Quality Assurance: Able to teach
Issue #104, April 22, 2013 Paul’s quality checklist to Timothy next calls for leaders who are “able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2). Many associate this skill with only a few select individuals who are gifted and called to public speaking and teaching. But Paul is convinced that all leaders should have this ability. He agrees […]
Quality Assurance: Self-Control
Issue #101, March 13, 2013 “Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, (1Timothy 3:2). The fourth quality Paul lists as essential for those who desire to lead like Christ is “self-controlled.” He recognized that before seeking to exert influence over others, the […]
Act Like Paul: Inspire a Shared Vision
Issue #91, September 26, 2012 Leaders are people who see and have the ability to stir passion and action from others with a shared picture of the future. Servant leaders inspire groups to move towards God’s ideal for the future. They see the vision and share it with others. Because of this the Old Testament […]
Nehemiah: Visions Require Time
Issue #86, July 18, 2012 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. (Nehemiah 6:15) In less than two months’ time the wall was complete. The recording of this time is significant not only in the fact that it happened quickly but in the reality that it took time before […]
Nehemiah: Visions Demand More Communication
Issue #83, June 6, 2012 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we […]
Nehemiah: Visions Demand Communication
Issue #82, May 23, 2012 Nehemiah’s vision and plans are good enough to get him out of the king’s palace and on the road to Jerusalem, but he has a major step remaining before work on the wall will begin. He has to communicate his vision to those who will help him with the work. […]
Nehemiah: Visions are Specific
Issue #80, April 25, 2012 Nehemiah’s vision was large but it was not general. Notice the first words he speaks to anyone else about his call. The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and […]
Tame that Tongue: Grace to Change
Issue #72, December 28, 2011 In the last three issues we examined the “big three” sins of the tongue: Talking too much, lying, and gossiping. James reminds us that as leaders we are held to a higher level of accountability because of our influence (James 3:1). So, let’s conclude this series by looking at five […]
Tame that Tongue: Gossiping
Issue #71, December 14, 2011 Gossip, the third of the “big three” sins of the tongue, is perhaps the most damaging. Gossip is simply saying things about others that should not be said. Gossip focuses on sensational or private information. It is often untrue, but at times may actually be correct information. However, gossip never […]
Tame that Tongue: Truth or Lies
Issue #70, November 30, 2011 A 2009 study found that men tell lies six times a day and women 3 times! Whether or not that is true, we live in a world filled with deception and lying is one of the big sins of the tongue. God’s expectation is clear, “Do not lie to each […]