Category Archives: Biblical

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Not that I have already attained . . .

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Not that I have already attainedI had a chance to have an early morning with a very dear friend this morning. He and I have known each other since soon after we moved to Texas. We get together on a somewhat regular basis. He is a great guy, a great husband and great father.  He is great representative of his company.  He is not a reader of this blog. Well, at least he hasn’t been, but I am working on him.

He reminded me this morning of the humbling nature of being a blogger on the topic of leadership. I do not put myself forward as a great leader and therefore you should read my blog. But, rather, I put myself forward as someone who is striving to be a great leader and someone who his striving to inspire others to greatness.

There is a verse in the New Testament of the Bible that sort of seems to fit the way I feel today.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. – Philippians 3:12

Does that make sense to you?

Oh, and one more thing.  We have a great “Fatherhood Friday” article coming out tomorrow.  Please come back tomorrow and see what one of our authors has to say.

 

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Let Your Yea be Yea; and Your Nay, Nay

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Businessman Crossing FingersI read a quotation in a stock report a number of years back that I found humorous at the time, and it has stuck with me ever since. I have seldom, if ever, seen such a blatant example of someone trying to sound like they were saying something important when, in fact, they were saying virtually nothing at all.

John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, was predicting growth in Cisco’s revenues in the upcoming quarter despite a decrease during the previous quarter. To support his position, he made the following statement:

“We are starting to see some very early signs that could be interpreted – with the appropriate caveats – as cautiously optimistic.”

If you didn’t listen to him too closely, you could be encouraged by the potential of the company and therefore the performance of its stock.

However, if you look more closely, you’ll see that virtually every word in the statement is what I call a “weasel word”. We (not solely him, so if it’s wrong he can’t bear all the blame) are starting to see some very early (could be wrong since it’s still early) signs (not facts, just indicators) that could (or could not) be interpreted (open to errors in methodology of analysis) — with appropriate caveats (beware) – as cautiously (proceed with caution) optimistic (not definitive, but hopeful).

Now I don’t know that much about John Chambers, but based on what you read, he must have some game. He has helped grow the company from $70 million when he joined Cisco in January 1991, to $1.2 billion when he assumed the role of CEO, to record revenues of $46 billion in FY12. His bio states that he has received numerous awards for his leadership over his past 18 years at the helm of Cisco, and it goes on to list about 15 of those honors. However, with apologies to my attorney friends, I think the lawyers got to his statement before it was released.

The Bible tells us in James 5:12, “let you yea by yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.” Now, I’m not trying to condemn John Chambers, but Leaders need to be clear, forthright, and deliberate in their communications if those who are following them are to base their actions and their support on the guidance they are being given.

By the way, past performance is no guarantee of future results!

 

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Easter Thoughts on the Ultimate Leader

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Easter Thoughts on LeadershipWhen you are a blogger it can be sometimes difficult to tackle certain topics.  When you are a Christian blogger, it is really a daunting task to write on the subject of Jesus Christ and His leadership.  It almost makes that aspect of who He was seem corporate or secular.  But, on this day, I feel that I must address it if I am to be true to who I am as a writer and as a person.

There are many aspects of His life that I could point out on any given day.  And I don’t begin to know how to prioritize a few of them as we approach Easter morning.  But, let me point out one or two for our consideration as we approach Easter morning.

One of things that is most notable about His leadership style is that He poured His life into the lives of a small group of men.  You could mention the small crowds, you could mention the 70 that were sent out and you could mention the Twelve.  And that would be appropriate.  But consider for a few moments that He had especially intimate times with three – Peter, James and John.  These few comprised the absolute inner circle and as a result they had the opportunity to see Jesus Christ close up as He walked the Earth for the 3 years of His public ministry.  And they had an extremely close view of the events that lead up to His death on the cross.

So, here is the leadership thought for this post:  Who are you spending your time with?  Who are you pouring your life into?

And here is a bonus thought for today.  Jesus’ leadership continued beyond His death, His resurrection and His return to His Heavenly Father.  His leadership continues today.  And if you have accepted him as the leader of your life (as your personal Savior) then you will attest to His current and eternal leadership in the way you live your daily life.  And it will make a difference in the way you lead your family.

He is Risen!  And we celebrate that today.

I hope you have the opportunity to read this in time to lead your family to worship this Easter.  Do not send them to church to worship.  Take them and lead them in worship.

 

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Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense

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Diseased HandThe story of Naaman has an interesting leadership lesson for us today. Naaman was the commander-in-chief of the ancient Syrian army. He was a man with both position and power. By all earthly standards, Naaman was a recognized leader: he had worldly abilities, fame, respect and authority.

