CategoryGrowth

Leadership Development in one sentence

2 Min read

Jesus called his first apostles by saying: “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” (Mark 1:14 NASB).  Encapsulated within this sentence is a perfect leadership development model. 

Foremost in His development model for Simon Peter and Andrew was the call to both physically follow Him and to emulate His teachings and example (Jews like Peter and Andrew understood that to follow a Rabbi was to emulate and learn from him).  Like Jesus, leaders  are called to model the behavior of a leader disciple for those developing in their faith to emulate. 

Second in Jesus’ development model is the assignment of responsibility and goals. Jesus took upon Himself the responsibility of developing His apostles into the Spiritual leaders when he said, “I will.” His promise was to make them become leaders.  Some people are born with some physical and mental traits of a leader, but no one is born with a complete set of leadership traits (who a leader is) and skills (what a leader does).  Every single person must “become” or develop into a leader.

Finally, Jesus called his apostles to be “fishers of men (people).” The fishermen who heard this word picture understood Jesus was calling them to become a leader who could “catch” or influence people to the gospel in His name.  This is the essence of leadership, influencing people toward a higher goal.

Spiritual leaders in the church are responsible for finding and calling future generations of leaders. A responsibility that extends to purposefully maturing young leaders through mentorship and the modeling of strong traits and skills for them to emulate. Echoing the words of Jesus, leaders in the church must say to potential future leaders, “Follow my example and I will make you a leader of people.”

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Every time I study Biblical writings…

1 Min read

“In the high country of the mind one has to become adjusted to the thinner air of uncertainty, and to the enormous magnitude of questions asked, and to the answers proposed to these questions. The sweep goes on and on and on so obviously much further than the mind can grasp one hesitates even to go near for fear of getting lost in them and never finding one’s way out.” Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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Learn to Learn and Think On Your Own

1 Min read

Lessons from the U.S. Army War College:

Rote learning is good for beginning learning on basic academic subjects, but rote learning fails with time and increased complexity of problem. There comes a time in every life when a person must learn to think critically and explore new ideas without the goading of a teacher, boss, or test. The person who fails to achieve this state is destined to struggle when the inevitable wicked problems of life and occupation arise.

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“During your course here no one is going to compel you to work, for the simple reason that a man who requires to be driven is not worth the driving…Thus you will become your own students and until you learn how to teach yourselves, you will never be taught by others.” Major General J. F. C. Fuller

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Danger Opportunity

1 Min read

“ . . . the Chinese symbol for crisis is the merging of two signs, one meaning ‘danger’ and the other meaning ‘opportunity.’ A crisis has the potential to transform or destroy. And what is the tipping point toward transformation in the face of crisis? The choice is either to cower in fear or to step forward with courage.”

— Dr. Dan B. Allender, American author, educator, therapist

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Real Leadership

1 Min read
“We need to believe in ourselves and our future but not to believe that life is easy.  Life is painful and rain falls on the just.  Leaders must help us see failure and frustration not as a reason to doubt ourselves but a reason to strengthen resolve…Don’t pray for the day we finally solve our problems.  Pray that we have freedom to continue working on the problems the future will never cease to throw at us.”

John W. Garner On Leadership (New York Free Press 1993), 195, xii
 
 
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Your Real Life

1 Min read

The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all unpleasant things as interruptions of ones “own” or “real” life.  The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life – the life God is sending one day by day. – C.S. Lewis

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Leadership Lessons From A Janitor

3 Min read

The following leadership lesson was circulated around our organization today.  I’ve read this before, was inspired, and moved on to the popular leadership theories and acronyms of more “modern” leader training.  But this is a story that deserves to be revisited often, it teaches lessons lacking in today’s leaders.  In an article published in the Warton Leadership Digest James E. Moschgat  (at the time a Colonel in Command of the 12th Operations Group, 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas) writes about the squadron janitor at the Air Force Academy who was discovered to be a Congressional Medal of Honor winner.  The janitor was William John Crawford who earned a Medal of Honor while serving in Italy with the 36th Infantry Division but went on to become a leadership inspiration to Colonel Moschgat.  (more…)

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Truthfulness

2 Min read

Arrogant [Eloquent] lips are unsuited to a fool
how much worse lying lips to a ruler! Proverbs 17:5-7 (NIV)

Truthfulness is an elusive habit for leaders.  We are assaulted daily by situations that beg for lies, half-truths, misinformation, deception, and withholding.  These situations arise at work from difficult communication, positions of disadvantage to us, and fear of retribution.  Within our families they arise from personal pride toward spouses, fear of children’s actions, and discomfort with admitting to wrong actions.

The mad boss asks, “Who made this decision?”
The Christian brother states, “I’m only flirting with her, I can control it.”
The inefficient employee asks, “Am I doing ok working for you?”
The spouse demands, “Where did all of our money go?”
Your child asks, “Where do babies come from?”

A Christian Leader’s response:

1.  Just tell it. The benefits of truthfulness outweigh the costs in the long run as your boss learns to appreciates your trust and candor, your spouse loves the open communication, and your children model.  Warning, blunt truthfulness will mark you as a jerk and harm your ability to influence.  Use gentleness and patience to form your communication in a way that creates an environment of appreciation.

2.  Demand it in return. My initial briefing to new employees has always included the requirement of truth.  My nature I am a trusting person, tell me something and I take it to the bank until that something is proven false.  Once you lose my trust it’s hard to get it back.   My daughters were raised with the same requirement.  I marvel at parents who severely discipline children based on honest disclosure.  Since birth we have demanded truth and lessened discipline with it.  The result, open communication… something seemingly rare in today’s youth.

To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful. Edward R. Murrow

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