Welcome to The Online School of Leadership session on servant-leadership. Two days ago the first lesson defined leadership from a biblical perspective. Jesus’ servant leader model continues to work thousands of years later while producing billions of Christians worldwide. If you did not get a chance to read it, you can CLICK HERE.
Let’s begin today’s session with this question:
How can a Leader be a Servant at the same time?
Let’s start with this premise: Most who lead desire to lead effectively – especially if you’re a new leader or haven’t developed your leadership philosophy. Seminaries, colleges, and university leadership programs don’t have a monopoly on advanced leadership skills. With time, you can teach yourself many leadership principles and skills by attending this Online School of Leadership.
This Online School of Leadership is an experiment which features the Bible, the very best leadership books available, and is based on thousands of hours of research. If you don’t have the time to drop everything, accumulate student loan debt, and attend college or seminary, tune in for the next few weeks and you’ll learn more about leadership that you can possibly imagine.
Check Out The Leadership Curriculum…
For better or worse, leaders put themselves out there, on display, for the entire world to see. Whether you’re a pastor, ministry leader, business owner, entrepreneur, supervisor, or hold no titles, at some point in your professional career, you’re going to be criticized. Recently, God’s overwhelming presence cut into my sermon time and I didn’t preach a full message. Boy, did the critics come out. They criticized me for using the Holy Spirit’s visitation for not wanting to preach. OUCH!
Criticism, even to the most seasoned professionals, is still a difficult pill to swallow and one that doesn’t go down easily or sit well with many of us. When someone publicly (or privately) criticizes you, take a deep breath and follow these guidelines:
Consider this statement:
It doesn’t have to be perfect for God to bless it.
As I read Scripture, I can’t find any instance where conditions were perfect before God blessed it. Abraham didn’t have all the answers when asked to sacrifice his son Isaac…he proceeded anyway. Moses had a speech problem and was insecure about his leadership abilities…he proceeded anyway. Nehemiah certainly didn’t know how the building project would turn out, but he proceeded anyway. Are you noticing a pattern here?
Why The Big Push For Excellence?
Every generation is quick to point out the hypocrisy of the one that preceded it. The generation born just after WWII began rejecting the values of their parents during the ’60s. Now it’s their kids’ turn. Today’s young adults see a generation of baby-boomer Christians that has striven for “excellence” in every part of church life. Boomers proclaimed in the 1980s that image is everything, and their churches have reflected that cultural trend.
We hear a lot about how leaders must have a burning red-hot vision from God. If we accept Bill Hybel’s definition of vision (I do), then what exactly does it mean to have a vision? How can you tell if you’re moving in the right direction? Great! I’m glad you’re pondering that question.
As a subscriber to Harvard Business Review OnPoint Journal, I behaved like a child at Toys R Us upon receiving the Winter 2010 edition. “Turning Your Vision into Reality” is this month’s theme and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Vision is popular buzzword among leaders, especially church leaders. Unfortunately, many pastors attend conferences and come away with visions hijacked from others, falsely believing that God will do the same for their church. I call this ministry pornography (I’ll blog about that later).
Vision is a “preferred picture of what could be and what should be” according to megachurch pastor Bill Hybels. Furthermore, He goes on to say, “when you put the right words to a vision or principle, it becomes axiomatic. It begins to live! It becomes memorable and powerful!”
I converse with leaders from all walks of life and they ALL wrestle with words to frame their vision. Honestly, they wrestle with words until they are able to communicate their big ideas in a way that captures the imagination and lifts spirits. Personally, sometimes words cannot explain how I feel. However, when they’re linked to music and video, something magical happens. I invite you to take a peek and see what’s swirling around in my mind. I decided to let the music speak and frame a reality I dream of. Enjoy!
My Vision…My Dream from CE Stowers on Vimeo.
What’s your vision…your preferred picture of what could be and what should be?
Unlock the power of gratitude and transform your life with our FREE gratitude journal!
This journal is designed to help you develop a daily gratitude practice scientifically proven to improve mental and physical health, reduce stress and anxiety, and increase happiness and overall well-being.
With our gratitude journal, you'll have a dedicated space to reflect on the things you're grateful for in your life. By taking just a few minutes each day to focus on the positive, you'll cultivate a more positive outlook, attract more abundance and joy into your life, and enjoy a greater sense of inner peace and contentment.
I hope you find this helpful. Let me know if you have any specific requirements or changes you'd like to make.
Just enter your details in the form below to get instant access to "Faith on The Fly: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth for Busy Professionals" eBook.