Strengthen - Expand - Inspire

Are You A Leader?

2010-07-13T04:49:00.001-07:00

"The Lord said to build a better world, and I answered, "How? The world is such a vast and large place, and it is so complicated now, and I am so small and useless there is nothing I can do." But God in His infinite wisdom said, "Just build a better you." - Unknown

Is leadership more than being the CEO of a company, being a senior pastor, being a congressman, senator, or president?

What about those in middle management? Are they leaders? How about the cleaning crew? What about the children's pastor or ministry team leaders or moms or students?

The truth is everyone of us is a leader in some form or fashion. The very moment you received Jesus Christ into your heart you became a leader in and for His kingdom. So the key question isn't are we a leader, but how are we leading?

It's important to bring the notion of leadership back to where it belongs: with everyday people. The father, the wife. The person who volunteers to teach children's church. The retail sales associate trying to live out their faith in front of non-Christian co-workers.

Extraordinary leadership that changes your world starts with you. Go out and change your piece of the world by practicing Christ-centered leadership principles. Start by serving those closest to you. Jesus said he came to serve and not to be served. If the Savior of the world can come down from His holy heaven to serve us shouldn't we as leaders in His kingdom serve others?

God's Calling For Our Life

2010-03-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

God's call on your life is unique to you and only you. God has never in the history of mankind created an insignificant human being. Of course there will always be people that make choices to follow a path that is drastically different than God's plan, whether they refuse to accept His invitation to become part of his family or they refuse to put the effort into growing stronger spiritually, or whatever, the facts remain that God does have plan for each and every one of us.

God's calling on your life is an individually based invitation that is personally addressed, personally written and personally delivered. And just like any other personal request, it demands a personal response. It demands action on our part.

So how do we know God's calling on our life? In my studies on calling, both in the Bible and in the lives of those close to me, I've noticed a consistent method at work.

1) God's Calling Is Personal - we are first called to a person. Jesus Christ. We receive Christ when we respond to his first call but our experience doesn't end there. In Colossians 2:6-7, Paul exhorts us to continue receiving Christ, making Him our foundation. The root of everything we do.

2) God's Calling Serves His Purpose - Scripture clearly links our calling to God's purpose. Check out II Timothy 1:8-9. God's purpose is all about people. He loves people so much He sent His son Jesus to die for us and provide a single path to live in His presence for eternity. If your purpose is not linked to people, then it's not a God inspired calling.

3) God's Calling Is Your Passion - What are you passionate about? The mission field? Serving children? Serving senior adults? Your passion should be a God-given pursuit that fufills your spirit. It doesn't mean you will love all of the tasks related to your passion, but it does mean that your spirit will be filled when you are operating right in the middle of your God-given passion.

4) God's Calling Has A Path - Water follows the path of least resistance. God's path is the antithesis of water's. God's path will very often take you through some tough obstacles. God's path is the path of a pioneer, and while it has its share of fun times, it also has its share of hardships. We learn and grow the most in the storms, not in a calm, placid sea.

5) God's Calling Has A Position - All of us have different roles and different positions as we journey through our life. Sometimes we are primarily a spouse, sometimes a father or mother, sometimes a care giver to our parents. When it comes to leadership, we assume too often that it's all about an elevated position. But God views us as leaders no matter what role or position we hold. God places each of His leaders in roles within and for His kingdom; we have roles in our family, church, community and workplace. The trick here lies in seeing our different leadership roles from God's perspective: we are there for the people that God places in our path. One or more of your current roles may seem small, but if God's placed you there, it's important!

The bottom line: if we are faithful in the assignments He's called us to - regardless of their perceived significance - then God knows He can trust us with other assignments? Extraordinary leaders treat every role they are in as important, because to God, it is.

Aspire To Transform

2009-09-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

So many leaders today look to the next rung of people above them as the ones who are responsible for their development. They expect their boss or their pastor or their supervisor to hand development down to them. This, however, is a false notion. You and you alone are primarily responsible for your development as a leader.

Extraordinary leaders hold themselves accountable for constantly upgrading their competencies, strengthening their gifts, growing in their spiritual walk, and maturing their relationships.

To become a truely extraordinary leader you must have a desire, a passion, and an aspiration to do all that it takes to be one.

Chose to be an extraordinary leader today by being intensely focused on growing spiritually and talking with the Lord on a daily basis. Be the leader God intends you to be!

Be A WYSIWYG Leader!

2009-09-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a conversation with someone where you left the conversation feeling like they told you what they thought you wanted to hear just to appease you for that moment in time? Isn't this what you want from a leader? I mean don't you want your leader to make you feel better with empty messages that rarely are acted upon or delivered?

Many leaders today run away from direct, kind and truth filled communications with team members within their church, business and family. Matthew 5:37 says "...let your message be Yes for Yes and No for No."

