Letting someone else lead us

We are not good at letting someone else lead us. We usually like to be in control and to call the shots. Jesus makes it clear, that when it comes to being a disciple, we must choose to let him lead us. There is no other way:

^34-37 Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. (Mark 8 - Eugene Peterson)

Thought: What do you find hard about sitting in the passenger seat? 

“Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” —John C. Maxwell

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Thoughts on relevant leadership

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and as the week progresses we are confronted by different kinds of leadership. We see the political, the religious and then we see Jesus' unique style of servant leadership. It is not hard to draw parallels with the leadership we see all around us today and the varying display of leadership from Jesus' era. The question is always - "which leadership style is the most successful?"

Obviously as a Christ-follower I will be biased, but it is remarkable that we are all still interested in following Jesus, 2000 years later, while very few of us want to become like Pilate, Herod and the Pharisees!?

Luke 22:26 - But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.

“We don't need a title to lead. We just need to care. People would rather follow a leader with a heart than a leader with a title”- Craig Groeschel

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Today I tried to run the world...and I failed!

This piece of writing is so spot on for many of us. It hit me straight in the heart and I pray that God speaks to you as much as I felt him speaking to me. I am grateful to the book 'Souvenirs of Solitude' by Brennan Manning for this gift. 

"Lord, today I tried to run the world singlehandedly,
I tried so hard, Lord,
to take care of everything.
I took upon myself
all of the problems,
all the burdens,
all the worries of everyone who makes up my little world.
I tried so hard, Lord, and I accomplished nothing.
I'm frustrated,
frazzled,
and exhausted to the point of tears.
Nothing seemed to go right.

Lord, will I never learn
that you're the one
who runs everything?
That you're the one
who knows all the answers?
That you're the only one
who can carry
the intolerable burdens
we try to shoulder for ourselves?
That you're the only one
who can solve
the insoluble problems?

That you're the only one
who accomplishes anything of worth?
That everything depends on you?

Lord, sometimes I wonder why

you bother to put up with me.

Sometimes I wonder

if you're not sorely tempted

to take me by the shoulders 

and shake me until my teeth rattle.

I couldn't blame you if you did.

Thank you Lord,

for putting up with me today.

And thank you, Lord,

for doing things YOUR way!" - Brennan Manning.

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It matters

I like to do some reading around Leadership as often as I can and one of the authors I enjoy is Nancy Ortberg. She wrote a lovely book called "Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands", where she reflected on leadership with these words:

“Leadership matters. It stands at the crossroads of what we do and who we are, and that is a profound place. It requires that we shape vision and develop a plan and work hard.  It requires that we become stronger in our resilience and forgiveness and determination and love.”

This last sentence is the one that I wanted to highlight, because I believe this speaks to all of us, not just leaders. Life is teaching us that we can become stronger and more resilient. If we choose determination then I also feel we can lean more towards forgiveness and love. 

What do you think?

Ephesians 1:7 - "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace."

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Ironies of life

As Solomon heads deeper into chapter 10, he starts to reflect on some of the ironies of life. He even goes so far as to say that these ironies are almost evil in some ways. This is what he says about some decisions made by leaders, politicians and rulers.

"There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!" - Ecclesiastes 10:5-7

I don't think he is being derogatory about uneducated people gaining positions of leadership, but rather about rulers appointing their cronies to positions of power, when those people are not qualified for the job. Then in the same way, people who are skilled in certain fields are over-looked for leadership. This kind of treatment is not going to get your subjects excited about serving on your leadership team.

“You don't necessarily need atomic bombs to destroy a nation. Politicians who value their pockets than the life of citizens always do that every day.”
― Israelmore Ayivor

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No King?

People faulter without proper leadership. This is a fact and is played out in countries, schools, businesses, communities, churches and even in some homes. People need leaders!

"Have you no king to lead you?
Have your wise people all died?" - Micah 4:9

Micah's question arises as a result of the mess that he sees in the nation of Israel. People are living as if they have no king and no wise teachers to lead them. The irony was that they had a King, but they had turned their backs on God.

Remember this Advent season, that we are blessed to have a King - his name is Jesus. He invites us into his kingdom and waits to see our response.

Matthew 2:2 - “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

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The mighty will fall

If there is anything we can learn from History it is this: "The mighty will fall!"
Ordinary people often despair when they see politicians, leaders and government officials getting away with "murder", but we need to hold onto the fact that they will also fall!
Perhaps Justice takes a little longer than we would like, but in the end, I believe that God will bring  EVERYONE to account. It may be a naive way of thinking of it, but it keeps me sane, when I see the mess the world is in.

Read these words from 1 Samuel 1 and see what Hannah had to say:

⁴ The bow of the mighty is now broken,
    and those who stumbled are now strong.

⁵ Those who were well fed are now starving,
    and those who were starving are now full.
The childless woman now has seven children,
    and the woman with many children wastes away.

⁶ The Lord gives both death and life;
    he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.
⁷ The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
    he brings some down and lifts others up.

Unknown - "The mighty will fall. The strong will break. The courageous will cower.The proud will die."

2 Samuel 1:27 - "How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!"

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Prayer of a True leader

In the context of great political upheaval, as well as the greatest week in the Christian calendar, it seems appropriate to consider a prayer of true humility. I believe that leadership is a huge gift, responsibility and burden, but we should bear it with Christ-like humility. Jesus' attitude of obedience and humility won him billions of followers - so, surely we would do well to emulate his heart. This prayer is adapted from a prayer written by William Barclay.

 

"O Father, give us the humility which realises our ignorance,
Admits our mistakes, 

recognises our need, 

welcomes advice,
Accepts rebuke. 

Help us always to praise rather than to criticise,
To sympathise rather than to discourage, 

to build rather than to destroy,
And to think of people at their best rather than at their worst.
This we ask for thy name’s sake. Amen."
–  Prayer adapted from William Barclay

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All good things come at a great cost

I have had the privilege of attending the Global Leadership Summit this weekend. I find that there is always some inspiration from the talks and they always challenge me to become a better leader, Christ-follower and Pastor. One of the many brilliant speakers this year was John Maxwell. I have read many of his books and so to see his talk was special. There was something in his talk that really struck a chord with me - it is simple, but a timely reminder to me. He said something along the lines of this:

"All good things come at a great cost." (Achieving your goals is like driving uphill - it is hard and can be tough going.)

Of course, he is right. Why would anything 'good' come at zero effort and cost? In a business sense this speaks about how achieving anything significant is going to mean blood, sweat and tears. In personal relationships, it will be the same. And the same applies for our Spiritual lives - having a great relationship with Jesus comes at a great cost - and this was all paid for by Christ himself.

So, before you give up on the 'uphill' challenges of your life, ask yourself if pushing through the tough times will not be worth it in the end.

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Assistant?

We are so used to taking charge of situations in our lives that we don't like to be second in command. We may be happy to have an Assistant, but we like to know that we can call the shots most of the time. The trouble with this is that we then treat God in the same way. We think that God will make a great Assistant - we can call on him whenever we get stuck on our own projects.

In truth, God is not looking for the job as our Assistant. God wants to be our LEADER, our LORD and our Captain.

Let's stop trying to fit Jesus into the position as our assistant and let's hand over the reins to Him.

Psalm 68:6 -  God makes a home for the lonely; He leads the prisoners into prosperity, Only the stubborn and rebellious dwell in a parched land (Amplified).

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Sharp, Sharp

I have the privilege of being able to share at a Men’s Weekend on the North Coast, over this weekend. I have found that it is so vital for us to take time out to encourage one another and to hone our faith-skills. We live in a time where many things ‘blunt’ our desire to serve Christ and to lead effectively. We need to be consciously making time to sharpen our faith.

It reminds me of the following words from Solomon:

Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Ecclesiastes 10:10 - Using a dull axe requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.

Who can you go to in order to have your Spiritual life sharpened?

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Run of the House?

In your home, who has the 'run of the house?'
It is an interesting question, don't you think? We can allow all sorts of things or people to have the run of our houses, our lives, our work and even our faith. But, who should really be in charge. Listen to what Paul says in Colossians:


"Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other…. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” – Colossians 3:15 (MSG)

Don't you like those words? Paul urges us to let the Words of Jesus have the run of our house. In other words, let Christ be in charge and allow His words to be the guiding principles in your family.

Worth thinking about?
I think so.

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