What stood out the most to me in Chapter 1 is the call to reexamine my own self proclaimed great leadership skills. I have been fortunate enough to have been taught by some wise pastors whom had already taught me that a good leader is always a great servant. However, I was inspired to take a more deeper look at the vast ways in which God had been an example of a leader in the bible. I immediately went to the beginning and was aluminated in the fact that the very act of creating us was an example of God's undying love for us in the fact that he could have just spoke us into existence but yet he chose to use his hands to intimately create us and provide us with the ability to survive, prosper and be fruitful. I found myself in Exodus 14:21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to LEAD the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light so as to go by day and night. Here in this scripture alone God was the scout because he went before them, he was their direction because he lead them and he was their light unto their path. We too as leaders must remember to not limit the depth of our service to others. Our God is unlimited in his service to us and so too should we be also. The examples of God's Service minded approach to leading is endless through out the bible. The process to reexamining my own process of leading has just begun.
I think you are all on it, Carla. I really do. This first chapter, in my opinion, does a great job in starting the conversation and steering us toward our own, individual leadership style. It really sets the course for us to go deeper into the book/subject. It makes us look at ourselves because, and I think you would agree, we all (Christians) are leaders. Right?
I am in total agreement with you, for as much as we are christians striving to be christminded and as christlike as possible in order to please God. Jesus is the ultimate leader.So as we all seek to follow his teachings and his examples we are all leaders.The tricky part as it has been exposed in chapter one is to lay aside the worldly ways of leading which admitly can be misinturpeted as values of christ.I admit I mirrored attributes that I thought were Godly to lead like, strength, focused,positive attitude,kind,etc. Using clishes like "God is always on time" to inspire punctuality ..lol all I can do is shake my head at myself now that I am reexamaing myself as a leader. Though those attributes are all good attributes but the issue for me is the position of my spirit, mind and heart when I executed those attributes.Reflectively I admit it was not from a position of service to those whom i was I was leading.That includes my own family.This is such an "ouch" moment for me instead of a "amen".
Well, wait until we talk about the book as a whole; then you will really be able to reflect on an "ouch" moment because there would have been plenty to spread around. LOL. And that definitely includes me and my toes. LOL.
But speaking about the world - it says that we should lead out front...in the front of the line, while Jesus shows us that true/real leaders lead from the back. I pray that I will NEVER forget this. And it is the church who is expected to mirror this more than anyone else; leading, basically, by example.
Well, wait until we talk about the book as a whole; then you will really be able to reflect on an "ouch" moment because there would have been plenty to spread around. LOL. And that definitely includes me and my toes. LOL.
But speaking about the world - it says that we should lead out front...in the front of the line, while Jesus shows us that true/real leaders lead from the back. I pray that I will NEVER forget this. And it is the church who is expected to mirror this more than anyone else; leading, basically, by example.
I agree however,I must say that it is my understanding that there are times that some leaders have to lead from the front as in John 10:2-4.I do not want to overlook any of the positions that a leader should lead from..Serving from the front working to clear a clear path for others to follow is definitely a hard position to lead from while maintaining a servant mind set, but in season it is critical (especially for a pastor, a shepherd of the flock)in these times to recognize which position of service to employ.
The first thing that stands out to me was A note to the Reader. This book is written for anyone trying to influence or lead other others spiritually. This ought to be the goal of all believers. This was a reminder to me that i need not be in the position per say of a leader to try to influence others in The Way. The second thing that stood out to me was the passage in Mark 10:43-44 it brngs us to a fork in the road called leadership. There are two directions one leads relying on power, authority and control. The other path-the one that follows in Christ's footsteps, however imperfectly-is a road of humility and putting others first. That's a reminder to get out of ourselves for the sake of others. Total surrender to the will of the Father.
Carla, you are so right. It is definitely hard for a leader to lead from the front. When I mentioned leading from the back, I meant that more from a frame of mind than the actual physical position; for the same reasons that you just adequately surmised. You are correct. Leading from the front with a "low" or "back of the line" mindset keeps us humble. And, again, I think you hinted to the dangers of a leader losing his/her Godly humility.
