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In the Old Testament we see this incredible picture of God supernaturally starting the fire in the temple but that the instruction was to the priests to tend to the fire and not let it go out. This is a picture for each one of us – God lights the fire and we then have to tend to it and keep it burning.
As christians our own personal fire – our own personal love for Jesus – is what is going to keep us in the zone. It’s always easier to pour from a full cup to mix my metaphors. It’s going to keep our heart focused, our energy engaged and our attitude positive. It’s going to help restrain us from temptation and refresh us from the inside out so that we have more to give and that we also enjoy it and are blessed from it. When we’re living from that overflow position small things become magestical acts of service, and we find it easier to be with Jesus, become like Jesus and do the things that Jesus did. Our hearts and spirits are more in tune with the Holy Spirit to hear His voice and be led supernaturally in conversations, prayer moments and in the ways that we live, be it up front or behind the scenes.
I’m sure we can all think of contrasting moments in our own life when we had the fire burning – when we had our personal love tank full so to speak – and when we didn’t.
My first car was a dihasthu charade. It was red and small. I drove it all the way from Dunedin to Auckland with all my worldly belongings. However after a while it had a fuel filter issue. It’s fuel filter would get clogged which made things like driving up hills and well, okay, driving full stop, slightly problematic. When the fuel filter got clogged the fuel couldn’t get through to the engine. Someone taught me a cool trick where I could tap the fuel filter with a spoon and it would unclog and then I could drive so you a) would always find a spoon in my car and b) would often find me on the side of the road, hood up, tapping the fuel filter with said spoon.
Sometimes the fuel filter of our life gets clogged and we need to take that spoon of the word of God and the presence of God and sort it out so that the fuel keeps our engines working well. Flows and seasons can vary – there are times when you’ll be soooo fired up and then times when maybe you’re not feeling it. This can be normal. There are times when you feel God’s presence so close and then times when you know He’s there because you know but you might not feel it as intensely. There are time when circumstances hit and you feel like you’re in a valley season compared to a mountain top season. This is normal. However in those times its important to keep stirring our love and fire and to not let it go out or to not drift into anything else.
Things that can clog our fuel filter are:
criticism
busyness
complacency
temptation
sin
friends
habits
insecurity
social media
Things that can unclog our life fuel filter and tend to the fire are:
time with God
reading the bible
getting around good people
spending time with mentors
priorities
putting Jesus as number one
trace and replace the negative thoughts and behaviours
get prayed for
worship time
“How we lead ourselves in life impacts how we lead those around us.” ― Michael Hyatt
The first, and often most challenging, responsibility of a leader is to lead SELF.
Self-leadership definition is: Self-leadership is having a developed sense of who you are, what you can do, where you are going coupled with the ability to influence your communication, emotions and behaviours on the way to getting there.
Self Leadership is ‘Inside-Out’ Leadership.
Self-leaders are constantly developing: Self-awareness and Self-confidence
Self-awareness is about knowing who God has created you to be and about being real about your strengths and weaknesses, knowing your motivations and values, as well as knowing what can ‘push your buttons’ and derail you.
To quote Thor’s Mum – EVERYONE FAILS AT WHO THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BE, THOR. A MEASURE OF A PERSON, OF A HERO, IS HOW WELL THEY SUCCEED AT BEING WHO THEY ARE.
Self-confidence comes from knowing your strengths and abilities. As we take actions and develop skills, we become more confident. As Christians it’s also about knowing that God is within us to empower us to serve Him.
“So, Jotham became mighty because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God.” — 2 Chron. 27:6 NASB
Jotham was not mighty because he had a great vision or a big army or an amazing leadership team or even an important position and title. He was mighty ‘because’ he did something. That something was to regularly lead himself into the presence of God and order his life. Everything flowed from his self-leadership discipline.
Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. 1 Samuel 30:6
In the face of crisis David strengthened himself in God – he led himself and his emotions and reactions – so that he could then lead the people. Circumstancely he was in exactly the same position as all the other men. His wives and kids were taken. But instead of reacting, like the Israelites did, he strengthened himself in the Lord so he could make the Liam Neeson move…
“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom I can tell you I don’t have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you.”
—Liam Neeson, Taken
Self-leadership is no easy task. Life is noisy and many voices clamour for our attention and time. Stuff happens. We are busy. We have a very real enemy whose sole objective is to kill steal and destroy who you are and what you are going to do for Jesus.
According to Jotham, self-leadership involves ‘ordering our ways.’ This means we think through our life and assess how we are doing. Jotham did this exercise mindful that God was with him … he was, ‘before the Lord.’ He consciously recognized God’s presence and welcomed it as he did self-leadership. He did the exercise WITH God.
What aspects of life should self-leadership touch?
Here are four areas to regularly consider.
MENTAL – EMOTIONAL – PHYSICAL – SPIRITUAL
Check your heart today by asking the following questions:
Mental:
What issues, topics, and challenges receive most of my mental energy?
What skill do I need to learn?
What am I doing to grow wiser?
Emotional:
Is there anything I’m feeling fear or anxiety about today?
Are my relationships healthy, life-giving, and productive?
Are there any experiences from my past that are negatively leaking into my leadership?
Physical:
Do I honour God with my exercise and nutrition?
What is my current stress level and how am I dealing with it?
Do I sleep well and do I take a day off each week rest and to honour God?
Spiritual:
Is my relationship with God honest, current, and fresh?
Is God’s Word a priority to me?
Is my worship honouring God and renewing my spirit?
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The best leaders are servant leaders. However, while servanthood is embedded in their character, they also understand the importance of leadership skills. Consider the word SERVE to remind you of the importance of both character and skills.
The SERVE model represents the 5 fundamental skills of great leaders. Great leaders:
See the future
Engage and Develop Others
Reinvent Continuously
Value Results and Relationships
Embody the Values
Leading others begins with a vision (See the Future) and enlisting someone to help you go after it (Engage and Develop Others). Then, as you begin to grow, change is inevitable. You will be required to adapt and adjust (Reinvent Continuously), and balance the tension between results and people (Value Results and Relationships). Finally, keep in mind, people always watch the leader. Leaders go first and leave last (Embody the Values).
As you work on your skills don’t neglect the importance of your heart. If your heart is not right, no one cares about your skills. The most powerful weapon a leader has in his ‘lead others’ arsenal is a heart rooted in love.
Again let’s look at Mary and Martha in Luke 10.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[f]Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
It was Martha who invited Jesus for dinner, who opened her home for Jesus to come in, for Jesus to minister. It was Martha who opened the door and said come in to Jesus and the disciples and it was Martha who then complained about all the work that had to be done.
If Martha didn’t open the door and invite Jesus in there would have been no work. But there would have been no relationship and no reward either.
How many times do we ask to see God move, we pray for revival, we want to see great and mighty things of God, but then complain about the “stuff that has to be done”, the tasks, that service may require. We pray God let your kingdom come, your will be done but then when it comes to do x y z we shrink back. We sing I wanna know you more, how us your glory but our bible is dusty or our youversion app streak doesn’t pass 7…
Service is not just about our actions but more importantly about our attitude. It’s about being motivated by our love for God and our love for others.
It’s about a I get to attitude instead of I have to.
I get to come to church vs I have to come to church.
I get to be a youth leader instead of I have to.
I get to give vs I have to give
I get to worship vs I have to
Let’s be a team that sees the honour of being able to serve a cause that is far greater than what we can see. Let’s be a team that sees the big picture. When we serve we need to take our eyes off what we’re doing to realise that by what we do we make a way for people to ENCOUNTER Jesus and our very actions, our very service is seen as worship to Jesus!
The Bible tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
Love is not a passive word.
