Tag: Truth

Principles for Leadership…

Principles indicate a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning. Think about it as a rule that governs our personal behavior.

As leaders, we need to ask the following.

1) Why have principles to govern behavior?

2) What governs our personal behavior?

3) Are they based on humanistic or biblical foundations?

4) Will others see consistency between our principles and behavior?

When leaders consider the answers to these questions regarding principles and behavior, the steps to harmonize them will develop leadership worth following.

Leading with Confidence…

David wrote, “The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?” And Paul asked, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” 

When we understand this truth it changes the direction of our leadership.

Leaders need the type of confidence that is built upon a relationship with God. David and Paul understood there was no need to fear anyone or anything. 

Leaders should always know and be aware of their greatest Ally––God. 

When this relationship exists there is no need to fear, because God is with us and He is for us.

A Tenacious Leader…

One who stands firmly and possesses the quality of determination is tenacious. When leaders have tenacity in relationship to the truth, spiritual development will result.

Think for a moment about the nature and application.

When talking about how to face challenges, work through personal problems, establish direction, develop plans, achieve goals, and guide through tough decisions, leaders must exemplify tenacity.

The persistent character of tenacity to pursue a solution until it is successful takes time. Leaders who possess tenacity lead with perseverance and lay a foundation for success.

Developing this powerful quality is worth our effort when leading others.

Voices…

A recent article by Patrick Leddin identified how smart leaders listen to three voices: the voice of truth, the voice of encouragement, and the voice of challenge.

A couple of highlights deserve our attention.

The voice of truth represents an environment created by a leader that allows others to voice truth openly and honestly.

The voice of encouragement provides a proper perspective when life seems out of control. Without negating the seriousness of the situation, they encourage.

The voice of challenge appears when an environment welcomes differences. If everyone agrees, the right people may not be on the team.

Take time to read the article and consider what voices we listen to as leaders.

Truth and Unity…

People commonly believe we can “agree to disagree” and still have unity.

Absolute truth is denied and whatever is true to you may not be for me.

From the standpoint of opinions, there is no problem being united in the midst of disagreement. However, unity at the cost of compromising God’s word is a problem.

Doctrine trumps opinion, and if we disagree, either one of us is right and the other wrong, or we are both wrong. We cannot both be right and disagree on the healthy teaching of the faith.

Leaders must be diligent to stand firm on truth, proclaim it boldly, and follow it explicitly. Then we can be united as God designed for the church.

At the Core of Leadership…

Our culture has developed a great ability to act one way, yet at the core they are something else.

We refer to this as hypocrisy. While true, we also need to understand it has become accepted and normal.

We must guard against such when we look at spiritual leadership. How many times in the past has the core of a religious leader been exposed in sinful activity?

Godly leaders need to be characterized by a core that walks with integrity, works righteousness, and speaks truth in the heart (Ps. 15:2).

Here is where we begin to develop the opportunity for our greatest influence.

Trusting Leadership…

You may or may not remember the television show To Tell The Truth. Two of the three participants involved would lie about events and people in their lives in an effort to fool a panel of people questioning them.

Leadership must be different.

People only follow leaders they trust. As leaders, our character should stand on its own. We should always be a people of our word and of the Word. Jesus said, “Let your yes be yes, and your no, no.” 

There should never be a question as to our identity, and our character must exemplify the Christlike leadership we read about in the Bible.