I'm not talking about positioning your words, tone, and inflection to influence and persuade someone - this is normal and necessary to gain buy-in and inspire leadership in others. I'm talking about having a destructive attitude of "if I tell her what she wants to hear then I can end this conversation and maybe she'll just forget about it or maybe she won't forget about it but I will never have to hear about it again." Get the picture?

If you truly want to disrupt your team in ways that inspire them to achieve higher levels of success, significance and influence, focus on having straight forward, transparent and actionable conversations.

Don't appease them, believe in them. Believe they are strong leaders who value direct and real conversations. Make a decision today to be a WYSIWYG leader by intentionally applying the conversational principle found in Matthew 5:37.

Inspire Someone Today!

Refresh

2009-07-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

What Is Your Answer?

2009-07-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

At some point in our life God will call each and every one of us. Whether or not God calls us isn't in question, what is in question is how we answer?

At times I've UNINTENTIONALLY ignored my wife's call to do something or even to stop doing something (that's my story and I'm sticking to it - smile). I've faked sleeping and ignored calls from my children to come outside and play...only a few times so don't go nuclear on me. There are some phone calls that, well, truthfully when I see the caller's name on my phone - let's just say I am too busy to answer the call. Once I even attempted to ignore God's call. So how did that go for me? Have you read the story of Jonah and the Big Fish? Let's just say I'm doing everything in my power to never ignore His call again.

From various stories in God's Word (The Bible) we know that God called Abraham and told him to go - so he went to a foreign land with no master plan. God called Moses - not into the good life but into the very hot frying pan of leading whiny people to a promised land. God called Peter to leave his boat, his nets and his family to go on a journey that made no worldly sense whatsoever. God called the virgin Mary to give birth to the greatest leader (and only Savior) the world will ever know.

So what does being called by God look like? First it is personally addressed, written and delivered to you. Whether the call is to join His family through His Son or it's to serve out the rest of your life as a missionary; God's calling is personal and unique to you, and requires your personal response, your personal attention, your personal time.

God's calling is about giving you a personal passion to accomplish a personal mission...a personal and unique mission that He has set aside for you to complete. By the way, too often we confuse passion with enjoyment. We can be passionate about our God-given mission, while recognizing the mission comes with tasks (and people) that we do not enjoy.

God's love is directly focused on people, therefore His call (mission) to you should be focused on loving others through words, action, and service and irregardless of their status in life.

God's calling will always push you beyond your perceived finite limits. His path for you includes the preparation needed to succeed in your mission. What you learn, how you grow, and where you go can be a tool in your hands to distract you from your mission or a tool in God's hands to equip you for your mission. Case in point pride subtracts from your mission, humility adds to your mission.

God calls you to lead from many different roles (family leader, church leader, community leader, marketplace leader). If you are faithful in His current missional assignments regardless of their worldly level of significance then He knows he can trust you to be faithful with additional missional assignments. And these new assignments from the world's perspective may be larger (or smaller).

Are you a Christ Follower with no mission or are you someone who hasn't answered His call to join His family through His Son? Jesus is calling you now - disrupt your life today by answering His call!

"Woe Is Me" or "Forget It And Move On"?

2009-06-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

I used to box (only as a hobby). I was not that good but had pretty quick hands. One day at the gym I was in the ring with a much bigger and slower opponent. In the first and second round I pummeled him with a barrage of quick punches. In the third and final round the big, slow behemoth landed his first and only punch of the fight. Of course it landed square on my chin and it was a round house, bone crushing, knock you out kind of punch. Down I went and down I wanted to stay. However, I did muster up enough strength to get up and finish out the round.

Life can, will and does beat us down. Whether it's a beat down from relationships, finances, work, ministry or even sports, sooner or later we will experience first hand "moment of truth" challenges in our lives.

There is a great message in II-Corinthians 4:8-10 that addresses these type of challenges.

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."

We all experience the bad things that life brings our way. We can choose to let it drag us down or we can choose through His strength to get up, dust ourselves off, learn from it and move forward. It's our choice, our decision to have a "woe is me" mentality or a "forget it and move on" mentality.

Disrupt your life today by choosing Jesus and allowing His mighty power to lead you through your life experiences.

e-Fights Aren't Cool!

2009-06-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Lately I've e-connected with acquaintances and friends that seem to focus on criticizing Christ followers who behave differently than them or criticizing churches that have a different methodology for reaching out, investing in and inspiring others.

One individual commented, "I go to church but I'm not one of those Jesus followers and besides my morals are better than the majority of those types anyway." Wow! I pray for him regularly. Another person reacted to a fellow Christ follower criticizing their Christian walk by one-upping them and throwing two criticisms back via facebook. Then a third person joined in on the feeding frenzy. I think you're beginning to smell what I'm cooking!

