xvi. The unmistakable mark of leaders who are authenticated by God is that they are like Christ and those follow them become more like Christ xvii. A person is truly a spiritual leader when others are moved to be more like Christ. xviii. How does one attain God’s authentication?
1. The key lies not in the leader but in God.
2. There is nothing a leader can do that will guarantee God’s affirmation.
3. All a leader can do is submit to God’s call.
4. Some spiritual leaders try to be more committed, when what they need to be is more submitted.
5. There is a significant difference between a personal determination to try harder and a complete abandonment of one’s self to God’s purposes. The former rests on people and their commitment; the
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Followers are much more motivated to support leaders who demonstrate faithful service to God. The evidence that God has honored such leaders serves to solidify their credibility. xvi. L.R. Scarborough, 2nd President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary issues this challenge to spiritual leaders: “If your place is not great enough to suit you, make it so. The minister who is unable to make a place great is too weak to hold a great one.” xvii. Leaders who fix their gaze on the horizon, hoping for something better rather than focusing on the tasks at hand, are unworthy to hold their current positions. xviii. It is crucial for those in spiritual leadership to recognize what “success” means in God’s kingdom. xix. Sometimes a tactical retreat can be a success… xx. God gauges success in terms of faithfulness and obedience, not in terms of dollars or status. xxi. The measure of a leader’s success is whether they moved their people from where they were to where God wanted them to be. xxii. The measure of leaders’ success is whether or not they accomplished God’s will. xxiii. The accomplishment of God’s will is the only complete and infallible indication of …show more content…
Legitimate Sources of Influence:
i. God’s authentication ii. Encounters with God iii. Character/Integrity iv. A Successful Track Record
v. Preparation
b. Illegitimate Sources of Influence:
i. Position ii. Power iii. Personality
c. Every leader should periodically take a leadership inventory… ask yourself:
i. Why are people following me? ii. Do they see the activity of God in my life? iii. Do they recognize in my character and integrity the mark of God? iv. Do they sense that God is with me?
v. Do I have a track record of success? vi. What is it about me, if anything, that causes people to want to follow me?
d. Spiritual influence does not come automatically, haphazardly, or easily… It is not something which leaders can insist… It is something God must produce in you.
Ch. 6: The Leader’s Goal (Moving People On To God’s Agenda) Leaders must ask themselves: “Where should this organization be going? It is amazing how many leaders become so focused on the journey they lose sight of the destination. Some leaders confuse the means-to-the-end with the end itself. If leaders do not clearly understand where their organization is and where is should be going, they will be unable to lead
To say the least, I felt like a failure and that I had wasted people’s time and money. Reading this chapter helped me realize that it is important to learn through a failure (Fagerstrom 126). Failures happen in ministry often, and the way you respond to the failure is important. Chapter fifteen, “Developing a plan for lifelong learning”, is essential for effective leaders. Per Fagerstrom, there are four areas that need constant attention: skill (competency), wisdom and knowledge (learning and thinking), spiritual formation (godliness), and personal development (focus on the word personally)
“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.
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.
Toward the end of his book, Hunter shares a phrase with a similar intent of the four domains of Blanchard and Hodges. He writes: “Thoughts become actions, actions become habits, habits become our character, and our character becomes our destiny.” (Hunter, 1998, p. 167). With this quote in mind, Hunter affirms Blanchard and Hodges’s perspective of servant leadership. Both authors concur that by centering one’s life on the love of Jesus Christ, servant leadership will come naturally. When a leader puts their own selfish needs aside and places their trust in God, they will be empowered to spread Christ’s light to all those they meet. Leading in this way mirrors the way Jesus led because it calls for service as a way of
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.
In today’s society, Effective leaders are essential to an organization and exceptional leadership techniques impact the success of reaching goals. Most important leaders often viewed and analyzed as a key component of an organization improperly trained leader can cause both moral and costly negative consequences. Even though unprepared leaders lead in our community today, Billy Graham’s leadership style and communication skills affected the United States because he exhibits characteristic of a leader. There were several obstacles as a leader that Billy Graham endured as a visionary, and his leadership effectiveness and traits observed throughout his ministry.
"The leader must understand that he leads us, that he guides us, by convincing us so that we will follow him or follow his direction. He must not get it into his head that it is his business to drive us or rule us. His business is to manage the government for us."-- Theodore Roosevelt
“The call is something that is an indescribable joy and an indefinable burden at the same time.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 32). There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a congregation of the redeemed moving forward in their faith. However exciting this may be, it is usually not the thrill that propels the pastor in his service. It is the burden placed on the pastor by God that compels him in his work. The pastor understands that he is largely responsible for the work of God being accomplished by his faithfulness to his calling. “All through the Word of God and down through the annals of history, when God has moved it has almost always been attended by the preaching of the Word.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 31)
Although written for church leadership, everyday church members would also benefit from understanding the concepts that Dawn is directing at God-empowered leaders. Ms. Dawn's work is predominantly scholarly, and she cites several other works at great length.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Dante’s Sodomites There are many scholarly articles addressing the presence of sodomy—a sin referring to homosexuality in Dante’s Divine Comedy, particularly in Inferno and Purgatorio. Scholars attempt to address many different questions, such as why there are sodomites in both Hell and Purgatory, and why those in Hell suffer a more lenient punishment than other sinners. Many of these questions also concern Dante’s respect for the three Florentines he encounters in Hell, as he states in Canto 16, “Had I been sheltered from the fire I would have thrown myself down among them and I think my Teacher would have suffered it; but since I should have been burnt and baked, fear overcame my good-will which made me eager to embrace them” (Inf. 16). Surprisingly enough, I was unable to find a scholarly article that specifically addressed Dante and Virgil’s
Nations crumble, churches and business fail, families become dysfunctional, children lose their way, and men stray from God for one disturbing reason; lack of leadership. These failures are often because of the lack of instruction, proper leadership, and confusion over what Christian leadership is and how that leadership is applicable to every facet of business and personal life.
“Busyness does not equal productivity. Activity is not necessarily accomplishment.” It is because of this that leaders must prioritize; they must always think ahead and know how everything relates to the overall vision. A leader must be able to recognize when it is necessary to reprioritize as situations shift and change.
This brings me to my second point. Most people don't really understand success, at least not as the Bible defines it.
There is a relationship between spiritual gifts, talents, and training for leadership. It is imperative to know what each one means and that will give one a better understanding of how the 3 relate to each other. Leadership is very demanding and many leaders have not been properly trained for the position they occupy. Because Christians have been put into a position without training, many people lead others without having any hands-on knowledge. The best type of leadership is servant leadership.
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