Sustaining the Future Through Mentoring
I recently had occasion to begin a mentoring relationship with a student attending an Ivy League institution. We share a connection in our love for technology, and speak often on many subjects. At our last meeting I asked him the big question every youth wants to hear (note the sarcasm), “John, Read more 
Dynamics of Multiplying Leadership
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LEADERS WHO DEVELOP FOLLOWERS… |
LEADERS WHO DEVELOP LEADERS… |
| Focus on people’s WEAKNESS | Focus on people’s STRENGTHS |
| SPEND time with people | INVEST time with people |
| Lead everyone the SAME | Lead everyone DIFFERENTLY |
| Impact the present GENERATION | Impact the NEXT generation |
Gazing Into Heaven – Acts 1:8-11
Leaders are, by definition, special people. They stand out from the others that follow. Spiritual leaders therefore are destined to be extraordinary individuals. And in knowing that, we can see the potential for both blessing and compromise.
The potential blessing is easy to see and understand. As leaders are given more and more to living the God-given vision for church growth, they will receive more and more of God’s infinite grace, the necessary spiritual resources that support the effort of the body in evangelism. The potential compromise is harder to spot, however.
Unfortunately, a real danger lies in being closely associated with the Spirit of God in the performance of God’s will on the earth. The expansion of the Church is priority number one, and leaders should expect to see the divine intervention of God’s mighty hand in their lives and ministries. Read more
Developing Leaders While Developing Nations
The challenge of today’s worldwide church is to develop leaders who are capable, anointed, and hungry for the revival and church growth God has promised for the end-time. John Maxwell often says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership!” Leadership studies and development are not only valuable but imperative. We need effective leadership to secure the future of the church. Jesus spent three and a half years developing a leadership team capable—with the Spirit’s empowerment—to lead the church. We are called upon to continue the process; each generation preparing the next for what God has in store. 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 Tests of Leadership – Part 1
Job 23:8-10 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and no paper money. All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into moulds and allowed to cool. When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to smooth off the uneven edges. The coins were comparatively soft and of course many people shaved them closely. In one century, more than eighty laws were passed in Athens, to stop the practice of shaving down the coins then in circulation. But some money changers were men of integrity, who would accept no counterfeit money. They were men of honour who put only genuine full weighted money into circulation. Such men were called “dokimos” or “approved.” That is what New Testament writers meant when they used this word, which is translated in the King James Version as “approved” or “tried” … Read more
My C-Wish List
C-Wish List? Hope it caught your attention and dispatched you into the land of Wonder. I’m not talking about my birthday wish list. I’ve been too busy to even jot down my Christmas wish list. My thoughts have been captivated with the C-Wish List; the list of characteristics I look for in a team member.
What is it that I expect from a team member? Each characteristic, as you will notice, begins with the letter “c” so I have penned it my C-Wish List. I have not placed them in order of importance.
- Character: indispensable in any team effort. Much has been written on the subject. Sufficient to say, members of the Global Missions team need to be men and women of integrity and can be counted upon always to do what is right in God’s sight. Read more
Passing the Baton From Generation to Generation
“For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed” (Acts 13:36, NIV).
A relay race is run by a team of four runners. The first runner carries a baton. After running a specified distance, called a “leg” the runner hands the baton to the next team member. The exchange must occur within a zone a few meters long. Timing is crucial. If the runners do not exchange the baton within this zone, the team is disqualified. The length of the race varies from four hundred to six thousand meters. In some relays each team member runs an equal distance, but in others run different distances.
The relay race is not necessarily won by the team that runs the fastest, but by successfully passing the baton in the exchange zone. That’s right; races are won or lost in the passing of the baton. Teams can be disqualified by a bad pass. Passing the baton is essential to win the race. Read more
Group Leadership
Leadership is a force that gives direction and forward movement to a group. Like the power of the universe, it exerts itself with great energy; like gravity, it works inexorably. Given time, it overcomes the innate resistance of those it seeks to lead. Yet it applies its power quietly and subtly, a gentle influence, often working behind the scenes where no one is aware. Godly leadership is content to accomplish its purpose without calling attention to itself. It operates for a higher purpose. Read more
Leadership Made Easier
Little did we realize God was giving us a free home demonstration on handling all the interesting challenges that come with leadership that fateful day in Kenya, Africa.
Three missionaries were on their way to dedicate the first permanent church building (the work in Kenya had begun only a year before). They neared the equator in a mountain pass when the horrified eyes of two passengers saw a large stake-bodied truck hurtling down the narrow tarmac road, evidently having lost his gears and brakes.
The driver, John Harris, decided the wise thing would be to get out of the way, so he quickly pulled 23 feet off the road (all the space the pass allowed) and switched off his engine. His Superintendent, Bill Cupples, lay asleep in the back seat. But the driver did not hurtle on by, he evidently thought the small English car could stop his wild plunge so he turned the truck toward it and stripped off the whole left side including doors – the cab sheered off the base of the truck and plunged on into the mountain side where they found the driver dead. Read more
Leadership Development International 