Why? Why is the Body of Christ in the state that she is in? It is due to the seeds that she has sowed. As I read thought he Book “The Unstoppable Force: Daring to be the Church God had in mind” by Erwin MacManus I am forced to look at the current state of the church and ask myself this very question I pose to you. Is the Church as a whole in the state that God so desires it to be in? Are we being the body that He wants us to be? Are we doing what the Church is designed and called to do? Are we thinking like the Lord commissioned us to think? These are questions that that were stirring in me as I read this book.
It is so dangerous to learn all we can without application of what we learn. The Apostle James taught us not to be hearers only but doers as well. Mark 16 and Matthew 28 gives us Jesus’ declaration of what we call the great commission. The great commission is doing the work that He set before us. We must analyze ourselves and ask ourselves; are we doing what we know to do? If not, why? My mentor Curry Blake once said “If your knowledge greatly out ways your actions your backslidden”.
The question now is how does “The Unstoppable Force” translate into application. The teachings derived should convict us to align our behaviors with our knowledge. Is it feasible to apply what we learn in this book into action? In the next few pages I will give a very brief overview of a few of the principles that I believe must be transferred from the knowledge realm into the application realm and tips on how to move from thinking into doing.
As we start to look at the process of momentum and change, I must encourage you to stop living in the past and start thinking of your future. Your future will be limited...
... middle of paper ...
...l 2) Create intimacy within the community 3) create intimacy between people and God 4) Focus on being more than doing, and 5) think big. Let your imagination wonder. Be creative in the dreams of your community.
As change and momentum is occurring in the individual lives and the body as a whole there must also be periodic evaluations. These evaluations are designed to energize future possibilities and integrate more change in the ever-evolving ministry. As we continue to grow, there must also be a continued pruning of our endeavors. Always take continue action steps of change.
As a whole, this book encourages us to think Big and take action steps to create an environment of change for others. The Leader is one who can do this. It takes a right heart and appropriate action steps. Application is a must if we are to grow into the perfect image of Christ.
...ous jeopardy. Our culture is unquestionably wrecked. “We have lost as a nation a fear of God. Our walls of protection and righteousness have come crashing down, and we are living in the rubble,” Kay said (True Woman). As I read “The Abolition of Man” and listened to Kay Arthur’s message from the True Woman’s conference, it just reassures that with complete confidence no man is ever going to come to the Father but through Jesus.
“The author Victor Rhee of “Hebrews as a Leader of the Faith Community” enlightens the path way on the subject of leaders in the body of Christ. The title alone brings a certain kind of curiosity to what makes a leader according to the book of Hebrews. If leadership training could have a manual it should be parallel to Hebrews. Leadership today is missing the courage to stand for something that is right according to the word of God. No matter what is taking place in our society beliefs and value system. Leadership has suffered greatly both inside and outside the church, especially in Christian leadership. One of the main points that the author of this article points out is the society woes are the same as ours today. How fitting is this when we need direction for Christian ministry. There is a soul searching event that is taking place for leaders to rise up and be all of what God intended for them in caring the gospel of Christ to the world. Rhee, who wrote the journal points to the characteristics of the author of Hebrews as a leader who will arise for the cause of Christ by illuminating the importance of courage, faith, love, hope , to fight against apostates, and believe in leadership unity when leading as a leader of the Christian faith.
The chapter “Clarify What’s Important to you” introduces several successful leaders and many praiseworthy values to me. Although each leader comes from different environments and possesses different characters, all of them keep their precious values in mind and persist in chasing their ideal lives. Even if each value can be interpreted by different meanings, they all lead encourage individuals to become better.
Leadership within Christian community should be with distinct qualities and traits of an effective Christian leader. The author defined leadership by not focusing on profit when Christ said, “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” The author explored the leadership qualities and practices that are not only distinct within the community of Christian leadership but also applicable in any arena of leadership. Significance comes from working with associates and friends. Similarly, the joy of success comes from the journey toward it than its accomplishment. Grace-full leader is a responsive leader who allows an organization to discontinue practices that are no longer effective and replace them with other good ideas and effective methods.
