08.19.09
Spiritual Leadership
I took the challenge of reading a Leadership book. The book I chose to read was Spiritual Leadership by J Oswald Sanders. This book is very helpful for anyone who is interested in leading. It gave practical insights on the leadership principles of Moses, Nehemiah, Paul, and others in Scripture. It can be used as a Small Group Study for your staff or volunteer teams. One of the things that I really enjoyed was the Rules for Life given by Archbishop Benson:
- Eagerly start the days’ main work
- Do not murmur at your busyness or the shortness of time, but buy up the time around you
- Never murmur when correspondence is brought in
- Never exaggerate duties by seeming to suffer under the load, but treat all responsibilities as liberty and gladness
- Never call attention to crowded work or trivial experiences
- Before confrontation or censure, obtain from God a real love for the one fault. Know the facts; be generous in your judgment. Otherwise. How ineffective, how unintelligible or perhaps provocative your well-intentioned censure may be
- Do not believe everything you hear; do not spread gossip
- Do not seek praise, gratitude, respect or regard for past service
- Avoid complaining when your advice or opinion is not consulted, or having been consulted, set aside
- Never allow yourself to be placed in favorable contrast with anyone
- Do not press conversation to your own needs and concerns
- Seek no favors, nor sympathies; do not ask for tenderness, but receive what comes
- Bear the blame; do not share or transfer it
- Give thanks when credit for your work or ideas is given to another
Another statement I resonated with was by Archbishop Mowll,
“The frontiers of the kingdom of God were never advanced by men and women of caution.”
Great book and I would definitely recommend it to others! What is a Leadership book that you have read that you would recommend to other leaders?
08.18.09
Essential Element of Leadership
Every once in a while, you just have to get away! Right? About three weeks ago, I could tell I was running on fumes! Central had an AWESOME summer: over 800 new people were connected in Small Groups, launched a Summer Starting Point, our team led on-campus connection groups, and just tried to keep up with what all God was doing! It was AMAZING! But about three weeks ago, in the midst of all of this excitement, watching God do what only God can do…I hit a wall! I hit it hard! Do you know what I mean? I had allowed the busyness of ministry to neglect one of the main essential elements of leadership: PRAYER! For the past two weeks, I was able to get away! No emails, no phone calls, no deadlines, no emergencies…God just allowed me time to just unplug and be refreshed.
During the break, I sat down with my Bible and came across some very familiar verses:
Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sickness. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16)
Wow! What a verse for me to read! God reminded me of what was missing and why in the midst of all of this excitement, I forgot to pray! What a simple thing to forget, but oh, how paralyzing it can be. As Jesus’ ministry exploded around him, he found time to talk with God! The phrasing of Luke 5:16 implies that getting away was a habit in his life. A successful ministry does not exempt any of us from prayer.
In Deeping Your Conversation with God, Ben Patterson writes about a missionary named Mary Slessor who worked in West Africa during the nineteenth century. Patterson states, ”her work among the orphans was nothing short of remarkable.” But Slessor points out that it was not her work that was most important, rather it was something else that gave her success. She writes,
Prayer is the greatest power God has put into our hands for service. Prayer is harder than doing work.
As a leader, if I do not set aside specific times to pray; then I will fail as a leader. It may not seem like it on the outside but on the inside I will find myself missing one of the most important essentials for my spiritual walk: Prayer. The old saying goes, “If I fail to plan; then I plan to fail.” During some amazing times of ministry, Jesus modeled for us the essential to maintaining our spiritual health.
So here is a question for you as a leader, how do you spend time in prayer? Do you have a specific place you go or is it part of your daily schedule? Also, is there something that I can pray for you or your ministry?
08.14.09
A Complaint Free Life
Could you ever imagine that…a complaint-free life? Over the last couple of months, I have noticed myself slowly falling into a pattern of being a complainer. The times are tough, the economy sucks, ministry is tough, it is WAY too Hot! (It really is way too hot! LOL!) But in the midst of all this complaining, God has been doing some amazing things in my life. I have just missed them because of all my complaining. Isn’t it true that you will become what you focus on?
Over my vacation break, I came across a book entitled A Complaint Free World written by Will Bowen, a pastor in Missouri. In writing the book, Bowen was attempting to stop griping, moaning, and whining in our little corner of the world. Wow! What a concept! A little convicting to me though! Bowen’s writes that
When we complain, we are using our words to focus on things that are not as we would like. Our thoughts create our lives, and our words indicate what we are thinking. It is vital that we control our minds in order to re-create our lives.
Reminds me of one of my favorite verses:
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Phil. 4:8
So here is how it works… You wear this bracelet on your wrist. Every time you complain, you have to move the bracelet from one wrist to the other. This gives you a visual reminder of your complaining and helps you turn your complaints to thoughts that are good. The goal is to go 21 consecutive days without complaining. Sound impossible?
Can you imagine what your life, your workplace, your ministry, your team, your family would be like if we did alot less complaining in our little corner of the world? Take the challenge with me and let’s see what happens! You can find out more information at acomplaintfreeworld.org This would also be a great idea for small group ministry!
Let me know your thoughts!
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