It is a word that bleeds example — action — effort — and generosity.
If you want to lead others well, love will drive your words and behaviour.
The driving force of the Paul as he engaged and developed others was love. Love motivated his vision to share God’s good news — impart his very life to others — work a job so that he wasn’t a burden to anyone — live as an example — care for others as a father would his own children — and encourage others to honour God in everything. In his life we see that Paul was a genuine servant leader.
1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 says “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God who calls you into His kingdom and glory.”
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“How we lead ourselves in life impacts how we lead those around us.” ― Michael Hyatt
The first, and often most challenging, responsibility of a leader is to lead SELF.
Self-leadership definition is: Self-leadership is having a developed sense of who you are, what you can do, where you are going coupled with the ability to influence your communication, emotions and behaviours on the way to getting there.
Self Leadership is ‘Inside-Out’ Leadership.
Self-leaders are constantly developing: Self-awareness and Self-confidence
Self-awareness is about knowing who God has created you to be and about being real about your strengths and weaknesses, knowing your motivations and values, as well as knowing what can ‘push your buttons’ and derail you.
To quote Thor’s Mum – EVERYONE FAILS AT WHO THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BE, THOR. A MEASURE OF A PERSON, OF A HERO, IS HOW WELL THEY SUCCEED AT BEING WHO THEY ARE.
Self-confidence comes from knowing your strengths and abilities. As we take actions and develop skills, we become more confident. As Christians it’s also about knowing that God is within us to empower us to serve Him.
“So, Jotham became mighty because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God.” — 2 Chron. 27:6 NASB
Jotham was not mighty because he had a great vision or a big army or an amazing leadership team or even an important position and title. He was mighty ‘because’ he did something. That something was to regularly lead himself into the presence of God and order his life. Everything flowed from his self-leadership discipline.
We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.
Your level of preparation determines your level of outpouring. It’s not someone elses responsibility to take care of what’s inside of you.
Paul instructed Timothy to fan into flame the gift that was inside him. (2 Timothy 1:6)
“Your life from seed to full-grown tree is a process. We all like the idea of fruit, but rarely do we allow ourselves to build a root system.” Banning Liebscher
As leaders we need to have a strong, consistent inflow to balance our outflow. As leaders were are giving out all the time. Energy, time, emotions. In order to GROW as a leader we need to stretch our capacity and ability to lead. Read the rest of this entry »
Found these great leadership quotes today… thought I would file them here…
“Leadership is the ability to not only understand and utilize your innate talents, but to also effectively leverage the natural strengths of your team to accomplish the mission. There is no one-size fits all approach, answer key or formula to leadership. Leadership should be the humble, authentic expression of your unique personality in pursuit of bettering whatever environment you are in.” – Katie Christy, founder, Activate Your Talent
A leader is someone [who] leads by example and has the integrity to do the right thing even when it is not popular. A good leader has positive influence over others, inspiring them to become a better person and example for others to model their life against, as well.” – Mark Little, founder and president, Diversified Funding – See more at:
“Leadership is the ability to guide others without force into a direction or decision that leaves them still feeling empowered and accomplished.” – Lisa Cash Hanson, CEO, Snuggwugg
“Leadership is the ability to help people achieve things they don’t think are possible. Leaders are coaches with a passion for developing people, not players; they get satisfaction from achieving objectives through others. Leaders inspire people through a shared vision and create an environment where people feel valued and fulfilled.” – Randy Stocklin, co-founder and CEO, Readers.com
“Effective leadership is providing the vision and motivation to a team so they work together toward the same goal, and then understanding the talents and temperaments of each individual and effectively motivating each person to contribute individually their best toward achieving the group goal.” – Stan Kimer, president, Total Engagement Consulting by Kimer
“For any team, if you don’t fight for community, it won’t happen. Community is the intentional pursuit of being intertwined in each other’s stories. It’s being a part of the highs and the lows together, being hope for each other, having fun together, working together, encouraging one another, helping each other grow and calling out the gold in one another.” // Paul McClure from The Heart Behind Community Nights
This popped up on my facebook feed and made my heart pause.
