What it means to be a leader

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been. The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there. Leadership must be based on goodwill. Goodwill does not mean posturing and, least of all, pandering to the mob. It means obvious and wholehearted commitment to helping followers. We are tired of leaders we fear, tired of leaders we love, and of tired of leaders who let us take liberties with them. What we need for leaders are men of the heart who are so helpful that they, in effect, do away with the need of their jobs. But leaders like that are never out of a job, never out of followers. Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away. A good leader delegates, rather than separates control. Leadership is intentional influence. Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned. A good leader must have specific qualities. A good leader must have charisma. Nobody likes an unlikable person. Charisma influences the thought and actions of those who follow. When people who follow you like you, they respect you, when they respect you, they'll follow you. A good leader must be confident in his or her abilities.The leader must know, must know that he knows, and must be able to make it abundantly clear to those around him that he knows. If a leader is unsure of something, that will make those who follow him unsure as well, and will result in confusion. A good leader must also be strict when he needs to be. To be able to set the tone when the time is necessary for it. Not to say that a leader must act like a dictator, but rather as a strong voice over the noise of calamity. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. Also, a good leader must also be a good follower. Not only must he establish a common goal or direction, but he must also listen to his followers for insight or opinion. Shutting that out also shuts out their respect. A good leader must be able to think on the go. Premeditated reactions are a rare luxury, and time is an even rarer commodity. You must be able to analyze the situation, pinpoint the exact source of the problem, calculate solutions, pick the best course of action, and execute it, all within a moments time. Good leadership should never be based on fear, fear only leads to unrest and lack of cooperation. It is a team effort between leader and follower, working for the same goal. Respect is the currency of leadership. Rather than fear, reverence can spark more reaction. A leader must be an example, for those to look up to. A person to depend on when they don't have the answers. A good leader must be consistent. Consistency makes or breaks success. If you are not consistent, people can't rely on you. Basically, your followers must be able to reflect your actions, to mirror your movements. This codependency not only strengthens them, but the leader as well. Sometimes, doing everything for a person, although may seem helpful, can actually be hurtful to the learner. Some things must be experience through, simply enough, experience. A leader must have a voice of guidance, not a direct hand in the actions of those who follow. The best example of leadership I could ever give you, is the example of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master. Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him..... He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.

Be humble or you'll stumble.

"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." --Matthew 23:12


What does it truly mean to be humble? In today's world, we believe that excess leads to success and happiness. A lie that I myself fell victim to. Does being humble mean you give that homeless guy on the street a dollar or buy him a sandwich? Well sure it's nice but is that it? No. Not at all. Not only should you invest your money into this poor fellow, but you should invest the one thing that is more valuable than your money: your TIME. Try eating a sandwich with him, and talk to him. Share with him the gospel, and make a difference in his life to where he becomes a follower of Christ and knows the love and mercy God has for us.  It amazes me to see how many of us claim to be too busy for things. We're too busy to go to church, or we're too busy to help our friends, or we're too busy to do mission work. It's not that we're too busy, because we can always make time. It's called selfish pride my friends. We think that our problems are more important than other people's problems. It's awful funny when our friends need a favor, and we skip out because we don't feel like doing work, so we say we don't have the time. We always have time. Sure it's nice to donate money to the Rescue Mission, but try going down there and actually working and MAKE a difference. Pastor Roy Mansfield, one of the wisest men I've ever met told me this: "Sure it's ok to buy them a sandwich or a drink when they're hungry or thirsty, but truth is, that sandwich only goes soo far because later on they'll be hungry or thirsty again". Think about that for a moment. Our "good deed" only lasted for a short time. If we actually took on the problems of our neighbors, we'd be amazed at how God would take care of our own worries. Happiness can be taken away from you, but joy you have to give up yourself. We always try to exalt ourselves everyday in today's world. But the only person you're fooling is yourself. Sure it's cool to have a lot of people know your name, but in the end does that really matter? What does trying to solve your own problems do for the people around you, who have it way worse than you do? I'll tell you what it does: Nothing. And that's all your conceitedness is: Nothing. Stop trying to glorify your name, and start glorifying the One who truly deserves praise: God. Without Him, you are nothing. It's time to put down our arrogance and pick up our crosses and start making a difference in the world, and start doing things that actually MATTER. Spending 4 hours on Facebook everyday, doesn't matter. Be humble, because truth is, you're WAY better off than most people in this broken world are. 

Silence is golden.

SILENT and LISTEN are spelled with the same letters. Why do you think that is? Because in order to hear, we must listen, and we can't hear unless we are silent. The world around us can get busy, hectic and loud. Sometimes we Christians feel like God is soo far away from us. Truth is, God never left you. He's still there, you just have to LISTEN, and be SILENT. Silence is a rare commodity in a loud world. All we have to do sometimes is quiet our minds, and then we can see and hear clearly. We have to "hear" ourselves think. God wants to speak to us, but we don't listen. We always speak to God, and He listens. Do you think that's fair? If all you did was talk and didn't let the other person have a word in edge-wise? Now when we think about hearing God speak, we think that Holy light shines down and an audible voice speaks to us. But God speaks to us in other ways. He may implant a thought in your head or change your feelings on something. He may give you a memory that might give you some insight on something. He may let you hear something or see something that sparks an idea or emotion in you. All you have to do, is be quiet and listen. What you have to say, is NOT NEARLY as important as what God has to say.

God's creativity.

God's creation never ceases to amaze me. Today I was at the beach, and I was just overcome by the beauty of His work. The beautiful blue-green ocean. The baby blue sky. The bright yellow sand. The sights, the smells, the sounds, the feelings. It was a sensory overload. I took a moment to pray and just thank Him for it. The beach to me was kinda of a humbling trip for me. That no matter what goes on in my hectic life, I can seek refuge in God. The beach was my escape today. To get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday living. It was like a way of Him saying "Don't worry about a thing, I'm in control". Whenever I see the beauty of God's creation, whether it be the beach at sunset, or a starry night sky, I always realize that my problems are soo imperceptible in the grand scheme of things. That He is much bigger than ANYTHING that goes on in my life, and that He is all powerful. He is God. He spoke it, and it came to be. It humbles me. It makes me feel small when my head gets too big. God is creative. He made everyone different. He paints the sky. He gives the stars the light to shine. His creation, inspires my own. In music, poetry, writing. He makes all of this happen.


Isaiah: 40:26-31
²⁶ Look up into the heavens.
      Who created all the stars?
   He brings them out like an army, one after another,
      calling each by its name.
   Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
      not a single one is missing.
 ²⁷ O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
      O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
 ²⁸ Have you never heard?
      Have you never understood?
   The Lord is the everlasting God,
      the Creator of all the earth.
   He never grows weak or weary.
      No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
 ²⁹ He gives power to the weak
      and strength to the powerless.
 ³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired,
      and young men will fall in exhaustion.
 ³¹ But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
      They will soar high on wings like eagles.
   They will run and not grow weary.
      They will walk and not faint.

How small I am

My hectic life

Soo busy and crude

Too busy to see 

How I am soo shrewd

And too busy, no time I have for You.

Each day I walk

Oblivious to the thought

That You are in control

Too blinded by arrogance

Deceived by ignorance

As I look into the skys

with renewed eyes

I finally see Your might

I am small

and You are great

Awestruck wonders fill my sight

How small I am,

compared to You

Your plans are bigger than mine

Blinded by selfishness

unsettled by restlessness

Seek and I shall find

O Father how small am I

How short I fall

before Your glory

and Your mercy

Find in Thee, mine all in all