Monthly Archives: January 2017

Posted on

The Leader and Prayer – Part 2

by

Silhouette of person in desertLast week we looked at the importance of prayer in the leader’s life. Jesus – God in human form – modeled to us the centrality of prayer in following the Father’s will.

Jesus, the God-Man, faithfully and consistently modeled a life of public and private prayer for his disciples and for us. If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to pray, then we too need to pray. Prayer is our lifeline; without prayer, we have no spiritual life.

Prayer is vital to godly leadership. At the risk of stating the obvious, let me suggest some reasons why prayer is necessary.

Posted on

The Leader and Prayer

by

Man praying in the grassy field

Every leader I know aspires to be a good leader. They want to lead their people to the best of their abilities with the direction of God.

Many attend school for years to learn how to be a good leader. Then once they begin their roles as leaders, they continue their training by attending workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats and special events, all in an attempt to be a good leader.

Some become part of a group of leaders that meets regularly to help each other be good leaders. Some leaders have a mentor or hire a coach to help them be good leaders.

If you spend any time talking with a leader in ministry, it will not be long before you hear of all the things they are doing as they try to lead their people well. You hear about books or blogs they are reading, podcasts they listen to, twitter feeds they follow, all in an attempt to stay relevant and be effective as a leader.

There is one topic, however, that I hear too few Christian leaders talking about as essential to their leadership: prayer.

Posted on

Too Much to Do, Part 2

by

Using A Personal Organizer To Organize The Events For The Next Week

Last week I asked the question, “Are you doing too much?” We looked at some signs which may indicate that you are doing too much. This week I will explore how you can take back control of your life and begin to live at a more manageable and healthy pace that will renew your passion for ministry and leadership.

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. Think of it this way, when a baby, or for that matter twins, join a family, does that family get any more time added to their day to care for the additional family member(s)? Obviously, the issue is not a matter of “enough time” but of managing time effectively. How can you best use the time available to you and avoid becoming too busy? Consider the following.

Posted on

Too Much to Do

by

Overloaded Worker Having A NapI recall a time in my life as a leader when I bought into the myth that being busy was normal, even necessary. I was on call 24/7 and felt I was needed; that gave me a false sense of value, power, and control. In the process, I neglected my family, my health, and my spiritual and psychological well-being.

In today’s world, it is common to think that unless you are crazy busy, you are somehow neither effective nor normal. Unfortunately, we have bought into the myth that busy is expected and necessary.

Let me suggest some red flags to look for as signs that you have probably bought into the myth.

Posted on

Out with the Things that Defeat

by

24386074469_4b3bd814d7_zAs you look forward to this new year, what are you taking with you from the past year? That may sound like an obvious question, but in reality many of us don’t take time to reflect on what we are taking into the new year from the previous one.

While you may be making plans for what you would like for your life in the coming year, I want to challenge you to take a look at what you are carrying with you from the past year. If you do not take inventory of what you are bringing but focus only on what you want to achieve, you may find yourself struggling to achieve your goals for 2017 mainly because they are being sabotaged by things you brought with you from 2016.