A Sign of a Good Leader

A sign of a good leader is not how many followers you have 

but how many leaders you create.

Mahatma Ghandi

In today's world of social media and instagram stars there is a lot of focus on followers. A quick google search will tell you that the top followed person on twitter is Katy Perry, who has 106.7 million followers and on instagram it is Selena Gomez with 135.8 million followers.

Often we think of celebrities as leaders because they have a large following, but how are they influencing those followers. It is interesting to look at the ministry of Jesus and to see how much time he focused on the 12 rather than the crowds. He had multitudes following him but he never considered the crowds to be His ministry.

Jesus's ministry was to the individual, then to the small group (the 12), and lastly to the crowd. 

Moving on to Acts we see that the 12 were the ones who changed the world. They were the ones who brought the Gospel to Jerusalem, to Judea, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. They did this not because they were followers of Jesus but because they were His disciples, because Jesus had invested the time to make them leaders.

As far as we know Mahatma Ghandi never became a Christian, never accepted Jesus as Savior, Lord, or God. Another famous quote of Ghandi's is discussed in this post and that quote underlines a part of how Ghandi viewed Jesus and Christians. Ghandi did accept Jesus as a great teacher and much of the philosophy that Ghandi is famous for is at least partially based on the teachings of Jesus. This quote may have very well come from a study of the life of Christ because it is clear that He focused on creating leaders. He didn't just teach His disciples, He spent time with them, He ate with them, He shared life with them, and He challenged them to step out into their own ministry.

Jesus is the ultimate example of where a good leader's focus should be.

In today's churches and organizations we often seem to have it backwards. The people at the top are worried first about how to get more people surrounding them rather than on developing the few closest to them and training them to do the same. They want to be seen as someone who has a lot of followers but they forget to develop leaders. 

No matter what type of organization you are involved in, no matter what position you may hold, I encourage you to strive to focus on the few, build leaders, and train them to do the same. This is how you multiply your influence and make it last beyond your own presence in that organization. 

Seeking Him First in 2019!

"Don’t seek opportunity, seek God. If you seek God, opportunity will seek you."
Dr. Mark Batterson
Pastor of National Community Church

Dr. Mark Batterson tweeted the quote above along with a link to a sermon about a month ago. To be honest I never watched the sermon but the quote stuck with me. As I prayed over it I felt that this quote is God's word for me for 2019. 

It is easy to get caught up looking for an opportunity. We can even feel like it is a spiritual search because we are looking for an "opportunity for God to use us", but God wants us to seek Him first. 

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 

and all these things shall be added to you."

Matthew 6:33

Reading this passage in context it is clear that the "these things" Jesus is referring to are our material needs (i.e. food, water, shelter). However, often that is what is behind our search for an opportunity. I would love an opportunity to better provide for my family without having to work as much as I do and I believe God is going to bring that opportunity to me. However, God wants me to seek Him first, to seek His kingdom. 

If you are a regular reader of my blog you may notice a recurring theme in my most recent posts. This is not on purpose but is simply how God has been leading me over the past few months and I believe it isn't a theme that is only for me but also for you, my reader. In November I wrote a post titled Seeking God Himself, in which I wrote how God impressed on my heart that morning the need to ask for more of Him rather than for other things and then for Christmas I wrote about how the true meaning behind Christmas is the bringing of God's kingdom on this earth and that we should seek after, and help establish that kingdom through our actions. 

This is of course not an entirely new theme either. Back in 2015 I wrote a post entitled, Four Ways We Should Seek the Kingdom First!, in which I outlined four areas of life that we should be practically applying this focus; prayer, finances, service, and evangelism. 

Sometimes we look for an elaborate word for the new year or we try to set complicated goals and there is a time and place for those things but in 2019 I challenge to make it simple. Let's go back to the basics of seeking Him and His kingdom and let everything else fall into place. As we pursue Him first in our prayers, our finances, our service, and our acts of evangelism we will automatically find opportunities seekign us out, we will find that our needs are provided for without the stress, and we will find that we are making a difference in our world without even having to try. 

Christmas and Politics

"For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

Isaiah 9:6 NKJV

It's Christmas time; time for happiness, cheer, joy, family. At least that is what our society tells us, but our society has turned Christmas into a materialistic holiday full of fluff. We like to throw around phrases such as "holiday spirit" and "the happiest time of the year" but less and less do we hear what we are actually celebrating.

I do hope that you all are happy and joyful and with family during this holiday season but I also want us to remember what Christmas is truly about. Even the nativity scene does not fully cover what we are celebrating because it is more than just a baby being born in a manger. Something begin on that first Christmas that was even deeper than a plan for our salvation.

Christmas is about a new Kingdom being established.

I wrote about this last year in my post The True Meaning of Christmas, but I feel this is a point that is so important and so often missed that it is important to reiterate it. In a recent series of posts Dr. Andrew Decort asked the question Was Jesus Political? and he started with the song that Mary sang after hearing the announcement that she would be pregnant with the Messiah:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

And His mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Luke 1:46-55

Already, before Christ was even born, there is a political aspect in preparation for him. Mary's song shows the establishment of a Kingdom that is backwards from the normal, earthly kingdom, a kingdom in which the mighty are pulled down and the weak and hungry are exalted. 

This same idea is repeated by Jesus when the mother of James and John asks Him to grant her sons the seats on Jesus' right and left in heaven:

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, 

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, 

and those who are great exercise authority over them. 

Yet it shall not be so among you; 

but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 

And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, 

and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:25-28

Jesus came to this earth to establish a new type of Kingdom. No longer are we to be looking to be great, to be mighty, or to be strong but we should be looking to serve. This is what Christmas is about, the start of this new Kingdom. 

As we celebrate Christmas it is a time to remember to be a servant, to remember our new Kingdom!

This is also a perfect entry into the new year. As we begin to think of our plans for the new year, what we want to change, how we want to have a fresh start, we can look at how we can better be servants to those around us.