Archive for the 'Leadership' Category
Every Hill You Face is Not Worth Dying On
The greatest leadership lesson I have ever learned is: Every hill you face is not worth dying on. If I had practiced this in my previous churches and perhaps during the first few years here, I believe my influence would be greater and the ministry would be more effective. In today’s world of continual media bombardment and social outrage, it can be easy to get swept up in trivial matters. We must not allow that to happen and compromise our leadership.
I have seen ministers let their stubbornness and pride wreck their leadership in the home and in the church. When you have the clarity and wisdom to not die on every hill, your leadership can be long and effective.
Whether you are a rookie pastor or an experienced minister: Every hill you face in leadership is not worth dying on. When the pastor practices this, the church will flourish. The fellowship will be sweeter, the growth will be greater, and the preservation of this growth will be more successful.
How I Learned This
How did I learn this important truth? It did not happen at a particular point, but through a process. Some things in leadership you can only learn through the growth of the entity you are assigned to lead. The growth of the organization in structures, personnel, dollars, and expectations requires the leader to operate by the conviction that every hill he faces is not worth dying on.
There are times that I could have carried more people with me along the church’s vision path if I had been more patient and personal along the way. In the name of “urgency” or “reaching,” we can sometimes push “hurry” too much and too often. This is not an asset, but a liability.
The Christian life is not about being right — it is about being Christ-like
Most Christians are more interested in being right than they are in being Christ-like. Pastor and church leaders, the Christian life is not about being right — it is about being Christ-like. If Satan cannot get you to do the wrong thing, he will get you to do the right thing in the wrong way. When you think you are always right, you will die on needless hills. When you constantly have to prove you are right and don’t take the time to work toward making the best decision in the right time and in the right way, you lose influence and leadership.
3 Hills Worth Dying On
There are three hills that are worth dying on no matter what anyone else thinks.
1. Truth – You must be willing to die on the hill of God’s truth found in Scripture.
You must stand in your pulpit, in your meetings, and everywhere else you go with the confidence that the Bible is God’s truth for today and always. In my ministry, I have seen more people willing to die for their tradition than die for the Truth of God’s Word.
2. Morality – Jesus was very clear that we are to be the salt and light of the world.
We must be the moral conscience of our region, nation, and world. Biblically, we have no alternative. We have to impact our culture. When we do, there are times that our faith will collide with the culture.
3. The Great Commission – The Great Commission should consume every Christian and church.
For a church to advance toward the future in terms of health and growth, the church needs to be emblazoned by the Great Commission. There is no one in the church who ought to be more fired up and passionate about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with every person in the world and making disciples of all the nations than the pastor.
When You Go to the Hill
Pastor, a good leader determines not only which hills to die upon, but he also chooses the timing.
Let me give you a strategic grid to go through before you ascend the hill:
- Leadership has to be clear
- Processes have to be thorough
- Timing must be right
A wise leader does everything in God’s timing, by God’s Word, and in God’s power.
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
5 Important Questions to Ask Yourself When Making a Decision in Your Life
When you make a decision in your life, how do you know it is the right thing to do?
Quick decision making often results in poor decision making. Conversely, long and drawn out decision making can paralyze your life as well as others who look to you for leadership. Is there a way to know we are making the right decisions in life?
Preparation is really one of the important things about decision making. I believe that when you passionately walk with God daily, it prepares you for decision making. The power of Christ will see you through every decision you make.
Ask yourself:
Question #1: Do I have a word from God’s Word about this decision?
When the trucking magnate J.B. Hunt was alive, he used to read the Bible through about once every 18-20 months. As a former truck driver who founded the powerful company J.B. Hunt Transport, he would tell me as his pastor and friend, that the Bible was his roadmap for life. As he read it, God would make clear to him where he needed to go and what he needed to do.
The Bible is the GPS for your life. You do not have to walk in the darkness of decision making. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” God’s Word always shows us God’s way! Be confident, the Holy Spirit never leads you away from God’s Word. Some decisions you do not even need to pray about because the answers are already clear in God’s Word.
Therefore, get a word from God’s Word and stand upon it.
Question #2: What would Jesus want me to do?
The life of Jesus Christ always sheds light on your decision making. Jesus brings clarity. Through the lens of His gospel story, the will of Jesus becomes crystal clear. Stop and ask yourself: What would Jesus want me to do?
If the decision represents His character, then it is probably right; if not, it is wrong. Call upon Jesus to bring clarity in your decision making.
Question #3: Have I valued what others have told me?
Receiving counsel from godly and holy people can help confirm a decision or lead you to question a decision you are about to make. Godly counsel can help you if you are willing to listen to it. Ungodly counsel will never help you.
Therefore, seek only the counsel of people who are mature in the Lord, walk in His Word daily, are prayer warriors, and have a proven life of healthy decision making.
Question #4: Have I saturated this decision in prayer?
Go to God in prayer before you go to anyone else about it. Then, when you receive godly counsel from others, you will be more in-tune spiritually to hear it. Then take their counsel to God in prayer because ultimately, God must lead you regardless of the counsel you have received from others.
Pour your heart out to God in prayer. Plead before Him, asking Him for a word from God. Commit to honor Jesus through it all.
Question #5: Am I willing to trust the Lord through it all?
Is this really your prayer? May His Kingdom come and may His will be done on earth in our decision making, even as it is being done right now in heaven!
We must pray believing this and be more than willing to walk away, trusting the Lord with whatever occurs.
If the door closes or it becomes more than obvious it is not right when you hoped it would have been, refuse to ask why, resenting the decision and becoming discouraged.
God knows what is best for us even when we do not know what is best for ourselves.
I thank God He has not answered every prayer in my life like I thought He should have! My shortsightedness and selfishness would have limited God’s work in and through me.
When we really understand the words from Jesus below, we will trust the Lord Jesus through all of our decision making. Jesus said in Revelation 3:7, “Thus says the Holy One, the true one, the one who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens.”
Jesus opens doors in your life that no one can close.
Jesus closes doors in your life that no one can open.
Yes, you can trust Jesus in your decision making.
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
President, National Day of Prayer
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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the Senior Pastor of Cross Church, President of the National Day of Prayer, and founder of the Cross Church School of Ministry.
To request an interview with Dr. Ronnie Floyd
contact Gayla Oldham at (479) 751-4523 or email gaylao@crosschurch.com.
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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.