Tag: Scripture

Ability, Motivation, Attitude

Lou Holtz once expressed, “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”

Scripture indicates we all have abilities. God intends for us to grow His church by utilizing our abilities.

What motivates us when we examine the leadership situation today? Are we comfortable with leadership left to someone else?

The choice of attitude is critical. When our attitude is misguided, motivation suffers.

It is time to step up. If not, the future of the church may rest in the hands of those who are incapable, unmotivated, and misguided. Where will that leave the church?

Prayer

We communicate with God through prayer. Our approach to God is significant when thinking about prayer. Consider the apostles who desired to learn how to pray (Lk. 11:1).

We need reverence when approaching God’s throne to speak. Without a doubt, He is to be revered and lifted up by our hearts through the words expressed from our lips.

However, this is not the only approach found in scripture, and the model prayer was not intended to be a formula used in every prayer.

Prayer signifies a relationship and leaders need to understand more fully the relationship represented through prayer.

The Promise of Leadership

I once heard someone say, “Never make a promise you do not intend to keep.” This is true in every area of life, especially leadership.

The word promise is used throughout scripture. Peter referred to the benefits of obeying the gospel as a “promise for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Because of God’s promise, our spiritual leadership has purpose. We are leading souls to Christ to receive a promise made by God, an eternal promise worth giving and living our life to receive.

Finding Our Strength (Part 1)

When the depths of discouragement engulf us, we seek the strength to endure and make the right decisions.

The answer is not always about knowing what scripture says, because simply knowing scripture does not help when the heart is in a dark place.

Likewise, it is not always about surrounding ourselves with friends because friends provide little comfort when our desire is to be alone.

Where does the strength come from when we face difficult times? How can we pull everything together to move forward?

Please read tomorrow’s post as I will discuss two possibilities.

Fear and the Leader

Fear of the unknown can be challenging.

The task for spiritual leaders is to remove the unknowns for others. When considering death, there is a fear related to the
process of dying and what happens at death, the unknown.

Scripture teaches us the body will return to the dust, but the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the fear of death has been removed. The unknown has now been made known.

We can provide no greater confidence to others than sharing this hope. Because He lives, all fear is gone.

Redirecting Our Focus…

We are all molded by the events of the past, whether teaching, experience, or influence. Each of these take on both a positive and negative trait.

Paul’s family heritage, academic credentials, knowledge of scripture, and zealous attack against the church left a mark he did not forget from his past.

However, he did not allow the past to dictate the direction of his future. Paul had a new spiritual focus.

Leaders must learn from the past in order to prevent repeating areas that hinder our Christian influence.

The challenges of yesterday are past. We need to redirect our attention toward a spiritual future.

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.

Goodness…

Goodness is a fruit to be cultivated in the midst of a self-help culture. Three thoughts introduce the idea of goodness.

One, the consistent testimony in scripture that God alone is unequivocally good.

Two, if sin makes us incapable of goodness apart from God, as those created in His image, we possess the potential for goodness.

Three, knowing what counts for good can only be determined under the guidance of God’s Spirit.

We cultivate goodness by naming our sin, attending to God’s word, and imitation.

When leaders are characterized by goodness, self-awareness, upward attention, and outward activity cultivate this fruit.

Joy…

Joy exceeds simple pleasure. Kenneson claims joy is the byproduct of our desire for something more outward.

The other-directedness nature of joy shows why it is so closely connected to love. If love be related to God’s grace, the gift exemplifies a significance between these two Greek words: charis (grace) and chara (joy).

Scripture connects suffering with joy, and “living joyfully despite persecution and affliction does not require one to deny the reality of suffering or pain” (63).

We cultivate joy when we rejoice in the opportunity to worship God, nurture contentment, and learn to enjoy children.

This is only the beginning.

Pleasing Everyone…

An effort to please everyone is doomed to fail. Marco Rubio said, “We live in a society obsessed with public opinion. But leadership has never been about popularity.”

Sadly, the adage about the “squeaky wheel” is true. Those who complain the most and loudest tend to get action.

The church needs leaders who… 1) examine scripture to ensure decisions are biblical, 2) do not follow the flow of modern popularity, 3) never rush a decision, but do not hesitate between two opinions either, 4) make the decision, 5) remember, not every decision will please everyone.

The responsibility of decisive leadership is crucial to the future.