It's one thing to have a one-on-one, face-to-face private discussion with someone you disagree with, but to share these viewpoints in our digital-centric world of facebook, twitter, blogs, etc. is a poor example of leadership regardless of your beliefs. Let's don't fight with one another in a digital world where everyone can observe and be influenced by our e-comments. BTW - I know some will say that I am doing the same thing right now. Hopefully most of you will recognize that I am not criticizing anyone, but merely trying to influence all of us (including myself) to behave in a disruptively different manner. I doubt that I will succeed with everyone...

My point is this - we are not all perfect and we should give each other a little more mercy and grace. My Lord knows how imperfect I am. I regularly do things that take away from my ability to lead as a Christ follower. I'm sure I have caused many a believer and non-believer to stumble. It is not my desire to do so but it happens.

Be a disruptive leader by choosing not to react and criticize others where 10's, 100's and even 1,000's could be negatively influenced by our e-words.

Disrupt Someones Life Today!

Disruptive Humility

2009-06-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

Humility trips up a lot of people (including me). In our culture of self-glorification, the temptation to put aside humility is ever present. But as Christians, we should always seek to honor our Savior over ourselves. I struggle with humility, so much so that in my morning quiet times I consistently ask God to lead me not into temptation and deliver me from the evils of self-centeredness.

There are far too many people, seeking honor through supposed bigger and better positions within the workplace, church and community. I Peter 5:6 states "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." When we try to obtain honor from and at the expense of others, we're really saying we don't trust God to honor us in His due time.

When it comes to truly disruptive humility that inspires those around us, we all need to be mindful that honor and respect are given by and achieved through God - and only God. They are not infinite rights any of us can earn.

God checks our heart and knows if we are seeking to accomplish His purpose or seeking to promote our personal purpose. Proverbs 29:23 sums it up perfectly: "A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor."

Let's focus on being a disruptively humble leader by seeking to honor our Holy God and not seeking honor for our unholy self.

Disrupt someones life today!

Disruptive Leadership

2009-05-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

Disruptive levels of leadership is not about achieving fame and fortune but it's also not about sitting on the sidelines and watching the game of life pass you by either. The late great musician Ray Charles was quoted as saying, "I never wanted to be famous, I just wanted to be great at what I do."

Charles "Tremendous" Jones was a great encourager and visionary. Take a look at a statement he made in his book entitled "Life Is Tremendous". "Leadership is probably the most misunderstood word in our vocabulary. Leadership is not personality, not a position, not endowed to a certain few...Everyone has an obligation, as well as the privilege, of leading in something."

Take a moment to think about those around you at home, at work, at school, at church. How are you changing their world? Christians often speak of "leading" others to Christ, but are we exhibiting characteristics that encourage others to follow us?

Ultimately disruptive levels of leadership is about exhibiting behavior that other people want to emulate and follow. And as Christians, we're called to lead a life that others want.

Be a disruptive leader and surprise someone today by serving them instead of expecting them to serve you!

Disruptive Contentment

2009-05-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

What's the difference between disruptive levels of complacency and disruptive levels of contentment in our leadership?

Disruptive Complacency - Let's say you're in a rowboat on the open sea, trying to get to a distant island. You row and row and row and get a little closer but the currents continually push you away from your destination. You're depending completely on your own power, which is limited by your own finite strength.

Disruptive Contentment - Now imagine yourself in the same spot, but instead of a rowboat, you have a powerful sailboat. Your course is now set by the wind, which has infinite more power than you, and never gets tired. You trust the wind to take you to your intended destination.

So how do we become a disruptively contented leader? The more we empty ourselves out, the more room we have for God to fill us with His infinite power. It's as if we are a glass that can only hold so much liquid. If we want to change the contents we must first empty the glass of its original contents. In the same way if we want to become a disruptively contented leader that people will want to be led by and influenced by we must empty our "glass" daily and allow Christ to fill it up with His infinitely refreshing power.

Disrupt Someone Today!

Disruptive Conversations

2009-05-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a conversation with someone where you left the conversation feeling like they told you what they thought you wanted to hear just to appease you for that moment in time? Isn't this what you want from a leader? I mean don't you want your leader to make you feel better with empty messages that rarely are acted upon or delivered?

Many leaders today run away from clear and concise communications with team members within their church, business and family. Matthew 5:37 says "...let your message be Yes for Yes and No for No."

To be clear and concise, I'm not talking about positioning your words, tone, and inflection to influence and persuade someone - this is normal and necessary to gain buy-in and inspire leadership in others. I'm talking about having a destructive attitude of "if I tell him what he wants to hear then I can end this conversation and maybe he'll just forget about it or maybe he won't forget about it but I will never have to hear about it again." Get the picture?

If you truly want to disrupt your team in ways that inspire them to achieve higher levels of success, significance and influence, focus on having straight forward, transparent and actionable conversations.

Don't appease them, believe in them. Believe they are strong leaders who value direct and real conversations. Make a decision today to be a disruptive leader by intentionally applying the conversational principle found in Matthew 5:37.

Disrupt Someone Today!

