Tag: SIBI

A Spiritual Leader

Paul’s words to the church at Corinth identify a spiritual leader, “Who is led into sin without my intense concern.”

Spiritual leaders are focused on others, it is an outward position of seeking the best for others, above self. No one knew or demonstrated this better than Jesus. From giving up the glory He had with the Father to giving up His life on the cross, Jesus was concerned about sin: yours and mine.

Consider the impact on people around us when we demonstrate concern for the sinful activity that permeates our world.

The task is not easy, but one that makes a lasting and eternal difference.

Fighting Fear

Zig Ziglar once said, “F-E-A-R has two meanings: ‘Forget Everything And Run’ or ‘Face Everything And Rise.’ The choice is yours.”

How do we channel fear in ways that harness its power to move us to rise instead of run?

1. Recognize what we fear. Are we afraid of failure or success, rejection or acceptance?
2. Have the right expectations. Expectations can create a fear of falling short or being overwhelmed.
3. Seek healthy communication. Talk with someone who can help guide us in overcoming it.
4. Remember God is our ally. Knowing who God is and that He fights for us, minimizes fear.

Indifference and Lethargy

We live in a world too often characterized by indifference and lethargy.

Leaders must find ways to prevent and overcome these characteristics in the church.

What does this really mean? It means we must…

1) Increase the desire of God’s people to be together.
2) Fan the flame of enthusiasm for sharing the gospel.
3) Energize the creativity of brothers and sisters in Christ.
5) Strengthen the hands of God’s faithful.
6) Lift up the hearts that are weak and struggling.

When leaders see the opportunity and do something about it, preparing to make the needed improvements, persevering through the challenges, we overcome indifference and lethargy.

Creative Leadership

Creativity can be frightening. Creativity brings change, and change makes us uncomfortable.

We often associate change with a departure from Scripture. Is it possible for leaders to encourage creativity without the fear of this kind of change? Yes.

Create a “safe” environment. People need to know it is okay to discuss and even disagree where there is no violation of Scripture.

Equip people with the right tools. It is difficult for people to creatively develop ideas if they are ill equipped.

Give heed to personal advice. If we want to encourage creativity, then be careful about promoting your own ideas.

Creativity makes a difference. Encourage it!

Humble Leaders

Leadership begins with humility, an emptying process of self. The idea is an emptiness that forces us to look up to the one who can fill us with purpose, direction, and fulfillment.

When the quality of humility is seen by others, there is a genuineness that exists in the character of the individual that draws others to follow and emulate.

Recognizing who we are (and perhaps who we are not) and the need for complete dependency on God is a beginning point.

Once we stop trying to do it on our own and trust God’s sovereign control, we are starting to understand humility.

Project Leadership

As a noun, a project is an individual or collaborative enterprise carefully planned and designed to achieve a particular aim.

As a verb, it is described as estimating or forecasting something on the basis of present trends, the force of moving something forward or outward.

As an enterprise that must be carefully planned and designed, leaders need to give serious thought to the project if they hope to achieve the aim.

As an activity, leaders must be the force that influences others in a way that moves them forward and outward.

Leaders who provide this kind of influence will always provide an example worth following.

The Future of Leadership

We all experience the uncertainty of the future. A crystal ball might be helpful, but maybe not. I love Nancy Duarte’s thought, “The future is not a place we get to go, it’s a place we get to create.”

The idea changes everything about how we view the future.

Imagine our approach to leadership when we create a future that others are excited to share in and participate.

Together we can build momentum that strengthens growth and development. Regarding the church, we can paint a picture of the future that others desire to share. Now that is a place worth creating.

A Loyal Leader

Loyalty is a vital characteristic in leadership. Leaders must be loyal to those they influence. How can leaders build the kind of loyalty needed to lead?

Demonstrate trust: The trust we have in God must be exemplified in our service. We must also learn to trust in others.

Develop consistency and integrity:
The decisions we make in leadership must be made with a consistent standard of integrity.

Dedicate the heart: Dedication involves the highest level of commitment. We must be dedicated to God, others, and reaching the goal.

These are three of many steps, but if we use them we can build a solid foundation for loyalty.

Rating Our Leadership

We enjoy the idea of rating performance, looks, ability, etc. and, generally, we use a scale from 1 to 10. How would we rate our leadership?

While consistent standards are helpful, we need to realize a couple of factors.

1) People will rate our leadership (whether we like it or not).
2) Our rating is based on ability, decisions, relationships, and previous success.
3) We will give an account to God for our leadership.
4) The final measuring device will be God’s word.

Changing our rating is up to us. When we use God’s word, on a scale of 1 to 10, how will our leadership measure up?

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.