Tag: Mission

A Normal Leader?

The thought sounds crazy, right? Can a leader be normal?

Maybe we should define normal first. Regardless of how we define it, there is nothing normal about spiritual leadership. Why? 

Because spiritual leaders…

are concerned about their influence inside and outside the church.
consistently live what they believe.
know God’s mission involves helping people get to heaven.
work for a cause greater than themselves.
share in planning and developing goals for spiritual maturity.
produce results that glorify God and fulfill His will.

Therefore, spiritual leaders are those who live consistently, knowing the work they share in produces God’s desired will. Does that sound normal?

Passion

Darren Hardy’s book, The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster, talks about “Four Passion Switches.” These switches are below with a snippet of what they reference.

Be passionate about what you do: This one is the most common. People talk about passion for what they do.

Be passionate about why you do it: When we understand the why behind our vision and mission, passion increases.

Be passionate about how you do it: Going above and beyond represents quality, not just settling for good enough.

Be passionate about who you do it for: Knowing who benefits (family, community, country, etc.) drives passion upwards.

Find ways to increase your passion as a leader.

Vision and Mission

In an effort to develop a vision and mission statement, we often get the ideas reversed, and rightfully so, since they are interrelated.

The mission of an organization, specifically the church, describes “what to do.” The foundation is built on the purpose of our existence and the mission directs every decision for all related activities.

The vision describes what we desire to see as a result of the mission. The vision takes into consideration the image of the future that connects the long-term desires with achievable goals.

We must communicate both the vision and mission if we hope to achieve any level of success.

Mission

A mission often relates to accomplishing specific tasks within a designated time frame: military tactics, political advancements, corporate positioning, and religious direction.

God’s mission was established before the foundation of the world (Ep. 1:4), promised to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-4), prophesied to David (2 Sam. 7:12), fulfilled in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Mt. – Jn.), and directed through the apostles (Mt. 28:19-20; Ep. 4:11-16).

Leaders play a significant role in the mission of God to lead His people to a better place.

If our mission today does not align with His mission, then we need to refocus our purpose.

Evaluation…

Spiritually, if we do not continually return to the blueprint of God’s word to ensure we are following the plans…well, the result is what we have witnessed in our world today.

The problem can be summed up in the lack of leadership returning to the blueprint to evaluate the plan given by God.

Only when we return to evaluating the plan and implementing the mission of God, will we be able to resolve the issues of division and renew our efforts of outreach.

The task falls to us as leaders to learn the value of evaluation.

A Divine Mission

A mission refers to an objective or purpose to be achieved. What is our mission? What is our objective or purpose? What are we really trying to achieve? Do we have a mission?

Sadly, as spiritual leaders, our mission often becomes more about what we want to achieve, rather than what God wants us to achieve.

Extremism occurs when dealing with party issues, petty ideas, or personal opinions. These become our focus and we lose sight of God’s mission.

Leaders must remain balanced. They must believe in the priority of God’s mission.

May we always lead God’s people in unity and work together to fulfill His mission.

Abnormal Spiritual Leaders

Normal in one culture will certainly be different in another culture. As well, normal in the mind of a child will not be normal in the mind of an adult.

Regardless of how we might think about a normal life, there is nothing normal about spiritual leadership.

Spiritual leaders…

are concerned about the nature of their influence.
live consistently with what they believe.
know the mission.
work for a cause far greater than themselves.
share the planning and development of the goals.
produces results that glorify God and fulfill His will.

Look at how the first word of each thought develops a spiritual leader.

Global Leadership

The world’s population is beyond my comprehension. When I consider eight billion people, it simply becomes a number.

As I travel, the reality of this number becomes even more incredible. I think about…

The plethora of languages.
My inability to communicate adequately.
The brief time I spend in each location.
How do all of these people come to know Christ?
Their soul.
What can and needs to be done?

I have more questions than answers.

I am thankful for the dedication and willingness of mission minded leaders who have and continue to lead on a soil different than their own.

Analysis and Communication

One of the greatest challenges to any area of leadership involves communication. When communication lacks clarity, the result brings confusion and frustration. How can leaders analyze and communicate their vision, mission, and values more effectively?

Use easy to understand language. Terminology is important.

Be careful about assumptions.
Do not make the mistake of assuming.

Keep the message concise. Avoid sharing everything. Less is more.

Remember the old K.I.S.S. acronym.
Keep it short and simple!

Consider these ideas when trying to analyze and communicate matters of vision, mission, and values as leaders.

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.