Lift Your Leadership Notes: If I were a great leader I would ....

You are the light of the world - you are a city set upon a hill - let your light so shine before men that they see your good works and glorify your father in heaven 

Every person here has been called by God to do great things. 

Deuteronomy 28  And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.  Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

We see all of these guys / ladies doing great things - shining a light - how do we do the same thing?  I know what to do - you know what do to - the question is will we do it. 

So today I’m going to do a talk titled If I were a great leader I would …. 

Lead myself well. 

- Feed myself the word of God.

- Spend one hour per day mastering my craft. 

- Workout at least 30 minutes per day. 

- Have a hobby. 

Lead my family well. 

-  Date Days

-  Time with kids 

-  Phone off by 7pm every night 

-  Enjoy every day because tomorrow comes to quickly

Know the answer to the three most important questions of life. 

Leadership is influence nothing more and nothing less. 

Answering three questions will give you influence - allow you to lead. 

Who am I?

Why am I here?

Where am I going?

Look at the Apostle Paul

Who am I?   I am Apostle

Why am I here?      To be all things to all men might win some

Where am I going?    Forgetting the past I am pressing on to the high calling in Christ

Look at the Partier from back in your High School Days. 

This guys never went to a party alone ... why? He could answer these three questions. 

Who am I?    I am a partier

Why am I here?   I am here to party

Where am I going?   I am going to a party - do you want to go?

Look at Jesus himself

Who am I?   I am the way truth and life

Why am I here?   I am here to seek and save the lost

Where am I going?   I am going to to prepare a place for you 

Let me ask you ...

Who are you?

Why are you here?

Where are you going?

Say "yes" less and "no" more often. 

We have one thing we need to accomplish. But we start saying yes to helping them, going there, hosting that, and before you know it we are doing so many things we aren't doing anything well. 

Great leaders are driven by principle, not by desire to please people. 

Do what I do best and delegate the rest. 

So much that needs to be done every week in life and ministry. You and I think we can do everything. But we cant! 

We need to - Do less, so we can do better. 

How to delegate?

1. Speak it verbally.  

2. Spell it out in writing.

3. Slowly release it to them. 

Hear before I speak. 

James 1:19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Don’t just listen - hear - to many times we listen to the sound someone is making with their mouth - but we don’t hear them - hear their pain - hear their excitement - hear what they are really saying. Far too often, we are too busy wanting to hear ourselves speak that we don’t really hear others 

Three tips for hearing.

1. Put phone down 

2. Look in the eye 

3. Don't be afraid to ask, "Can you tell me that again."

Don’t speak about how things are, but how they should be. 

James 3:3-4  If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

Power in words - James - your words take you where your are going. 

If all you do is talk about how things are … your words will keep you where you are

We can’t get volunteers 

Our volunteers never contact us back

We just don’t have the money 

I don’t know what to do 

All of these statements ... take you right back to where you currently are. They don't move you forward. 

Every great leader at the end of a problem … asks a question. 

How can we get volunteers - What can we do to hear back from them - What can I do to get more money - 

Don’t speak about how things are … ask questions … and speak howthey are going to be

Dream Big then get off the couch. 

God wants to do big things through us ... no just for us. 

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

Every time in history (other than creation) that God did something ... he always used a person. 

Moses - David - Esther - God did big things through them … not for them 

God works through us .... not just for us. 

Proverbs 10:4 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

What could God do in your family - ministry - house - church …. he could do amazing things - if you allow him to do it through you 

Build a team to accomplish everything. 

Nothing great ever happens alone … it only happens through a team. 

Build a team to accomplish everything. 

Ephesians 4:11-12 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Team to prepare messages 

Team to do worship 

Team to handle finances

Team to clean the house - you don;t have to do it alone 

Team to set up and tear down 

Team to coordinate volunteers 

The work that leaders do is prepare others to do the work. Leaders build teams and by doing so we help people find their place … and things get accomplished. 

If I were a Great leader I would …. know I can’t do all of these at the same time. So I will pick two and begin applying them over the next two months. 

The steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord 

We over estimate what we can do in a day - and underestimate what we can do in a lifetime.

Go back through these 9 points. Find one thing that you are dong well at. Find two things you need to improve on. Make these two your focus for the next two months.  

Considering Ministry? Here are six things you need to know. (Don't read this if you are easily offended.)

Make up your mind. 

What do you want to do? Do you want to serve? Do you want to preach? Do you want to plant a church? I don't know what you want to do, but I do know what you need to do. You need to make up your mind! For God's sake and for the sake of those around you, stop vacillating between, I do and I don't, God called me, but nows not a good time. There is a community full of people that need help, need love, and need hope. Are you in or out? Make up your mind. 

If you want something, go get it. 

