A startling truth...
Some truths are easy to digest. Chocolate ice cream is good. Majestic, snow-capped mountains are beautiful. The giggle of a little child is delightful. But some truths are harder to process. Like this truth from leadership guru Fred Smith:
“Aloneness is chosen; loneliness is imposed.”
When I read that recently I had to take time and think through it. And I had to read further to see how Fred Smith arrived at that. Smith was moving into an executive role at a major shoe company when his boss and mentor Maxie Jarman confronted him.
“Fred, how far do you want to go?” “Mr. Jarman, I want to go as far as I can.” He responded, “Then learn to live with loneliness.”
The startling truth is that those who lead find they cannot relate to their staff as they might with close friends. Smith says,
“Aloneness is chosen; loneliness is imposed. It can be imposed by responsibility…for example, an executive who is highly functioning can never really be ‘one of the boys.’”
Smith goes on to relate a story of an executive who shared everything with many people on his staff. His challenges, his vision for the future for the company, and his concerns. What happened was that different ones formed different opinions and set their mind in one direction or another. Then, when the executive made a decision, there was a faction that was immediately against the decision...and that brought on unnecessary strife in the organization. Smith called it abdicating his leadership to create a comfortable environment.
Is it OK to share things with some of the staff? Smith says that for a leader, “Talking over his potential decisions is valuable if and only if he chooses the right person and assesses his motivation.”
Do you remember the story of King Rehoboam found in 1 Kings 12? Solomon’s son was faced with a decision regarding the treatment of some of the Israelites. Rehoboam sought counsel of his father’s older advisors who encouraged him to treat the Israelites kindly. But Rehoboam went to his own young advisors who said he needed to be even harsher to them. The counsel he received from these men brought strife and grief. Their advice was born out of their own personal agenda.
When all Israel realized that the king had refused to listen to them, they responded,
“Down with the dynasty of David!
We have no interest in the son of Jesse.
Back to your homes, O Israel!
Look out for your own house, O David!”
1 Kings 12:16 NLT
A wedge was driven between a people that was unnecessary.
You as a leader may need to set yourself apart from others on your team. Think of the times Jesus went off by himself to pray. He chose to be alone as he sought His Father’s direction for His purpose and plan.
Choosing aloneness.
As Fred Smith says,” The loneliness of leadership must be accepted as part of the price.” Are you willing to pay that price to lead effectively?
God’s best...
Well worn...
It’s been over a year since our house flooded from frozen water pipes that burst. That led to a moving and storage company boxing up everything in our home...and I mean everything...and carting it off for over six months. And it has now been over six months since the boxes containing almost everything we owned were returned. We quickly attacked the boxes, and soon learned that not every box was labeled properly. In many cases we could figure out what went in the kitchen and what went in our closet. But there were lots of boxes that we didn’t know if they contained treasure or trash. Good stuff or giveaway.
After we got most of the main items needed for day-to-day living, we stopped opening boxes. I think we lost our drive to do it. So, our garage has a bunch of them in it...just waiting. Well, I decided the wait is over. We have a few key items we want to find, but mostly we want to get rid of the boxes and return the garage to its main purpose...housing our cars.
I opened a box this morning before heading off to the office. “Books,” said the label. That was partly true. There were some other things in there. But there were books. A quick look and I saw that some of these books were water stained. They were in my home office bookcases where water flowed down from the attic and those busted pipes. Thankfully, they weren’t in too bad of shape.
As I lifted one book, I saw a rather small black leather one in that box. I recognized it quickly as a Bible. And not just any Bible. There was writing on the inside cover and the date 12-25-63. A Christmas gift from my mom when I was 18 years old.
Dear Ronnie,
It gives me great satisfaction to give you this Bible, for your faithful study of God’s Word has always pleased me....
She went on to say a few other things, then signed it...
