All posts tagged: leadership

3 Things my children will never do

Published by

I’m the youngest son of two very loving and generous parents, brother to six beautiful ladies and four handsome guys. I’m the youngest man in this soccer team of 11, but I have two younger sisters. My mother made all the boys in the family take turns, with the girls, preparing dinner for the entire family during the week. Where I’m from, it is considered a thing only women do. But not in my mother’s house. Everything the girls did we did: we cooked, we wash dishes, we did laundry. Growing up, it was important to talk to my parents and older siblings in a way that was polite and respectful. So, Mama and Papa was acceptable, nothing else. I called Marcus – “Boy Marcus” – Florence – “Sister Florence” anything else was not necessarily disrespectful, but a little impolite. Older people, outside our home were politely called – Mr. or Mrs – uncle or aunt – sir or madam, never by their first name. Now, you may argue – “different strokes for different folks” and I’m totally cool with that, but in my home there are three things …

7 Questions for those who do not like their leaders

Published by

And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord… Nehemiah 3:5 During the time of Nehemiah, the Persian Empire had reached its greatest extent, engulfing nearly the entire Near East. In 539 b.c. the Persians under Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonians and absorbed the lands of Israel and Judah (known as Beyond the River) into his empire. The next year he allowed the people of Judah (now called Jews) to return home and rebuild the temple of the Lord. Several waves of returning Jews continued to resettle in Judea, and Nehemiah was granted permission to rebuild Jerusalem’s ruined walls around 445 b.c. Little by little, God began renewing his people in the land, to carry out what he promised to Abraham. God in his mercy raised up Ezra the priest and teacher, and Nehemiah the governor, to lead his people in the hard work that this renewal requires.  Nehemiah will encounter some serious opposition to the work, but before the rebuilding of the city wall became a full-fledged conflict …

3 Things to remember in times of crisis

Published by

Sometimes it is very easy to forget how near God is to us in times of crisis. When we get blindsided by a crisis, we sometimes think that we will be completely crushed by our enemies and God is just going to sit back and watch. That fear alone can completely paralyze trust, hope and faith. In those times it becomes especially important to remind ourselves that our God is faithful and has promised to be there for us in our times of need. I would like to use Isaiah 33 as an example to show us what God does in times of crisis. Assyria, Israel’s enemy had come against them with apparent impunity. But God will visit his people with his saving presence. I believe He will do the same for you in your time of crisis. Here are a few things to remember: The Lord defends his people You spoke in thunder and everyone ran. You showed up and nations scattered. Your people, for a change, got in on the loot, Picking the field clean of the enemy spoils. God …

Will you be an April Fool for Christ?

Published by

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who …

Influence

Published by

Are you in a position of influence? How do you use it? How do you see it understand it? How does it stack up with authority and power? The following is a collection of thoughts that can shape your thinking on the subject: “He who has great power should use it lightly.” – Seneca “I strongly believe that the responsibility of leadership is to shape the debate—to practice and project the right attributes—whether in a business enterprise, in our society, and even in our religions.” — Farooq Kathwari “Ill can he rule the great that cannot reach the small.” — Edmund Spenser “In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people … they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.” — Ken Blanchard “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.” — Abraham Lincoln “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” — Kenneth Blanchard “There is no power on earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, simple, and useful life.” …

Are you willing to Risk being liked for being Extraordinary?

Published by

A few hours ago I wrote a post entitled 7 things self-absorbed super-spiritual pastors say in the pulpit. The post was about the Unfortunate behavior of some preachers who relentlessly use their teaching to cut and hurt people. My purpose was to argue that sometimes sensitivity,  tact and cleverness in the way we communicate pays off greatly as we seek to deliver a difficult to swallow kind of message, convey a rebuke, or bring correction to a person who really needs it. For me, sometime our so-called speaking truth to power can come across as vicious, rude and simply disrespectful. However, if not careful, balanced and in tune with the Holy Spirit, we can find ourselves slipping into that place where we are only concern about making people feel comfortable and doing everything not to get them offended. Unfortunately, some churches, preachers and writers have fallen into the trap of being politically correct because of fear that somebody is going to get offended. This is spiritually dangerous not only for the leader, the membership, but also the …

Teamwork

Published by

“Coming together is a beginning, and staying together is progress, but only when teams sweat together do they find success.” – John Maxwell “It is the very essence of good leadership to give away all credit for positive achievement, to identify only team goals and always to refer to them as such.” — Joe Klock “Remember the difference between a boss and a leader; a boss says ‘Go!’ … a leader says ‘Let’s go!’ — E.M. Kelly “Teams make you better than you are, multiply your value, enable you to do what you do best, allow you to help others do their best, give you more time, provide you with companionship, help you fulfill the desires of your heart and compound your vision and effort.” – John Maxwell “The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say ‘I’. And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say ‘I’. They don’t think ‘I’. They think ‘we’; they think ‘team’. They understand their job to be to make the team function. They …

15 Invaluable Laws to reaching your Potential

Published by

The Law of Intentionality: Growth Doesn’t Just Happen The Law of Awareness: You Must Know Yourself to Grow Yourself The Law of the Mirror: You Must See Value in Yourself to Add Value to Yourself The Law of Reflection: Learning to Pause Allows Growth to Catch Up with You The Law of Consistency: Motivation Gets You Going–Discipline Keeps You Growing The Law of Environment: Growth Thrives in Conducive Surroundings The Law of Design: To Maximize Growth, Develop Strategies The Law of Pain: Good Management of Bad Experiences Leads to Great Growth The Law of the Ladder: Character Growth Determines the Height of Your Personal Growth The Law of the Rubber Band: Growth Stops When You Lose the Tension Between Where You Are and Where You Could Be The Law of Trade-Offs: You Have to Give Up to Grow Up The Law of Curiosity: Growth Is Stimulated By Asking Why? The Law of Modeling: It’s Hard to Improve When You Have No One But Yourself to Follow This is my personal favorite. The Law of Expansion: …

The Bible is a book of Alignment

Published by

The Bible is a book of alignment – you either align or you malign. Titus 2:3-5 speak out the things that make for solid doctrine…so that no one will malign the Word of God Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone to malign God’s Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives. The idea behind this phrase – Things which are proper for sound doctrine – has to do with right living, not just right thinking. The Living Bible translates this “Speak up for the right living that goes along with true Christianity.” The New …