One of my favorite authors on Leadership is John Maxwell. One of my closest and dearest friends brought him to my attention many years ago. I love to read his books on how to grow as a leader but one of my favorite things he has is his “A minute with Maxwell.” Due to my hectic schedule, I do not have large amounts of time to sit and read a book so being able to fill myself with these nuggets, encourages me to grow as a leader.
This morning I listened to his one minute segment on PRIDE. Here are a few things he said:
"There are two types of pride. One pride helps and the other pride hurts. The pride that hurts is when I put myself before others. The pride that helps is when I am doing my work well, being a person who is affective, and a person of excellence, a person setting the bar high for the standard that I have to perform and lead in.
One pride will make you and the other pride will break you."
Over the years, I have seen this to be so true. I have seen many leaders care only about one thing – themselves. I have seen leaders’ use and abuse people only to get out of them what they need in order to make them succeed. I have seen people destroy precious ministries that were founded on a dream by God because they wanted to make it all about them. Everything they say and do has that underlining factor of ME.
On the other hand, I have seen amazing leaders who long to strive for excellence within themselves and with those around them. I have seen leaders push their people to grow in their gifts and abilities so they can become the leaders God is asking them to be. I have watched powerful leaders encourage and sometimes push their people to grow past their hurts, struggles, attitudes, heart issues etc. so they can grow more into the imagine of Christ. So they can grow into the leader that God is calling them to be for the call He has on their life.
One leader hurts. One leader helps.
But what has amazed me the most is how people will actually follow the one that hurts rather than the one that helps. Why is that? What makes us do that? All I could do was look at my own heart for the answers.
In my 38 (almost 39!!!) years of life, I have followed both types of leaders. I know for me, it was easier to follow the leaders that hurt because if you followed the ones that helped, it meant I had to change. It meant I had to raise the bar of the standard of who I wanted to be and take the steps toward change. Take the steps towards transformation. Take the steps to not be the same person I have always been. Sometimes it was easier to follow the one that hurts rather than the one that helps because it causes us to look deep within ourselves.
Make a list of all the leaders you follow in your life. Think about who they are and what they say and do.
Then make a list about yourself. An open and honest list about who you are. Are your conversations, emails, blogs, motives and thoughts always about you? If yes, then come to the Lord and ask Him to change and mold you. If you have a teachable and trainable heart, He will do this with you. Don’t beat yourself up. Focus on changing and allowing God to teach you His ways about leadership. Just think of the leader you will become!!!
If you are a leader whose thoughts, conversations, emails, blogs and motives are about striving for others, helping others to succeed and helping others to grow, then praise God. Go get yourself some chocolate and have a party. But beware! The enemy knows that you are a good leader. He will attempt to side track you and slowly bring in pride in a way, shape or form that you are not expecting. When that happens, deal with it immediately. Pull it out and burn it. Then shake the dust off and get back into the game.
Which leader are you and which leader are you going to follow?
Showing posts with label pride. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pride. Show all posts
Friday, March 11, 2011
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Patience and Obedience go Hand in Hand by Kim Checkeye
Do you ever wake up with a heavy heart? This morning I awoke and my heart is much burdened. Sometimes when this happens, I have no idea why I am so burdened. This morning I know why but what can I do about it? As we all know, I can pray and intercede to God but if you are a doer like me, I want to do something about it. Now, this is a lesson that God is working with me! He is trying to teach me patience and that there are times when I am to do nothing but trust in Him. At times, this is very difficult for me because I want to step in and fix things.
Well, this morning I got knocked upside the head! Don’t you just love it when God does that to you? I taught a Bible study at my old church for many years and we had a saying. First we would say “It was like God hit me with a 2 by 4.” It progressed to various things like “God dropped a wall on me to God dropped a house on me” until one of the ladies really had a precious moment with the Lord and she mightily exclaimed “Forget the 2 by 4, Forget the house, God dropped a whole development on me!” For me, this is one of those moments!