Pam, that part of the chapter was so good I had to read it and read it again and again and again! I loved that!
The two roads are so easy to confuse/misunderstand. What's more, the wrong road seems right, and the right road seems wrong. LOL. Whew. If we don't surrender to His will we will surely mislead others. Surely!
What stood out to me in Chapter I was his view on what a leader should be and the football game. Here is a man who I have never met, yet we shared the same indentical view on a leader. The leader has to be a hard-charger, no nonsense, and know-it-all. These views were enhanced in the military because they teach you, the higher you go the more power you get "climbing the ladder." I had planned on doing 20 years and retire as a Captain from the Navy. I had set my ladder on the wrong foundation and leaning on the wrong wall.
It was a football game and party that led Rinehart to the Lord. This two events were instrumental in Rinehart finding out what Jesus says about true leadership (Mark 10). He says because of his encounter with Scripture he began to reevaluate himself. I believe this is something we (Christians) should always be doing, with Scripture as the authority.
Just got my book and happy to join you all on the Low Road! Chapter one took me back to my Navy days and the leaders I patterned myself after. I was taught by one of my mentor/leaders that a good leader is one who gets people to do what they don't want to do and a sure way to do this was for the leader to be seen doing the very tasks themselves and being an example. This is just what Jesus did - He walked with the disciples and not only told them what He wanted them to do, but He showed them. Jesus led by example. I must admit, having a leadership position in the military gave me a sense of power that only fed my pride. My eyes weren't opened until I was led to true servant/leaders of God's church. Thank God for Christian Education!
Thanks for joining, LaVender. As you can see, the Road isn't crowded right now. But, if it is His will, we will have to add bumps to slow everyone down real soon. I, for one, had almost given up (hence my not checking the blog daily anymore)...but I know better than to do that.
Thanks for sharing.
OBTW, wait until you go deeper into the book. Your eyes will really open then.
12 comments:
What stood out the most to me in Chapter 1 is the call to reexamine my own self proclaimed great leadership skills. I have been fortunate enough to have been taught by some wise pastors whom had already taught me that a good leader is always a great servant. However, I was inspired to take a more deeper look at the vast ways in which God had been an example of a leader in the bible. I immediately went to the beginning and was aluminated in the fact that the very act of creating us was an example of God's undying love for us in the fact that he could have just spoke us into existence but yet he chose to use his hands to intimately create us and provide us with the ability to survive, prosper and be fruitful. I found myself in Exodus 14:21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to LEAD the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light so as to go by day and night. Here in this scripture alone God was the scout because he went before them, he was their direction because he lead them and he was their light unto their path. We too as leaders must remember to not limit the depth of our service to others. Our God is unlimited in his service to us and so too should we be also. The examples of God's Service minded approach to leading is endless through out the bible. The process to reexamining my own process of leading has just begun.
I think you are all on it, Carla. I really do. This first chapter, in my opinion, does a great job in starting the conversation and steering us toward our own, individual leadership style. It really sets the course for us to go deeper into the book/subject. It makes us look at ourselves because, and I think you would agree, we all (Christians) are leaders. Right?
I am in total agreement with you, for as much as we are christians striving to be christminded and as christlike as possible in order to please God. Jesus is the ultimate leader.So as we all seek to follow his teachings and his examples we are all leaders.The tricky part as it has been exposed in chapter one is to lay aside the worldly ways of leading which admitly can be misinturpeted as values of christ.I admit I mirrored attributes that I thought were Godly to lead like, strength, focused,positive attitude,kind,etc. Using clishes like "God is always on time" to inspire punctuality ..lol all I can do is shake my
head at myself now that I am reexamaing myself as a leader. Though those attributes are all good attributes but the issue for me is the position of my spirit, mind and heart when I executed those attributes.Reflectively I admit it was not from a position of service to those whom i was I was leading.That includes my own family.This is such an "ouch" moment for me instead of a "amen".
