I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn on the Texas Gulf Coast! :)
Please be praying for all of those impacted by Hurricane Michael...such an incredibly powerful storm!
You know, there is ALWAYS someone to be praying for. Storms, of nature & of life, are happening all the time. It is an honor & privilege to come alongside others during their storms, to intercede in prayer on their behalf, to meet whatever needs you can for them and to just be there for them. It is also an honor & privilege when others come to meet you during your storms. The beauty, depth & meaning in this life journey is found in experiencing both! :)
This week I want to share some of the sermon from our church last weekend and then link it back to a couple of leadership lessons. It was an epiphany for me...
We started off by reading from Acts 9:
"Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on his name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in number." - Acts 9:19-31
Did you catch it? Saul was doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. He had found the Lord, he had a vision from Him and was working to fulfill the purpose God had for him. And the immediate outcome? In 11 verses people plot twice to kill him! Oh happy day! :) The reward however is much different and I will talk about that in a minute...
There is a really neat young man at my church who I have been meeting with for the last month or so. In our second meeting he asked me to think about things I wish someone had told me when I was younger, things I had learned, and to share them with him. Maybe it was because this thought/idea, of sharing things I wish I had known, was on my mind and clarity of what these things would be is something I have been praying for since he asked me but whatever the reason, there was a real epiphany for me when I heard this sermon. There are two things I wish I had known about leadership when I was younger, things I want to share with you this morning.
1. Leadership is not the absence of problems. When I was younger, I thought if I was doing a great job in leadership there would be no problems, everyone would be happy and that we would all just work great together...pollyanna stuff, right? :) In my younger mind, road blocks or obstacles were stop signs. If things got real difficult it was a great indication that this wasn't really the right place for me to be, it was time to move on. I wish I had known then what I know now...
In reading, listening and studying leadership, I have learned that all leaders get personally attacked and have problems. If you are going to be a leader or in a position of leadership these things are certain. This does not mean that you are a bad leader, that you are in the wrong situation or that it is time to move on. It simply means you are a leader! :)
There is a great quote by Elbert Hubbard that says, "To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." As our Pastor stated last Sunday, "the question is not if we will face challenges. The question is what we will do when we face them." At that moment we have two choices, we can run & avoid or we can lean in. As he went on to say, "God accomplishes His mission in our world not in spite of the challenges we face but through them." Did you catch that? It is through - going through, sticking it out - that God accomplishes His mission.
Ultimately each of us must decide to run & avoid or lean in. As Pastor Yancy said, "You can avoid the problems/challenges and not have to deal with the pain but you also then have to forfeit the blessings that come along with going through them." If you will go back and read verse 31 you will see, "Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in number." I am pretty sure that Saul would have preferred to not have people try to kill him! :) Regardless, he persevered, following God's calling & leading on his life which lead to peace, strength and increase.
I want to encourage all of us Friends, the next time you face challenges/problems, don't look at it as a stop sign but rather an invitation to something pretty remarkable! :)
2. From a very young age I was thrust into leadership positions. The thing is, I didn't want to be the leader. I wanted to have someone above me who I could learn leadership from so when I did become a leader - here we go! :) - there would be no problems, everyone would be happy and everyone would work together. I have learned however that this is not how leadership works.
To learn to be a leader you need to lead. Oh yeah, you are going to make mistakes...plenty of them. Again, not stop signs but rather opportunities! You don't learn leadership in books, you learn leadership by living. Please don't hear what I am not saying; I do think reading and learning about leadership is not only good but the right thing to do - I have committed the last 25+ years of my life to it! The point I am trying to make however is we can read & study all we want...at some point we gotta get to living and put the things we learn into practice! :)
I will go back to something we talked about in last weeks Happy Friday; you stand where nobody else stands. You have influence that nobody else has in your spheres of influence. Don't wish you were not there, in that position, but fully embrace it - seeking the Lord, seeking the greatness that is within you, and seeking to service those you are privileged to do life with. You will continue to learn, grow & develop every day...and I promise you, it will be so worth it!
I came across a quote this morning that I want to share with you in closing:
"Every man of character will have that character questioned. Every man of honor and courage will be faced with unjust criticism, but never forget that unjust criticism has no impact whatsoever upon the truth. And the only sure way to avoid criticism is to nothing and be nothing." - Andy Andrews
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families!
Kev
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