I am reading and studying about the leadership styles of King Saul and Samuel in the Old Testament. The Israelites were crying out that they wanted a King just like all the other nations. (As a teacher, I desperately want to stop here and go off on a tangent but that is for another day. What I will say is parallel Israel’s cry for a King to the United States crying out for a leadership who will mend things. Very interesting!)
God gave them their desire even though He knew the outcome. The people rejected God even after all that He had done for them. God gave them what they wanted but clearly told them what the new King was going to do and what he was going to be like. God warned them but they did not listen.
God appointed Saul as the King over the Israelites and when it came time to bring him before the congregation, Saul hid. Saul knew he was to be the King but he hid himself among the baggage. Why would he do that? Some commentaries say that Saul was running from his responsibilities or afraid of failing so he hid. I like to think of it this way: Saul was a humble man at that point in time so he did not feel worthy of being the King. But then I have to ask myself “If Saul was a humble man, then how in the world did he turn out the way he did?” The answer is very clear.
The Israelites had become an abomination to the Philistines because Jonathan (Saul’s son) attached the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba. The people became terrified and were trembling. The Prophet Samuel told Saul to wait seven days for him to return to do the sacrifice. When Saul saw that the Philistines were closing in and that the people were full of fear, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Samuel told him to wait seven days but because Samuel did not return when Saul “expected” him on that seventh day, Saul decided to fix it himself.
You know the rest of the story. Saul offered a burnt offering and a fellowship offering but the Lord rejected it. Saul was trying to do the right thing by offering a sacrifice to God before going into battle but he was going against God’s laws and against the specific instruction of Samuel.
Saul was under great pressure and during this time, his true character was revealed. He disobeyed God and this became the downfall in his life. This is where you can see that he began to change from that humble man hiding behind the baggage to a man full of himself and pride.
Saul had a goal that he wanted to accomplish. He wanted to win the battle. However, the methods he used to attempt to attain this goal were not true to God’s standard.
I think about how many leaders, Pastors, friends, family members, elders, deacons, presidents of ministries and list goes on who have taken matters into their own hands because somehow pride snuck in and it literally began to destroy them. I have seen many good, loving and humble people see a problem and they want to fix it but they end up so focused on the goal that they will do anything to attain it. Even if it means cutting corners or handling things in an ungodly manner.
What does this mean for you and me? Be careful! Watch your heart closely. Do not let any seed of pride come in. Constantly take every thought, idea and task captive to the Word of God. Make sure everything you do lines up with the God’s truth. When you see this stuff, remove it immediately, repent and ask for forgiveness. Ask God to help you not to allow these things in. We all struggle with this. The key is what you are going to do about it when you see it.
As you know, the goal of Truth for Women is to open Phase One of The Women’s Center on September 11th. Why? Because this is something God put in the heart of one woman 10 years ago and now He has called a group of women to accomplish this goal. We go after this goal because our hearts break for the women in the Lehigh Valley. We weep because there are so many women who are lost, hurting and live every day in hopelessness. We encounter woman after woman who tell us their stories and it takes us to our knees to want to help them and intercede on their behalf. We wake up in the middle of the night with a burden so strong that it hurts in our bodies.
BUT we must at all times obey and follow the Lord. We know that the enemy is a prowling lion looking for his way to get a foothold into this ministry so the God given dream can be stopped. We know that he attempts to stop the work by sending in distractions so we are not fully committed to the goal.
What can you do? Pray for us daily. Pray that we see all things with our spiritual eyes. Pray for discernment and wisdom beyond our years. Join us in this journey to attain the goal that God has set before us. Pray that at all times we wait on the Lord for His perfect timing. Link arms with us so we can become an unstoppable force.
Well, this morning I got knocked upside the head! Don’t you just love it when God does that to you? I taught a Bible study at my old church for many years and we had a saying. First we would say “It was like God hit me with a 2 by 4.” It progressed to various things like “God dropped a wall on me to God dropped a house on me” until one of the ladies really had a precious moment with the Lord and she mightily exclaimed “Forget the 2 by 4, Forget the house, God dropped a whole development on me!” For me, this is one of those moments!
