Leadership in Context

The Church has grown old because we are missing the “dew” in the youth that God has given us to refresh us. We are waiting on them to mature rather than helping them in the maturity process. We shouldn’t count them out by waiting until they are older. We can give them a platform right where they are in their maturity and walk with God. We get to be encouragers, affirmers, and investors in them.

We each play a different role in the next generation’s life. A brother or sister connects and understands. A father or mother takes on a teaching role and helps to prepare for what is next. A grandfather and grandmother affirms and encourages.

You can’t have a little bit of faith and a little bit of law and hope that will get you through. If your faith isn’t in the fact that Jesus took your place and paid the price for your salvation, it’s not faith. Faith has been and will always be the means of people being saved.

The purpose of the Jewish nation was to love and worship God in such a way that the other nations would be provoked to serve the Lord. That is the same purpose the Church has–we have the same mission, the same Lord, the same purpose.

You cannot trust two things at the same time. You can’t trust Jesus AND your traditions to save you. All have sinned, all need to be saved, and there is no other way to be saved except by the cross.

The book of Jude concludes with five things we need to do when dealing with false teachers causing division in the church: (1) Keep yourself in the love of God, (2) anticipate the increase of the mercy of God in your life, (3) give away some of that mercy, (4) don’t be silent, and (5) hate what sin does.

When someone defies the Word of God, when they go their own way, when they are rebellious and cause division in the church, they are not working against you but are working against the Lord. How do we not act like that? Jude instructs us to be responsible to build ourselves up in faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 

Jude compares false teachers to hidden reefs. We live in a culture where not only is there no consequence for sin, but you are a bad person if you think there should be. The wind blows, and a lot of stuff blows with the wind. Be wise. Be anchored in the Word, or you will be hitting a hidden reef that will bring you down.

Jude warns against false teachers. He warns against a resistance to divinely-appointed authority. If we honor God’s authority in the local church and work through the precepts of Matthew 18 when there are issues, the church would be vibrant and healthy.

False grace leads people to live as if there are no consequences to sin. The consequence for sin is eternal. Even the angels could not escape judgment. 

To be a Christian, you have to have a Master. You are not morally free. You are morally dependent on the Lord, His powers, and His directives. In this week’s episode of the LEADERSHIP IN CONTEXT podcast, Keith continues the study of the book of JUDE.

We are not trying to attain our salvation. Jesus bought that for us on the cross. Instead, we are trying to live out what we already attained. In this week’s episode of the LEADERSHIP IN CONTEXT podcast, Keith begins a study of the book of JUDE.

A vision that is not worth working for is a vision that will never work. Three Vision Truths: (1) Good vision defines a value and puts a price on it of human endeavor. (2) Goals are not end products; they are tools. (3) Inspiration equals perspiration.

Vision Truths: (1) Vision understands that the WHO is bigger than the WHY—God is the “who” of the vision. (2) Vision requires single focus and multitasking—Lack of preparation and details will invalidate the destination. (3) Vision needs clarification on the difference between function and process—People lose heart in vision when they get buried in the function. (4) Honest evaluation is a key ingr...

To increase our visionary leadership, we have to first understand that God honors and blesses plans. Making a plan is a spiritual thing. We also need to keep our sight lines clean, avoid procrastination, and have a purpose perimeter.

If you want something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done. Translate time into action, make sure you see the vision, change your vantage point, and don’t run from pressure.

People who don’t have vision hurt themselves because they stop when they experience pain. Vision allows you to persist through pain because vision sees where it is going. Vision sees the finish line, which causes the pain to submit to the greater cause.

There is a difference between vision and focus. Vision is the inspiration part. Focus is the discipline part. Vision makes things clear. Focus makes things practical.

We can engage in missions by (1) investigating the place or people that interest us, (2) educating others as to why meeting a need is strategic, (3) stimulating others as to why this is critical to the heart of God, your church, and the people you are reaching out to, (4) creating an opportunity to do something, and (5) celebrating what is happening through your engagement.

In all things, when you obey God, there is a reciprocal blessing and benefit. The benefits of working with other local churches in missions are that you are more effective, influential, and able to develop people. As a local church, if you are not involved in missions with other churches, you can’t be as healthy as God designed you to be.

Missions is about relationship, not just giving money. Missionaries are often the most neglected people in the body of Christ. It is essential when we take on missions that we take on caring for that person, as well. 

Missions are not an addendum to Church life. God so loved THE world. Not just the world in our sphere, but the world as He sees it. Any endeavor in Church life has to be connected to God’s ultimate intention, and that is that everyone should hear the Gospel and see the Gospel displayed. 

Ministry is a privilege. That perspective changes everything. In the grand scheme of things, leadership does seem on a temporal level to be sacrificial, but the reality is that you are getting the best deal of your life. The reward you get for the investment is the greatest thing!

Are you promoting a trustworthy culture? As leaders, we can teach people to be trustworthy, help them to understand the value of trust, teach them how to build trusting relationships and how to disagree without being disagreeable. If we don’t do those things, trust won’t be part of our culture and people will end up not trusting us.

Leaders are set aside by God. The foundation of biblical leadership is responsibility. The ability to respond to God is a leader’s greatest ability. Good leaders have a sense of responsibility, and that is the velocity in which they lead others.