SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP

I had the priviledge of teaching a top leadership class in church yesterday. It was a life transforming session and I feel it will be a blessing to you.

TEXT: Eph. 5:1, Ex 20:1-21, John1:1-14, Matthew 5:1-48, John 13:1-17, 1Cor.5:1-13, 2Cor 1:4-11
INTRODUCTION:
God designed us with success in mind. He equipped us with all the necessary requirements for success. Also, when He selected us, He empowered us to succeed. It is therefore God’s will for us to succeed. This is because our success brings joy to His heart and blessings to humanity. He wants us to succeed in whatever endeavour we find ourselves in (Psalm 1:1-3). The essence of this training is to show us God’s strategy for lasting success. As we imitate God we will replicate His kind of success in our leadership endeavours.

DEFINITIONS
Successful: Having the intended result; turning out well; fruitful, positive, effective and thriving.
Leadership: Ability to lead i.e. the ability to guide, direct or influence people.
Successful leadership therefore is the ability to lead people to the actualization of the intended result.

TWO PATTERNS OF LEADERSHIP
1. Formal Pattern: this is leadership carried out in accordance with established or prescribed rules. It connotes proper organization and adequate structure. It incorporates policies, and procedures derived from established principles. A successful leadership must have formal structure. The leader must be grounded in the organization’s fundamentals and functional procedures. He or she cannot afford to be a novice. There must be proper descriptions, duties and expectations to and from the organization. This will enhance his or her chances of success.

2. Informal Pattern: this means leadership that is free of ceremony. It connotes relaxed and casual rather than ceremonious and stiff. This brings life to the organization and enhances the probability of success for the leader. The leader has a serious duty to merge the two dimensions of leadership patterns if he or she wants to be successful.

ILLUSTRATIONS
1. GOD. The Old Testament deals basically with the formal leadership pattern. God took time to lay down laws, judgments, precepts and statutes while in the New Testament, He stripped Himself of the formal robe and identified with us in the person of Jesus. Because He effectively merged the two patterns, we can deal with Him personally and more effectively. The informal galvanizes and clarifies the formal. Ex 20:1-21, John1:1-14

2. JESUS. Jesus took time to further teach His disciples formally and also spent time with them informally. He knew them personally, identified with them in difficulty and ensured freedom of expression among them. He ensured there was no class distinction among them. Matthew 5:1-48, John 13:1-17

3. PAUL. Paul also dealt with both the formal and informal. 1Cor.5:1-13,2Cor.1:4-11

CONCLUSION
Max de Pree said, “The best management (leadership) process for today’s environment is participative management based on covenant relationships”. There is no better place to implement this than in the Church. If we want to be truly successful as leaders, we must be both formal and informal. May God enable us to make this a reality in our lives and leadership endeavours. Amen.

Make Your Choice

Being a man is not easy. Indeed, it could cost you everything in life to be a real man. It is appalling to see majority of people go through life without actually becoming the man of their dreams. Many end up as failures and wonder why after all their efforts.

One thing emerges as I look at the Scriptures and life in general. I see that you cannot use a crooked means to attain a straight end. The means determines the end. If the means is wrong, then the end will be wrong. The advent of computers and internet has raised our options and multiplied our choices. But technology cannot take the place of principles.

Life follows established patterns. The most potent being the pattern of choices and consequences. Every choice has consequence. The consequences may be delayed but not denied. It may take a long time but will surely manifest. While we don’t have the power to determine consequences we have the power to make choices. We have the power to choose our life patterns, values and priorities. The consequences derive their origin from our choices.

The Scriptures say, “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were empty, and the travellers walked through crooked ways” (Judges 5:6). Not only is this true in times past, it is very true in our time. There are highways and crooked ways. Incidentally, the crooked ways are more appealing than the highways and many easily choose them. Shortcuts will cut your life short. The success attained following crooked ways is transient and temporal. True success can only be found in the highways of diligence, honesty, competence and host of other time tested principles. The choice is yours. I have made my choice and it is the highways. What about you?

Before God Gives

There is no day or moment when heaven is not been bombarded with requests from people all over the world. We have many desires and requests and sincerely believe that God who has promised to answer us will always do as He has said. But unfortunately, things don’t work that way. That you spent hours and days in prayer requesting for certain things from God wouldn’t mean your requests will be granted. Certain things will have to be in place.