Bring Them On The Team

2009-05-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve - designating them apostles - that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach." Mark 3:13-14

This passage in the gospel of Mark gives us insight into the simple, yet powerful, way Jesus grew His leaders. Bring Them On The Team, Coach Them Up, Send Them Out. More on the last two later.

Jesus brought the disciples on the team by building up their trust and understanding. I'm talking about creating an environment where your team (at home, work, church) commits to your leadership because you've earned it. Let's face it - there are many leaders in the world who have to demand commitment based on fear, because those leaders have spent very little time trying to earn it. There are many people in leadership roles who look good from a distance, but take a look up close and you'll run away as fast as you can!

Great leadership isn't based on the position (Husband, Father, CEO, Pastor), it's based on the heart. Great leaders have a heart and passion to invest in and trust the leadership of the ones they lead. On another note, a leader who isn't willing to get underneath their inner circle of leaders and follow them is a very poor leader indeed. Why? Because if you aren't willing to follow someone else's leadership, what reason are you giving them to follow your leadership?

Be different, be extraordinary, be a leader that brings people on the team by exhibiting a Christ-centered life, by investing in your team of leaders and by following their leadership.

Infinite Hope

2009-04-25T18:29:00.001-07:00

Character Makes A Difference

2009-04-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

My character...

- is as strong as I choose to let it be.
- is based on my behavior towards others.
- defines who I really am.
- is built up and torn down daily based on the actions I take and the words I share (or don't).
- makes or breaks every meaningful relationship in my life.
- is more important than my talent, position, education or skills.
- is about doing the right thing regardless of the consequences.
- is more important to God than the circumstances I face.

Lord may I exhibit your character in my life today and forever! Amen.

It's Time!

2009-04-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

It's Time To Re-Unite with my family of Christ followers who have a common calling, a common spirit and a common destination. Come and go with me to my Father's house!

It's Time To Remember how much Jesus sacrificed for me, how much Jesus suffered for me and how much Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me this I know!

It's Time To Reflect on the Holy one, the righteous one, the grace-giving one, the merciful one, the loving one and the forgiving one. Amazing grace how sweet the sound!

It's Time To Rejoice that Jesus' life, death, burial and resurrection provided me with a personal one-on-one relationship with my Holy Father. Rejoice in the Lord always!

It's Time To Refresh my spirit by talking to Jesus, praising Jesus and living every second for Jesus. Jesus is my rock!

It's Time To Share everything that Jesus is to me with the world so that they can know that He loves us unconditionally.

It's Time to Realize that the reason we exist is to bring Him glory.

It's Time To...anyone else?

I Don't Need No Stinkin Help!

2009-04-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

Recently I was hiking the Cherokee Trail in Stone Mountain (www.stonemountainpark.com). It's a pretty cool 5-6 mile trail that rambles through the woods, by the lakes and over the mountain. The hiking trail reminded me of leadership and life. Some parts of the trail were flat, easy and completely relaxing, some parts were a little challenging but fun, and some parts were difficult, risky and required extra effort and focus.

As I was hiking through one of the more risky parts of the trail, I fell and slid about 10 feet down the side of the mountain. I felt embarrassed and stupid. People around me were concerned, asked if I was OK and started coming to my side to help me get back on my feet. I quickly told them I was OK and didn't need any help...hmmmm.

That sounds all too familiar to my leadership style - people around me come to help and I say I don't need any help, I can do this, I will succeed! A little too many "I's" huh? If God puts people in our path to help them in their leadership trail, then wouldn't it make perfect sense that God places me in the path of others to help me on my leadership trail. I'm afraid too many times I ignore those people and have a "i don't need no stinkin help!" attitude. Sometimes (maybe most of the time) I'm just plain stupid!

God never intended us (me) to do his work alone. There are too many examples in the Bible to ignore where God brings other people along side one of His called leader's to help them accomplish His purpose. Go lead an extraordinary life by allowing other leaders to come along side you during the easy and difficult parts of your leadership trail.

