All posts tagged: leadership

Three Key Reasons Teams Succeed

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“That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord! (‭Judges‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬ ESV) 1. Team Leaders take the lead The first reason teams succeed is leaders take the lead. They are not passively waiting for permission to lead. They are enthusiastic and ready to lead. They are not unassuming lacking in zeal. They are looking for opportunities to do great things. 2. Team Members offer themselves willingly The second reason teams succeed is people willingly follow. Teams are not necessarily successful because of leaders. They succeed because people are willing to follow and get the job done. Unfortunately, people do not always follow even when the leaders take the lead. They are some times critical of leaders. They let jealousy and selfish ambition get in the way of success. That’s why this third key is vital to the overall success of the team 3. God Saves the Day We must never leave God out of the equation when it comes to achieving success as a team. Psalm 127:1 …

The Power of Honor

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God has called us to become vessels of honor. The Bible calls us to honor God in everything we do. The Bible says, if we honor God he will honor us. But if we dishonor Him, he will lightly esteem us. I have seen too many Christians buy into the culture of dishonor as displayed on Fox News, MSNBC and other news outlets and blogs toward elected officials. We find this same culture of dishonor in relationships – be it between husband and wife or parents and children. Spiritual authorities are not exempt either from this problem. When it comes to spiritual authorities, I have observed two extremes in the ways church folks relate to them. 1. Church leaders are either put on pedestals – or 2. They are very lightly esteemed As a result, we receive incredibly more value from those we highly esteem,  but no value at all from those we lightly esteem. We receive lots of blessings from those we honor but receive very fewer blessings from those we dishonor. Is it possible for God to …

This One Thing

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Men may be divided into two classes—those who have a ‘one thing’ and those who have no ‘one thing’ to do; those with aim, and those without aim in their lives… The aim in life is what the backbone is to the body: without it we are invertebrate.” How frightening it would be to be “invertebrate”—to be spineless, weak, and weak-willed—especially in the Christian life! But thanks be to God for these cherished-yet-instructive verses about the process whereby you and I may know and accomplish our “one thing”—attaining the great prize of the Christian race. (Elizabeth George, experiencing God’s peace. p. 95). Source. Jesus had a one thing “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. (John 12:27 ESV) Paul had a one thing “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize …

There is still hope for the Averaged

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My aim in this post is not to encourage you to settle for average. I believe we should all be a little curious and adventurous. We should have a very healthy dose of ambition, a competitive spirit and the desire to perfect the gifts and talents we’ve all been given. However, we ought to “not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” In other words Not many of us our going to run like Usain Bolt – the fastest person ever. Not many of us will agree to downsize our fighting men like Gideon did and still defeat mighty armies with a small military force. Not many of us will be the next King Solomon, the wisest man. Not many of us are going to become billionaires like the likes of Buffet, Gates and Zuckerberg. The fact is, not many of us will be as successful and discerning as others are. So, if you fall …

My Ongoing 2015 Leadership Makeover

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It’s not about me What if we were less consumed with building our own platform, kingdom, status, image? what if we were more driven to serve God for his glory? What if we saw it like JTB did – “I’m Just a Voice?” So many times I overemphasize my ministry. It’s almost as if I’m seeking to build for myself a kingdom. Unfortunately, this kind of attitude holds us back from doing exceptionally great things for God. We get distracted by status, name recognition and earthly successes We fail to see the big picture and finish strong. But I’m learning that it’s not about “my ministry” “my call” “my platform.” I’m just a voice. A great leader understands that it is not about him. I don’t have it all together  What would it feel like to step off the pedestal and break down walls of invulnerability? As a pastor, I sometimes feel tempted to project a certain image of myself. . The need to sound powerful and act like an anointed charismatic preacher is real. A stroke of …

Some Days You eat the bear – Other Days the bear eats you

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A few years ago, Billy Collins wrote a masterpiece called “Some Days.” Some Days you eat the bear and other days the bear eats you is Collin’s poetic explanation of the piece. In it he asks the question: “How would you like it if you never knew from one day to the next if you were going to spend it striding around like a vivid god, your shoulders in the clouds, or sitting down there amidst the wallpaper, staring straight ahead with your little plastic face?” In essence, what he is saying is, Some Days you are at the top of your game – other days you are not. Some Days, as a writer, speaker, singer, preacher, parent, a Christian, leader, professional, athlete – you are on top of the world, but other days you are dull, uninspired, bored, creatively challenged, down, depressed – at a wall. How do you deal with this kind of emotional roller coaster? How do you manage to stay focus, and keep a sound mind when you are feeling dry, less inspired than …

Call & response: A Spiritual Dialogue

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A call to Hear Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! This a call for the elderly and for the young – every man, woman, boy, and girl. He doesn’t want any to be left out. He is calling Hindus, Buddhist, and Muslims. He is calling the entire world to hear what He has to say through His Son Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:1 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” If you hear His voice don’t harden your heart! A call to Awake Awake, you drunkards, A spiritual slumber has swept over the nations. The eyes of many Christians are heavy. Jesus is calling the church to come alive. He wants to bring revival. He wants to raise up those dry bones and breathe life into them so that they can live again.  Ephesians 5:14 says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Are you asleep? Could you not …

Patience is more about long-term endurance than it is about short- term

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I finished reading Mohler’s “Conviction to lead” yesterday. It is a great read jam packed with lots of substance. I immensely enjoyed the chapter on the “passion to lead”, and “the leader understands worldview.” But I was more impressed with chapter 23 – Leadership that Endures. The following paragraphs are from chapter 23. The title above each paragraph is not in the book. Here are three things I want you to consider over this weekend: Consider Patience Patience is a virtue that is highly honored by Christians.The Bible reveals patience to be one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul prayed that the church would be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Colossians 1:11). Evidently, patience and endurance and joy belong together. Paul also told Timothy to preach “with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). Consider long-term not short-term. We often think of patience as a short-term issue. We are impatient in a checkout line, impatient in traffic, and horribly impatient …

Integrity is not a Cantaloupe, it’s a Grapefruit?

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Integrity – what is it? Some times we say things like, integrity is being truthful, holy, pure, obedient to God, trustworthy, who you are and who you are supposed to be when no on is looking. But the word Integrity is from the latin “integer” and it means “unity.” What that means is, a person of integrity does not live a divided life. There is no difference between who you are Monday through Friday and what you are on Sunday. There is no difference between who you are on the job and who you are at home. Integrity must invade every part of your life. In most of the circles today, I often hear a lot of people say, “you either have integrity or you don’t.” How true is that assessment? Could that statement be misleading? Is there a better way to explain integrity? According to Fred Smith, the author of Leading with Integrity, integrity can be compared to a Cantaloupe and a grapefruit. You can have it in one area of your life, but it …

Choosing to Live life on purpose

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One of the reasons why I decided to start a blog and actually give it the title “where are you… Where are you going?”, can actually be summarized in a very few words. I want my life to really count. And if I can inspire somebody to think the way I do, and do the things I do to make my life count, than at least in this small portion of my life I have succeeded big time. At the end if my life, I want my wife and kids, my friends and loved ones to say that I was the husband, the father and the man that I was created to be. That I lived my life exceptionally well and left this earth with no regrets. I want to leave a legacy that generations after me will not easily forget. I want to go out with a deep satisfaction that I did my best to serve God and my family. I want to leave this place knowing that I was able to discover God’s …