Rob Bell
Exodus 20 lists the ten commandments. Unlike the first nine, the tenth is not outwardly observable--you can't visibly see someone coveting someone else's things. The rabbis say that the tenth is not just a command, it’s the reward for following the first nine. Yes, not coveting is a reward. By living for God, you won’t want anyone else’s life. You won’t want to have what others have. You’ll be comfortable being the YOU that God created you to be.
Rob’s applications:
Keep a Sabbath. What day of the week do you NOT answer email?
Does your spouse get your best, or just the scraps left over after you’ve given your best to others? Do your kids see you at your best?
Dave Ramsey
Momentum Theorem
Focused intensity over time multiplied by God creates unstoppable momentum.
Focus is lost for two reasons:
- Fear
Fear can cause you to lose focus. Fear is not a fruit of the spirit. - Greed
You can get greedy for money, stats, fame, and/or more. James 1:8 says, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
With focus, you can’t see anything but what you are looking at. With focus, you have an unbelievable advantage. Rick Warren says, “Focus is intentional.” You have to be proactive. You have to happen to things.
Malcolm Gladwell
We think we need daring and bold decision making from our leaders in time of crisis. But we don’t. We need humility.
QUESTION: What are the warning signs for leaders being to overconfident?
When you stop listening to those around you. You cut yourself off from others.
QUESTION: What do you say to the church leader who has resisted accountability because of fear?
When a leader can no longer do everything all by himself, you have to change. When your growth reaches a certain point, you have to change. Leadership has to become more collective.
Andy Stanley
Leadership is a gift. Every leader leaves a mark. But the challenge is… what type of mark will you leave?
If you are discontent with the status quo and you want to see change, it is because God has put that desire to lead inside of you.
You will never recognize your biggest opportunity until after you’ve taken advantage of it or missed it. You won’t know your mistakes until long after you’ve made them.
The challenge for those of us who are leaders that want to see change is you don’t know the thing that you will do that will make the biggest difference (for good or for evil).
When you finally settle why you do what you do, then you can live your life with a freedom that is unexplainable unless you experience it. God will take full responsibility for your life and leadership once you fully surrender your life to Him.
It is not about your mark. It is about His mark.
It is not about who is for or against you. It is about who you are for.
When God does His greatest work through you, you will have no idea what happened.
Our mark isn’t worth our life. Living to make my mark is too small a thing to give my life to, but to somehow be positioned in a place where God can work through me is something worth giving my life to.
Leaders are going to leave a mark. But the daily question for you is, “Whose mark are you going to leave?”
Chuck Swindoll
I remember sitting in chapel, and a minister told me, “When God wants to do an impossible task, he takes an impossible person and crushes him.” I am so proud of everything you are dreaming of and doing that I hope that you remember to leave room for the crushing.
10 Things Chuck Swindoll Learned in 50ish Years of Ministry:
- It’s lonely to lead.
Leadership involves tough decisions. The tougher the decisions, the lonelier it is. - It’s dangerous to succeed.
It is dangerous to succeed while being young. rarely, does God give leadership that young because it takes crushing and failure first. - It’s hardest at home.
Nobody at home is applauding you. They say, “Dad! You’re fly is open.” - It is essential to be real.
If there is one realm where phoniness is personified it is leadership. What I care about is that you stay real. - It is painful to obey.
There are rewards, yes, but it is painful nevertheless. - Brokenness and failure are necessary.
- My attitude is more important than my actions.
Some of you are getting hard to be around. And your attitude covers all those great actions you pull off. - Integrity eclipses image.
What you are doing is not a show. And the best things you are doing is not up front but what you do behind the scenes. - God’s way is better than my way.
God is going to have His way. - Christ-likeness begins and ends with humility.
Five statements worth remembering during your next 50 years of leadership
1) Whatever you do, do more with others and less alone
2) Whenever you do it, emphasize quality not quantity.
3) Wherever you go, do it the same as if you were among those who know you best.
4) Whoever may respond, keep a level head.
5) However long you lead, keep on dripping with gratitude and grace
