Is integrity just an old-fashioned, out-of-date ideal?

Does it have any place in the world we now live in?

Let's talk about it!

As we live in these 50 days between the glory of Easter resurrection and the fiery excitement of Pentecost, we may ask ourselves,  "How Is the 'clean heart' and 'right spirit' I prayed for in the midst of life's ashes during Lent coming along?" "What new life is God calling me to and empowering me with in this Easter season?" "How do I allow God to give birth to a new way of living, thinking and being in my life?" 

This week have you considered who you lead?  How you can be a better leader through insight and examples provided in the Bible?  For those who were not able to attend last week, our speaker continues his lesson on Faithful Leadership:

No more wonderful source of leadership lessons and values exists than the Bible!  It is filled with influential people and the results of their influence—both positive and negative.  Yet it remains so little used to convey leadership values and principles.  What is needed to draw more fully from its well of insights?  Three things: 

1. A conviction that the Bible can both teach and illustrate leadership insights.
2. A willful decision to study and use the Bible as a source of leadership insights.
3. Leadership eyes, that is, a set of leadership perspectives that will help us see leadership lessons, values, and insights in the Bible.

No more wonderful source of leadership lessons and values exists than the Bible!  It is filled with influential people and the results of their influence—both positive and negative.  Yet it remains so little used to convey leadership values and principles.  What is needed to draw more fully from its well of insights?  Three things: 

1. A conviction that the Bible can both teach and illustrate leadership insights.
2. A willful decision to study and use the Bible as a source of leadership insights.
3. Leadership eyes, that is, a set of leadership perspectives that will help us see leadership lessons, values, and insights in the Bible.

I hold each of these convictions. And I can say that in light of my 30-plus years now as a mentor, coach, and advisor to leaders, I am convinced that the book of Nehemiah is one of our most robust biblical sources for leadership lessons. Christian leaders desperately need these leadership insights as we seek to influence for the fulfillment of God's purposes– and as we start or lead new initiatives for the greater good in our homes, churches, cities, and countries worldwide.

Please read The Gospel of John from 11:55 through 19:42 for Passion Week, then 20:1 through 21:25 from Holy Saturday through the week after Easter. 

We wrap up our series on “Living Our Faith BOLDLY” and hear from two people who have had an impact with their faiths in the challenging arenas of television and sports

Bring your BOLDEST Spiritual Self to class for a discussion of how this series has educated us and inspired us to action. 

About 30 members of the Fellowship Class began the “Bible in 90 Days Program” in September of 2017.  We finished the last page of Revelations in December.  Our class’ current theme “Living Faith BOLDLY” ties into this program in several ways -- from the individual commitment made and journey each of us undertook to complete the project to some of the learnings, insights and new characters encountered by reading the entire Bible.

Our speaker shares a little bit about the program itself but more importantly some of the collective insights gained and the “bold characters” encountered in our reading. Hopefully, some of these may give rise to additional study or programming opportunities for the class.

One of the ways we can be bold in our faith is by sharing our stories of the amazing things God has done in our lives during the darkest days.  Our speaker shares his story of how God pulled him through an extended run of adversity in 2017.  He  details the God-directed strategy that got him through his ordeal and will likely be helpful to you the next time life jumps off the track and into the ditch.

The Great Commission is one of the most significant passages in the Holy Bible.   First, it's the last recorded personal instruction given by Jesus to His disciples. Second, it's a special calling from Jesus Christ to all His followers to take specific action while on this earth.   The Great Commission is found in the Gospel of Matthew: 

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20). 

1.    Acting out of obedience to Christ’s command   
 
2.    Men and women are lost without Christ

3.    Men and women are hungry for Christ.

4.    We need it to experience joy