I have been reading the book Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward and it has been a good read.  They write about starting a leadership revolution in our country, by multiplying godly leaders.  They have some great insight into the subject of leadership and I believe that we need a renewal of leadership from the pulpit to the pew.

I think the problem in the world today is two-fold: 1. Apathy (people are complacent and not willing to commit) 2. Misconcevied ideas of leadership (people have the wrong view of being a leader).  I think the misconceived idea is the greatest of the problems.  People honestly think that to be a leader, you have to be born a leader.  A leader is not born but made.  Woodward and Brady write, “Leadership ability can be acquired.  Some say leaders are born, that they come into the world with natural abilities.  This is certainly true to some degree.  Others say leadership can be learned…While people may exhibit differing levels of leadership, everybody can cultivate and grow his or her leadership ability.  Everybody can be a leader at something, and usually people’s strengths lie in areas that interest them greatly.”

I am challenged to work on my own leadership ability.  I can testify that some things must be developed.  God has been dealing with me about changing my greatest weakness.  Discipline.  My personality type does not complement discipline.  So that is the area I am working on.  To be more disciplined in everything I do.  My work ethic, spiritual disciplines, family and even in exercise.  Discipline is hard but necessary.

What area of leadership do you need to work on?

We had a great weekend here at the church.  Saturday we had a workday so we could get the place tidied up a bit.  We had 16 men come out to help work on the church.  I must say that it was the best turn out we have ever had and we were able to get a lot done.  It is amazing what you can do when you work together.

Sunday, we had another great day.  We talked about living faith.  That faith believes and responds to God promises.  Faith believes in God’s power and faith overcomes obstacles.  The most important element of our faith is that we keep Christ at the center of our lives.  Without Him we are nothing.  Life is not worth living if Jesus is not a priority in our life.

Last night, we had a singing service with a variety of people doing special music.  It was great to see the talent that God has blessed us with in our church.  God is truly good!

Every week moving into the weekend, it is a busy time for pastors.  It is the process of meeting yet another weekly deadline.  Getting ready for the weekend service or services.  Sometimes it seems like a never-ending grind.  Every week we go through the same motions, preparing for Sunday.  It is our calling to prepare our messages, prepare the facilities, prepare the services and prepare anything else that comes up.  In all of our preparation, though, do we prepare our hearts?

It is easy to get caught up in the grind and forget to spend time with the Master.  It is time spent with Him that keeps us from burning out or getting frustrated with the mundane task of weekly preparation.  In fact, it is our time with Him that helps us keep the perspective that it is all for Him and for His glory.  Every ounce of preparation is for the work of His Kingdom and the pursuit of the souls of men.

I challenge every pastor or minister to be diligent, to guard their time with the Lord,  without Him it is only a weekly ritual.

I have been wondering lately where a little child learns not to share.  It seems as if it is second nature for kids to want everything for themselves.

Last night, Hannah had a little friend over to the house.  They were playing happily until they both wanted the same toy.  Then I heard the phrase of all phrases from my 18 month old, “MINE!”.  When the other little girl started playing with Hannah’s duck, Hannah wanted the duck for herself.  There is an unwritten rule with little children, “It is MINE whether I am playing with it or not! So deal with it!”  Hannah could care less about the duck until her friend wanted to play with the duck.  Kids?

Then the tables turned, when Hannah found her friend’s toy and started to play with it, the little girl exclaimed, “MINE!”  She has her unwritten rule too, “It’s OK to play with your toys, but don’t play with mine.”  I learned last night that within every child is an issue of not wanting to share.

Then I realized that often we never get over that issue.  As adults, we do not  like to share either.  We find it hard sometimes to give from our excess to help someone who has little.  Or we do not like to share our time, because our time is too precious.  We often do not like to share our money with the less fortunate or the ministry of the church.  As adults we have this same attitude sometimes, “MINE!”

The writer of Hebrews declares, “Do not forget to do good and share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”  We all need to learn to share, even us adults!

WOW! What a week it has been!  We have observed Holy Week this week and it has been awesome.  We started last Sunday by looking at the Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ and then followed up Wednesday night with the story of the Betrayal. 

My personal opinion was that the heartbreak of the betrayal was possibly as difficult as the physical suffering.  From the betrayal and the mockery and humiliation that Jesus endured, can you imagine what His heart must have felt?  Friday night we looked at the crucifixion by seeing the cruelty of the Roman Soldiers and the price that Jesus paid for our sins.  We concluded with a time of Communion.  It was a great service!