A Good Message From A Good Friend

2009-02-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

Strive To Thrive - Chuck's Blog

Today was a day to write. Me, my dog, some cool tunes from Brooke Fraser and a keyboard. I wrote sermons, I wrote copy for marketing pieces and websites, I wrote Power Point and Keynote presentations and I wrote a chapter for a leadership training syllabus. I'm a bit brain dead, which doesn't take long! While writing all of that, going to the doctor, seeing my daughter's ballgame and enjoying some Chinese food, I thought of the many friends of mine that are hurting in this economic disaster. I thought how blessed I am to have work and have meaningful work. I thought of how wonderful it is to be in love, enjoy 6 great kids and enjoy a handful of friendships that will last a lifetime. With all that syrup behind me I also thought of how stupid I have been throughout most of my adult life. I have spent most of my career and ministry focusing on a scoreboard that God doesn't keep score on. So I thought I would write one last thing today to describe 3 thoughts on the needed bailout of our country and in my life. 1. Discover and Remain Focused on Your Individual Calling; most of us are like the Apollo missions in that we tend to stray off course about 87% of our daily mission. We need a course correction that begins with God's calling. Stop long enough to hear Him. Maybe we should follow Habakkuk's model...request the vision, receive the vision, record the vision and reveal the vision. 2. Determine to Accomplish Something of Significance Everyday; the great thing about cutting grass is that you get to see your progress on every pass. Our days need a point of fulfillment that comes from having accomplished something of significance. Maybe we should start our day with this prayer, "Lord, allow me to make a difference today in my life, my family's life and in the life of someone you choose to place before me". I do not know of one joyful person that doesn't accomplish some significant act on a daily basis. The great thing is that you and the Lord get to determine the definition of significance. 3. Discipline our Attitudes to Enjoy Every Day; let's face it, the world is full of Eeyore's (as in Winnie the Pooh) that simply exist to suck the very joy out of your life. We all know them when we see them coming. I want to just place my hands over my ears and scream "fire in the hole" when I see one headed in my direction. Bad news and troubling information is plentiful, but people full of joy are in great demand. Choose to be one of those people! I don't want to survive this crisis, I want to thrive in this crisis. My attitude - and yours - are under our control and can be adjusted as needed. As for me and my house...I choose to enjoy the journey. Chuck

God's Calling On Your Life

2009-01-21T14:12:00.000-08:00

2009-01-14T15:25:00.000-08:00

In the book Good to Great, author Jim Collins notes that through all his research he has found no correlation between charismatic leaders and successful (extraordinary) leaders. Charisma will only take you so far; ultimately you must chose to live out extraordinary leadership. What you chose today will determine your leadership greatness tomorrow. And that choice may not seem like a typical leadership decision.

Mark 14:3-9 give us a portrayal of a non-traditional leader. How is this seemingly ordinary woman considered and extraordinay leader? I see four different aspects of this leader's character that qualify her as a great leader in God's kingdom.

First, she recognizes that she is in the presence of God (Jesus) and displays sensitive leadership. She's senstitive to the time in history that's about to occur. I'm guessing here that she was spending a lot of time in prayer as she understands what's about to happen to Jesus when many of those around her did not. Her act is especially sensitive in its extravagance and uniqueness.

Second, she broke and poured the entire jar of expensive ointment on Christ, an act that displayed sacrificial leadership. Notice that many of the people there commented that the perfume could've been sold for a year's wages...expensive stuff that she gladly sacrificed out of her love for our Savior.

Third, she exhibited steadfast leadership. Despite the accusations and snarling of "some of those present," she stayed on track with her mission and focused only on Jesus. In the face of strong opposition she stuck it out and did what she knew she was called to do, even though it seemed wrong to those around her.

Finally, she showed the most necessary of all leadership qualities, servant leadership. She wasn't seeking greatness for herself; she was simply doing what she felt was right at the time. She was willing to serve, despite the sacrifice or the rebuttals of those around her.

This is truely an example of extraordinary leadership and it was rewarded with a place in history: "She did what she could...wherever the good news of Jesus Christ is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

She wasn't striving for greatness, she wasn't hoping to earn a place in the Bible - she was just displaying her God-given leadership abilities, and that was what led to her place of honor in the Scriptures.

Sensitive Leadership, Sacrificial Leadership, Steadfast Leadership and Servant Leadership - what a great leader this woman was and what a great example for all of us today. Chose to be an extraordinary leader today!

One Of Those Days

2009-01-13T14:22:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days where you had to share decisions with people that you know will impact their lives for a long time and not in a good way?

Today was one of those days. Please pray for the wonderful individuals that were on the receiving end of today's decisions.

That's all I've got - This To Shall Pass and God Bless!

Go Get Yourself...

2009-01-09T14:48:00.000-08:00

Falcons - Great Year - Thank You!!!! Go get yourself some All-Pro, kick butt defensive players!

Dawgs - I'm not going to really miss Stafford. He was a good quarterback with a great arm, but didn't really lead the Dawgs to anything - No BCS Championship, No SEC Champioship, No Nada! Go get yourself an All-American, kick butt defensive coach!

Hawks - You're starting to grow up and be a real b-ball team - thank you! Go get yourself an All-NBA, kick butt Center!

Thrashers - Hmmm - Go get yourself an All-World...on second thought I don't really care what you do.

Braves - Bye bye John - You will always be Da Man! Go get yourself an All-World, kick butt ownership group, GM, pitcher(s), hitter(s)...it may be a looooong 2009 season.

Grayson Rams - What a great season - you guys provided the whole community with a ton of fun and excitement. Go get yourself a State Championship in 2009!

Graystone Community Church - Its been a great journey. Go get yourself a God inspired, All-Everything, kick butt building and keep on BEING THE CHURCH!

Have a refreshing weekend!

