Category Archives: Leadership Development

An Essential Leadership Trait

What can I do to lead well?  How do I help others continue moving toward spiritual growth? What do my group members need from me?  How can I model good leadership for them?  What did Jesus do?

If you have a christian leadership role in any capacity, including in the home, these questions may have run through your mind a time or two.  There is always room for improvement and we desire to give our best and our all, knowing that ultimately it is the Lord Jesus whom we serve.  So what is that character trait that helps us lead well?  How do we develop it?

You may have seen those Facebook posts recently – “take the test”.  Find out what career you should have, what city you should live in, which TV character you are or which Disney princess is most like you etc.  Well, to find out what leadership trait you need most, no test is needed. The mix of a leader’s skill, gifting, experience, and knowledge is greatly enhanced by this one leadership trait. Predictability!

Who wants to be predictable?  Maybe you would rather be surprising, interesting, adventurous, and out of the ordinary?  I like that kind of leadership too!   But an even better leader is a surprising, interesting, adventurous, out of the ordinary, and predictable leader.

Predictable

[pri-dik-tuh-buh l]

1.     able to be foretold or declared in advance

2.     expected, especially on the basis of previous or known behavior.

Are you a predictable leader? Can you be counted on?   Do they know you will do what you say?  Do they know you are praying for them?  Do you keep confidences? Do you have a strong and steady love and commitment to those you lead? Do they trust that you genuinely have their best interests in mind?

There is no better leadership model than God Himself; who is far more predictable than we give Him credit for.  All His actions bear the stamp of predictability. He is perfectly reliable. Consider these verses:

I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.  Jeremiah 31:3

Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true. Psalm 119:142

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 2 Corinthians 1:19

For he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Hebrews 13:5

God is surprising, interesting, adventurous, and out of the ordinary for sure, but also very predictable. His promises are yes and amen!  Is predictability one of His communicable attributes? A synonym for predictability is faithful, so yes, God shares His faithfulness with us.  And a faithful God makes predictable leaders.  You don’t need a test; just follow Him.

 

 

He Entered Our World

The One who can sympathize with our weaknesses “gets it” (Hebrews 4:15-16). He was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). And He entered our world as one of us. We are called to be like Him. We are to care enough to enter the world of our friends. To lay down our lives for those we love.  And if you are a coach or leader in any capacity, lay down your life so that you “get” those you serve (John 15:13).

Jesus, who loves us with everlasting love, entered our world asking good questions.  Try reading one of the gospels and keeping a tally of Jesus’ questions.  You will learn a lot about love and service.

When was the last time you really entered someones world with questions that go deep?  By having the courage to do this you may find that rather than protecting themselves, they open up to you. By opening up to you they hear God. They begin to experience His healing to their situations in a special, specific, and personal way and receive His comfort through you.

Everyone needs someone who loves him or her enough to ask the deep questions of life. 1 Corinthians 13 says that if we don’t have love we are nothing more that a clanging cymbal or a noisy gong. To ask deep questions without love can feel intrusive, even offensive. This is why coaching or shepherding the heart is so easy for us to miss.  We don’t want to offend. We try to coach or shepherd the behavior instead. But this is how Jesus did it and does it;  heart first –  behavior second.

As a leader, coach, friend, parent, supervisor etc. this is our part:

  1. Pray, ask God to fill you with His love  for others.
  2. Enter their world with listening love.
  3. Shepherd their hearts, not their behavior in love
  4. Watch Him work.

I know that life is a journey very much like a roller coaster ride. It is up and down, fast and slow, scary and fun all at the same time. It is very common to lose direction, want to change direction, or just need a little help moving forward in the right direction. Sometimes all that is needed is a map and someone to help you read it.  If you lead others or are going through a life transition, or both I would love to come along side you in your journey and enter your world with great commandment love.

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