Love, Mother
As I continue looking through this box later today, I may find trash. But this...this definitely is a treasure. I’m glad to say it is worn around the edges. I did put it to use. I’m not one who marks up my Bibles, but as I thumbed through this Bible, I did find some passages underlined. In the account of Jesus on the cross, the words “forgive them” are underscored. It must have impacted me that while my Savior hung in agony on the cross, He still was forgiving those around him, including a thief who was hanging next to him. Another underline is where the thief cried, “Lord, remember me.” And Jesus did.
Let me see if there is some spiritual insight to learn from this bit of nostalgia.
- There can be a treasure among the mundane, even among the trash. That might even apply to life... and to people the Lord brings into our path.
- God’s Word should not just adorn your bookshelf or desktop. It should be read, studied, probed for wisdom from above. James reminds us that wisdom is available to all who seek it.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
James 1:5 NLT
- And thinking of Jesus at Calvary...even on your worst day, you can bless others. And you can forgive. Who knows, it might make an eternal difference in their life.
Now, I will tell you this particular Bible won’t get a lot more use. My 76-year-old eyes and this tiny print don’t work too well together. But it will serve as a reminder to me. A reminder of a loving family who knew what I needed most in my young life...God’s Truth. And a reminder that God’s Truth still works today. Remember the verse...
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 NKJV
Or as Eugene Peterson expressed it in The Message:
Point your kids in the right direction—
when they’re old they won’t be lost.
I think I’ll just underline that verse here in this Bible.
God’s best...
The plus side of the power...
In our leadership roles it is so easy to accentuate the negative. The same is true for parenting. We often hear that the best thing a mom or dad can do to motivate their child is to catch them doing something right and praise them for it. Our tendency is to point out the wrong things...the negative...and then punish them for it. Yes, there are times that must be done. But it isn’t the best overall way to motivate a child or an employee to greatness.
Leadership expert Steve Gutzler wrote about this recently. He said:
“I've learned there is a very real human tendency to focus on the negative. Negativity can quickly become pervasive and contagious. It can also stifle performance. Your team needs optimism during tough times.”
That is easier said than done for most leaders. Many are under pressure to make sure the ministry, business, or organization stays on track and is accomplishing all that is expected...and then some. It’s hard to lift your head up and look for something good, especially when the work is demanding or the deadlines loom.
In his article, Gutzler cited a study by the University of North Carolina Psychology Department. The focus of its study was what happens when people experience positive emotions. The results are pretty amazing.
- Their minds stretch to opportunities.
- They become open to new ways of thinking.
- They become more creative and innovative.
- They experience health benefits of lower stress and increased energy.
- They develop better coping mechanisms.
- They have more engaging relationships.
That sounds exactly like the kind of person you would like on your team, doesn’t it? You can develop people who reflect these traits if you will work at being more positive in your leadership style.
No... I’m not talking about syrupy sweet comments that are not sincere. But if you begin to look for good things to praise, you will begin to find them. In fact, you will be surprised at how many great things are going on around you with your staff and volunteers.
I remember the first silver colored car I bought. I though it was both cool and unique. Until I got out on the road and began to see other silver cars...many of them. When we look for something, we often find it.
Guess what else will happen? The leader who begins to point out the positive and diminish the negative in their leadership will themselves be changed. You can’t live on the negative side of life and not be affected. And you are not the same when you decide to be more positive in your approach to leadership.
Maybe that’s why the Apostle Paul encouraged the Philippian believers to accentuate the positive in their lives:
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you have learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4: 8-9 NLT
I am positive...this will make a difference in your ministry, your organization, and your home. And it will make a difference in you.
God’s best...
Who is influencing you?
Influencers. Today’s world is filled with them. The easy way people can link through the internet’s various platforms means some influencers are able to rake in the cash. One such person is expecting to bring in about $1.5 million this year with her online videos of various products. That’s a lot of influence! Or at least...a lot of money.
