Leadership in Context

Righteous anger has a grieving with it, not just an offense in your flesh. We don’t have a license to be angry. But God has given us an emotional container to use the right kind of anger as a tool for righteousness. 

We need to learn how to have biblical conversations. There are times when we have one-way communication and  preach with authority. And there are times, in the discipleship and growth process, when there are around-the-table conversations with the Bible open. Jesus modeled both.

Mark 1:38 tells us that Jesus came to preach the Good News. All that we do needs to have the name of Jesus on it and include the preaching of the Good News. It is what Jesus did. It should be what we do.

Servant leadership is first and foremost about serving God, not about serving people. We should be submitted to God and a servant of God. We then invite people, not just to serve us, but invite them to serve the Lord WITH us.

Farmers are hard-working. They sow and expect to reap, they understand processes and seasons, they are patient and consistent. Farmers harvest and then release, because they love to feed people.

Athletes have an incredible desire that drives them. They are disciplined, work towards progress, do things with excellence, and enjoy what they do. Athletes inspire people and help them translate that to discipline.

Soldiers defend and expand, are risk takers, train and trust others, use the best tools, and they follow orders. Soldiers believe that the value of the objective is greater than the inconvenience on their life. 

God promises to give us dreams and visions and is the initiator of them. When He gives them, they aren’t about the person who receives them, but about the One who gives them. Dreams give a picture, not just information, and they require a response. When God gives us a dream, it brings clarity and not confusion.

When God gives a dream to an ungodly person, it’s so they seek out a godly person and God’s name can be exalted. Think of dreams as spiritual gifts, and spiritual gifts are to make things more clear–not less clear. Dreams should make things clear to those who are walking with Him.

When we try to hold onto things, it turns to worms. When we sow things, it turns into treasure. You will never give what God has graced you to give if you only give what is left over because the core culture of giving is not giving what’s left over; it’s giving off the top.

You can order Pastor Keith’s latest book, CORE CULTURE–the tremendous strategy of generosity that launched the church by visiting NRPastors.com/CoreCulture