What do you want? Go get it! We live in America. You can do almost anything you want to do. You can accomplish almost anything you want to accomplish. You can get almost anything you want to get. But no one is going to give it to you. Let me say that again, no one is going to give it to you! If you want something, you are going to have to go get it. 

It won't be easy. 

Leading a group of people, starting a ministry, finishing a project, or making a difference will never be easy. More often than not, it will be a tough, depressing, and hard. If anyone tells you differently they are lying to you! To accomplish anything you are going to have to push through pain, have faith in the midst of failure, and get used to disappointment. It won't be easy, but it will always be worth it. 

You are not going to be the next big thing.  

Sorry to burst your bubble but you're not. Steven Furtick is not going to call you. Relevant magazine is not going to do an article. You won't be hitting the speaking circuit and sharing the stage with the likes of Judah Smith, Chad Veach,  or John Gray. You are going to be a good leader, at a good ministry, that's making an eternal impact in the lives of people. That's it. That's what's going to happen. Welcome to the ministry. 

Stop making excuses.

I'm too busy. I've been hurt by other leaders. I just don't feel like it's a good time. Enough already! Has God called you or not?  Moses was a murderer who could not speak well, Paul was basically a well educated terrorist, and Peter was a fishermen with no formal training in ministry. Yet when God called them, they followed. It's never going to be a good time, people will consistently disappoint you, and there will never be a day in your life where you're not busy. But none of those things change the fact that God saved you from your sin to fulfill His purpose. Stop making excuses and start making a difference. 

You can do this. 

You are selling yourself short. You think you are not ready, but you are. You think you don't have what it takes, but you do. You think because you have failed before, you are going to fail again. No! The same power that raised Christ from the dead, now dwells in you. It's not your calling, it's His. It's not your talent, it's His. It's not your will power, it's His. You can do this, not because of who you are, but because of who He is! 

These 10 statements have helped me. Maybe they will help you.

1. If I tell people what they need to hear, in a way they want to hear it, they might just change. 

2. My talent and $1 will get me a cheap cup of coffee. (and I hate coffee) 

3. Mediocrity is accepted it is not created. 

4. I will never accomplish anything by simply thinking about it.

5. People don’t listen to what I say they listen to what I do.

6. If I follow my leader well, others people will follow me. 

7. Money follows vision, not need.

8. I don't need what great people have.  I need to do what great people have done. 

9. I will never get help unless I ask.

10. Honesty, Humility, and Hard Work don't cost me anything, but they will get me everything. 

Too much of a good thing, is not a good thing.

The other day I came across this photo of my daughter Lilly. It was taken several years ago on a night where some close family members had came down to spend a few days with us at our home in Oklahoma. 

We had a ton of fun. We stayed up late every night talking and playing cards. We loved it.  My Uncle makes killer egg rolls, so one night we decided to have him make them for dinner.  There was only 10 of us total and Uncle Jim made 75 egg rolls, a monster bowl of fried rice, and a huge pot of egg drop soup.  

We ate and ate and ate and ate some more.  It was all good, but it was a little too much.  By the time it was over I had had my fill of egg rolls to such the extent that even the sight of chinese food or egg rolls, made me a little queasy for months! I had no interest in having them....at all.

Sometimes we can have too much of a good thing.

This is true not only with food but also in youth ministry. Think about it for a minute.

Your worship might be good, but do you really need to sing the same song 8 times in a row?  

Your message might be incredible, but do you need dive into 15 points of faith in the same night? 

Dodgeball is a game that students love, but do you have to play it every single week?  

I don't think so.

Pace yourself.  Leave them wanting more and who knows they just might come back next week.

For more training and tips go to YOUTH MINISTRY UNIVERSITY. 

Ten Steps Toward "BETTER". Leadership lessons from Nehemiah.

Does your family, finances, faith, business, or ministry need to get better?

In this blog we are going to look at a man named Nehemiah who had a city (Jerusalem) that needed to get better in almost every way.  In looking at what Nehemiah did to improve a city that was near and dear to his heart, you and I will discover the steps we need to make whats near to our better! 

1. See the need.

Nehemiah 1:1-3    The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

2. Feel the burden.

Nehemiah 1:4    As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 

3. Take ownership of personal mistakes. 

Nehemiah 1:6-7   let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.

4. Ask for Gods help. 

Nehemiah 1:11   O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

5. Develop a plan.  - and - 6. Build strategic partnerships. 

Nehemiah 2:1-9   In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.  And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.” And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah,  and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

7. Take a closer look. 

Nehemiah 2:11-15   So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I rode. I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King's Pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.

8. See what the problem is, but speak about what the future will be. 

Nehemiah 2:17  Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”

9. Talk to the problem, not about it. 

Nehemiah 2:19-20   But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?” I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

10. Roll up your sleeves and get to work. 

Nehemiah 2:18    “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.