I began thinking about this as I watched the saga of the famous slap at the American film awards, the Oscars. That incident has consumed viewers and commanded much media attention for over a week. My question...why? Why do we care about what these performers do or say? Is there no other news or other events that could draw our attention these days? Does being famous make them wise?
My guess is that, by and large, we have allowed celebrities to be influencers in our lives. We think what they say and do somehow matters. And it isn’t just celebrities. We often let those who write books or hold seminars influence us, whether their information is well founded or not.
I’m all for gaining knowledge in areas of business, ministry, or relationships. But we need to be careful who is influencing us in these important areas. Online or actual bookstores are filled with books on leadership. Yet do they have a biblical base? Some do. Others are just man’s best thinking. Solomon had a word about that:
For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:6 NLT
Henry and Richard Blackaby address this critical area in their devotional Experiencing God Day by Day:
“The world is full of ‘experts.’ There are people everywhere who want to convince you of the wisdom of their opinion. Yet God says that it is not the one who declares his viewpoint the most loudly or vociferously who is the wisest, but the one who is vindicated over time.”
The Bible has stood the test of time and continues to provide God’s wisdom for today’s needs. That same daily devotional reminds us of the importance of using God’s Word as our primary guide:
“It is critical that you measure everything you hear against the Scriptures. Trends in psychology and philosophy come and go, but God’s Word is timeless.”
Do you want your life to be guided by good ideas...or God’s truth? Be careful what or who you let influence you. Many will try. Weigh it all against the wisdom the Lord has for us in His Word.
God’s best...
How do you land the plane?
I knew a man who was the head of a major Christian organization. He was a visionary. He had so many ideas...quality ideas...that everyone was sure the agency was going to soar. And it did...in the idea realm. This leader was not at the helm of the ministry organization too long. After he left some said of him, “He had 30,000-foot ideas, but he just couldn’t land the plane. He couldn’t go from vision or dream to reality.”
Do you know anyone like that? Always coming up with great ideas, but unable to bring them about? In many ways, that person is more of a dreamer than a leader.
I think we all may have been in a situation like that. In our heart we have a strong desire, a dream, a vision of what could be. Sometimes that’s where it stays. A dream. A desire. But no effective plan to make that idea a reality.
Dr. Robert Jeffress in a Pathway to Victory devotional wrote, “There’s a difference in knowing your dreams and actually fulfilling your dreams.” And he used the life and leadership of Nehemiah as an example. His vision was to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.
Jeffress listed five key steps that any leader can use to land that 30,000-foot idea:
- Investigation - Nehemiah walked around the wall at night to get a sense of what the job would be like, what was needed to finish the job, and what were the major obstacles.
- Motivation – When Nehemiah announced this goal, his vision, he had to do it in a way that inspired the people of Jerusalem.
- Determination – This leader was prepared to defend his dream against the opposition. Criticism will almost always come. A leader must be ready for it, and be able to keep those he is leading moving forward toward the goal.
- Organization – There was an urgency to the work that Nehemiah was leading the people to do. It was a long wall. And he couldn’t do it by himself. So, he organized it in such a way that the people worked on the section of the wall nearest their home. It was both organization and motivation.
- Implementation – Finally, you just have to start. It is harder to get something started than it is to keep it moving. Try pushing your car when it won’t start. You’ll understand that principle. In the famous Nike shoes phrase... “Just do it!”
You can see these principles laid out in the first three chapters of the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. It is worth a reading to learn these leadership principles.
God has called us to good works. As leaders...whether it is a ministry, a corporation, or your family, we need to lead in a way that inspires others to do the work alongside us and accomplish God’s vision He has given us.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
What dream...what good works has the Lord given you? If it comes from God, it is part of His great plan. And we can be confident that accomplishing it will bless and draw many to Christ.
Let’s dream those 30,000-foot dreams. But let’s be sure we have the plan to land the plane.
God’s best...
Everything old...
