Principles of Leadership, Day 13 Growth is required. Read Ephesians 4:11-16. When we think of leadership, often we think of something that we have attained. Instead, leadership is actually something that we are in the process of attaining. It is a journey, not a destination. Leadership requires growth. We cannot be truly leading if we are not growing ourselves. We must be constantly seeking ways to improve ourselves and grow ourselves. Stagnation breeds complacency. Leaders understand this and seek to grow themselves as well as those that they lead. How are we leading others to Christ? Are we taking the time to grow ourselves and to learn more about ourselves…

Principles of Leadership, Day 12 Keep the right perspective. Read John 13:13-17. My mom used to call it getting the “big head.” You know, that puffed up, arrogant way of thinking about ourselves. We think we are so good, or so smart, or so perfect that we can do anything. It’s not a good way to be. Instead God calls us to be humble. We are to be like servants. No matter what form of leadership we’re taking, we are ultimately to be serving those people that we lead and showing them what it means to serve God. Our leadership is done through our humility. We have to focus on…

Principles of Leadership, Day 11 Servant by choice. Read Mark 10:42-45. These verses speak to the essence of servant leadership. As we have discussed before, Christian leadership is the foundation of the principle of servant leadership. In fact, it’s almost impossible to truly have one without the other. Looking at how we do leadership, we must continuously be evaluating the best way to motivate our team and help them to grow. Often this is by serving them. How do we need to serve our team today? In what way can we build them up instead of trying to build ourselves up today?

Principles of Leadership, Day 10 Who do we work for? Read 2 Timothy 2:15. When we get up every morning and we go about the responsibilities of our day, who are we doing that for? Who do we keep in mind and focus on as we’re going through our day? Why do we do what we do? These are all questions that everyone faces, not just leaders. However, leaders have to understand and convey to their teams the purpose behind what they’re doing. It’s important to understand and remember that as believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we are doing what we do because we are working for God. It…

Principles of Leadership, Day 9 Leadership is not about age. Read 1 Timothy 4:12. Often, when thinking about leadership and people who are great leaders, we realize that their age has nothing to do with leadership. We have all seen amazing leaders who have been much older, much younger, or anywhere in between. I’ve seen leadership displayed in preschool classrooms. I’ve seen leadership displayed in senior centers. However, when we start putting criteria for leadership on ourselves, many times we think we must be older. We mix up the ideas of chronological age with experience and application of that experience. Chronological age only tells someone how many revolutions around the…

Principles of Leadership, Day 8 Criteria and qualifications. Read 1 Timothy 3:2-4 As we read through these verses of all the things we see Paul sharing with Timothy that make a Godly leader, it can be a bit overwhelming. There are a lot of high standards that leaders are expected to maintain. Why? Why should we have such high standards for those that we place in positions of leadership? The answer comes from the impact when we have individuals who do not live up to those standards. We have all heard stories of people who had been in roles of leadership in the church or even in businesses, who later…

Principles of Leadership, Day 7 Where will God use you? Read Proverbs 22:29. This statement of practical wisdom is an interesting one. You see, it’s very true. If you do a good job at what you do, then most of the time people will notice and want those people to help them. Highly skilled people are in denand. What does this mean for leadership? First, we are to be continually working to improve ourselves. While it is very true that God can put us anywhere and do anything he wants to through us,we must take responsibility to grow ourselves and learn what we can so that God has the best…

Principles of Leadership, Day 6 Guard your heart. Read Proverbs 4:23. You may ask, what does guarding your heart have to do with leadership? This seems like a principle that should be for everyone, not just leaders. You’re actually correct. Every single one of us should understand and take the responsibility of guarding our heart so that it is focused on Christ and does not get distracted by anything else in the world around us. However, I would also say that for leaders, this is especially important. Your attitude is contagious amongst the people that you lead. Your teams will always be a reflection of you. If you are not…

Principles of Leadership, Day 5 A Leader is something you become. Read Matthew 20:26. In this chapter, we see a couple of Jesus’s disciples asking to be given positions of leadership. However, Jesus explains that they do not know what they are asking for. However, he goes on to explain more about what it means to become a leader. You see, “leaders” are not necessarily something that people are. “Leaders” are something people become. Just because you are not a leader today doesn’t mean that you can’t be a leader tomorrow. As we read this verse, we see that the process of becoming a leader is often opposite of what…

Principles of Leadership, Day 4 What are we lifting up? Read John 3:30. Similar to yesterday’s discussion, as leaders, we need to recognize the importance of lifting up that which matters most. John the Baptist recognized the need for this. He had many followers and much influence. However, he recognized that ultimately, it was not about him, it was about Christ. When we are truly leading others and in Godly, Christian way, we are pointing them to Christ, not to ourselves. No matter who we try to lead, we will never be a better leader then Christ. Are we seeking to make him more in our lives every day so…