Well, wait until we talk about the book as a whole; then you will really be able to reflect on an "ouch" moment because there would have been plenty to spread around. LOL. And that definitely includes me and my toes. LOL.
But speaking about the world - it says that we should lead out front...in the front of the line, while Jesus shows us that true/real leaders lead from the back. I pray that I will NEVER forget this. And it is the church who is expected to mirror this more than anyone else; leading, basically, by example.
Well, wait until we talk about the book as a whole; then you will really be able to reflect on an "ouch" moment because there would have been plenty to spread around. LOL. And that definitely includes me and my toes. LOL.
But speaking about the world - it says that we should lead out front...in the front of the line, while Jesus shows us that true/real leaders lead from the back. I pray that I will NEVER forget this. And it is the church who is expected to mirror this more than anyone else; leading, basically, by example.
I agree however,I must say that it is my understanding that there are times that some leaders have to lead from the front as in John 10:2-4.I do not want to overlook any of the positions that a leader should lead from..Serving from the front working to clear a clear path for others to follow is definitely a hard position to lead from while maintaining a servant mind set, but in season it is critical (especially for a pastor, a shepherd of the flock)in these times to recognize which position of service to employ.
The first thing that stands out to me was A note to the Reader. This book is written for anyone trying to influence or lead other others spiritually. This ought to be the goal of all believers. This was a reminder to me that i need not be in the position per say of a leader to try to influence others in The Way. The second thing that stood out to me was the passage in Mark 10:43-44 it brngs us to a fork in the road called leadership. There are two directions one leads relying on power, authority and control. The other path-the one that follows in Christ's footsteps, however imperfectly-is a road of humility and putting others first. That's a reminder to get out of ourselves for the sake of others. Total surrender to the will of the Father.
Carla, you are so right. It is definitely hard for a leader to lead from the front. When I mentioned leading from the back, I meant that more from a frame of mind than the actual physical position; for the same reasons that you just adequately surmised. You are correct.
Leading from the front with a "low" or "back of the line" mindset keeps us humble. And, again, I think you hinted to the dangers of a leader losing his/her Godly humility.
Pam, that part of the chapter was so good I had to read it and read it again and again and again! I loved that!
The two roads are so easy to confuse/misunderstand. What's more, the wrong road seems right, and the right road seems wrong. LOL. Whew. If we don't surrender to His will we will surely mislead others. Surely!
What stood out to me in Chapter I was his view on what a leader should be and the football game. Here is a man who I have never met, yet we shared the same indentical view on a leader. The leader has to be a hard-charger, no nonsense, and know-it-all. These views were enhanced in the military because they teach you, the higher you go the more power you get "climbing the ladder." I had planned on doing 20 years and retire as a Captain from the Navy. I had set my ladder on the wrong foundation and leaning on the wrong wall.
It was a football game and party that led Rinehart to the Lord. This two events were instrumental in Rinehart finding out what Jesus says about true leadership (Mark 10). He says because of his encounter with Scripture he began to reevaluate himself. I believe this is something we (Christians) should always be doing, with Scripture as the authority.
Just got my book and happy to join you all on the Low Road! Chapter one took me back to my Navy days and the leaders I patterned myself after. I was taught by one of my mentor/leaders that a good leader is one who gets people to do what they don't want to do and a sure way to do this was for the leader to be seen doing the very tasks themselves and being an example. This is just what Jesus did - He walked with the disciples and not only told them what He wanted them to do, but He showed them. Jesus led by example. I must admit, having a leadership position in the military gave me a sense of power that only fed my pride. My eyes weren't opened until I was led to true servant/leaders of God's church. Thank God for Christian Education!
Thanks for joining, LaVender. As you can see, the Road isn't crowded right now. But, if it is His will, we will have to add bumps to slow everyone down real soon. I, for one, had almost given up (hence my not checking the blog daily anymore)...but I know better than to do that.
Thanks for sharing.
OBTW, wait until you go deeper into the book. Your eyes will really open then.
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