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Great team culture? Increased profit margin? Global expansion? A compelling vision? Are any of these the missing ingredient for significant leadership? Reports don't look good for leaders worldwide. CNN released an article about CEOs who stepped down in 2019. CEO of Best Buy, Corie Barry (Best Buy CEO), was asked to step down due to an investigation into her conduct. While having a great team culture, increased profit margin, or casting a compelling vision are each essential to leadership, there’s one necessary ingredient for significant leadership that must be a prerequisite. Integrity. The origin of integrity comes from the French word ‘integrite’, which means innocence and purity. Integrity also comes from the Latin that means wholeness or completeness. Only one Leader has been completely whole and pure (Follow the link here), but integrity is the necessary ingredient for significant leadership for three reasons. Integrity is the timeless, necessary ingredient for leadership. We all have heard the nickname “Honest Abe” regarding our sixteenth President Abraham Lincoln. Why did he receive that nickname? One story has it that when “he was a young store clerk, whenever he shortchanged a customer - even by a few pennies, he would close up the store and walk to find the customer to return the change”. Would you go to such great lengths to protect your integrity? Your staff will appreciate your willingness to place their interests over your gain. Integrity is what people need most in a leader. Sure, you may be able to deliver a compelling vision statement that transforms a company’s trajectory - but if you are stealing profits as your company increases revenue, your dishonesty will eventually be made known to the public and your staff. Your integrity may never make a viral YouTube video or receive thousands of social media shares, but integrity is what is needed most in leadership circles today. Integrity is what will sustain your leadership tomorrow. Integrity and competence work together. Take time to develop your leadership skills, build a fantastic team around you, and even create an excellent team culture where your staff relishes their work experience. If you want to continue leading, develop your integrity by putting the needs of your staff and company above your own. Do you know of a leader who had extraordinary integrity? Share about it below and share what lessons you learned from them.
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I believe Church Leaders should be fasting and praying for God to save people in their church and community. Some churches set a goal each year of salvation experiences and baptisms and pray for God to save "X" amount of people in their community. In 2019, God blessed our church with a record number of salvation experiences and baptisms. Since the baptism waters were moving, we needed a process for our staff to use to be on the same page when someone came forward requesting baptism. As you pray for salvation experiences and baptisms in your ministry setting, what is the process for baptism at your local church? Do you know what to do when an individual expresses interest in baptism? Refrain from assuming a baptism candidate knows how to get to your baptistery or remember to bring extra clothes to use after the baptism. I am providing you with a simple checklist to use within your ministry. Once someone expresses interest in baptism, rejoice and praise God for changing lives - then follow the list below. What is the process you have at your church for baptism? Would you add anything to the checklist? Join the discussion below and download and use the free resources below. Free Resource #1 - Baptism Checklist Free Resource #2 - Business Card Size Invitations (Front and Back)  Sixteen years! Imagine living your life for sixteen years without any direction. Maybe this characterizes your life right now. You feel like you have no direction and you’re simply in survival mode. For some, you are living a pleasant, enjoyable life, yet there is no direction for your life or ministry.
Once the people of God return from seventy years of exile, they returned to their home and began rebuilding the Temple of God. Yet after opposition (Ezra 3-4), work on the Temple of God ceased and the people lived sixteen years comfortably in their own homes. The people needed direction. Enter the prophet Haggai. The prophet spoke God’s Word to the people. He said, “Consider your ways (Haggai 1:4).” Through the Word of God, Haggai is commanding the people to set their heart upon the way they are living their lives and to set their heart upon the worship of God. Haggai gave God’s people direction with God’s Word. Are you looking for direction in your life? Have you considered the direction you are going? I invite you to begin a Bible reading plan. If the direction of our life is living for the glory of God, the best place to begin living for God’s glory is by reading His Word, the Bible, routinely. Below, you will see some excellent Bible reading plans to begin the new year. https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/ https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan/ https://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/ https://davidjeremiah.blog/plan-to-read-the-bible-in-2020/ If we are not leading ourselves, we cannot effectively lead others well. We must be leading ourselves in the right direction in order to lead others in the right direction. The direction we must be moving is not forward or backward. We must be moving upward. Set you heart on the glory of God and make Him the priority in your life by looking to His Word. Do you have direction in your life? Do you need direction for your ministry? Do you need direction for those you lead? |
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March 2023
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