However, Naaman had a really big problem. He had leprosy. In that day and time, leprosy was an awful incurable disease. It required total isolation from everyone for fear of spreading the dreaded disease. And it is really hard to be a leader when you have to be isolated from everyone that you are leading.

Can you just imagine for a few minutes

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The Opportunity of Leadership

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 “Another time [Benaiah] chased a lion down into a pit.  Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it.”  2 Samuel 23

In scripture, we read of a valiant warrior turning the tables and chasing a lion into a pit, and, then killing the large feline.  Picture it in  your mind…maybe lace it with the cinema scope of a motion picture.  Benaiah notices the impression of lion prints in the snow.  The cold bites his lungs as air fills his chest with anticipation.  His muscles tighten and his eyes narrow as he spots the lion.  The lion growls and groans.  The lion’s ears are back and hair on its neck is twitching.

At this point, some folks would think this is a very bad thing.  Then there are others who would see the lion and think-

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Lead them to the manger today

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Baby Jesus in the Manger 2There are a lot of leadership topics that we have discussed so far since the start of Leadership Voices.  But today, I am focused on leading folks to the manger.  Something glorious happened overnight.

No, not Santa.  While the world slept, Jesus was born!

Ok, maybe not last night.  But He was born on a night like last night.  It was a night with lots of activity.  For Joseph and Mary it was the busyness of the census and travelling with the throngs of people as they all journeyed to their ancestral homes.  For many of us, it was the busyness of wrapping, cooking, cleaning and the mad rush to the 24 hour drug store as we realized that batteries really weren’t included.

It would be foolish of me to suggest or to try to eliminate all of the activities that accompany the modern Christmas season.  But I would speak to you men on this day.  I would speak especially to you husbands and fathers.  And if I am honest, I would speak to myself.  And what I would say is this:

Let’s lead our families and loved ones to the manger today.  Not literally, but figuratively.  Let’s lead our families to the manger in some form or fashion today to worship Jesus Christ the newborn king.

Don’t send them.

Lead them!

Merry Christmas Signature

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When following is actually leading

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Three Wise MenThere is a powerful image that each of us have of the Three Wise Men kneeling at the manger in Bethlehem. These men have been known in song as “kings”. You remember the song, don’t you?

“We three kings of Orient are . . .”

Now, whether or not they really were kings is not a matter that I care to debate today. They were probably more likely some sort of religious or scholarly leader from distant lands. The point for me to make is that they were recognized leaders of some sort or another. And the image that we have of them from Christmas pageants over the years is an image of them arriving and kneeling at the manger and presenting their gifts.

But integral to the story is the fact they were also “followers”. They followed a star. And that star led them to the Baby Jesus. Let’s say it again. These leaders were also followers. Had they not been willing to put their own agendas and egos aside and become followers, they would have missed the single most important event in all of human history.

Here is the leadership trait that I want to emphasize today. Great leaders must be willing to become great followers from time to time. And the paradox of leadership is that we are really both simultaneously. And when we cease to be a follower, we cease to be effective as a leader. And the result of following that star provided these three men with an experience that was transformational and one that needed to be communicated to others.  So, according to Biblical records, these three leaders returned to their homes by a different route to avoid King Herod who was bent on destroying the baby who had been born to be the real One to follow.

What about you? Have you shown an ability to follow as well as lead?

And are you following someone or something worthy of being followed?

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A Leader and His Sword – Part 1

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In reading some of these articles there are a few Bible verses and stories that come to my mind that I would like to share with you.

The first story is found in Nehemiah 4:18 and surrounding verses.  Here the Jews are rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.  First I will point out that all the men were armed with swords (duh).  But swords at this time were the most powerful hand held weapons that existed.  It would be like carrying a tricked out assault rifle today.  The workers went about their daily routines, but they were ready for war at a moment’s notice.

Does this mean we should all keep an AR-15 nearby?  I leave that decision for you to make.

The second part of this story is the building of the wall itself.  Walls serve to protect us from the outside.  What is “outside”?  It’s anything that would harm or threaten us.  This could include storms or enemies or floods or anything we have never even thought of.  Do we need to build cinder block walls 10 feet thick around our homes?  Maybe.  Maybe a good first step would be to fix that loose back door or that one window that never shuts all the way.

Now that that’s out of the way, the second part of scripture that I wanted to mention is one that almost everyone is familiar with.  It is found in both Matthew 26:52 and also in John 18:11.  Here, Peter is standing ready to defend himself and those he cares about.  In the preceding verses we read that it was the priests that came with swords and clubs.  Peter’s life was put in danger and I believe he acted in self-defense.  Jesus told Peter to “put away” his sword.  Jesus did not say “throw away”, nor did He say “get rid of it”.

 

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