Lessons in Leadership by Kim Checkeye

A friend of mine bought me a John Maxwell Leadership Bible for Christmas and I love it. I love to read about Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Peter etc. and hear how they were leaders and how God grew their leadership abilities.

As many of you know, Truth for Women is opening The Women’s Center Lehigh Valley on September 11th. The ministry is about to go down a road that we have never been before. I have been reading about the Israelites on their journey to the Promise Land and I have seen it in a whole new light comparing it to Truth for Women embarking on the promise of The Women’s Center.

I am about to go into Deuteronomy and in the introduction, John Maxwell gives eight lessons in leadership that I would like to share with you. Each one is so powerful and is a huge teaching moment. Each one is something to chew on and learn from. I will take them one at a time and continue to post them every couple of days in this blog.

The first lesson in leadership is: Develop your core values and beliefs before taking new territory.

For any leader, this is something that is very important on a daily basis but when God is about to take you into new territory, it is a must. I know for TFW, as we are about to enter into the new territory of The Women’s Center, it is critical for us to establish “filters” for every area of the ministry. We have a new board member and she is graciously teaching us how to do this and how to set the standards.

It is important as leaders that when we are about to embark on new territory that we set these filters in place so that every person, every thought, every task, every assignment, every program gets funneled through these filters.

Whether you realize it or not, each one of you is a leader. Maybe it is your family, work place, church, support groups, friends etc. but each one of you led someone. In all reality, you led more people than you think.

As God opens doors for you to embark on new territory, maybe a job, a new friendship, a new program at church, a new ministry, heading up something at school, whatever it may be, make sure you have your core values and beliefs set before you take that territory. Why? Because those are the areas that are going to be shaken. Those are the areas that are going to be tested. Those are the areas that are going to be your filters for everything that you do.

I have seen time and time again, leaders fall into the game of pride. Why? Because they enter into new territory, they get puffed up and they begin to forget and hold onto those core values and beliefs. Somehow the core values and beliefs get pushed aside and the focus begins to be “it’s all about me” rather than focusing on the goal.

As God opens the doors, before you walk in, get your heart and mind set on the things of God so you will not be shaken. Get your core values and beliefs set so you can take the new territory and excel.