Abraham was given the promise of a son by God and since he believed God and waited patiently for God’s promise, he eventually received the promise. But the promise wasn’t really his until his encounter with God at the Mount Moriah. God told Abraham to sacrifice this beloved son of his and waited to see what he would do. Abraham obeyed God in totality and God assured him of His eternal blessing on him and his offspring. Why did God send Abraham to the Mount? Why would God instruct Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son? God wanted to deliver Abraham from Isaac.

The issue of deliverance is a cardinal one. We pray for many things but get no answer because God has not succeeded to deliver us from what we are asking for. God will not give you what He hasn’t delivered you from. Because God delivered Abraham from Isaac, He gave him Isaac. If you want anything from God, trust God to deliver you from it else you may not receive it eventually.

Why does God do this? Because anything He has not delivered you from has the potency to destroy you. It has the power to replace God in your life. It can blindfold you from the ultimate purposes of God for your life. It can transform to the end instead of the means. So for these and other reasons God keeps working in you to prepare you for what He has already prepared for you. Until He achieves this deliverance in you, He may not release the answers to your requests. Therefore allow God to tidy up His work in you and watch Him bless you beyond your wildest imagination.

He is trustworthy

Weekend was very stressful for me. I had to teach for hours in the Bible School, attend a serious night vigil and so couldn't fully be in a dear brother's wedding. Woke up this morning needing rest but would have to go to church. I had to deal with a distressful stomach bite which we suspect might be ulcer. But I believe God I'll be alright. Sometimes the greatest thing we can do is wait and trust God for the manifestation of His faithfulness in our lives.

You see, if we live for God we can trust Him for His timely intervention in every area of our lives. He heals, He delivers and protects. He guides and guards His own from the intentions of the devil. He will not deliver you to the will of your enemy. He will stand by your side and offer wisdom and timely assistance. He is trustworthy.

Open Door Sensors 2

Doors really do open! Challenges can be dealt with and obstacles can be removed. It's possible to get into your inheritance no matter how long. I believe nothing should permanently shut doors of opportunities against you.

In the last article on open door sensors, I presented following God as the key to opening doors. In this I want to say another sensor for open doors is Prayer.

Peter was imprisoned by Herod but prayer was going on in the church to God for him. As a result of the heartfelt prayers the Iron Gate was opened to Peter.

Incidentally, it wasn't even Peter who did the much praying. It was other people. Do you have people you can confide in and trust that they will support you in prayers as you face difficult situations? It's very crucial. Don't live life in isolation. Don't be a recluse.

Learn to trust people and watch your life move forward. People, good people around your life may be all you will need to get to the next level of life. If Peter was a bad person, he would've died in the hand of Herod.

Quality Life: The Power of Words

Quality Life: The Power of Words

Open Door Sensors

We are in the season of open doors. There are certain doors God has ordained to be opened to you in times like this. They are doors that have been locked against you for a long time and you don?t what else to do to get them opened. As such you have branded them IMPOSSIBLE. But it is important to realise that with God nothing is IMPOSSIBLE.

Acts 12 tells us the story of Peter who was arrested by Herod the King and all arrangements had been concluded to have him executed. But the night before the intended execution, the Lord sent an angel to effect his deliverance. As Peter followed the angel after being liberated from the prison chains, they got to the Iron Gate that led to the city and the Scriptures tell us that the gate opened to them of its own accord. Peter didn?t need to struggle to open the gate. In fact he couldn?t have been able to open it had he tried.

How then did the gate open? It was opened by divine sensors. A sensor according to Encarta Dictionary is a detecting instrument: a device capable of detecting and responding to physical stimuli such as movement, light, or heat. As Peter walked with the angel, he was in tune with the Lord and so the gate could pick the signal and responded to them by opening up. When you walk with God, by obeying His instructions and living according to His word, you will have His presence accompany you as you walk the most difficult paths of life. With His presence around you certain doors will open for you effortlessly.