Wow.
This is my heartbeat. This is my way.
Leadership is about community and having a common WHY and one heart, one mind, one purpose.
Together we do this thing.
Proverbs encourages us to “Above everything else guard your heart, because from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23)
Everything flows from having a well heart, a heart in right relationship first with God and secondly with each other. Vertical and horizontal health.
When our hearts are discouraged or disillusioned and unwell, we attribute negativity and bad motivations to people. We are critical and don’t give ourselves fully to serving. We are divided. This affects attitudes and our own motivations. We become hurt and offended. It creates a gap in relationships, vertical and horizontal.
Our hearts matter.
When our hearts are well we are encouraged and inspired. We are positive and motivated. We cover and overlook mistakes, working together to develop strengths, serving with all we are. We are unified and on the same page, able to be real and vulnerable and creative, discussing ideas freely with no sense of shame or fear. We laugh and have fun. We grow.
One of my great goals as a youth pastor is to create a leadership team that is more than just doing a job together. Together we care passionately, live passionately, serve passionately. This happens when we’re on the same page, where we are intentional about creating community and doing life together.
Together.
What do you do to create intentional community for your teams?
I’m good at names. #humblebrag
When I start the year with a new Bible in Schools class (scariest thing on the planet!) I make a bet with the kids that I can learn all their names in one half our session. And remember them all the next week. It’s my win them over trick. This year Evangeline’s class has 31 awesome kids. Yes, 31. A mental challenge yes, but one I took on and smashed. I’m good with names.
So I totally enjoyed The School Of Greatness podcast with Lewis Howes with his special guest Jim Kwik. Jim had some simple Memory Hacks to remembering names that I thought were very actionable. Check out the link to find out more.
When I am learning a class full of names I get the kids into a circle and we play the “random get to know you question game.” Yes I know, naff title. But it works. I get them to say their name and something interesting about themselves. I then every now and then go back down the line repeating their names and what they’re interested in. We have fun with this and usually end up with some good natured teasing about who likes pizza.
I use the same technique when meeting someone new at church or at an event. Say their name, link it with something interesting that they’re into. Boom.
Jim Kwik’s tips are this: BE SUAVE
Believe
Exercise
Say the name
Use it
Ask about it
Visualize
End by saying their name
How do you remember names?
7 Ways for Women to Find Soul Friends – Lisa Jo Baker
Soul friends pay attention to what you’re saying, not to what time the clock says it is.
Soul friends listen as long as it takes to make you feel heard.
Soul friends aren’t in a hurry to get to the point or to check you off the list.
How do I tell my story? – Suzie Eller
There’s power in sharing our stories.
Do you feel God leading you to tell someone?
It can be a fearful thing. What if no one listens?
What if some of the details are harsh?
What if it’s not that exciting?
What if communicating isn’t my thing?
All of these are questions I’ve asked myself as a God-girl with a story.
Do you know what freed me?
I finally owned my story.
The Moment that Saved My Marriage – Lysa TerKeurst
A few years ago, my husband Art and I hit a rough place financially. Some investments we’d made went bad and we lost nearly our entire life savings. I was knee deep in caring for three small children at the time and hadn’t a clue that financial danger was looming on the horizon.
That is, until Art came home and the look on his face spoke of utter defeat. How could we have lost so much? He’d been wise with our finances. He’d done his research. He was a faithful saver. I stood stunned in our foyer that day, as Art told me the news.
There were many different directions my reaction could have gone in the minutes that followed. I was upset. When Art first talked of making these particular investments, I shared with him that I didn’t have a good feeling about it. But, in the end, I let him make the final decision.