This morning was the grand finale with a look at the empty tomb.  Jesus rose from the dead!  Our message this morning was centered around the thought, “the tomb is empty so that your heart doesn’t have to be empty.”  The grave couldn’t hold Him but your heart can!  We talked about the things that cause us emptiness and the remedy for it all, Jesus.

Our attendance was the best we have seen in five years and 2 people made decisions to turn their lives around and follow Jesus.  It was worth it all!

After service this morning, we went home to do an Easter egg hunt with Hannah and Josh (even if Josh is too big, he still likes the candy).  Both of my kids looked great in their Easter outfits but Hannah looked like my little princess.  She got out of the car this morning with her hat on and carrying her purse.  She strutted her stuff as she went to Sunday School.  Easter has been good.  Jesus is alive!

Every morning, I can count on one thing to happen in our household.  Josh, our 13 year old, will wake up, get out of bed put on his robe and go to the kitchen for breakfast.  If he is not spoken to, he will not speak.  But one thing is certain, he will never be without his robe.  He puts it on without thinking…it is a part of who he is in the morning.  That is what I call a habit.

Not all habits are bad.  A habit is something that we do that becomes second nature.  It is something we cannot live without.  For some it might be reading the morning newspaper or exercising, in my case my habits center around coffee, Sonic Iced Tea and Carmex.  These are 3 things I cannot live without. 

Beyond those kinds of habits, do we have any spiritual habits?  Is it second nature for us to wake up in the morning and pray, thanking God for another day?  Do we start our day with time in the Word of God?  Maybe you do not have habits in the morning but later in the day.  The truth is, that no matter when we have our habits, we ought to have spiritual habits.  If I can do without prayer but cannot make it without my coffee, I have a spiritual problem.

Evaluate your life and see what kind of habits you have.  If you do not have spiritual habits, begin today!

Last night, Sonya and I took part in a service that featured David Ring.  David Ring is an evangelist who travels the nation preaching the gospel.  He is a successful evangelist despite having cerebral palsy.  When he speaks you hang onto every word because he has lived it.

Last night, he spoke on going through hard times and asking God why.  One thing he said stuck in my mind.  When we ask God why, we question His authority.  “Why are you doing this to me, God?”  He reminded us that we do not like it when our kids ask why because it challenges something we have said or done.  Our main response to our kids when they ask why is, “because I said so!”

David Ring challenged us to ask What instead of why.  What will bring You glory out of this situation, God?  My heart was convicted over the many times these last several years I have questioned God over and over.  When I face something, I challenge God’s authority in my life and am upset about what is happening.  We must be honest with God without challenging Him.  There is nothing wrong with telling God how you feel, but in the end we must stop and ask God to perform His perfect will in our lives.  Next time, you deal with some stuff, ask what not why!  This has changed my perspective.

He also talked about how we need to be making deposits in our spiriutal bank account, because one day we will need to withdraw from it.  When we go through struggles in life, we have to draw from our spiritual bank account and when we have made no depostis we will go bankrupt.  He told us that we must make sure that our well stays full so that when we need to draw water it will not be empty.  He reminded us  that if our well is empty, we must change wells.  We must tap into the well with the river of living water.  He said, “Jesus hangs out at the well.”

We live in a world today that is ever changing.  Gas prices go up and the stock market goes down.  Political races are ever-changing.  Church leaders rise and fall.  One day is good, other days might be bad.  Our future is bright but our future is unknown.  It can change at anytime.  Do we look to the future and plan or do we wait for the future to come and then do something?  Life has unexpected turns.

God expects us to have vision in our lives, however, there must always be a determination that no matter what comes our way, we will not be shaken.  I have had many dreams in my life as a pastor, but found sudden changes came and those dreams were never realized.  For years this discouraged me and frustrated me as if God was somehow against me and forgot my destiny.  Then I realized that although I had dreams for the future, only God knew my future.  Dreams and visions are good and give us a goal to pursue in life, but we must submit our wills to God.  The hardest thing in my life has been to pray the prayer, “Lord, even if my dreams never come to pass, I will still serve you with all of my heart.” 

I firmly believe that when we seek the heart of God, He will direct our paths.  He knows what is best for us.  I can remember many dreams of great things that I had and things fell through.  I look back on this and see that God was saving me from something disastrous.  I am trying to learn what my dream is and what God’s dream is for me.  Sometimes they are not the same.  I have made the determination in my life to serve God no matter what.  To follow His leading, to expect the unexpected but to still dream of great things.  Dreams keep us alive, but if your dream is delayed do not let it kill you.  Resign your will to His majesty, He will have His way in you.