Leadership in Context

We were created for and need healthy, fun relationships. As a leader, model wisdom and discretion in that and learn to have boundaries. But have relationships, share activities, include others, and have fun! You CAN be friends with those you minister to.

Character trumps charisma. The greatest thing a leader brings to the table is not their oratory skills, but their character. As leaders, we need to have a life that is worth following.

I remember God speaking to my heart and saying, “I’m going to give you a big family, and it’s going to be a major part of your ministry because I want people to understand how much I love people and love children.”—Penny Tucci The heart posture is this: Lord, You own me. My life has been purchased by You. You own my past that You have forgiven me of, You own my future and my destiny. What do you w...

We should be thinking God’s way and not allowing the world to think for us. We should be making decisions based on the Lordship of Jesus in our life, not based on the culture. And we should be saying loud and clear with our lives that children are a blessing.

The less we think, the more we feel. The less we learn to think, the more we rely on our feelings. We need to learn to think through things so we aren’t dependent on our emotions.

Many of us had strong convictions about not getting the COVID-19 vaccination because we didn’t know what it would do to our bodies and how it might change us. Yet, when it comes to child prevention, there are pharmaceutical cocktails that Christians are putting into their bodies with no consideration about the affects on our bodies. When we take away the divinity of God and the humanity of man wor...

If we say that children are a blessing, why do we want to limit that blessing? The concern is that we put so little effort into coming to the decision to limit how many children we have.  This episode stirs up a conversation on procreation. Send your questions and comments about this to Pastor Keith at podcast@nrpastors.com.  We are going to spend the next few weeks on this. Listen to the episodes...

The gospel ends with Jesus still personally encountering people and giving them the authority to go and preach the Good News. As His disciples, we need to share the Good News and help people personally encounter Jesus in this new year.

People aren’t bothered by Jesus being a savior, a healer, a prophet, or a great teacher, because none of those things carry ultimate authority. But Jesus being King carries ultimate authority. We have to come under the Kingship of Jesus.

Jesus makes it very clear that what He is talking about in Mark 13 are things that have already happened; they are not prophetic words about what will happen in the end times. Don’t fall victim to seeking a political messiah. The Church and the gospel message are the hub. Politics, art, law, economics, and education are the spokes.

Whose image is impressed upon you? That is who you owe a debt to. That is who you ultimately serve. You were made in the image of God. 

What Jesus did in the temple was a premeditated plan. He wanted His last picture of the temple to be a cleansed temple. He still wants to cleanse the temple, starting with us.

In Mark 10, the Pharisees ask Jesus about marriage and divorce. They were not asking a theological question, but a political question. Jesus didn’t run away from that political question. He answered it with Scripture and got to the root of the matter.

God doesn’t chastise you for having spiritual ambition. He wants those ambitions to be sanctified so that they are not about you, but about Him. God is looking for some self-starting, self-governing people who are teachable and will respond to the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus walked the earth, He considered everything going on. Even Him using spit to heal a blind man was intentional. Everything Jesus did was not just for the moment, healing a blind man or feeding the five thousand; it was also a bigger picture of WHO He was.

If we aren’t careful, we can hold traditions in our hearts as equal as the Word of God. You can only hold one thing as your authority. Don’t fall prey to holding people in religious bondage by traditions, as the Pharisees did.

An offense doesn’t stay with just the person who was offended. It puts a stumbling block in front of other people and diminishes the ministry and calling of someone else. As leaders, we need to walk free of offense and help deliver people from their offenses.

If you want to get the Lord’s attention, latch onto the promise of God. Get a specific promise and fight through the obstacles and disappointments. Hold on and don’t let go. 

For every godly person who is going to make a difference, there comes a time when God invades, disrupts, upsets, and causes them to be so passionate about what God is calling them to do that to those around them who are mere spectators (and not seeking to follow), it appears unreasonable. That same Spirit draws many of us in, for we are seeking the Spirit of God that is moving that person and we w...

Righteous anger has a grieving with it, not just an offense in your flesh. We don’t have a license to be angry. But God has given us an emotional container to use the right kind of anger as a tool for righteousness. 

We need to learn how to have biblical conversations. There are times when we have one-way communication and  preach with authority. And there are times, in the discipleship and growth process, when there are around-the-table conversations with the Bible open. Jesus modeled both.

Mark 1:38 tells us that Jesus came to preach the Good News. All that we do needs to have the name of Jesus on it and include the preaching of the Good News. It is what Jesus did. It should be what we do.

Servant leadership is first and foremost about serving God, not about serving people. We should be submitted to God and a servant of God. We then invite people, not just to serve us, but invite them to serve the Lord WITH us.

Farmers are hard-working. They sow and expect to reap, they understand processes and seasons, they are patient and consistent. Farmers harvest and then release, because they love to feed people.

Athletes have an incredible desire that drives them. They are disciplined, work towards progress, do things with excellence, and enjoy what they do. Athletes inspire people and help them translate that to discipline.