Leadership

Peter knelt in the water, intent on washing his nets. Unaware of the crowd of people thronging Jesus, he, along with James and John, continued the task of rinsing grime from the Galilean Sea off their empty nets. The night had been long and fruitless. They had not a single fish to show for their efforts.

Part of the joy of ministry is that of enjoying it with fellow laborers in the work. In the secular workplace, friendship with coworkers is often a corny topic. When your expected ambition at work is to support your family and perhaps also further your career, who cares if you enjoy time with your coworkers? But the work of the ministry isn’t the same as the work of factory.

Some of the most impressionable memories are those of personal encouragement. Most of us can easily remember timely words or actions of encouragement that took place even years ago.

The picture above sits on my desk in a frame, representing a fond memory to me. It was one of those times Terrie agreed to spend time with me in the outdoors for a few days of hunting.

If I had a nickel for every time I have to push past rarely-worn clothes in my closet…I wouldn’t have very many nickels. And that is by conviction. (That is, by a conviction about not having a cluttered closet, not by conviction about not owning many nickels. I have no conviction against owning nickels.)

I’m going to postulate about your weekly schedule: it is too full. And I’m going to make another assumption: there is something you are regularly doing that can be removed. Am I accurate? If I was accurate on the first point, I can guarantee you that I’m accurate on the second. (If you’re not convinced, keep reading.)

Sometimes I think multi-level and multi-directional thinking is a strength. It helps me quickly assess what needs to be done and to delegate. More often, however, I’m learning that it is a weakness.

My family thinks I’m a neat freak. I think I’m just orderly. (Well, maybe it is a little over the top to look forward to a day off so I can clean out my closet.) But in all seriousness, whatever your personality type or personal level of clutter comfort, disorganization and excess clutter will waste your time and focus. And worse, it is the enemy of availability.

What do you envision your sphere of leadership and ministry looking like twelve months from now? If you desire for it to be different in any way than it is now, you must plan for it.

The servant leaders who make the greatest impact on lives are those who have a genuinely joyful spirit. Joy is both compelling and contagious. Furthermore, the joy of the Lord is strengthening to us. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Teen culture manufactures plenty of excitement and hype. Every new show or event is marketed as the greatest, coolest, most epic of its kind, ever. But what our pop culture lacks is anything that is genuine or meaningful.

I remember throwing rocks into creeks and skipping them across ponds as a young boy. My brother and I would often compete in trying to make the biggest splash and the farthest-reaching ripples in the water.

Leadership is never static. It requires intentional personal growth. Below are five quick thoughts I shared during our recent Spiritual Leadership Conference on steps to personal growth as a leader:

In First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul exhorts the Corinthian church to be laborers together: “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). There are many things the first century church had right, but there are many things they did not have right.

The highest model of leadership is cloaked in the lowest forms of humility. Specifically, servant leadership was set and demonstrated by Christ Himself when He left Heaven’s glory and “took upon him the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7).

Sometimes we overcomplicate the Christian life. We develop formulas, lists, and philosophies, all of which may be good and helpful; but there is an overriding purpose to our lives, and it’s quite simple—do all to the glory of God.

Pastors carry many burdens. That is why Paul said, “Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28). Paul had many difficulties. He had physical handicaps, he had been persecuted severely for the faith, he had been marooned on an island with criminals in the middle of a storm.

An important aspect of life is influence. Each one of us has influence over someone in this world. It is obvious that the more you lead, the more opportunities for influence you will have.

A legacy of faithfulness is the accumulation of an entire life, and I know that I’m still a work in progress. But I am thankful for faithful men who have invested in me, and I would like to share what they have handed to me.

If there was ever a man who knew the hand of God’s power on his life and ministry, it was Elijah. And if there was ever a time in which he saw God’s power mightily displayed, it was when he called down fire from Heaven on Mount Carmel.