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Without a doubt, a leader plagued by feelings of guilt is a leader that is operating well-below his or her full potential.
One of the best ways to avoid these feelings of limiting guilt is for the leader to admit that he or she isn’t an expert in every aspect of their organization.
In this short clip, Karl Vaters and I are specifically addressing pastoral leaders, but the principles can be applied to leaders of any organization.
You can check out more clips from this interview by clicking here.
The two related blog posts I made reference to in this video are:
Jesus asks us to proclaim the message about Him, not argue about Him. The best witness is one who truthfully shares his or her personal life-changing experience with Jesus. There is never a reason to quarrel about this! Check out this whole message here. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“In 1977, 40 years after arriving in Guatemala, the Franklins retired from full-time ministry, returning to the United States. They made numerous short-term trips back to Guatemala to rejoice with the people who had become their family. From the five small groups of believers they found in 1937, God had blessed them with 600 established churches, 700 licensed ministers, and 55,000 Assemblies of God believers.” What an amazing testimony of faithful, Christ-honoring ministry!
“Enduring peace cannot be bought at the cost of other people’s freedom.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt
“When we are out of the way of duty, we are in the way of temptation.” —Matthew Henry
“Work of the enemy! Such deeds he loves: friend at war with friend, loyalty divided, and confusion of hearts.” —Gandalf, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Return of the King
I absolutely love the leadership insights I discover during my daily Bible reading. I have turned many of these insights into an ongoing series called Godly Leadership.
“Before one can correctly understand the work of the Holy Spirit, he must first of all know the Spirit Himself. A frequent source of error and fanaticism about the work of the Holy Spirit is the attempt to study and understand His work without first of all coming to know Him as a Person. … If we think of the Holy Spirit as so many do as merely a power or influence, our constant thought will be, ‘How can I get more of the Holy Spirit,’ but if we think of Him in the Biblical way as a Divine Person, our thought will rather be, ‘How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?’” —R.A. Torrey, The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Good leaders hold themselves—at a minimum—to the same standard for the rest of their team. But the best leaders hold themselves to an even higher standard.
Check out this humorous story that makes this point so clear.
Check out this full conversation Greg and I had on an episode of The Craig and Greg Show called “Be honest with yourself.”
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I’d like to tell you about a book that I think is an absolute must-read for those in church leadership. Check out my interview with Karl Vaters, the author of De-Sizing The Church, on this episode of The Podcast.
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
Honesty is a vital part of a successful organization, something that every good leader is well aware of. However, when was the last time you asked the question, “Am I being honest with myself?” In this episode, Greg and I unpack how honest self-reflection is a powerful tool to help improve your leadership.
[0:14] A challenging quote to kick off this episode.
[1:14] My breakthrough moment regarding my own self-assessment.
[3:37] What’s the difference between who I think I am and who I really am?
[6:00] We all operate with certain assumptions about ourselves.
[7:37] We share some good and bad experiences with interactions we have observed from other leaders.
[10:27] Leaders need to hold themselves to the same standards as the rest of their team.
[13:47] Why do leaders hesitate to self-evaluate?
[15:19] How do leaders create a safe environment to self-evaluate?
[18:45] Greg sends us down a rabbit trail!
[19:53] What does leadership integrity look like?
[22:17] Leaders need to know what their tendencies are.
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
When every quality is distilled down, the two things a leader is looking for in a teammate are skill and will. Which one should come first, and what happens if you identify a deficiency in yourself or others in one of these areas? Greg and I tackle these questions, and much more, in this episode of The Craig and Greg Show.
[0:25] What goes into the hiring decision? We think there are two important categories.
[1:14] What are some key leadership skills?
[3:53] Which comes first—skill or the will to use the skill?
[4:49] Some skills are innate and some are learned.
[6:17] Willpower makes the skills go farther and work more effectively.
[8:44] Leaders love to coach those with hustle.
[11:03] Is there a trigger for someone’s willpower to kick in?
[13:18] Leaders sometimes need to adopt a no-matter-what willpower.
[13:59] Top skills that emerging leaders should cultivate.
[17:00] Positivity is an attractive quality.