After reading over the book entitled, “The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle—How to Become a Servant Leader”, by James C. Hunter, I have learned that in order to lead one must serve. This book has provided me with the necessary principles needed to assist me as a Senior Executive Director at the UCF Community Care Center (UCCC). I like how the author specifically states that his book is not a way to teach one how to lead, rather it provides one with the path to take to be an effective leader. The book has assisted me the last few months in making a positive difference in the organization, especially being newly employed here at UCCC. My new employment here at UCCC has allowed me to have the character that one can know to respect, and has allowed me to slowly build authority, not through only
Transformational leadership also integrates well with a biblical worldview because both advocate valuing followers as well as leaders, the importance of ethical behavior, the need to forgive and learn from mistakes, and the value of a high moral example. Kouzes and Posner advocate leaders having a “moral authority to lead” (2007, p. 41), practicing personal accountability and working to improve all aspects of their follower’s lives. This others-centered leadership approach fits well in the Christ centered atmosphere of a Christian school.
Tichy, N. M., & Ulrich, D. O. (2003). The Leadership Challenge-A Call for the Transformational Leader. In
We recently had a church meeting to articulate changes that will affect the church’s future. This chapter came in handy because I was able to engage the congregation by asking the necessary questions to get their buy-in before actually setting the change in stone. Although I ready to implement the change, it was not executed until the congregation saw it the benefits and rewards. This practice is not always the best way, because time may or may not allow it.
The way person leads a group of people or an organization is key to a successful business or outreach. There are many styles and techniques for a leader to implement. Christian leaders are no exception; some might say being a leader in a church organization can be a more scrutinizing position than other leaders. Since, a church leader has expectations on how they should act or conduct themselves because of the Christian faith. This paper will discuss an interview with a person in leadership brother Larry and will give an account of his leadership approach. Furthermore, what strengths and weaknesses are prevalent according to authors Kouzes and Posner and the model they have in their book, Christian Reflections on The Leadership Challenge.
...rmational journey (pg. 19). The transformational leadership process initiates from personal leadership and progresses to one-on-one leadership and team leadership and continues to organizational leadership. Your leadership transformation means adopting a God's-eye view of your life and leadership. This will help you learn how to align your leadership motivation, viewpoint, behaviors, and habits with those of Jesus to effectively lead others. Blanchard & Hodges say that “the world desperately needs new leadership role models, and Jesus has shown us the way to lead” (pg. 234). Jesus is the greatest leader of all time and Jesus calls us to be servant leaders. Lead Like Jesus is a tool that can help guide us toward that goal. It will definitely make a difference in your leadership and in those you influence.
Wilkes, C. G. Jesus on Leadership: Timeless Wisdom on Servant Leadership. Carol Stream, Illnois: Tyndale House, 1998.
Transformational leaders want individuals to make a positive change in their lives and try to help people apply a positive change on a daily basis. The leaders do this by implementing individual considerations which, according to Kendrick (2011), “treats each follower as a unique contributor and provides coaching, mentoring, feedback and growth opportunities.” This makes such an impact on people because each individual is getting different mentoring, feedback, and growth opportunities due to their unique personality. It is very important for each person to have this because everyone has a different learning ability and motivation. This helps each individual with their own distinctive endeavor.
Young, D. S. (1999). Servant Leadership for Church Renewal: Sheperds By the Living Springs. Scottdale: Herald Press.
This book is for people who are willing to accomplish the work of a leader. Maxwell breaks down leadership into principles based on biblical foundation which one can apply in his life. He defines the levels of leadership into five and describes each level in the specific way. Those levels of leadership are: position, permission, production, people development, and personhood which the higher someone goes, the easier it is to lead. According to him, leadership is the key to success in any endeavor and leadership can be developed. A review section in every chapter provided to encourage the reader to join the author with a ‘fill in the blank’ section. Certainly conveying his message in an interactive way, this makes the book even more interesting to read. Individual can easily understand and remember his message through bold headings and dozens of quotes he wrote. After more than four decades of observing leadership, Maxwell throughout his book concludes that leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less.
Leadership is an awesome responsibility, and regardless of where leadership occurs, followers want leadership that is trustworthy, inspiring, consequential, and most importantly, effective. Thus, effective leadership is often weighed in theory and common indicators such as the impact on a team or process, follower attitudes and perceptions, and even career longevity (Yukl, 2010). Furthermore, leadership effectiveness may also be determined by the leader’s title, position, skills, traits, and moral behaviors (Carolina College of Biblical Studies [CCBS], n.d.). Often overlooked in all these things are God’s purpose for leadership, and the call for the leader to remain obedient to God while leading (CCBS, n.d.). Since mankind is sinful by