Letters to Leaders – Lessons From Philemon
Philemon
This is the beginning of a series called “Letters for Leaders.” Not just “Letters to Leaders,” that is, to the people who actually received these documents 2000 years ago; but “Letters for Leaders,” that is, letters with timeless principles inspired by the Holy Ghost that still speak to leaders in every generation.
Your initial impulse might be to say, “Well, I’m not a leader.” However, you would be wrong in the Biblical sense of leadership, because everyone influences someone else, and leadership is influence. You may be a bad influence or a good influence, but you are an influence!
“For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me” (I Corinthians 4:15-16). Read more
Seven Reasons I Became a Minister
So they went over to him and asked:
- Who brought you here?
- What are you doing in this place?
- What is keeping you here?” (Judges 18:3, HCSB).
It is often therapeutic, directive, and beneficial to pause to reflect for a moment concerning the why behind what we do. This lesson caused me to do just that.
There are at least seven reasons why I became a minister. Read more 
Servant Leadership Lesson Two: The People Business
Mark 10:42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
One of the aspects of servant leadership is the matter of ministering to others. In this case ministry does not mean preaching or directing others, but rather helping them. Jesus exemplified this in His large number of healings of individuals and multitudes. Read more
Daring to Dream
Excerpt taken from Life Lessons for Leaders from the Old Testament
Genesis 37:5
The story of Joseph is a sad one, but also one of great victory after tremendous perseverance. There is hardly a better type of Christ found in the Scriptures. Hated by his brethren for doing what was right, and suffering for sins he did not commit, Joseph stands out as an excellent example of a man whose sole purpose was to live a life of integrity and usefulness. Read more
Servant Laddership
If you want a picture of servant leadership, I would venture this: Consider the ladder. The modest, unassuming ladder is an ideal picture of the servant leader. Call it “servant laddership.”
The ladder does not exist for its own purpose, but only for someone else to take advantage of whatever height and strength it may possess. Neither does a servant pursue his own agenda. He has no other vision for his life. A true servant realizes his full potential only as he assists others in fulfilling their agenda. A servant leader understands that if he helps others to reach their goals in life, they will invariably help him reach his. Read more
The Power of Positive Influence
Influencing Effectively
- Positive Influence is a process that involves appropriate balance between pull, push and move away.
- Your ability to be flexible in your influencing choices gives you access to a higher level of effectiveness.
- The key is to be aware of the impact your behavior is having on your workers.
- If you pull more effectively, your workers will pay more attention to your push. Read more
The Ingredients of Leaders (in Developing Nations)
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
The New Testament in Contemporary English entitled, The Message by Eugene H. Peterson tells us, “They couldn’t take their eyes off them-Peter and John standing there so confident, so sure of themselves! Their fascination deepened when they realized these two laymen had no training in Scripture or formal education. They recognized them as companions of Jesus” (Page 245).
Here stood two men, uneducated and unlearned, and a group of Jewish leaders who could not take their eyes off them, and marveled. It is time for leaders in developing nations of the world, even with their limited educational background and disadvantages of poverty and adverse situations, to stand up and take their place in leadership. There is no reason for intimidation or feeling you are lesser than leaders in developed countries. Read more
The Character of a Leader – Integrity
Integrity is the quality most needed to succeed.
Integrity commits itself:
- to character over personal gain
- to people over things
- to service over power
- to principle over convenience
- to the long view over the immediate. Read more
Integrity, Where has it Gone?
In the past 100 years we have seen so much advancement in the world. More knowledge is available today than ever before! In Wayne Schmidt’s book entitled, “Soul Management – Maximizing Your Spiritual Assets in a Bottom-Line World (1996)” gives us some very interesting facts:
➢ 50% of all the scientists who ever lived are alive today.
➢ 50% of all the discoveries in natural science were made in the last century.
➢ 50% of all the books ever written were written in the last 50 years. Read more
Don’t Look at Us! Ministering with Humility
“And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?” (Acts 3:12).
As Peter and John prayed for the lame man, strength came into his feet and ankle bones. He stood, walked, and leaped as he went into the church praising God. The people were surprised to see him since many of them had passed him as they made their way into the church. What a great time for Peter and John to try to impress others with their spiritual power. Perhaps, they could have had someone take a few pictures so the story could appear in the daily newspaper. What if the local television station could have gotten in on the story? Their fame would have spread and they would become famous with people calling them to minister in their assembly. They could have boasted over the healing that had just taken place. However, they asked, “Why marvel at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?” They basically were saying, “Don’t look at us! We didn’t do it, Jesus did.” Read more
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