Epic: The Story God is Telling - Prologue

I absolutely love how John Elderidge starts off the Prologue of the book talking about the Lord of the Rings. He mentions that Sam asked Frodo what kind of story they have fallen into. Seeing glimpses of the big picture is not as easy as you think. There was definitely a bigger plan in store for Frodo and Sam. What story are we living?

I have found myself asking a lot of questions lately about my life. I can see glimpses of the bigger picture but my story is still unfolding like the pages of a novel, to steal a line from Elderidge. Everyday we are faced with people we know, people we don't know, people we are going to meet and people we try to avoid. Each decision we make is writing another section of our story. I remember when I was growing up an old preacher we had would always ask every Sunday, "If you were to die today, how would you be remembered?" I never stopped to think about that statement until later on in life. It's the story of our life. No, we don't carry light sabers or magic rings, we carry our legacy with us.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapters 19, 20 & 21 - Reproducing Leaders, Perils of Leadership & The Leader Nehemiah

As mentioned in the last chapter, a leaders goal is to develop someone to be ready to replace them when the leader leaves or moves on with the company. Training new leaders is mentioned to be a delicate task. Why are we training? In our case we are training disciples to go out into the world to preach/teach the Gospel. In the business world, training a potential leader also takes delicacy and precision as to not overwhelm or intimidate, but to ensure that they developing the future leaders potential. Leadership training cannot be done in masses, it requires patience and careful planning. Disciples are developed one at a time.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 18 & 19 - The Art of Delegation & Replacing Leaders

One of the key qualities of good leader is to identify the strengths of others. There is an old fast food saying that fits this mold, "Put the aces in their places." With everyone working to their strengths, productivity increases. The mark of a good leader is to train a member or members to the point that if the leader was to leave, someone would be ready to take their spot. Delegation is a very useful tool to stretch someone's ability. This can push someone out of their comfort zone, but will always strengthen them. Coupled with the leaders support, these stretch opportunities empower the people doing the tasks to confidently accomplish their goals.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 16 & 17 - Responsibilities of Leadership & The Test of Leadership

Leadership is defined by Jesus as servant-hood. One who is concerned with others well being and not just for the self satisfaction or prestige.

Self discipline as discussed in a previous post is a must. The underlying most important ingredient to self discipline is love. 2 Thessalonians 3:15 says, "Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer." John 10:4 states "When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." It takes the self discipline to maintain a loving relationship whether it is inside the church or in the workplace.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 14 & 15 - Improving Leadership & The Cost of Leadership

Let's face it, no one is perfect. Leadership will never be perfect. We must always look for ways to improve ourselves. I mentioned in the last post the book "Who Moved My Cheese," we must not become complacent with where we are at just so we can avoid falling into the rut of life. We should be able to identify our weaknesses and develop a game plan on how to overcome the weakness.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 13 - The Leader and Reading

1 Timothy 4:13, "Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching." At the time of this verse the line referred to reading the Old Testament, but reading is an essential tool that any leader has in their arsenal. To grow and develop spiritually and intellectually we must read. In this day and age of technology, the world is at our fingertips. Anything you want to know about can easily be searched on computers, tablets and phones. The question is, what are you reading about? Is it something for enjoyment? Self development of yourself or others? Something someone is forcing you to read to further your education? One must find a balance in the types of reading you do. It is recommended to spend at least 30 minutes a day reading books that feed your soul and stimulate your mind. I've seen the Chicken Soup books expand to cover just about any topic in just a few short years.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 12 - The Leader and Time

Ephesians 5:16 says, "Make the best use of your time." How many of us really manage our time efficiently? Not me! To be honest I wonder how I even made it through college, I was the king of procrastination. It boils down to making excuses. One of my favorite southern gospel songs growing up was "Excuses" by the Kingsmen. What kind of world would this be if we just took care of what we need to do right away instead of putting it off.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 10 & 11 - Above All Else & Prayer and Leadership

Spiritual leadership requires people filled with the Holy Spirit. Integrity and sound judgment is needed but without being spiritual it means nothing. Let's face it, if you do not let the Holy Spirit infatuate your life the Holy Spirit will leave you alone. The book of Acts clearly demonstrates the spirit filled leader. Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit when he presented at the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8), the stoning of Stephan (Acts 6:3, Acts 7:55), Paul's buddy Barnabus (Acts 11:24) and so many more worthy notables. To be filled with the Holy Spirit means that Christians voluntarily surrenders their lives and will to the Holy Spirit. Being submissive to God's call and willingness to carryout the Lords plan. Luke 5:26 states, "Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, We have seen remarkable things today.”

