All posts tagged: leadership

When people abandon you, and others blame you: 7 Things to consider

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When people abandon you, and others blame you for what went wrong – what should be your attitude? 7 Things I am learning about that: 1. Take responsibility. No matter how out of your control the situation was, it happened on your watch. And as a leader, everyone involved should feel like you genuinely take responsibility. 2. Commit your feelings to the Lord. In any event, He is bigger than your feelings. When the criticisms, judgments, and abandonment become real and you feel rotten, commit your feelings to Him. 3. Seek wisdom from trusted friends and leaders. See it as a teachable moment. 4. Keep your heart from becoming resentful and bitter by inviting God into the situation. 5. Often times when we are misunderstood we want to make everyone aware of our righteousness. Don’t seek to justify yourself or your actions. Let your heart settle in the fact that God saw how much you invested and how much you still care. 6. Care enough to pray – not for God to straighten them out …

Destiny

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There is a buzzword in the church today. DESTINY! Everybody’s talking about it and running after it. It is interesting, however what exactly people mean when they talk about destiny. In many cases, it’s about personal success. There is nothing wrong with that! But destiny runs deeper than that. Destiny is not about success status self aggrandizement . It’s is about servanthood. Joseph was a young man who at the age of 16 misunderstood a revelation given to him by God. In his immaturity he developed an air of self importance that drove his brothers to despise him. His interpretation of a God given destiny or dream was all about him, and he paid dearly for it. But after a series of life lessons, Joseph began to understand that though one day he would be elevated to become Prince of Egypt, God was not interested in his status, but his servanthood. God was not interested in his prosperity, but the preservation of his family. God was not interested in his destiny, but the destiny and …

The Black Dot!

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“One day our headmaster walked into the classroom and put up a broad white sheet of paper with a small black dot in the corner. ‘Boys,’ he asked, ‘what do you see?’ All of us shouted in unison, ‘A black dot!’ Then he said, ‘So not a single one of you saw the broad white sheet of paper? Don’t go through life with that attitude.’.”

A Black Dot!

I don’t know much about Koffi Annan the former UN Sacretary General, but from what I gathered, he was gifted at seeing the big picture, especially when it came tonegotiating and solving complex problems around the world.

A Leader’s Conviction

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Almost every Sunday morning before I open the doors of our congregation, I say to myself, “These doors will always be opened, even for a thousand generation, until our Lord returns.” Every time we receive an offering, sign a check to pay our church bills, I say to myself – “God will always meet our needs as a church.” Sometimes I audibly say these words in front of the entire church, “our church has been around for more than 15o years. God has been faithful and He is not about ready to abandon us. I am completely persuaded that He who began a good work in us, will be faithful till the end. Souls will be saved New believers will be baptized They will be discipled They will grow and develop into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ And they will go out and multiply I am completely persuaded! I refuse to allow doubt, fear, uncertainty, and anxiety to intimidate me.” You know what? I am not backing down from those convictions. Doors are going to get closed …

Culture is not Expensive to Create

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"Culture is not expensive to create, but costly if not done intentionally" @johnerikthinks thanks for the 1% change idea. Very encouraging. — Walter Bright (@WaltBright) September 10, 2014 I spoke this morning at a Youth With A Mission Base in Northern California to a small group of hungry, looking for revival, kingdom builders. I shared a bit about myself, my mission and my church. It was a very cold morning, but together, we enjoyed what we felt was a unique opportunity to partner with local churches to see a new move of God in their communities. Various people from that group spoke up to confirm what we were feeling through unique and timely testimonies of what the Lord was saying to them, and showing them. The conversation actually brought into a clear understanding of how we should strategically pray. At the end of our time together, a young woman from Jamaica walked over to me and asked a very simple, yet poignant question: “What’s the culture of prayer in your church?” I took a few minutes …

Platform Generation

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We live in a day and age where numbers really matter. The number of followers and friends you have on social media matter. It matters so much that people buy followers to make themselves look influential. Studies show that people spend up to 9 hours a day trying to boast their status in the blogger sphere and on social media. This phenomenon is so strong that even the number of members in any organization can change the status of both the organization and its leadership – positively or negatively. Positively they are able to leverage their influence to change the world. Negatively they become self-absorbed, narcissistic and needy for the praise of men. Sadly, when it comes to numbers, a lot of people think you need a huge following to change the world. I disagree! For example: If your church is small, it doesn’t mean you need to fold your hands and be mediocre. It doesn’t mean you remain silent. I pray that your church grows; I pray that you find what it takes to bring in …

7 Things To Do With Your Plans

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A few weeks ago I came under fire from one of my critics for telling him that I had planned several months ahead of what I felt the Lord was leading me to share with our congregation. This individual took my words and twisted them, and began to spread in the community that I had no place for the leadership of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of the Word of God in our Church. If you’ve read “My Beautiful Tension,” you can see how ridiculous it is for any pastor to plan sermons without the help of the Holy Spirit or even do ministry for that matter. Even though I have addressed the subject here, I feel the need to talk about it again. There is school of thought in certain circles about the subject of planning that I believe is out of sync with scripture. A lot of well meaning people believe that planning is of the devil. I am not one of those. I do not believe planning is of the devil. …

7 Reminders to take your christan life, ministry and leadership to the next level

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As we read the books of Timothy, it is clear that Paul is writing to a young man, living in big city and ministering to a mega church. He, (Timothy) is not only overwhelmed by the enormity of the task of ministry and leadership, but is also caught in the crossfire of life. He is too sickly, timid and isolated. Paul himself, writing out of a Roman dungeon, drops 7 words – 7 reminders to help lift Timothy out of his dungeon of despair, rekindle the fire in him and take his Christian life, ministry and leadership to the next level. A preacher must often repeat an exhortation, because we dwell in a land of forgetfulness. (Cramer.) — Walter Bright (@WaltBright) November 5, 2014 Teacher It is not how well we preach or teach… It’s how well we live especially in tough times. “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”  2 Timothy 2:2. Timothy is reminded of his calling …

A great Leader encourages and empowers others

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“A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting. A boss is interested in himself or herself, a leader is interested in the group.” — Russell H. Ewing “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” — Marianne Williamson “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” — Bill Gate “Coaching isn’t an addition to a leader’s job, it’s an integral part of it.” — George S. Odiorne “I have yet to find the man, however, exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.” — Charles M. Schwab “If you are going to help people reach their potential, they need to be recognized and rewarded. Everyone needs that.” — Jacqueline Norcel “If you wish a general to be …

10 Mistakes Leaders Must Avoid At All Cost

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If you are a pastor, a husband, a business executive, a small group leader or a project manager – you are a leader. Whatever your title is – if you lead, it is imperative that you lead in the right spirit. We are all affected, one way or the other, by the culture we live in. And to make matters worse, we all have a fallen nature that affects our different leadership styles. But no matter what our culture dictates or what our fallen nature tries to impose on our leadership style, there is always a better way to lead. That way is the way is in Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit and through the wisdom that comes from His word. Here is a list of pitfalls to avoid at all cost as a leader. They don’t only hinder your ability to lead well, they hinder your team, family or organization from functioning or performing at the highest levels. Jealous Spirit 1 Samuel 18:8-9 ESV And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased …