Being a Leader for God
by Warren Wiersbe
– You don’t “fill” an office; you use it for the good of the organization and the glory of God
– True leaders and followers gladly learn from each other.
– Leaders focus on purposes while managers are primarily concerned with processes, and that both of them must keep in touch with the people involved
– Christian leaders are people who, by faith, willingly use their character, abilities, authority, and opportunities to serve others and to help them reach their fullest potential, to their benefit, the benefit of the organization, and the glory of God.
– As Bob Cook used to tell us, “If you can explain what’s going on, God didn’t do it.”
– Real leaders don’t have to remind you where they sit or who put them there. They prove they are in charge by leading successfully, and that includes listening to you, being concerned for you, and helping you become a better worker and leader in your own sphere of service.
– George Muller used to say, “The only way to learn strong faith is to endure strong trials,” and the record in Hebrews 11 bears this out.
– Bob Cook used to remind us, “There is no substitute for character. You can buy brains, but you can’t buy character.”
– Ancient piece of wisdom: Sow a thought, you reap an action. Sow an action, you reap a habit. Sow a habit, you reap a character. Sow a character, you reap a destiny.
– William R. Inge, dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, wrote in his Outspoken Essays, 1922, “We are always sowing our future; we are always reaping our past.”
– Four weeks before he was sworn in as the first president of the United States, George Washington wrote to a friend, “Integrity and firmness are all I can promise.”
– No amount of ability can compensate for a lack of integrity.
– Not the sword and scepter but the towel and basin and the cross symbolize Christian service.
– Executives ask one another, “How many people work for you?” but Jesus asks, “For how many people are you working?”
– Leadership isn’t just a job or even a profession. Leadership is the overflow of a life dedicated to God and devoted to serving others, always seeking to achieve worthy goals.
– Dag Hammarskjold wrote in his book Markings: “Your position never gives you the right to command. It only imposes on you the duty of so living your life that others can receive your orders without being humiliated.”
– John Knox said, “A man with God is always in the majority.”
– You can drive cattle, but you must lead sheep.
– True leaders never ask others to do what they themselves are unwilling to do. We lead the flock, not drive it, and that means the shepherd is the first one to meet the difficulties and dangers. We encourage our co-workers and never exploit them.
– Deuteronomy 17:14–20, and I recommend that you read and ponder it. Rehoboam would have especially benefited from the statement in verse 20 that the king must “not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites.”
– David’s reign was like the soft shower that brings refreshment and life (2 Sam. 23:1– 4), but the reign of Rehoboam was like a driving rain that ruins the crops (Prov. 28:3). Rehoboam was unwilling to serve the people; like his father Solomon, he expected them to serve him.
– Leaders can decay and their work decline if they are more concerned with impressing people than pleasing God. Paying more attention to the press releases than to the Scriptures and failing to heed the counsel of those who love God and love us will usually lead to failure. When we are so busy that we have no time for the Master, we are obviously too busy. “Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Mark 14:37–38). – Do what God tells you,” said evangelist D. L. Moody. “There is no use in running before you are sent; there is no use in attempting to do God’s work without God’s power. . . . We shall not lose anything if we tarry till we get this power.”
– The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision.” Helen Keller
– For the Christian, vision without work is hypocrisy, and for any servant, work without vision is drudgery. The big picture and the future goals help us handle the small details and the nasty obstructions.
– Leaders must know themselves and not lie to themselves about either their weaknesses or their strengths. Leaders aren’t threatened if somebody else on the staff can do some things better than they can. They acknowledge it and make use of it.
– Our best investment is in the lives of the young men and women who will be the future leaders