[18:21] Leaders can help their teammates learn skills and willpower.
[19:52] We need to help people overcome the pull to quit too soon.
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
We are to love the sinner but hate the sin. This is hard to do, especially when the sin they are doing is directed at us and making us angry! Jesus gave us a great example in these times of high anger: withdraw. Check out my full message “A Christlike Response to Skeptics.” I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“In many pagan religions the purpose of worship is to placate the gods—to keep them happy and to stay on their good side, lest they mess with, you know, the harvest or procreation or whatever. Worship is thus a work pagans do to earn or keep the favor of their deity. Christians don’t worship to placate God or earn His favor. We don’t worship to make God happy or bring Him pleasure. God is all-satisfied, all-happy, and all-pleased in Himself alone. We add nothing to Him when we come together to worship. At the same time, as we worship, God adds Himself to us. He deigns to commune with us, inhabits our praises, and brings us into His presence and joy in ways that transform all we are, think, feel, value, say, and do. … In worship, rightly conceived and conducted, our minds and imaginations expand beyond their everyday thoughts and dreams, stretched and molded to fill up with the glory of the heavenly throne room, to be conformed to the mind of Christ, and to see the world as He does (1 Corinthians 2:16).” —T.M. Moore
J. Warner Wallace shares two reasons why we can still consider the Bible relevant today.
My grandpa had honey bees on his farm, and I’ve been intrigued by them ever since that time. In fact, honey bees were subject of my semester-long research project in my ecology class. So I’m always fascinated to read more discoveries about these amazing insects!
The level of a leader’s strength and courage is directly tied to the leader’s meditation upon God’s word. God’s wisdom transforms a leader’s heart and sharpens his thoughts. This is what gives the leader the necessary courage to lead people in a God-honoring way. I have a whole series of posts on godly leadership where I expand more on these thoughts.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
One of the most effective leadership tools is, sadly, one of the tools that is used the least by most leaders. Let’s figure out how to make it work for you.
“Our human minds cannot comprehend the immensity of [Christ’s] task and His sacrifice. We simply know that it was to save us, and that Jesus’ suffering is the most blessed influence the world has ever known.” —Dr. Henry Halley, Halley’s Study Bible
The Hill, though high, I covet to ascend, The Difficulty will not me offend; For I perceive the Way to life lies here. Come, pluck up Heart, let’s neither faint nor fear;
Better, though difficult, the Right Way to go,
Than wrong, though easy, where the End is Woe. —Christian in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress
“Nearly half the Law of God is devoted to directing God’s people in how to worship Him. And while the specific practices of that portion of God’s Law have been replaced (Hebrews 7:11-18), the emphasis on worship and the idea that worship and life are related remains. The more faithful we are in worshiping the Lord the more we will love our neighbors with the justice His Law prescribes.” —T.M. Moore
The deaths of Nadab and Abihu is a tragic story, but I think there are some important leadership insights to be gleaned from it. I shared an exclusive video with my Patreon supporters. Will you prayerfully consider joining?
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
Are you a person that likes to meticulously plan every detail, or are you more comfortable planning as you go? In this episode, Greg and I say leaders should strive for both! Join us as we discuss the art and science of balancing planning and spontaneity to hit the golden mean of the two.
[0:25] Most leaders haven’t thought through the balance between planning and spontaneity.
[1:46] This balance is usually more art than science.
[3:27] For some people, planning and spontaneity can be like trying to mix oil and water.
[5:43] Leaders need to work on flexibility in every situation.
[6:36] We need to know the temperament of our teammates so that we can keep everyone appropriately engaged.
[9:13] Regardless of whether you tend more toward planning or being spontaneous, you can supplement the others who are opposite of you.
[11:32] We can use the diversity on our teams to do amazing things for everyone.
[13:00] Debriefing with our teams after a spontaneous event can help prepare everyone for the next opportunity.
[13:45] Leaders need to learn how to read their teammates and the setting.
[16:08] Leaders need to earn trust with our teammates. One huge component in earning trusting is openness to input.
[18:05] Do we know what our teammates think of our leadership style? Are we willing to address this and make changes?
[22:00] Some important leadership takeaways.
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
