Tag: SALT

The Heart

The heart is the innermost vital part, or essence of something.

Building on this understanding, the heart of leadership takes on a completely different picture. Consider the growth of the early church. Leadership was the innermost vital part and the essence of its growth.

If we really want the church to grow today, maybe we need to pay attention to the heart of leadership. Perhaps leaders need to take a greater role in fulfilling the God-given task of being the innermost vital part and essence of the church.

When this happens, we will see a revival.

I Surrender All

Paul told Christians in Romans 12 to present their bodies a living and holy sacrifice.

The idea is based on an Old Testament reference to sacrifices. When God’s people brought their sacrifice, it was presented as an offering to the Lord, which meant they surrendered all rights of ownership and any plans for future use.

When leaders understand this concept their perspective changes concerning how they lead God’s people.

If we could grasp the significance of this one practice, the culture of the church would change and our influence in the world would be immeasurable.

May we all present ourselves to the Lord!

Letting God Down

Few people think about what happens when they let someone down.

Sadly, our desire to not let someone down leads us to try and please everyone. Even though we know it is impossible, we still try.

Have we ever considered how our decisions, words, or actions let God down? Spiritual leadership carries some of the greatest responsibility on earth and we never want to let those we lead down. Above all, we never want to let our God down.

If we focus on Him and pursue His will, we may let someone down, but our relationship with God remain secure.

Imagination

Children have a vivid imagination. They possess the ability to take a stick and a handful of rocks and become the greatest baseball player of all time.

As we age, however, our imaginations seem to lose that luster. We fail to allow our imaginations to take us to another level of thinking. We get blinded to how things have always been and often refuse to consider how things can be.

The worst part is that opportunities may only come once and if we do not use a little imagination and get outside the box, we may lose the opportunity God provides for growth beyond our imagination. Read Ephesians 3:20.

Dream Big

How often do we strive to achieve great things, but are unwilling to do what is necessary to make those dreams come true? I am uncertain who said it, but the thought is great, “You can’t have a Million Dollar DREAM with a minimum wage work ethic.”

We think too small. Before we make excuses, shackle ourselves with our inabilities, or blame someone or something else for our small thinking, we need to remember the God we serve.

God planned to give Israel the land, but it did not eliminate the need for them to fight the battles. It will not be any different today. So, Dream Big!

Execution

As we begin 2022, execution cannot be overstated. All the resolutions in the world are merely words without execution. Goals and plans are simply ideas on a piece of paper without execution. Regardless of how good your ideas may be, they are worthless without execution.

James Clear recently said it this way, ”If you’re not working hard, ideas don’t matter. The best idea is worthless without execution. If you’re already working hard, ideas are crucial. Most effort is wasted on mediocre ideas.”

Develop a team of strong idealists who are willing to work hard at reaching the goals and vision.

Preparing for the New Year

How do you close out one year and begin another? We like a fresh start, new opportunities, a renewed sense of hope that things will be better. Perhaps this is why New Year’s Resolutions are popular.

As you close out 2021 and start 2022 consider four possibilities.

1) Establish essential resolutions. These are resolutions that build confidence in our leadership.
2) Set daily reminders. Find a way to remind yourself of these resolutions every day.
3) Connect resolutions to others. Use a support system to encourage fulfilling each one.
4) Celebrate each victory. Find a way to celebrate the achievement with a reminder of more to come.

Failing as a Leader

No one gets excited about failure. One of the areas listed as most feared by people is a fear of failure. Henry Ford said, “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”

Our society is one that honors and thrives on success.

There are employers that rush employees into failure. They actually want people to fail because of the benefit for each person.

Through failure people learn what does not work, eliminating the need to try the same path.

Several have modified the idea that “success is not final, failure is not fatal.” As much as failure is unpleasant, if we learn from it, greater success will be part of the future.

Perseverance

A common phrase to encourage perseverance is “hold on.” Holding on a few more minutes can make the difference in securing hope, gaining a measure of strength, finding the answer, or reaching the goal.

When we consider giving up, the question becomes, “hold on to what?” Success seems elusive and passion has dwindled to little more than an ember. What can we hold on to?

Reflect on the past.
The past holds a key to how we move forward.
Remember we are not alone. Avoid the Elijah syndrome. God is there.
Realize faith in the vision. Without vision, there is no direction.

Harmonizing Leadership

From a spiritual perspective, few areas carry greater weight than the ability to work with different people in different situations and pull everything together into a relationship of harmony and effective work.

An obvious challenge to this way of thinking is the stubborn, obstinate, self-driven, self-serving, or arrogant attitudes that are often displayed by those who find their place in trying to destroy good ideas or plans.

Regardless, working with people is going to surface the good and bad in others. Therefore, a leader’s responsibility involves finding ways to work with these individuals and situations in ways to reach the ultimate good of the whole.