The saying is “Everything old is new again.” It relates to a lot of things in life. I have ties hanging in my closet that are back in style. They went from thin to wide and back to thin again. At least for today. It may all change again tomorrow.
And even that thought isn’t new. Solomon expressed it in biblical writings.
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before.
Nothing under the sun is truly new.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 NLT
I saw that truth again when began to plow through some old media texts from my college days. Though the technology has dramatically changed since my early days of radio and television, many of the basic truths still hold up.
One of the classic texts in my early media days was Robert Hilliard’s Writing for Television and Radio. Originally published in 1962, it still holds some great concepts that are good to remember.
In the opening of the text, Hilliard writes:
“The television and radio writer aims at an audience that at one and the same time is very small and very large, that has much in common and almost nothing in common, that is a tightly knit group and a disunified mass.”
Though thousands...or even millions...may be tuned in, people still listen or watch as an individual. This is especially true in radio. Yes, I grew up in a day when the family gathered around the radio to sit and listen to programming as a group. Those were pre-television days. Today, the radio audience is like an audience of one, listening on air pods while jogging, in the car on their commute, or working in the home or office...but listening as one person. The best communicators understand this and use it to their advantage.
Hilliard also points out that psychologist inform us, “...the smaller the group and the greater the physical distance between individual members of the audience, the better chance there is to appeal to the intellect.” That may be why talk radio has had such a profound effect in our culture today.
At the same time, Hilliard understands that since the audience can remove itself from the process quickly by merely punching a button or changing the channel, emotional empathy must be established. This helps hold the audience and allows the central theme or message to be delivered.
Emotional empathy. Touching hearts. Telling powerful stories. Drawing the individual audience in. As Jesus told stories, He often painted word pictures about things that were important to His audience.
Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds....
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard....
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Farmers, landowners, builders... That directly related to the culture of the day and painted word pictures for the audience to see.
As you write, consider that one person who is listening or watching. Think of drawing them in personally, emotionally, through strong, creative writing. You will touch hearts and be better able to share God’s Truth to that one soul that the Lord wants to reach.
God’s best...
Quicksand! It surrounds me.
How many urgent things are on your desk right now? How many times has someone stepped up to you and given you one more urgent item? Some days...some weeks...it seems that those urgent things make up 90 percent of what’s on our agenda. Or rather, they replace the important things on our To Do list. And while those things usually are urgent, they can keep you from moving forward in ministry and in life.
Dutch theologian Henri Nouwen said, “If I were to let my life be taken over by what is urgent, I might very well never get around to what is essential.”
Do you feel that way? I often do. And it isn’t just in work or ministry, it is in family and all of life. Someone somewhere “needs” my attention on something they feel is urgent.
And what about all those meetings? A study done at Harvard surveyed CEOs over a 12-year period. Their average week contained 37 meetings! And that accounted for a whopping 72 percent of their work week. Yikes! Quicksand all around.
It’s more than just meetings or interruptions. There is the whole digital world that we are immersed in. In fact, we are generators of disruptions to someone else’s schedule and priorities. Yes, we are all in this together. In a book by Nicholas Carr called The Shallows we read this:
“What the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. Whether I’m online or not, my mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles.”
And if you are like me, I feel like I am sometimes drowning in that stream. Any hope? John Maxwell in his classic book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership writes, “It is the responsibility of leaders to make tough decisions based on priorities.” In other words, you and I must make the decision on what is most important at the moment. That may mean ignoring what seems urgent or delegating its solution to someone else. Maxwell goes on to cite something called the Pareto Principle, which states that if you spend your time on tasks that rank in the top 20 percent of importance, you will see an 80 percent return on investment.
If you have a To Do list with 10 items you have prioritized, you simply concentrate on the first two things...if you want to be productive and effective. The others may be for another day or another person. By the way...that is easy to say, but hard to do. It is a learned discipline for most of us.
I think of the Apostle Paul who said, “This one thing I do....” Focus. Priority. Or Jesus, who set His face toward Jerusalem. No doubt Jesus passed by some people in need, but His priority was the Cross.
Today...step away from the quicksand of the urgent. Set your priorities on the most important things in your ministry and in your life. And see what God will do in and through you with that kind of focus.
...I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Philippians 3:13-14 NLT
God’s best...
Routine...or rut?
There is a difference between a routine and a rut. And the biggest difference is in our mind. Sometimes doing the same thing over and over, day after day, can be frustrating. We feel trapped in the sameness of life. Stuck. And sometimes the walls of that rut can seem as tall as Mount Everest.
But a routine is different. Yes, a routine can be doing the same thing over and over, day after day. But a routine can help us stay on track toward the goals of our life. It’s like a runner in a marathon. That person takes one stride after another, thousands of those strides, over and over again, until the finish line is reached and the goal is accomplished.
Judy and I have several routines when it comes to our spiritual lives. We are both early risers and have as a routine reading the Bible as one of the very first things we do. OK...I fix a cup of coffee. But after that it’s to my favorite chair and digging into the Scriptures. Judy does about the same. She is studying in Matthew these mornings and I am on a plan to read through the Bible in a year.
Over the past year I have looked for a passage out of my reading that I can share on social media, along with a picture that I feel helps illustrate the verse. Routine.
At the breakfast table we share a devotional thought. This year we are reading (actually, re-reading) Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God Day by Day. Though we don’t do it every morning, many times that devotion will remind us of an old hymn or Gospel song, so we head to YouTube to see if we can find a good version of that song. It often becomes a sweet worship experience.
In the evening when we can eat dinner at home, we often read another devotional. This time we are reading from a book by Dr. Robert Jeffress of Pathway to Victory and First Baptist Church of Dallas. Robert is both my friend and my pastor. Right now, we are looking into the life of Nehemiah and gleaning leadership principles from Nehemiah’s book and his experiences.
Is that a rut or a positive routine? Well, to be honest, if I didn’t love the Lord and desire to know Him better through His Word, it could quickly become a rut. Thankfully, God has put a desire in my heart that turns this potential rut into a beneficial routine.
Are there days when I don’t feel like going through this routine? Absolutely. But the discipline of the routine...and a glimpse of the goal...keep me at it.
Do we sometimes NOT follow this routine? Yes. But those are the exceptions. I believe our Lord is more interested in honoring our desire to know Him than He is in punishing us each time we fail to follow our routine. The Lord has eternity in view. We often just see the next step. But if we are faithful in the next step, our Lord Jesus will let us see a bit of eternity...even in our daily routine.
God's best...
Do you tremble?
I’m afraid I sometimes fall into a trap. I read God’s word too casually. I read a familiar passage in His Holy Word, and It has little or no effect on me. I wonder what’s on God’s heart when that happens? Convicting.
My spiritual mentor Dr. Henry Blackaby often said he trembled as he read passages of God’s Word. I was with him one day and asked him, “Do you really tremble? Actually?” He looked me in the eye and said, “Ron I often literally shake when I read the powerful message of the Lord to me through His Word.”
I don’t often tremble as I read the Bible. Yet I believe Almighty God looks into our hearts to see if we are taking His message into the depths of our souls. Listen to Ezra’s words:
Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel came and sat with me....
Ezra 9:4 NLT
Ezra was upset when he learned that the returning exiles had not taken God’s Word, His commands, seriously. Yet there were some, evidenced by their trembling, who were fearful of what the Lord might do to those who so casually strayed from what God had told them, the boundaries He set for them.
If God’s Word is a living, breathing communication from our Heavenly Father to us personally...and it is...why would we skim over it and go on our way unchanged? We can make excuses, but we are bankrupt of any real reason. Busy? Then we are too busy. Distracted? Then we need to learn to shut out the world and focus on His Word, His message to us personally.
