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laughing is good for your health—both physical health and emotional health
we wonder about the statute of limitations on some pranks with which we may have been involved
laughter triggers endorphins in us but also triggers the mirror neurons in others
we announce a really fun contest!
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the first in our series of leadership builders and killers, and I go negative right away!
the danger with apathy is that you don’t know that you don’t care—Greg says apathy is a nebulizer
the value of an honest, loving friend
it takes a lot more energy to get to a boiling point than it does to keep your passion at the boiling point
apathy is “have to” but passion is “get to”
Greg likes to exchange heartstorming for brainstorming
I talk about the warning signs for leaders, and how to build passion-fueling activities into our daily agendas
good feelings follow good actions
leaders need to be the thermostats for their team
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Greg cautions that either we address change or we avoid change, but if we avoid changing, our group may move on without us
just because we are changing doesn’t mean we are growing
Greg offers counsel on what leaders need to evaluate when considering changes
“unhealthy leaders change things to gain more control; healthy leaders change things to help the whole team get better,” Greg says
we don’t grow in areas of comfort: we learn most of our lessons moving forward, but we learn very few lessons sitting still
good leaders reassure other leaders to make thoughtful changes
the right way for leaders to partner with their team to effect positive changes
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Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly (2 Chronicles 25:2).
Notice the contradictions in Amaziah’s life and leadership:
✅obeyed God’s law (v. 4)
🚫disobeyed God’s law (v. 14)
✅trusted that God would give success to the army of Judah (v. 5)
🚫supplemented his army with mercenaries from Israel (v. 6)
✅listened to the prophet God sent to him (vv. 7-10)
🚫ignored the prophet God sent to him (vv. 15-16)
✅trusted God (vv. 9-10)
🚫turned to idols (v. 14)
Sadly, the “not wholeheartedly” leader usually ends up just like other leaders that God calls “evil” (vv. 22-24, 27).
Bottom line: there is no such thing as a halfway leader in God’s eyes. There is only following God or rebelling against God—all leaders must choose one or the other.
A mark of a godly leader is one who consistently chooses to follow God wholeheartedly.
This is part 55 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.
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A.W. Tozer pulls no punches in the way he confronts modern-day preachers (those he calls “sons of the prophets”). He challenges pastors to return to the Scriptures, hit their knees in prayer, and do some serious soul searching on where they may be falling short of the standard set by the biblical prophets. You can read my full book review of Voice Of A Prophet by clicking here.
“It is not the messenger, it is the message that needs to be proclaimed. If you study the Old and New Testaments you will discover that no prophet can ever be a celebrity. The most significant thing about the prophet is the message he conveys, and that message had better by rooted in the heart of God.”
“The responsibility of the prophet is not to come up with his own message, but to faithfully deliver the message—the warning—that is coming from God.”
“The song of the prophet is, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ Any other song will never do for God’s man to be God’s voice to his generation.”
“God takes so much delight in us that He will go to any length to bring us back to that delight.”
“Jesus said that our problem is a spiritual danger, not a physical danger, and our visible enemies are rarely our real enemies. The man who comes at you with a gun is not your real enemy, though his intention may be to kill you. Your real enemy is that enemy within you that makes you vulnerable to him. Esau was Jacob’s enemy because of what Jacob had done to him, but Esau was not Jacob’s real enemy. Jacob was Jacob’s enemy. The crookedness in Jacob’s heart was against Jacob, and when God straightened that out, Esau was not his enemy anymore.”
“Well do I know, Thou God of the prophets and the apostles, that as long as I honor Thee Thou will honor me. Help me therefore to take this solemn vow to honor Thee in all my future life and labors, whether by gain or by loss, by life or by death, and then to keep that vow unbroken while I live. … Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet—not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds.”
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Pastors and other Christian leaders, this is from theMaxwell Leadership Bible and it’s well worth your time to contemplate.
“God contrasts the poor leader with the godly leader in Ezekiel 22. The poor leader oppresses and destroys his or her followers, while the godly leader ‘stands in the gap’ on behalf of the land and the people. These leaders represent God to the people, and represent the people to God. They serve as ‘middle-men,’ serving God and serving the needs of the people. This text describes ten traits of the leader God affirms:
Consecration: They set themselves apart and remain committed to their call.
Discipline: They do what is right even when it is difficult.
Servanthood: They model a selfless life, lived for the benefit of others.
Vision: They see what God sees and live off the power of potential.
Compassion: Love for their cause and their people moves them to action.
Trustworthiness: They keep their word regardless of what others do.
Decisiveness: They make good decisions in a timely manner.
Wisdom: They think like God thinks and avoid impetuous moves.
Courage: They take risks for what is right.
Passion: They demonstrate enthusiasm for their divine calling.” —John Maxwell
Check out what God Himself says:
“Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land. Your priests have violated My instructions and defiled My holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach My people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard My Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them. Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money! And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say, ‘My message is from the Sovereign Lord,’ when the Lord hasn’t spoken a single word to them. Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice. I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.” (Ezekiel 22:25-30 NLT)
Pastor, will you be that righteous one who will stand in the gap? Will you stand strong against the onslaught of sin and a compromising culture? Will you be a leader that God can use?
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I’m a student of leadership, so I love to learn about what makes leaders “tick,” how they overcome obstacles and deal with adversity, and watch how they prepare themselves to be the best they can be. Broadcaster Jim Gray has had a front-row seat (literally!) to some of the most outstanding athletes in recent history, and he unpacks his stories about these leaders in his book Talking To GOATs.
For those of you wondering, GOAT stands for “greatest of all time.” We’re talking about people who stand out from their peers over a long period of time, those who set the standard for everyone else, those who have so excelled that their sport has had to change things up to try to accommodate them! Superstars like Muhammad Ali, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Mike Tyson, Hank Aaron, and Michael Phelps.
Jim Gray’s book is a behind-the-scenes look at not only the hard work he put in to produce and present interviews with these GOATs, but also insights rarely seen of the intense work these athletes put in to become the GOATs of their particular sport. Jim shows us how both he and these athletes deal with setbacks, criticism, the challenges that come with success, and their own internal drive to keep being the best.
This book isn’t all about athletes, but it’s a bit of a memoir of Jim’s life too. I really enjoyed learning about the role that Jim’s parents, and especially his dad, played in helping Jim get into these “front row seats” to cover these amazing athletes. Jim is also very candid about how he has processed the inevitable criticism that comes from interviewing a certain athlete in a way that not every fan appreciated. It was a very enjoyable read.
The sports fans in your life will almost certainly know who Jim Gray is, and they will love hearing what went into some of the more memorable moments in sports broadcasting. My son gave me this book as a gift and I thoroughly enjoyed it, so I know that the sports fans that you love will also give you kudos if you send Talking To GOATs their way.
I open with a fabulous quote from Greg
Craig T. Owens 