Leadership in Context

Truth is absolute. Truth is not subject to change. Truth is not measured in the now; Truth is measured in eternity. Facts are accurate but are subject to change. Truth is accurate and is not subject to change. You cannot change Truth. Truth will always be true. 

When you make outward, subjective judgments, you diminish what Jesus did on the cross. If we don’t preach the judgment of God, there will be a lack of depth of conversion because people don’t really comprehend what Jesus did for them. Judgment and forgiveness cannot be separated. 

Does Jesus judge people? Jesus’ mission was to not bring judgment. His mission was to break the judgment that was over us. If people don’t receive that mission, they stay under judgment. Listen to this and all episodes on most major podcasting apps and on our website https://www.nrpastors.com/podcast

In everything we do, there’s this one thing we should always do—forget what’s behind us and look forward. When we look forward and not behind, we can press toward the goal of the prize. If we are pressing forward, the prize is that God will always be calling us to greater things. The prize is God trusting you. The prize is peace, knowing you are obeying God. 

You get stronger when you lift weights. If you run away from any of the pain points in leadership, you won’t get stronger in them. You will only get stronger when you press through them.

Leadership is ministry; it’s serving. The God of Heaven, the God that spoke the galaxies into existence, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the sender of the Holy Spirit trusts you to do great things in His Name. We need to treat that like it is a privilege all the time.

Five things to maintain relational integrity--Recognize that your own personal preferences are not Scripture. Give forgiveness to others just as freely as you have received from the Lord. Empathize with people, not their performance. Remember who people are to God. Remember who they are to you and your relationship with them.

If we don’t process the “stuff” from people and keep our hearts soft, then we aren’t really operating out of the flow of the Holy Spirit. Scripture directs us in how to keep our heart pure with other people. Bear with one another. Forgive each other, just as the Lord forgave us. Put on love, the perfect bond of unity.

Forgiveness is not intellectual. It is an opening of our spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to wash through us and out to others the same forgiveness that we so desperately depend on. One of the greatest things that has to happen in leaders is the ability to maintain a clean heart by really forgiving people and releasing them from their offenses. 

The evidence of effective leadership is that people know the next step. Spiritual planning does not lack faith; it is a testament to your faith. You are not waiting for something to happen. You are allowing God to instigate you to cause something to happen. What is your plan for the things you say are important to you?

A lot of people never become the steward of their own life because their thinking is stuck in a victim mentality. A lot of bad things happen to a lot of good people. A planner says, “What am I going to do with what I have?” At some point, you will give an account for the things the Lord has given you.

You will never be prosperous or free in your soul if you are jealous of others or compare yourself to others. 

Jesus came in the flesh. He humbled Himself and took on the form of a man. The Spirit of God lives in you. You are a model of Christ, an example of Christ. You have a purpose. God wants to use you to touch this world as the representation of Christ.

What drives your life–problems or purpose? The 80/20 Rule is that 80% of the effort from ministry teams is spent taking care of needs and not moving the vision forward. When a leader can begin to tilt that seesaw, then you have exponential growth in leaders. Therefore, you can meet more needs.

Leaders set goals by defining where they want to go. Goals are not just about productivity. They are about clarity of direction. If the destination is clear, you are more apt to fight through (and win) whatever happens along the way. If you aren’t sure about the destination, there will be a hesitancy to give it your all. If you see a group of people who have gifts but they aren’t giving their all,...

Are we leading people or just ministering to people? Ministering to them is helping them get whole and self-governed. That is a key part of discipleship. Often ministry leaders spend 75% of their time doing ministry and not leading. As a result, they have fewer leaders and more needs. Even if they grow from your ministry, they aren’t able to multiply.

Often we look for people who can help us do a certain thing rather than looking for someone to help us be a certain kind of person. Having someone in your life who will help you be a better person will, in turn, help you do better. Who is that someone in your life that you have given permission to drill down on you, even when you don’t like it?

How do you get better? Change the way you prepare. Practice. Practice involves attitude and aptitude. If you don’t have a desire to get better, you are going to have a bad attitude about practicing. Practice helps our aptitude. We keep getting better, and that becomes the culture.

We all have to do things that we are not called to do so that we can do the things we are called to do. God placed man in the garden to cultivate it and keep it. He placed him there to work. Our work should be a reflection of our worship. Work is not a necessary evil. Work is a divine assignment. If you don’t do it in the workplace, you won’t do it in the ministry.

If you don’t have a plant, you can’t have fruit. If you haven’t planted, then nothing will sprout. Before God plants something, He already has a plan so that when He puts that plant in the ground, it will yield fruit.  Listen to more episodes of Leadership in Context HERE . 

People walk out what they really believe. When we see people do things, what they are doing is manifesting what they really believe. We walk out not what we have said “amen” to, but what we believe deep down. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE . 

As a leader, don’t apologize for calling people up to their holy calling. God wants us to be a disciple and be a disciple maker because we are called with a holy calling. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE . 

2 Timothy 2:2, “ The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also .” Discipleship is not just a classroom. Discipleship is when you share your life. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE . 

Increase your capacity with your convictions, competency, curiosity, and connection. Convictions override feelings. Increasing your competency will increase your capacity. Curiosity is part of a learning venue. And connection multiplies your capacity. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE . 

If you are going to increase your capacity, you have to take advantage of what you already have. People tend to complain about what they don’t have, but they don’t fill up what they do have. The greatest mark of a leader is that a leader leads himself. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE .