Leadership

Winston Churchill said, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.” That may be a common response to truth, but it places those who respond thusly on the road to tragedy and destruction. There is no way to love and follow God without loving and following truth. The two cannot be separated.

I once read the story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application that asked, “Are you a leader?” Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, “No,” and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: “Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower.”

Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two steamboats. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail’s pace of the other. Challenges were made and the race began.

A little boy said to his mother, “Can I go outside and help Daddy put snow chains on the car? I know all the words.”

Always remember that those who come behind you are copying you.

Source: Unknown

The boss drives his men; the leader coaches them.
The boss depends upon authority; the leader on good will.
The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
The boss says “I;” the leader, “We.”
The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
The boss says “Go;” the leader says “Let’s go!”—H. Gordon Selfridge

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

Dwight Morrow, the father of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, once held a dinner party to which Calvin Coolidge had been invited. After Coolidge left, Morrow told the remaining guests that Coolidge would make a good president. The others disagreed. They felt Coolidge was too quiet, that he lacked color and personality. No one would like him, they said. Anne, then age six, spoke up: “I like him.” Then she displayed a finger with a small bandage around it. “He was the only one at the party who asked about my sore finger.”

“And that’s why he would make a good president,” added Morrow.

Matthew says a leader must serve, and 1 Timothy says that a leader must rule.

Matthew says that a leader must be confident, but James tells us that a leader must be humble.

Mark teaches us that a leader must be a man of action, but Luke teaches us that a leader must be a man of prayer.

Luke says a leader must have a strategy, and James says a leader must submit to God’s will.

Source: Unknown

“You would think that because Joshua was a man of God, had successfully led the children of Israel against the Canaanites, and had been victorious, that the Israelites would tell him that he could pick out any spot he wanted in which to settle. But that is not what happened. The Israelites did not offer him the choice spots in which to settle. Joshua made his own choice. It was a place called Timnathserah. It was about eleven miles from Shiloh. It was a barren place, and one of the worst spots Joshua could have chosen.

These were the rules that Sam Walton developed for Walmart.

1. Commit: Believe in it more than anybody else.

2. Share the blessings.

3. Motivate your partners. Constantly, day by day, think of new and more interesting ways to motivate and challenge your partners.

4. Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners.

5. Appreciate everything your associates do for the business.

6. Celebrate your success. Find some humor in your failures.

Herman Edwards is the colorful and witty coach who was with the Kansas City Chiefs. When it came to his thoughts on teamwork he said, “The players that play on this football team will play for the name on the side of the helmet and not the name on the back of the jersey.”

Source: Houston Chronicle, 1/6/2010

“Titles really don’t matter. Freedom comes when we let them go, even if it means we have to eat a bit of humble pie.”—Dan Brokke

“When we lay down our lives in humility and forgiveness for someone else, we are following Jesus’ lead.”—Dan Brokke

“Coming together is a beginning; staying together is progress; working together is success.”—Henry Ford

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”—M. A. Radmacher