Now, I know that this not a fun topic. Who really wants to spend time on self-assessment? First of all it requires time. Who has that? Second, how do I know if I am being too hard or too soft on myself? Paul in the book of Romans was well aware of this struggle. He said it this way: “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given […]

“ Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.”  Hebrews 3:12-13 Probably one of the most difficult skills to learn as a leader is the skill of being self-aware. When I use the term self-aware I am not talking about being self-absorbed (we will talk about that at another time). I mean being aware of what is going on deep in our […]

1 Cor. 9:27 NLT  “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” Discipline – training oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way. Leadership takes discipline . Becoming the best version of you requires a willingness to do things that others will not put the effort into. What does that look like? Well, how much sleep do you need to be effective and at your best? How often do you exercise? How much attention do you pay to your […]

J. Oswald Sanders in his book Spiritual Leadership makes this statement about becoming a leader: “If you cannot keep a secret, do not try to lead. If you cannot yield a point when someone else’s ideas are better, save yourself the frustration of failed leadership. If you want to maintain an image of infallibility, find something else to do besides leading people.” Leading people is giving my best to their best and coming up with something incredible for those who are being served. In the church leading is about enabling people to use their giftedness to develop the church and […]

“Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me (Caleb) alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise–even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me.” Joshua 14:10-12 ff  NLT Vision is the ability to see beyond what is to what could be. I love this passage of […]

Mark 10:42-44 NLT  So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be a servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else.” The greatest impact that we will ever have as leaders will be determined by our ability to serve those God has placed right in front of us. Not those we hope to serve, or […]

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB Sometimes as Christ followers who are leaders, we forget who we really are, that we have been reborn, recreated, made new by the Spirit. We will often get caught up in who we were. The events and experiences that shaped us seem to hold control over us. What does it mean to be a new creation? Well, the Word of God tells us that we have a new master, a new mission and new […]

When I was in school one of my favorite days was review day. You know, maybe before a big test or before moving on to a new concept, the teacher would take time to review to be sure you understood the important information that had been diligently imparted to you. I enjoyed this time because it was when I felt like I knew something, and it gave me a sneak peek into what the teacher was putting on the test. (I am also one of those strange people who loves to eat leftovers, which is a review of the meals […]

You know that little circle arrow on the top of a web page, called the refresh button? It’s the button that you push to reset the web page, to keep everything current and up-to-date? Did you realize that you have a refresh button in your relationship with Christ? Oh, it’s not a little circle arrow button; it’s better than that. The Holy Spirit stands before God and prays for us. Romans 8:26 “In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the spirit himself […]

Sorry!!!! I am not trying to ruin your day. I know, Why? Of all the topics, WHY THIS ONE? Self-discipline is the “make it or break it” in leadership. See, anyone can lack self-discipline; just look around. Think of all the times that you knew you should make a change, do something different, change the way you were living, but you lacked the self-discipline to make it happen. Only those who are intentionally working on becoming a better leader will practice self-discipline. Self-leadership is the ability to discipline myself to practice the skills necessary to make me a better person: […]