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Are you intentional?

Last year my wife and I decided to take our family to Cleveland, Ohio to visit my grandparents.  We loaded up the minivan, entered my grandparents’ address in our GPS and headed out on our adventure.  With about 1,100 miles and 16 hours ahead of us I knew it would be a long trip with our young kids so we had to stay focused.  The problem was that every hour somebody had to go to the bathroom, I kept getting hungry and of course every time we saw a Dairy Queen I felt it was my duty to stop and get an Oreo Blizzard.  Unfortunately, our 16 hour trip was quickly turning into a much longer journey.  Finally, I had to make a decision…no more bathroom breaks, no more stops for meals and I even had to cut out our Dairy Queen breaks (that was difficult)!  I knew if we weren’t intentional about getting to my grandparents we would never make it because of all of the distractions.

As leaders it is critical for us to be intentional as we seek to lead others into their God-given potential.  I want to share with you three areas of our lives we must be intentional about as leaders.

We must intentionally…

1) Develop our relationship with God

In James 4:8 we are told to, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” In our busy world we can sometimes squeeze God out of the picture and just “DO” life without growing with Him.  I’ve learned that I can’t allow my schedule and responsibilities to push my personal connection with God out of the picture.  My ability to lead is dependent on my personal relationship with God.

• Ø When your life gets busy, what is one of the first things that gets squeezed out?

2) Develop ourselves

Jesus addresses the importance of leading yourself when he tells his disciples, “They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” (Matthew 15:14).  In order to successfully lead others, we must first be able to lead ourselves.

• Ø What is one thing that you can do that will improve how you lead yourself?

3) Develop others

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).  The greatest impact that we can have on our community, region and even the world will come as we develop leaders.  When godly leaders are developed, then God’s message of life and hope will be broadcast effectively throughout the earth.

• Ø Who can you begin to intentionally help develop as a godly leader?

Wherever you are on your leadership journey make sure you are intentional about developing your relationship with God, developing yourself and developing others.

The Meetings Between the Meetings

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2

Questions for Discussion:

1. What time, maybe a lunch break or another time, during your week could you set aside for meeting one-on-one with members of your Small Group or Ministry Team.
2. How has your personal growth and walk with the Lord been affected by spending one-on-one time with a mentor?
3. What concerns or conflicts may be preventing you from investing in the lives of others on a more direct of personal level?

The Importance of Prayer as a Leader

by: Pastor Bob Bruce

I remember Christmastime when my daughters were young. I had the privilege of constructing the “some assembly required” toys that consisted of thousands of small parts. I also remember the tendency to ignore the enclosed instructions thinking that my own ability could shortcut the assembly time. What a disaster that turned out to be. I would end up with the project taking twice the time when the inevitable extra parts would turn up, requiring significant rework. If only I had followed the instructions!

I discovered that prayer is like the detailed instructions that came with my daughters’ “some assembly required” toys. And because of that, it is one of the most important tools a leader has. Leaders who begin their preparation time with prayer, who pray at all times during the process, pray for their team during every week and who encourage the team to pray for one another can expect to experience amazing things.

One of the finest leadership examples in the Bible is Nehemiah. He exemplified a leader who, in the face of a seemingly insurmountable task, sought God first in prayer before beginning any effort on his own. The result was the completion of a project that unified the people of Israel and helped them overcome multiple obstacles to secure the city for the people.

As a leader, Nehemiah shows us his intent on serving God and his people by first turning to God in prayer. He did so using what I’ll refer to as the

3 Ps:

1. 1. Praise

Nehemiah honored God and recognized that He keeps His Word and respects His promises. Nehemiah’s praise was especially appropriate because he was about to ask God to do the thing he just praised God for: to keep His covenant and show mercy on His people.

1. 2. Petition

Nehemiah reminded God that he promised to bring Israel back to the land He promised them – no matter where they were scattered. Likewise, God has made plain His promises to us under the gospel, and we have every right to claim those promises in prayer.  As leaders, we must trust that God’s promises are true for those we are leading, and that is what should drive us to pray for them.

1. 3. Practicality

Nehemiah asked God to bless and prosper him when he made his request to the king.  Nehemiah’s request was not only on his behalf but also for those he would lead in the project.

When we see problems in our families or in our community, we should be willing to work to meet the need, but we must also be willing to go to God in prayer.

• What can we learn from Nehemiah’s motivation as a leader when seeking God’s help in prayer?

• Do you seek God in prayer for instruction before beginning any project, or do you lead depending on your own intuition?

• What can you begin to do today to make praying for those you lead a priority?

• What can you do this week to become a more authentic leader?
• On a scale from 1-10, how would you rate yourself as a listener? How can you improve?
• What do you find the hardest about initiating relationships? Why?

Begin to take steps this week to become a more Authentic leader who Initiates relationships and you will find you are able to lead effectively through those relationships.