Leading By Stooping

2009-01-05T16:54:00.001-08:00

As I was reading the book of Nehemiah this morning I came across a very interesting verse in chapter 3. To provide some context, Nehemiah was told that the wall of Jerusalem and its gates were destroyed by fire. When he heard this terrible news he sat down, wept, mourned, fasted and prayed. In other words he had a deep burden and he petitioned God.

God answered his prayers by creating a path for him to lead a God-inspired vision to rebuild Jerusalem. He communicated the vision to the people and inspired them to join him where God was already working.

Chapter 3 gives an account of all the families that joined in the rebuilding effort. Each family was responsible for rebuilding a portion of the wall and gates. It's a fairly boring read through all the names of the people that helped to rebuild Jerusalem. At least it was boring until I came upon a few key words in verse 5 - "...but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord." BOOM! There it was right in the middle of listing all the leaders that were leading by example, working hard to acheive a monumental task - nobles (leaders) not willing to get in with the rest of the team to serve their Lord. Ouch!

If you're a vision caster, be willing to leave the strategic stratosphere and stoop down to actually work alongside your team of leaders to achieve the vision. Extraordinary leaders stoop to every level to serve their Lord and their team of leaders. Be an extraordinary leader today by doing a little less standing and a little more stooping.

Leading By Coaching

2009-01-01T07:13:00.000-08:00

In Gary Collins book "Christian Coaching" he states "Coaching is the key element in producing good leaders. To be a good leader you must be a good coach. And to be a good coach you must recognize that coaching is a significant form of leadership."

This is so true, whether you are coaching up a team of football players, a team of spiritual leaders, a team of business leaders, or leaders within your family. And a good coach is very intentional about the roles they play and methods they use. I've come up with four coaching cornerstones roles that I believe are critical to every coaching and coachee partnership.

1) Motivator Role - A coaching leader seeks to inspire and motivate others to become spiritually motivated to grow and develop themselves. A coach helps the coachee to paint a portrait of what could be, set growing pain goals and keeps them moving forward regardless of their pace or results. I Thessalonians 2:11-12

2) Assessor Role - In this role the coach assists the coachee in becoming more aware of how they are perceived by and the impact they have on others, as well as identifying their unique strengths and struggles stemming from their personality, giftedness, experiences and skills. The best way to accomplish this is by asking more questions and giving fewer answers. Romans 12:6a

3) Developer Role - Here the coach helps the coachee to identify development opportunities, objectives and outcomes. Proverbs 27:17

Opportunity:
- Improve my physical health

Objectives:
- Lose 30 pounds by June 20th, 2009
- Exercise 30 minutes a day three times a week
- Run in three 5k and one 10k road race by July 31, 2009

Outcome:
- Feel better, look better, more energy, more disciplined lifestyle

4) Guiding Role - The coach assists the coachee in becoming competent in their opportunity areas by guiding, fine tuning, and encouraging them throughout their journey. Acts 9:27

Lastly, a coachee has to believe in and respect their coach. This means the coach has to earn their respect throughout their collective journey. To do this a coach should speak with honesty, integrity and good intent, offer praise for who the coachee is and not just for their accomplishments, allow for learning through failure, provide engaging, non-threatening feedback, focus on what's missing rather than what's wrong, and finally coach/teach others through your life. "And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good deeds of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching." Titus 2:7

Be an extraordinary leader today by seeking out opportunities to invest in others. You will learn more than you ever imagined!

Glory Came Down

2008-12-24T08:07:00.000-08:00

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was govenor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary his bethrothed, who was with child.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.

And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manager."

And suddently there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with him he is pleased!" Luke chapter 2, verses 1 through 14.

Merry Christmas!

Forgiven Forever

2008-12-20T21:11:00.001-08:00

Someone recently asked me about the defintion of forgiveness. Many years ago I rode dirt bikes with my friends on the weekends. We would spend the entire Saturday riding our bikes, racing each other, flying through the air, jumping large mounds of dirt, pushing through deep mud holes, and spitting out dirt and mud from our tires. At the end of the day we and our bikes were covered from top to bottom in red Georgia clay and mud.

After our ride we would load up our bikes and head to the local car wash where we dropped in our quarters and spent the next hour or so washing down our bikes and ourselves. That's right we used the car wash to spray off our bikes, helmets, boots, riding clothes and yes even ourselves. When we were done all of the dirt and mud had been washed completely off and we were restored to our pre-ride look.

Similarly, when Jesus Christ forgave me and became the Lord of my life, He washed ALL my sins away completely and forever. I don't have to dwell on them anymore because they are no more. I don't look back because my God doesn't. He through His Son, Jesus Christ has forgiven me forever.

Once you've asked Jesus to clean you, you are wonderfully forgiven and are pure as a mountain stream. This is the true definition of forgiveness. Don't let anyone take this away from you, lead like you are forgiven forever - because you are!

What Are The Attributes Of An Authenthic Leader?