I am reading and studying about the leadership styles of King Saul and Samuel in the Old Testament. The Israelites were crying out that they wanted a King just like all the other nations. (As a teacher, I desperately want to stop here and go off on a tangent but that is for another day. What I will say is parallel Israel’s cry for a King to the United States crying out for a leadership who will mend things. Very interesting!)
God gave them their desire even though He knew the outcome. The people rejected God even after all that He had done for them. God gave them what they wanted but clearly told them what the new King was going to do and what he was going to be like. God warned them but they did not listen.
God appointed Saul as the King over the Israelites and when it came time to bring him before the congregation, Saul hid. Saul knew he was to be the King but he hid himself among the baggage. Why would he do that? Some commentaries say that Saul was running from his responsibilities or afraid of failing so he hid. I like to think of it this way: Saul was a humble man at that point in time so he did not feel worthy of being the King. But then I have to ask myself “If Saul was a humble man, then how in the world did he turn out the way he did?” The answer is very clear.
The Israelites had become an abomination to the Philistines because Jonathan (Saul’s son) attached the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba. The people became terrified and were trembling. The Prophet Samuel told Saul to wait seven days for him to return to do the sacrifice. When Saul saw that the Philistines were closing in and that the people were full of fear, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Samuel told him to wait seven days but because Samuel did not return when Saul “expected” him on that seventh day, Saul decided to fix it himself.
You know the rest of the story. Saul offered a burnt offering and a fellowship offering but the Lord rejected it. Saul was trying to do the right thing by offering a sacrifice to God before going into battle but he was going against God’s laws and against the specific instruction of Samuel.
Saul was under great pressure and during this time, his true character was revealed. He disobeyed God and this became the downfall in his life. This is where you can see that he began to change from that humble man hiding behind the baggage to a man full of himself and pride.
Saul had a goal that he wanted to accomplish. He wanted to win the battle. However, the methods he used to attempt to attain this goal were not true to God’s standard.
I think about how many leaders, Pastors, friends, family members, elders, deacons, presidents of ministries and list goes on who have taken matters into their own hands because somehow pride snuck in and it literally began to destroy them. I have seen many good, loving and humble people see a problem and they want to fix it but they end up so focused on the goal that they will do anything to attain it. Even if it means cutting corners or handling things in an ungodly manner.
What does this mean for you and me? Be careful! Watch your heart closely. Do not let any seed of pride come in. Constantly take every thought, idea and task captive to the Word of God. Make sure everything you do lines up with the God’s truth. When you see this stuff, remove it immediately, repent and ask for forgiveness. Ask God to help you not to allow these things in. We all struggle with this. The key is what you are going to do about it when you see it.
As you know, the goal of Truth for Women is to open Phase One of The Women’s Center on September 11th. Why? Because this is something God put in the heart of one woman 10 years ago and now He has called a group of women to accomplish this goal. We go after this goal because our hearts break for the women in the Lehigh Valley. We weep because there are so many women who are lost, hurting and live every day in hopelessness. We encounter woman after woman who tell us their stories and it takes us to our knees to want to help them and intercede on their behalf. We wake up in the middle of the night with a burden so strong that it hurts in our bodies.
BUT we must at all times obey and follow the Lord. We know that the enemy is a prowling lion looking for his way to get a foothold into this ministry so the God given dream can be stopped. We know that he attempts to stop the work by sending in distractions so we are not fully committed to the goal.
What can you do? Pray for us daily. Pray that we see all things with our spiritual eyes. Pray for discernment and wisdom beyond our years. Join us in this journey to attain the goal that God has set before us. Pray that at all times we wait on the Lord for His perfect timing. Link arms with us so we can become an unstoppable force.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
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.
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.
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