Success will change you – good or bad. As you look over your successes, have they made you more humble and appreciative, or arrogant and expectant? Believe it or not, how you deal with failure speaks volumes in how you deal with success.… Read the rest
Strong organizations have strong staff. One of the great pieces of wisdom that was told to me was that success will be dependent upon those you wrap around you. If the team you have cannot deliver on the vision for that organization, either help them grow or help them go.… Read the rest
Stop counting minutes; instead, embrace moments. Two things come to mind as I think about this: One, we can easily miss the journey when we get consumed by the destination. Second, we go through the motions – we watch the clock, and end up missing out on the great gift that is right in front of our eyes.… Read the rest
“Now you should carry this project through to completion just as enthusiastically as you began it. Give whatever you can according to what you have” (2 Corinthians 8:11 – NLT). That’s good advice.… Read the rest
Starters are a dime a dozen. Finishers are one in a million. Anybody can start something – the question is: Can you finish? People are wondering if your word matters. As a little rule of thumb, be careful what you say if you don’t plan to stay.… Read the rest
If the stable was not too dirty for the Son of God to be born in, then neither is any place in which we can serve. Always consider the place in which you lead Holy Ground. Leadership is not thinking about what you need; rather, it’s using what you have.… Read the rest
The smallest package I’ve ever seen is a man wrapped up in himself. “Pride goes before the fall” (Proverbs 16:18). A great leader is only great because of the people they work with. If you’re going to wrap yourself up in anything, may it be that of love – and then lead with that love.… Read the rest
Serving is the highest form of leadership. So I ask: Whose feet are you washing?… Read the rest
Seek to listen, not to be heard. “Be quick to listen and slow to speak” (James 1:19). One of the great vices in leadership is found in our ability to teach. Far too often our lips are moving more than they should. Learn to listen.… Read the rest
Saying yes to a few things means that you must learn to say no to many other things. We’ve all heard the validity of doing a few things well, and many things just okay. No effective leader is spread thin. Do what you must, and empower others to do what they can. As one of my mentors always told me, “Less is always more.”… Read the rest
Satan is not always concerned that we’re in sin, but many times that we’re just distracted. Either way, we’re not about the Father’s business. What are the distractions in your life – those things that keep you from the keeping ‘the main thing the main thing?’… Read the rest
There are three successions that we must understand as leaders. First, we LOVE. It’s the foundation for everything we do. “And the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Second, we LAUGH. Joy is contagious. It moves a person from feeling like they are on the outside to being on the inside. Finally, we LEARN. I truly believe that knowledge for the mere sake of knowledge is useless. To know something, yet do nothing with it, makes no sense to me. Thus, this part of the succession is teaching people to take what they’ve learned and teach it to someone else.… Read the rest
Leadership is best provided in the moment, not in a class or seminar. Classroom-type instruction and guidance is necessary, but it’s ‘in the moment’ that reveals what a person truly learned. So learn to walk WITH them (in the moment), don’t just talk TO them (in the classroom). Jesus, time and time again, took His disciples out into their world around them and coached them in the moment.… Read the rest
I want to give you three plausible steps to leadership: EMBRACE them; EQUIP them; EMPOWER them. Think of these three as being in a circular pattern where those whom we empower will go out and embrace others as we had embraced them. I truly believe that the goal of raising up leaders is not to have them serve us, but to go and serve (love) others.… Read the rest
Have you ever gotten upset by the simplest thing like driving through a construction zone and/or having to take an alternate route? How about having to change your clothes after you spilled something? Always remember, change represents an inconvenience, but it’s the inconvenience that reveals much about ourselves. Watch how you face them and handle them.… Read the rest
People lash out when they feel backed into a corner. So don’t preach at them or talk down to them – walk with them.… Read the rest
“Until I am committed, there is a hesitancy, a chance to draw back. But the moment I definitely commit myself, then God moves also, and a whole stream of events erupt. All manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, persons and material assistance which come my way begin to flow toward me – the moment I make a commitment” (John C. Maxwell – “The Recipe for Leadership,” INJOY Life Club).… Read the rest
Martin Luther used to say that when the devil came knocking on the door of his heart, he would send the Lord Jesus to answer. And Jesus would tell him every time, “Martin Luther used to live here, but he’s moved out. I live here now.” I just love that.… Read the rest
Don’t expect your faith to grow if you have too much else going on. For the number one way God speaks is through His Word. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful…correcting our mistakes, and training us to live God’s way” (2 Timothy 3:16).… Read the rest
Biblical illiteracy is plaguing the church. God’s people are just ignorant of His Truth. For example, one of the most frequently quoted passages from the Bible is, “God helps those who help themselves” – and the fact is, it’s not even in there. “Thy Word is a lamp to my feet,” the Psalmist wrote, “and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). It’s crazy to think that in today’s world a child cannot read their Bible in school, but they can in prison.… Read the rest
If we want to hear God’s voice, then we must separate ourselves from the world. “Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of world, or join those who have no use for God” (Psalm 1:1). Paul tells us that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God” (1 Corinthians 3:19). The Christian life begins when we step away from the world and step toward His Word.… Read the rest
Pride is a big deal. The enemy knows that if he can get us to trust in our own efforts, it keeps us from trusting in Christ – and why Solomon writes, “Pride will land you flat on your face” (Proverbs 29:23).… Read the rest
“Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are NEVER satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20). A recent poll revealed that the average child, from birth through high school, will watch 18,000 hours of TV – that’s roughly two full years of television. My friends, our eyes have appetites, and it’s where all our thoughts begin. Guard your eyes.… Read the rest
Jackson Brown, Jr., an American author, once wrote, “I’ve learned that if you give a pig and a boy everything they want, you’ll get a GOOD pig and a BAD boy.” This is why John tells us to not “love the world’s ways or the world’s goods. For the love of the world squeezes out our love for the Father” (1 John 2:15-16). Satan will use all kinds of things to amuse our eyes because he knows that the eyes are the lamp to the body. Thus, if he can get us to glance, he will eventually get us to gaze, and our bodies will follow.… Read the rest
When our roots go down in Him, His fruit will grow up in us. And the key is to stay below the soils of life rather than attempt to produce fruit above it. “Those who remain in Me…will produce much fruit” (John 15:5).… Read the rest