2008-12-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

What does being authenthic really mean? It starts by being transparent to your leadership team. This can be difficult, because we all have our shortcomings and flaws, and the last thing we want is to expose those - especially to someone we're supposed to be leading. But your level of authenticity and transparency will be reflected in the leaders you lead. So if you want honesty from them, you need to give them honesty.

Below are some key attributes of authentic leaders - FEEL FREE TO ADD THE ATTRIBUTES YOU LOOK FOR IN AN AUTHENTIC AND TRANSPARENT LEADER:

- They have no hidden agendas, once the leaders underneath you begin to sense that you're keeping something from them, their eyebrows go up and their trust level goes down.

- They say what they mean and mean what they say, they don't use grammatical chicaneries to try to worm their way around difficult or sensitive issues - they are discreetly direct in their communications, then they follow through on everthing they say. If they don't mean it, they don't say it.

- They readily admit mistakes instead of trying to cover them up. There's no pain quite like the pain of admitting your mistakes. Check out Hebrews 4:13. By admitting your mistakes you'll engender much trust with your openness and candor.

- What they say is what you get. There's no better way to be honest than to be an open book, even when your forthrightness makes you uncomfortable.

- Serve, serve and serve some more - Real leaders serve their team of leaders by investing in them, breaking down barriers for them and getting out of the way and let them lead. Matthew 20:25-28 "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Really, it all boils down to this: strip away the facades and the fakery, legitimately serve those around you and just be real with them. It takes work, discipline and a commitment to honesty that many are not willing to give. But in the long run, it will garner trust from your team that will reap many, many benefits.

Be an extraordinary leader by being an authenthic and transparent leader and accomplish great things in and for His kingdom.

Refresh Your Life!

2008-12-15T09:46:00.000-08:00

Sunday night we had our high school student's small group Christmas party in our home. High School students are a blast to be around! There was a lot of good eating, a fun but very competitive game of charades, and gift swapping, I mean stealing -sorry Leigh Ann-the Santa apron and hat were a perfict fit for you :(

The party was a reminder to me that sometimes it's important to just hang out with your team of leaders. No agenda's, no strategies, no plans, just hang out and have some fun.

So be an extraordinary leader and have some down time with your team of leaders within your home, workplace or church. With all the stress at this time of year you owe it to yourself and your team of leaders.

I believe with all my heart that God desires us to enjoy our journey, not endure our journey. Extraordinary leaders choose to enjoy the journey!

"The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed." - Proverbs 11:25

What Song Are You Singing?

2008-12-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

Our son is a wonderful Christian song writer/singer. (excuse the proud parent moment). When he is composing a new worship song, it's impossible to tell his true intentions after hearing only the first few notes and/or lyrics. But eventually, note by note, word by word the worship song is created and his ultimate intent is revealed.

In the same way, your leadership character - who you are inside - is revealed slowly, over time, one opportunity at a time. Each circumstance and your reaction to it add another note to your song. Slowly but surely you reveal your heart (character) to those you lead. And by the way everyone of us is leading someone at sometime.

Every leader in God's kingdom has a responsibility to sing a song that reflects God's character through their lives. When those around you "hear" (see) your song they should "hear" the attributes of God.

In order to exhibit godly character, you must first and foremost have a relationship with the One whose character you seek to emulate. George Barna in his book A Fish Out of Water: 9 Strategies Effective Leaders Use to Help You Get Back into the Flow, had this bit of wisdom to offer: "Unless you are intensely devoted to continually cultivating your relationship with Christ, people have no valid reason to follow you and you have no business striving to lead God's people."

It can't be put any plainer - forging an ever-stronger relationship with Christ is the foremost priority of every leader in His kingdom. Extraordinary leader's are consistently searching His Word, seeking Him in prayer, and praising Him - through the good times and the bad.

Spending time with Jesus on a daily basis will cause your leadership song to be refreshing to your spirit and inspiring to your team of leaders. Sing On!

Let's Play Follow The Leader!

2008-12-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

Leadership matters in the minds and hearts of those who are following it. Followers have a keen sense of leadership, and when something is out of balance with their leader, they may not be able to pinpoint it, but they can usually tell, and as a result they will be less inclined to commit their very best to the team and to the leader.

If you as a leader exhibit little character in your leadership, or come across as a malcontent, or abandon your team when they really need you, or... then it will effect your followers and their desire to fall underneath your leadership. Leadership is earned daily!

Think about it - have you ever served under a leader who didn't really want to be there? Or who didn't commit to the team, but instead had many different commitments that drew them in many different directions? Or that was less than scrupulous in the way they conducted themselves? These are just a few examples, but I'm betting that if you ever served under that type of leadership, you found it difficult to give 100 percent all day, every day.

Great leaders understand the positive and negative impact that their words, actions and attitudes have on their followers, wherever they are leading - in the home, workplace, community, or church.

Extraordinary leaders are just ordinary people who spend quality time with an extraordinary God. That is truly the best way to play "Follow The Leader".

