrasive, standoffish, and above everyone else.

When time is spent together in each other’s homes, this changes.

Jesus

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10). Within this text, we find ideas expressed that relate to the responsibility of shepherding the church today.

One of the fundamental elements is knowing the sheep. Notice how Jesus claimed, “I know My own and My own know Me” (Jn. 10:14).

Earlier in this text, Jesus said the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd and they follow because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger. Instead, they flee from him because they do not know the “voice of strangers” (vv. 3-5).

Sheep need to hear the voice of their shepherds, and this foundational element of shepherding involves knowing the sheep.

Know, Go, and Show

Jesus often pointed out how the Pharisees and Sadducees could read the obvious signs in the weather, but were blind to the signs from heaven?

Leadership needs to be about both. We need an eye for the obvious, tune in to the environment and present circumstances around us.

However, we also need a vision for the future. We need to see where we are going and what it will take to get there.

No creative and crafty approach will produce the kind of spiritual leaders God needs today. We need leaders who, as John Maxwell says, “Know the way, go the way, and show the way!”

A Teaching Leader

Leadership thoughts are found everywhere. I appreciate friends who are constantly looking for and sharing these thoughts with me.

A few years ago, a good friend sat down to have some tea before going to bed and on the tea bag he read, “To learn, read. To know, write. To master, teach.” Unknown

The thought is powerful and has great application to our leadership.

The last part of the thought encompasses the whole of it. Most of us have heard, known, or experienced how the greatest amount of learning takes place when we teach. Teaching the material helps us master it.

Leading Children

Life changes with each heartbeat. When raising children, these changes in life raise questions.

What will happen? How will we raise them? There are times we ask, “Why did this happen?”

These are questions we tend to ask when facing moments of uncertainty. Our faith is challenged.

Leadership begins here, in the home. The foundation of a mother and father who are dedicated to make sure their children are loved and raised to trust, honor, know, and follow God.

We pray from the moment we learn of a child’s conception. When they enter this world, we pray for the wisdom to lead them all along the way.

Knowing God…

Biblical leadership involves qualities, traits, virtues, and principles that guide character formation. As such, a biblical leader is one who desires to know God.

Scripture is filled with passages that emphasize the need to know God. Jesus said eternal life is aligned with knowing God and the One who was sent by Him.

Paul counted everything as loss for the “surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:8). His heritage, material possessions, academic achievement, and religious position were worthless when laid alongside this knowledge.

Biblical leaders are driven by a passion to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

Learn, Know, Master…

“To learn, read. To know, write. To master, teach.” Teabag

The thought is powerful and has great application for leadership. Think for a moment.

Leaders must be students, learning from every possible source. Leaders must also produce what they learn in a format that others can use for years to come. Write it down!

The last part of this thought encompasses the whole purpose of this post. Experience has demonstrated that mastery takes place when we teach. As we learn, we write down thoughts in preparation for teaching, which strengthen our knowledge of the subject. Teaching the material then leads to mastery of the subject.

Prayerful Leadership…

Prayer is a given when it comes to spiritual leadership. We know about prayer. We study about prayer. We talk about prayer. We teach about prayer.

However, do we believe in the power of prayer?

The struggle for many is the temptation to doubt when trials arise to challenge our faith in God’s power to answer…yet again.

When it comes to prayer, there is no magic formula, special words, proper position, or time of day that makes a difference.

Prayer is about the simplicity of a humble heart that trusts God.

We may not always understand, but praying without ceasing is foundational to powerful leadership.