A Great Bible Leader…Andrew

Andrew is one of the least mentioned apostles in the New Testament. Most references are connected to the listings of the apostles in the gospel accounts. To our knowledge, we have nothing written by Andrew. However, there is one account with a powerful lesson that makes him a great leader?

Andrew was the one to lead his brother, Peter, to Jesus. Andrew was first introduced to Jesus and, recognizing Him as the Messiah, he then went and found his brother and testified, “we have found the Messiah.”

We are aware of the powerful affect Peter had on the day of Pentecost and then in preaching to Cornelius, along with his influence through his letters. He had been given the keys to the kingdom and he used them powerfully.

One of the lessons we need to know about leadership involves leading others to Jesus allowing Him to work through those vessels to accomplish His purpose.

Who knows but the very individual we lead to Jesus is the very one who will lead thousands to the Savior.

Following the example of Andrew will strengthen the depth of our leadership.

Leadership Word Of The Week…Develop

To cause to grow and become more mature or advanced.

If there was one word leaders need to understand for the future of the church, it would be develop.

Throughout the writings of the apostles, they continued to emphasize the need for the church to develop. Prayers expressed requests to God for help in developing the church.

His word was written to bring maturity. The goal of preaching was to present every person mature in Christ. God gave gifts to various individuals for the purpose of helping the church achieve unity and maturity in the faith. We also find the use of imperative language regarding Peter’s instruction for Christians to grow.

Developing faith and relationship with God is the responsibility of leadership.

We must lead others to a greater love and understanding of the word of truth.

We must assist Christians in an understanding and involvement of their God given abilities in His service.

We must encourage the expression of God’s grace through sharing the love of Christ at the cross.

We must provide an example in all the above.

Leadership is about development. Let us get started.

Principles Of Leadership…#10

To lead yourself use your head. To lead others use your heart.

There are two parts to consider in this powerful principle. The first involves an inward focus and the second an outward. Sadly, we far too often see leaders using the opposite approach.

Using our head in leading ourselves means we:

…think before we speak or act.
…consider short and long term consequences of our words and actions.
…weigh the evidence and ask evaluating questions before making decisions.

Using our heart in leading others means we:

…devote ourselves to learning and serving the needs of others.
…prioritize our time toward maturity in relationship development.
…risk the temporary satisfaction for the eternal gain.

This principle of leadership is not always easy to put in place. There are going to be challenges internally and externally. However, if leaders work to develop and practice a more “others interest” in their leadership, it will change the future.

Leadership is worth the time we take to ensure we are invested in leading others in preparation to stand before God.

Souls are precious. Let us always be mindful to lead others with our hearts. Think Souls!

Leadership Thought Of The Day…

“The essential part of creativity is not being afraid to fail.”  Edwin H. Land

Why is the fear of failure so prevalent in our society today? Whether school, family, business, or even the church, we fear failure.

We do not want to be known as someone who failed. Is failure something to be feared? Are there benefits to failing?

Fear of failing hinders us from seeing opportunities clearly. We become unnecessarily cautious.

Fear of failing lessens the creativity of our leadership. If allowed, fear limits our leadership.

Through failure, Edison learned what to do to invent the light bulb.
Through failure, Macy learned how to run a successful business.
Through failure, Orville and Wilbur Wright learned how to fly.

Failure can be devastating if we allow it. Instead we need to use the failures in our life to become the stepping stones to the power of success.

We are going to make mistakes. Some mistakes are unintentional and some are the result of bad choices. Regardless, the success of our leadership depends on how we look at and deal with the mistakes we make.

Acting Or Reacting? That Is The Question…

Several variations of the “Golden Rule” have been given over the years. For some, it is “do unto others as they have done unto you.” For others, it is “do unto others before they do unto you.”

However, Jesus was clear when He said; “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The implication of Jesus is to do unto others first.

Leadership always brings several interesting twists in the development of leaders and followers. This is especially true within the church.

How do we want others to treat us? Do we want to be treated with respect, integrity, love, appreciation, patience, etc.? If this is how we want to be treated, then Jesus would tell us to treat others this way first!

We must be careful not to allow the practice of culture, or society, to influence and direct our approach to relationships.

If we are not careful, it is easy to react, instead of acting as we should. Sadly, we must be careful to guard against overreacting.

Leaders must learn to act in keeping with the way we want others to act.