In our country, we throw the word leadership around lightly, and I believe we misuse it.  What does leadership mean?  It is such a simple question, yet it continues to vex consultants and the lay people alike.  To answer this, let us first look at what leadership is not.  Leadership is not a top spot in a hierarchy.  Leadership has nothing to do with seniority.  Leadership is not found in titles.  Real leaders do not need a title to lead.  Their authority is reinforced by their follower’s trust.  Perhaps the lowest form of leadership is a leader resting on the old “I am the boss so do what I say” concept.  In this concept,  people listen to you because they have to,  not because they have any desire to.  They listen to you based solely on your position, not on their respect or trust for you.  Most people I meet use this style of leadership.  To me, this is not leadership at all.  Peter Prucher  defined a leader as someone who has followers.  Warren Bennis says  “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality”.  Bill Gates said “As we look into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others”.  John Maxwell defined leadership as influence, nothing more and nothing less.  Either way, leadership is more than just managing people, and it is a whole lot more than just a title.  In addition, leadership is forfeiting your right to complain and to do what is in only your best interest.  Leadership is not about you, it is about the people you lead. 

Just a Thought

PSS

Legacychurch.com

There is a great void in our nation’s leadership. It stretches from the president of the U.S.A. to the mayors of towns to the principals in schools and even to pastors standing at the pulpit. If you do not believe me, I invite you to watch the news and witness the evidence of poor leadership. Leadership is about influence. Bad leadership bleeds into everything under its influence. Our poor national leadership has bled into our economy, making it a mess. Our leaders are more concerned with politics and getting elected then doing the right thing. Presently, leadership has become a popularity contest with an outcome determined by who is best at telling people only what they want to hear. We need leaders who will always do their best to make the right decision even if it is not popular. It may be the popular choice to give handouts to those who refuse to help themselves, but it is not really the better choice for our society as a whole.

Instead of doing the right thing, many of our leaders have lost their vision and been crippled by their own ambition. Ambition is defined as a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. Personal ambition is a good thing. Without ambition we would never move forward in life. However, it becomes a problem when it is placed before the common good. It can cloud anyone’s judgment, leading to poor, selfish decisions. We must strive to fix this problem and fill the void. It starts with us. We can all start leading and influencing others right where we are at. We need to model integrity and honesty. We need to do the right thing even if it is difficult. Other people will eventually take notice, and maybe, just maybe, begin to follow suite.

Just a Thought

PSS

Legacychurch.com

Winston Churchill once said, “You have enemies? Good. That means that you’ve stood up for something sometime in your life.” There are times in our lives when we have to stand up for something. If you never stand for something you will fall for anything. We must submit our feelings and emotions to God’s authority. If we do not we will be moved by every philosophy that comes down the pike. As Christians, we have been bullied long enough by the social media. We have been bullied to be silent and to sit on the sidelines when it comes to important issues. If we dare to speak up the media will bad mouth us and paint us to look like fools. We have to be strong and stand up for God’s Word. We cannot be so concerned about what others think of us or whether or not they like us. We can no longer hide our faith. We are called to let our light shine so that the whole world can see it.

If we are to please God with our lives then let us be His friend. Being friends with the world is to be God’s enemy. Truth is good news every time. What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular.

Just a Thought

PSS

Legacychurchnm.com

Not everything that we get used to in our lives is good for us, especially if it is a scotoma. A scotoma is a mental or physical blind spot. We have scotomas in our daily lives. Let us say you have a leaky faucet. If not repaired you will become immune to the sound of the water dripping and be blind to the reason as to why it should be fixed.

What have you become used to in your life that at one point you intended to fix or deal with? What is it that you no longer see that might be obvious to others? What have you been blinded to? This would be a good time to look back in your life to evaluate what you do and how you do it and gain a new perspective.

In your job, what things have you become used to that are broken and are in need of repairing? Your appearance? Your behavior? Is there something counter-productive you need to fix in your personal life? Perhaps it is the way you treat the people in your life. With time what was once an obvious problem has become, a scotoma. Let us make an effort to ask God to open our eyes to the obvious problems so we may correct them.

Just a Thought,

PSS

Legacychurchnm.com

If we are not careful, we will lose our right to free speech. Exercising our freedom of speech is a requisite of living a life where our voice matters. As I look at our society, I am amazed at how the process of silencing the voice of the people has gone unnoticed. We are told to conform, and if we do not, we are mocked, ridiculed and called names in order to keep us in line. If we do not speak out and stand up, then who will? If we lose our God-given, constitutional right to free speech, what comes next? If we lose the ability to disagree with those who are running our government, our cities, and states then the foundation of our country will be lost. We should not allow a select few self-appointed individuals dictate to us what is right, what is wrong, and what we should or should not say. We have a responsibility to speak up when things are wrong or if we disagree.

For example, lots of people today say using the term bossy to describe someone is extremely rude and offensive. We should be able to speak out and disagree without fear of being mocked or put down because our views are contrary to pop culture. Our silence is our surrender. If we are not careful, our desire to fit in will rob us of our right to free speech and our voices will never be heard.

Just a Thought,

PSS

Legacychurchnm.com