So many times in my marriage, I’ve chosen the wrong words — words that were tainted with bitterness, words that were emotionally toxic. But I’m so thankful the Lord had been working on preparing my heart for this moment, and instead of reacting immediately with what would have been a disastrous response, I paused. I allowed the Holy Spirit a few seconds to interrupt my natural flesh feelings.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGIC THINKING
We are servants first.
Without understanding your identity as a servant, leaders (myself included) can use the “important but not urgent” category as an excuse to isolate themselves and be unapproachable and unavailable to the teams they serve alongside.
Much of ministry to people is unplanned.
My friend Darrin Patrick has said, “The most impactful conversations happen at the most inconvenient times.” Some of the best interactions are not on the calendar. Some of the most holy moments are opportunities disguised as interruptions. Without that understanding, leaders (like myself) can loathe the urgent, and those great opportunities would be missed.
If you approach the matrix with the foundation that you are a servant and that God works in the midst of the urgent, then the matrix can be very helpful. After all, it is possible to be both a strategic leader and a servant leader. One does not need to negate the other.
How Goals Can Help You Define Success –
- Define your success. Let’s say you have a “priority” of family. Fine. But what relationships make up that family, and how would you define what success means for those relationships? More specifically, ifyou are married, what would having a “successful” marriage look like? What characteristics would it have? Think about it and write down your thoughts.
- Make an action plan. Go over what you’ve written down and be honest about what needs to take place for this success to happen. Continuing with the example of marriage, if success is defined as having clear communication, quality time, and deeper intimacy, you need to choose actions that foster the growth of those attributes. In this case, scheduled date nights, family business meetings, and other ideas specific to your marriage will make this success a reality. Be sure to communicate clearly with those who will be helping you make these changes. It is really important to have support from others. You can’t just change an important area of your life overnight.
- Put it on the calendar and do it. Jerry Seinfeld became a better joke writer by writing daily. To maintain discipline he used a wall calendar which has the whole year on one page and hung it on a prominent wall. After he did his work, he used a big red magic marker to mark each day he’d done his task. Can you do that? Or something similar in your own life?
How Do You Know When You’re ‘Successful?’
How do you know when you’re ‘successful?’ Is ‘success’ internal or external (i.e., a feeling or recognition)? Is it a journey or a destination (i.e., a process or an event)? Though my search for answers admittedly continues, here are three truths about success that have helped me wrap my head around the concept and be more appreciative of my own accomplishments. I hope you find these ideas helpful and encouraging too!
THE SECRET PART OF BRAVERY PEOPLE STRUGGLE WITH MOST – Michael Hyatt
Jon Acuff Explains Why We Need to Step Out When We Feel Like Holding Back
- Bravery is a choice, not a feeling.
- Being afraid isn’t failure, staying afraid is.
- Bravery has two parts.
Stop Reacting and Start Responding
Virtually all of your thoughts and feelings are conditioned responses to past experiences. It’s a normal strategy for dealing with new opportunities. But if your strategy is flawed, you’ll continue to get low returns on your efforts — both in your personal and professional lives.
Eventually, something will pop up and push you out of your comfort zone. If you don’t have a strategy to deal with new challenges, it won’t be long before you buckle under the pressure.
Stop reacting and start responding.
FIVE POWERFUL “C’S” FOR LEADERSHIP SUCCESS – Leadership Freak
- Cultivation: Grow as you go, not before. Find new capacity by embracing inadequacy. Sufficiency is the enemy of growth.
- Curiosity: The second solution is often better than the first. But, you can’t find the second solution when you’re defending the first. Stay open minded after you find an answer.
- Compassion: Show compassion while getting things done.
- Courage. Older leaders often say, “If I had it to do again, I’d take more risks.” The fear of failure motivates. Running from discomfort is the end of achievement.
- Celebration: Celebrate the contribution of others. You aren’t always the smartest person in the room, regardless of how smart you think you are.
Attitude determines altitude.
One Passion One Devotion 