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 9 - More Essential Qualities of Leadership

I'm sorry for the late posting of this chapter. Some of you are aware that I am a professional wrestler. I suffered a mild concussion inside the ring this past Friday night. I will survive.

Humor

Our sense of humor is a gift from God in which we need to have the ability to control it in a clean manner. As anyone who enjoys a good joke, humor can lighten the mood in a tough situation. Many use humor as a coping behavior when dealing with loss or struggle. It brings a sense of being normal. I was thinking about my previous statement and joked that at least the guy that gave me the concussion was not the size of a truck. I was always taught to make light of the situation no matter how bad the situation. It always seems to help.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 8 - Essential Qualities of Leadership

Jesus trained his disciples for their future roles. He done this by teaching by example and delegation responsibility and authority to those who were able to bear it. God prepares leaders for specific tasks by giving spiritual gifts. Some people are called in pastorship, missions, deacons, singers, musicians, Sunday School teachers, prayer warriors and many more different roles. God gives each of us the spiritual gifts that fit the service we are called into. What are these gifts?

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 7 - Insights on Leadership From Peter

I find writing these blog post quite difficult. If I write about everything I want to talk about with the chapter, the post would go on forever. I feel this when I read this chapter on Peter. There are just too many similarities and too many stories that would either bore you to death or you would just stop reading. I encourage all who read this blog to fill in the gaps that I do not speak on.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 6 - Insights on Leadership From Paul

Paul was the most diversified person in the Bible. Paul was the ultimate extrovert. He was able to talk to and relate to a wide variety of people, in their native languages. He could talk to everyone from children to nobility. Paul was a natural leader when he was known as Saul, then became a spiritual leader when he was blinded. Paul had full Christ centered ambition.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapters 4 & 5 - Natural and Spritual Leadership & Can You Become a Leader?

This week, chapters 4 & 5 are very short so I am combining them.

1 Corinthians 2:1-4 "1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power"

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 3 - The Master's Master Principle

When you hear the word "servant" you probably think the lowest of the low. The people who do the work that no one else wants to do because they have no choice. When I think about servant I think of Cinderella slaving away. I think of the peasant servants who served Kings and Queens during the Medieval/Renaissance ages. There are so many stereotypes out there that lead to servant being unworthy, but when Jesus used the term it was a synonym for greatness. In Chapter 2 we discussed Moses, Gideon, David and Paul as being servants of God. To reiterate In Mark 10:43-45, "43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Even God sent his Son to be a servant. This is a hard pill to swallow for most. We must serve to show true leadership.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 2 - The Search For Leaders

The first statement of this chapter is "real leaders are in short supply." What do you think about this statement?

To me in the business world it means these are a people that have more seniority than the people who are more qualified that are in leadership roles. I'm sure everyone has ran across these leaders before. You usually find them sitting behind a desk in an office somewhere while the team members are doing all of the work. Any positive feedback received they take all the credit for it. Self-indulgence is what I call it. Do as little work as possible, then take all the credit. But wait! The moment things go wrong, this type of leader becomes hostile and then starts micro-managing. It is never a pleasant experience for anyone.

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 1 - An Honorable Ambition

Chapter one talks about the ambition to become a leader. Leadership in this case does not always mean becoming a preacher, minister or someone in the ranks of the church. Leadership can be used in our daily lives with those we come in contact with. The question to ask yourself is, are you doing this for God's glory or for your own?

Spiritual Leadership - Chapter 1 - An Honorable Ambition: Reading Questions

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

This study suggests covering 3 chapters at a time. Due to the online blog format of this Bible study, we are going to keep it at no more than 1 chapter a week. The chapters are relatively short. The questions listed below can also be found in the back of your book. I do not have a page number to go off of since I am using a digital kindle book. For those of you who need a book, I have posted a link to the book on Amazon below.

The Purpose of The Imperfect Disciple

The purpose behind The Imperfect Disciple blog is to help create passionate disciples of Jesus Christ through Biblically based book studies. No, I'm not a minister, a preacher or an authority figure. I am just a sinner saved by grace going out into the world proclaiming the Gospel (Mark 16:15).

My vision through this blog is to reach all people including those who are unable to attend Bible studies throughout the week due to the whole "life happenings" and for those that are shut in and just not able to get out. Participation is highly encouraged through the comments section below each weekly post. This will allow everyone to shed some light on parts of the study that others didn't grasp or missed entirely.