All in Leadership
How do you view impossibilities? Do they intimidate you and stop you dead in your tracks before you ever even attempt to defeat them? I have found that there are usually 2 different ways to approach an obstacle in your life. The story of Israel’s twelve spies always helps me when I am facing an impossibility. They focused on the giants but Joshua and Caleb focused on the grapes! God called this kind of faith a "different spirit”: “But my servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land he entered and his descendants will take possession of it” (Num. 14: 24)
Ezekiel and John both saw the four awesome living creatures that stand around the throne of God. Both of them (Eze. 1: 10, Rev. 4: 7) describe their four faces: an eagle, an ox, a lion, and a man. Could these four powerful creatures give us an insight into the nature of God’s kingdom and leadership model?
Negative pessimism is a hard monkey to get off your back. It colors everything dull and bland. It stifles creativity, ruins relationships, and makes everything hopeless. You lose sight of all that you “have and are” for what you “want and are not.”
The other morning I took a one mile walk in the beautiful crisp, fall air with Melanie. When I got back home I noticed the nice truck I drive, the beautiful home I live in, and the wonderful amenities I am surrounded by (like dishwashers). Over the course of the day, it was as if I was continually overwhelmed by HOW MANY blessings I have in my life.
A great deal of your success as a leader is in the ability to spot and recruit talented leaders. King David seemed to be a master at attracting and enlisting top talent (see 1 Chronicles 11-12). Your ultimate legacy will be the leaders you attracted, trained, and released as great warriors.
Everyone struggles with their tongue. Sometimes it feels like a coiled up viper, ready to strike. No matter how hard you grit your teeth to stop it, it will come flying out at a moment’s notice! James described your tongue as a runaway horse: “And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
Everyone wants to know how to multiply their business, their finances, and their influence. Jesus showed us the secret by having the crowd of people sit down in groups of 50 before He multiplied the bread. Order precedes multiplication.
I have observed that multiplication is wishful thinking for most leaders. They forget that God is “not the author of confusion” and that everything should be done “decently and in order.”
Most leaders are struggling to “fit it all in”. From home, to work, to kids, to spouse, to church, to parents we are all trying to not leave anyone out. We feel stretched and stressed. Successful relationships happen on purpose. Here is how to prioritize the relationships in your life and make sure you are hitting the bullseye.
This is a true Olympic archery bullseye.
Why is it so hard to forgive? I run across leaders all the time who have deep grudges, bitter feelings, and hard hearts. An unforgiving heart could be in the top five issues all leaders deal with.
Marriages are affected, health is affected, and even generations are affected. Forgiveness 101 is all about conversations, decisions, and memories.
Of all the characters in the Bible who rose to the top as a secular leader, Daniel is my favorite. In a totally hostile, godless environment, he became the top official next to a king who basically ruled the world. What were the qualities that put him in that position when enemies everywhere were trying to depose him? He even spent a night with the lions and they still couldn’t get rid of him!
Maintaining stability as a leader is one of the greatest crisis in America today. Business leaders, political leaders, spiritual leaders are “uprooted” from their positions by moral, financial, and ethical failure. How do you maintain long-term stability as a leader?
I’ll never forget being in Lebanon and taking a trip to see the “cedars of Lebanon.” There, perched high on a mountain, these gentle giants were 30 ft. around! I wondered how they received their nourishment and flourished in such a harsh mountaintop climate.
