#372 Nehemiah: Raise the Bar™
April 24, 2024 Nehemiah had a clear vision to build the wall, but as a serving leader he was also concerned about the welfare of his people. During the rebuilding project Nehemiah discovered that many of the people were suffering because of high interest rates charged by their fellow Jews. The wealthy were taking advantage […]
#351 Timothy: Paying the Price of Leadership
June 14, 2023 Timothy was hungry to learn but he also recognized that growth in leadership comes at a cost. He was willing to pay the price that was required to shape him into the strong leader that he would become. Consider these scriptures about his life: Paul wanted to take him along on the […]
#305 Serving Leaders ask themselves: “What is in my hand?”
July 21, 2021 Leaders with a vision are always conscious of their need for resources to accomplish the vision. These resources may be finances, people, skills, or knowledge or other things. Leaders often begin the search for these resources outside themselves and begin to look around to meet the needs at hand. But serving leaders […]
#287 The ABC’s of Beginning Well: Believe in God’s Promises
October 28, 2020 As we saw in the last issue, Joshua began well in his new role by acknowledging the realities of his situation. As he began he heard God give him several promises. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, […]
The Leader and Emotion: Fear
We all face situations that bring fear. Fear can be a very natural response to a situation that presents danger or harm to us. Our bodies react instinctively either to flee or fight. David also experienced fear. 1 Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; 2 hear me and answer me. My […]
Will I Be Willing? A Question of Intent
Issue #211, July 12, 2017 God answered all of Moses’ questions and objections. Still, Moses is not willing to lead! But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. […]
Who Are You? A Question of Intimacy
Issue #208, May 31, 2017 The first question Moses asked God was a question of his own identity. He needed to know who he was as a leader. We saw in the last issue that God answered Moses’ question, “Who am I?” with “I am with you” (Exodus 3:12). For servant leaders, the key to […]
A Sense of Timing: A Time to Confront
Issue #199, January 25, 2017 Encouragement is always needed and usually greatly appreciated. But servant leaders also recognize that there is a time to confront. One of the best-known confrontations in scripture happened when God called the prophet Nathan to confront King David who had committed adultery and murder. Nathan first tells the king a […]
John the Baptist: Bold Confrontation
Issue #180, May 4, 2016 The humility of John the Baptist didn’t mean that he was quiet! Instead, he was able to boldly confront wrong. It didn’t matter if he was talking to kings, religious leaders, soldiers or farmers. He spoke the truth with power and confronted wrong. But when he saw many of the […]
Daniel: Leading on His Knees
Issue #166, October 14, 2015 Daniel’s enemies could find no fault with his excellent job performance or integrity, but they saw his regular prayer as a potential weakness. They appealed to the king’s pride and persuaded him to outlaw Daniel’s prayer. Now he would either die or compromise. Either way, his enemies concluded, they would […]