The Power of Words

Recently, I read in one of our national dailies of a couple who got married after more than seventeen years of separation. They were friends before the need for education and job put them apart. But seventeen years prior to this time the young came to visit her family and dropped a love letter for her. Incidentally she didn’t see the letter for seventeen years. When she did, it led to the reconnection and ultimately marriage.

You cannot afford to underestimate the power of what is written. What is written does not change with time. It remains constant and enduring. It has the power to change people. Imagine the magnitude of damage that has been done to humanity just because someone took time to write error. But if what is written has the power to destroy then also what is written can have the power to transform.

Of all writings the greatest is that which has the power to impact and transform the conscience. And there is no other writing that has that power than the Bible. The Bible has endured the greatest persecution, suffered the greatest attacks and assaults but has outlived and outlasted its persecutors. This is because of its Author-God. Since God is the Author of the Bible no man can destroy it either now or ever.

Therefore if we want to live and endure the test of time, the Bible must be our Book. Choose the word of God as contained in the Bible as the ultimate the determinant of your actions, beliefs and lifestyle and you will be glad you did. Let me ask you, “have you read the Bible today?”

Take Time to Communicate

For two Sundays running my wife and I had not seen a beloved sister in Church and so while at home after a refreshing time in Church she brought it to my notice. We took time to call her to find out how she was faring. She was so happy and took time to explain her situation to us. It was indeed a very warm session.

The most potent way to sustain a relationship is communication. Lack of good and proper communication is the major reason breakdown in most relationships. No one has the power to know what is in another person’s heart except through communication. When we communicate we establish and strength our relationships.

Communication gives you access to people’s experiences and challenges. It enables you to know how people think and why they behave in certain ways. It enables you to know how best to deal with certain people and varying situations. It equips you to know when and how best to support and intercede for people. In fact, there can’t be a good relationship without communication.

For communication to be effective it must meet certain conditions. One of the greatest conditions is: Seek to understand then to be understood. The challenge is we always want to be understood before seeking to understand. As long as we do this, we will never build a good relationship. But when we seek to understand others, it prepares the ground for us to be received and understood. This is in agreement with the Scriptures, “Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about “(Mat 7:12).

Most communication problems will be solved by adherence to this condition. Therefore step out today and make a difference by applying this rule to your life and relationships.

Behind the Scene

As little children we were fond of playing the game of hide and seek. We loved to hide in certain secret places and thereby make more difficult for the one seeking us to find us. If eventually we are found we try to hide deeper the next time and so the game continued. Even fathers sometimes play this game with their little ones. And it is a joy for the little child to catch his or her father. That game seems to draw its origin from God. This was the finding of Isaiah, “Truly You are a God who hides Yourself, O God of Israel, the Saviour” (Isaiah 45: 15). Sometimes God like every other father hides from us and we wonder where He has gone to.

One of the most beautiful truths you can know is that God is there even when it looks like He isn’t there. There is always the tendency to think certain events typify the absence of God and at such moments the cry of is “God has abandoned us”. But what a joy it is to know that God is always present! It’s just a game of love between a loving Father and His child.

Also it is important that God’s working for you behind the scene. You may not see Him now but He is working all the same. Moses realized this, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).

The more you walk with God the easier it becomes to understand His hideouts and fall into His loving arms. So go after knowing God and your life will be a living testimony of what God can do. Also remember to patiently wait for the manifestation of God's faithfulness which will take place in His own time.

WELCOME TO HARVEST

Certain things happen in certain seasons. This is because to everything there is a time and a season to every purpose. This is the season of harvest. I have had two confirmations of this already and I know it will be so. Certain things that have been impossible before now will be made possible.

When Peter was held captive and imprisoned, he was passing through a most difficult time of his life. Then suddenly God sent an angel to bring him out. Peter thought it was a dream but meticulously carried out the instructions of the angel and followed him. When they got to the Iron Gate that led to the city, the Scriptures say the gate opened of its own accord. Peter couldn’t have opened it had he tried. There are certain things that we can’t make happen even if we exert all our strength and energy but by the power of God such challenges will be taken care of in this season.

Get ready for your harvest. If you have been serving God and it looks like things are not working, don’t worry help is on the way. The Scriptures say that our salvation is nearer than when we believed. Don’t postpone your harvest. Now is the acceptable time for divine visitation and you cannot afford to miss it. Get ready, God is coming!