What Are You Thankful For?

2008-11-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

- I'm thankful for my Savior - Jesus Christ
- I'm thankful for my wife - she won't let me put her name here...
- I'm thankful for my children - Tiffany, Tara, Taylor
- I'm thankful for my friends - hey Chuck

- I'm thankful for my Bible - Psalm 78:72
- I'm thankful for my Church - Graystone Community Church
- I'm thankful for my small group time at our home - and eating bread
- I'm thankful for my pastors - Jonathan and Dustin

- I'm thankful for my country - USA
- I'm thankful for my community - Grayson, Georgia
- I'm thankful for my workplace - Multicast Media
- I'm thankful for my home - its beautiful

- I'm thankful for my freedom - God Bless America
- I'm thankful for my country's military - you are my heros - thank you
- I'm thankful for my country's leadership - whether I voted for you or not
- I'm thankful for my vote - you win some, you lose some

- I'm thankful for my Georgia Bulldogs - beat the techies
- I'm thankful for my Grayson Rams - still undefeated
- I'm thankful for my bicycle - its cool
- I'm thankful for my favorite show - The Office

- I'm thankful for my life

Are You A Leader?

2008-11-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

Send Them Out

2008-11-24T14:10:00.000-08:00

There are a variety of ways to send out your inner circle of leaders. The best thing you can do is to trust their leadership style. God has created each of us as unique leaders and as unique leaders each of us has our own way of leading. The leaders underneath you may have flashes of your leadership style, but don't expect them to be a carbon copy of you. Chances are, they'll have their own style, and that sytle will be different from yours. My encouragement to you is to allow them to flow in their own strengths and styles, as long as they ultimately are achieving the agreed upon goals and are leading in a God-honoring manner.

The best - and one of the hardest - ways to support your inner circle of leaders is to practice patience as they learn, grow and deliver. You'll watch them tackle their new leadership opportunities and you'll probably watch them learn the hard way by making a mistake or two (or ten). As you practice patience , your leaders will get up from their mistake, dust themselves off, and give it another try.

Jesus' strategy for His leaders was simple but powerful. He brought them on, coached them up, and sent them out. But He didn't send them out unprepared or before they were ready. A primary responsibility of every great leader is to bring on, coach up, and send out greater leaders, which Jesus indicates as a goal for His disciples ( and the rest of us) in John 14:12 "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

Be an extraordinary leader by sending out your inner circle of leaders and supporting their leadership.

Coach Them Up

2008-11-23T07:41:00.000-08:00

In searching for a coaching relationship in the Bible, it's hard to find a better one than that between the apostle Paul and his "true son in the faith", Timothy. Paul spends the better part of two separate letters coaching Timothy up.

In the sports world, a good coach consistently sends signals that they believe in their players, that they are willing to invest in them, and that they have high expectations for them.

To coach people up, you must explore the goals and values of those you are leading and help them understand and strengthen their leadership skills, gifts and personality traits. There are three key things every good coach/leader should continually strive to accomplish with his team members.

- Create a climate for continuous learning - You must ensure your leaders know that failure isn't fatal. It is just another opportunity to learn and nothing is pointless if you learn from it.

- Inspire leaders to develop themselves - Leaders best inspire their leadership when they themselves seek to learn. Remember your actions always speak louder than your words.

- Seek out opportunities to invest in those willing to be invested in - fish where there are fish! Seek out leaders that genuinely want to improve themselves. If individuals within your inner circle of leaders are showing no interest in growing as a leader, then it's possible the time has come to minimize your investment in them.

Be an extraordinary leader today by seeking out leaders who want to learn, grow, and develop, then help those leaders identify and close the gap between where they are (skills, gifts, talents, et cetera) and where they want to go.

Bring Them On The Team

2008-11-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

This passage in the gospel of Mark gives us insight into the simple, yet powerful, way Jesus grew His leaders. Bring Them On The Team, Coach Them Up, Send Them Out. More on the last two later.

Jesus brought the disciples on the team by building up their trust and understanding. I'm talking about creating an environment where your team (at home, work, church) commits to your leadership because you've earned it. Let's face it - there are many leaders in the world who have to demand commitment based on fear, because those leaders have spent very little time trying to earn it. There are many people in leadership roles who look good from a distance, but take a look up close and you'll run away as fast as you can!

Great leadership isn't based on the position (Husband, Father, CEO, Pastor), it's based on the heart. Great leaders have a heart and passion to invest in and trust the leadership of the ones they lead. On another note, a leader who isn't willing to get underneath their inner circle of leaders and follow them is a very poor leader indeed. Why? Because if you aren't willing to follow someone else's leadership, what reason are you giving them to follow your leadership?

Be different, be extraordinary, be a leader that brings people on the team by exhibiting a Christ-centered life, by investing in your team of leaders and by following their leadership.

Aspire To Transform Yourself

2008-11-21T14:24:00.000-08:00