I’m reminded of the humorous phrase about some who shoot weapons. “Ready. Fire. Aim.” How can we accomplish God’s will if we fire off our weapon without knowing God’s direction for our lives? Think of this:
Ready – Prepare to encounter God in His Word by removing distractions or removing yourself from distractions. And prepare your heart to receive what He has to say. Look expectantly into the Bible for His message.
Aim – Learn from reading the Bible each day what the Lord would have you do and how He wants you to serve Him today. Be sure you are aimed in such a way that you don’t miss the mark.
Fire – Go confidently into the day with His focus in your heart and His assignment for you and those you lead.
Finally, I would say we need to put ourselves in a position to tremble as God speaks directly to us through His Word and through prayer.
In reading through the Bible, as I have done for many years now, I came across an interesting passage. I had to ask myself, “What is that there for?” If we believe that God’s Word is inspired by the Holy Spirit, then there is always a reason, a purpose in a passage, whether we grasp it easily or not. Here’s what I read:
But when the people come in through the north gateway to worship the Lord during the religious festivals, they must leave by the south gateway. And those who entered through the south gateway must leave by the north gateway. They must never leave by the same gateway they came in, but must always use the opposite gateway.
Ezekiel 46:9 NLT
After some thought and prayer, here is what came to me. When we enter into the presence of the Lord, we should never leave the same way we came in. I’m not talking physically. I believe the Lord is presenting a picture for His people of what should take place in our lives. We should be so impacted by the Lord’s message as He encounters us, that we are not the same. We tremble at His holiness and at our sinfulness. And then we leave... a different person because of our time spent with our Lord Jesus.
Now that’s a worthy goal for each day.
God’s best...
What happens when you speak?
If you talk to others...whether on radio, television, in the pulpit, or even with family and friends...what do you expect to happen? As a parent, if you give instructions to your kids, you want them to spring into action and follow your direction...and do it right away (okay...I may be dreaming there). If you manage people and ministries, you may also want them to quickly follow what you direct.
But what if you are on the radio or television? Even speaking to groups or congregations? What are you expecting your audience to do?
Fred Smith, the mentor to many ministry leaders, has some good instruction and insight for all of us in those categories.
“One way we can improve our speaking skills is by remembering our goal is not simply to have people sit quietly while we talk, but to have their minds actively engaged by the subject matter.”
As you speak, get in your mind the visual of what it would be like if your listeners really grasped what you were saying. Would they be driven to action? Would they be moved to tears? Or would they sit there with little or no reaction?
Fred Smith says his goal was always for the listeners to do more than listen passively.
“I don’t want the audience to be observers. I want them to participate because the whole object of speaking is to influence attitudes and behavior.”
Radio consultant Valerie Geller has a mantra she preaches to on-air radio people all over the world.
- Tell the truth.
- Make it matter.
- Never be boring.
Point number two speaks right to the question I began with. If what you are saying matters to the listeners, they will be more engaged with what you are saying and more likely to respond when you provide a “call to action.” And here is a tip: If it doesn’t matter to you, it probably won’t mean much to the listener.
Let me add something from my heart. We are living in very critical days. I personally believe the time is short. And there are many who need to hear the Good News that there is light in the dark world we live in. If you have the privilege to speak to your culture, your community, be careful about the message you are sending. We need to have a sense of urgency about our overall message. If you know there are people lost without Christ in your audience, will they hear about His love for them through you? The prophets of old learned about the importance of delivering God’s message to their audience. The Lord’s direction for Jeremiah showed how important it was for God’s prophet to speak the right words:
Get up and prepare for action.
Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say.
Do not be afraid of them,
or I will make you look foolish in front of them.
Jeremiah 1:17 NLT
Think of your audience. Think of what God would have them do. And then recognize the amazing privilege of sharing the hope of Christ with those who need Him now.
God’s best...
