Leadership in Context

29 times (8 of them in the Old Testament) the Bible tells us to love God and obey His commandments. In other words, we love God according to His commandments. Do you think God wanted to be loved differently in the Old Testament than He wants to be loved now? Of course not! God is the same. When we unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament, we begin to declare that God has changed. Once we believe that God has changed, everything is shifting sand. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE. 

There is a place where we preach the gospel, and people are offended because they need to be offended. The gospel offends their place of sin. In order for a person to be found, they have to be lost. We are trying to find people who have no concept that they are lost. The preaching of the gospel should produce an understanding that they are lost and in need of a Savior. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE. 

Jesus was gentle and loving and kind, and that caused Him to affect the masses. We should be gentle and loving and kind to affect the masses. But to say that we are failing in our mission because everyone doesn’t like us—I don’t buy that indictment. I think it’s important that we understand that there are many, many people who rejected Jesus’ ministry. We do have some great success stories that are told in the Scripture so we can see the message that Jesus was preaching really does work. Christianity is not a popularity contest. We can be every bit as nice or kind or compassionate or concerned as Jesus and still be rejected by the majority. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE. 

There are some beliefs that pretty much guarantee that people will not like you. They are beliefs that our culture does not agree with. But they are foundational. They are important. And regardless of what people think of us, we must stand firm on them. Jesus wasn’t always popular. Our mandate is not to always be popular. But to always be truthful and effective for the gospel. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE. 

Many believers that think if they are really pleasing God, then everyone around them should be pleased with them. But Scripture tells us that we will be persecuted. That people won’t like us. In fact, Scripture ties persecution and righteousness together. We aren’t persecuted because of us, but because of Who we represent. Many of us are walking around with the wrong expectation (that everyone will like us) and need to shift our thinking to get to the place where we can rejoice in the midst of persecution. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE. 

In Scripture, occupations are talked about many times. It is not coincidental that Jesus was identified as a carpenter and that His disciples were found casting nets, mending nets, and collecting taxes. Nehemiah was a cupbearer. Amos was a fruit picker. There is a Kingdom connection in Scripture between what a man does for a living and how he impacts the world. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE. 

As we lead and disciple people, as we impact our culture, our messages need to line up with God’s Word, encompassing teaching, reproof, and correction. Teaching that is not just auditory, but demonstrates the how. Reproof that uses the gospel to identify sin. Correction that is preemptive in action. These elements lead people to hold God’s Word as the authority and not just another opinion. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE. 

Dignity is not ours to give, to decide upon by a vote, to debate; but dignity, rather is to recognize, receive and, honor. Dignity, by its very nature, is not about performance or ability, production or contribution. It's not even about being wanted or needed, but dignity is about “being”—it’s about being a human being. That is the true qualification for dignity, and that is the story history will eventually tell. What side of history will we be on? The side that wrapped itself in silence while the slaughter continued, or will it be the side that intervened to stop the madness? Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE. 

Without some energy, without some excitement, without some urgency, you depreciate and devalue the vision. Vision is not something that is on a sheet of paper, on a flow chart, or a mantra people quote. Vision is a wake that is being created by those who are leading. The value of the objective needs to be what determines how fast we are going. Are you making a wake, or have you become sluggish? Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE. 

The single biggest deterrent to people getting healed is faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.We need to be stirring faith up in believers. We need to set a new culture where we are preaching the Word, having people examine themselves in preparation to receive prayer, and then releasing faith and believing God for a supernatural outpouring. Show notes (posted every Tuesday) can be found HERE.