The Presbyter's Page
Electronic Edition – January 2002
Original articles published December 2001
Section 12 - LA
District UPCI
Donald Bryan - Presbyter
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Sermon Thought: “Surviving
The Wilderness"
What
People Expect of a Leader
Essentials
in Any Leadership Style
Sermon Thought:
“Surviving
The Wilderness”
Job 23:8-10
“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and
backward, but I cannot perceive him: On
the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself
on the right hand, that I cannot see him:
But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come
forth as gold.”
Is this your heart’s cry? You long to hear from God, but all you sense is silence. In frustration you remember the time you merely whispered His name and His presence was immediately there. Now in the stillness you want to shout, “God, where are you?” Welcome to the wilderness!
You are in good company… Moses, Joseph, David, Job, even Jesus. The procession of travelers is long for the wilderness is a necessary season in the life of every child of God. Understanding the wilderness is crucial to your spiritual survival. To everything there is a season and many Christians behave without wisdom when they enter the wilderness season. The wilderness is not negative for those who obey God.
God’s purpose is leading Israel into the wilderness was to teach and train them. Instead, they saw it as punishment and complained and murmured. What was to have been a brief journey became a lifetime experience. So, what does the wilderness journey mean?
1. The wilderness may be a time of correction, but it is not a time of disapproval.
2. God doesn’t “set us on the shelf,” but works on our lives all the way through the wilderness.
3. The wilderness is not a place of defeat to those who obey God.
4. The wilderness is not God’s rejection of you, but instead is His preparation of you!
Characteristics of the Wilderness
1. You cannot sense God’s presence. Don’t misunderstand and think you have missed God.
2. You appear to be going in the opposite direction of your dreams and God’s promises. You perceive no growth, you may feel you are regressing, you may feel unloved. But you are not.
3. You receive what you NEED (daily bread), not what you want. God only provides what you need to survive in the wilderness. We call this “LACK,” but our wants are not our needs.
How does God test us? God tests us by giving what our flesh needs, not what it wants. God still wants to know whether His people will seek His face, (relationship) or just His hand (provision). In the wilderness the fruit of the Spirit is cultivated and watered by a desire to know Him! There is a reason for your wilderness!
What People Expect of a Leader
There are seven things sheep
want from a shepherd:
1.
They expect shepherds to be concerned for their safety. People want the assurance that their organization is wise enough
to survive in turbulent times and will provide for their futures. A protector who is concerned with the welfare
of his flock won’t hesitate to communicate the possibilities and the perils
looming on the horizon.
2.
They expect shepherds to know them by name. When a responsible shepherd enters the fold, his sheep respond to
him because he calls them by name. We
cannot underestimate the value of establishing a connection with every person
on our team – even if that number is large.
The bond is strengthened each time people hear us speak their names.
3.
They expect shepherds to be gentle and kind. When people you serve are less than cooperative, it’s not an
excuse for retaliation. As Dwight D.
Eisenhower said about his war experiences, “You do not lead by hitting people
over the head – that’s assault, not leadership.” If you feel the urge to lash out at those around you, get tough
on yourself. That’s where discipline
yields the greatest harvest.
4.
They expect shepherds to rescue them. What is our response when one of our employees becomes
distracted? Do we let him stay off
course and struggle to find his way back, or do we stop what we’re doing and
give him our attention? Jesus said a
good shepherd would leave a flock of 99 to go after the lost sheep until he
finds it. That’s true of leadership.
5.
They expect shepherds to be unselfish. The president of a chain of stores was under pressure to cut
costs. Much as he hated it, he was
forced to eliminate the Christmas bonus for his employees. Later, the president was awarded a check of
$20,000 for balancing the budget. He
immediately divided it with his staff.
People expect to participate in decisions that affect the quality,
quantity, and climate of their work. It
must be a partnership that includes rewards.
When one succeeds, all succeed.
6.
They expect shepherds to be sincere. A fellow who was flying to a business meeting found a bug in his
salad. He fired off a letter to the
airlines. By the time he got back to
his office, a letter was waiting for him.
He was impressed by what it said, until he saw a note stuck to the back,
which said: “Send this character the regular Bug Letter.” Leaders can’t afford to be artificial. They must be genuine.
7.
They expect shepherds to care deeply about them. If we truly don’t respect and love people, we should resign from
any position of responsibility that involves personal contact. Sheep want shepherds who are sensitive and
responsive to their personal and professional needs. As this sign posted on a bulletin board says, “People don’t care
how much you know until they know how much you care.”
(From “Building Church
Leaders,” published by Leadership Journal, 2001)
Just a Thought…
·
It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
·
The longest distance between two points is a shortcut.
·
Don’t spend a $1.00 ‘s worth of time on a 10¢ decision.
Essentials in Any Leadership
Style
Some leadership styles are role-specific, but several traits of leadership styles seem to work in all congregations.
Twelve Traits For Maximum Effect:
1.
Spiritual consciousness. In the Middle Ages, being
knighted gave someone a special relationship with the king. Likewise, the words and behavior of
Christian leaders point people toward God.
2.
Enthusiasm. Meaningful ideas delivered
in a dull, listless manner can seem irrelevant. The same ideas communicated with enthusiasm can light the fire of
commitment that leads to positive change.
3.
Joyful attitude. Joyfulness and a sense of
humor help people relax and enjoy their work.
They also send the signal that having fun while working together is as
important as the work itself.
4.
Spiritual optimism. People who dispense the
quality of hope in their conversation are appreciated like rain after a
drought. They attract allegiance to
themselves and their goals.
5.
High energy level. Effective leaders can maintain
a fast pace and juggle several demands simultaneously. As Lewis Carroll says in Alice in
Wonderland, “It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same
place. If you want to get somewhere
else, you must run at least twice as fast.”
6.
Self-discipline. Some people accomplish two to six times as
much as coworkers during a 40-hour week.
Such productivity comes from a high-energy level charged by motivation
and self-discipline.
7.
Positive appearance. Neat apparel and shiny shoes
do not bring people into the kingdom of God.
But, if the package is shabby, people may not bother to examine its
contents.
8.
Tactfulness. There’s a difference between
telling the truth and telling the truth all the time, even when it accomplishes
no practical purpose. Lack of tact can
debilitate every other positive quality in a leader.
9.
Flexibility. Flexible leaders are willing
to experiment with a suggestion until it is proved or disproved, concentrating
more on relationships with followers than maintaining arbitrary rules.
10. Conviction without dominance. High dominance must be buffered by other traits for it to work in
church. If their role requires much
interaction with people, dominant leaders may have to work hard to compensate
for their inflexible style or look for a leadership position in which it works
better.
11. Indiscriminate affirmation. Effective leaders do not merely restrain criticism when things go
wrong and remain silent when things go right.
They know the best form of constructive criticism is praise.
12. Nonjudgmental attitude. Effective leaders extend grace to people who don’t have ethical
or religious standards identical to their own.
They avoid dwelling on negative thoughts about other people.
(From “Building Church Leaders”, published by
Leadership Journal, 2001)
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