Leadership in Context

"Most ministries grow to the size that its leadership can empower people."--Keith TucciToday we are pulling an episode from the archives–The Power of Delegation. The purpose of delegation is not to take something off one person's plate and put it on another person's plate. The purpose is having the right thing on the right person's plate. Delegation is the heart of multiplication.

This week we are pulling an episode from the archives–Handling Leadership Privilege. How we handle trials shows who we are, but how we handle privilege shows our character even more. We should never come to a place where our privilege stops us from being a servant or being accountable. Serving God is a privilege and that means not taking advantage of every opportunity. 

Jesus said that where your treasure is, your heart is. Money is important and we should be the best money managers on earth. As parents, we need to help our kids learn how to manage and be disciplined with money, tithe and give selflessly, and use money as a visionary tool.

Everyone's thinking about money. What if we thought about it Biblically? Jesus wove stewardship into every parable. Money isn't just a goal—it's a tool. A tool that God uses, along with ideas and strategies from Him, to not just to earn money, but to make an impact in people's lives.

People are valuable. Our attitude and everything we do should reflect that. It starts at the beginning. The most telling thing that reflects our attitude about people is how we handle guest follow up. You close the back door by making the front door wide open.

Examining and understanding why someone left, whether we can do something about it or not, will help us to shut the back door. The seeds of people leaving the church are often sown when people first come through the doors. Start on the front end and create a velcro environment where people stick and feel connected.

When you have an opportunity to be used by God, is your first reaction a check of your abilities or a radical dependence on God? Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption–that is our inheritance in God. We can put our full weight in the “chair” of Christ and trust what He has put in us.

If you want to have a lot of friends, serve good food because people will show up. If you want to be a good leader, feed them good words—healthy, encouraging, sound words of Truth. Sound words result in having faith and love in Christ Jesus. We need to guard the treasure of Truth, of sound words, that has been entrusted to us.

The government is not the head of the Church. The culture does not dictate doctrine and morality for the Church. We are the body and Christ is the head of that body. When the body is not connected to the head, it is dysfunctional and it dies. If a body has two heads, it is abnormal; it is a monster.

Today we have a special bonus episode of the Leadership in Context podcast. While the team was traveling back from Ukraine last week, Keith interviewed each one about the significance of this trip at this moment in time. In the natural, it's easy to wonder, “What are we thinking?” But God! If God is for the Church in Ukraine, who can be against them? The need is as great as ever, but in spite of all of this, the Church is growing better than ever.

Jesus is the light. The Holy Spirit is the oil. And we are the lampstand. The light of God in us isn't to just stay in us, but to go out into the world to lead others to Christ.

Join us for a special episode recorded in the van as our team in Ukraine travel from one city to the next.All the while in unimaginable circumstances, our brothers and sisters in Ukraine are standing firm in their faith and conviction, their resilience and persistence, their leadership and devotion to prayer, and their quality of fellowship and love. We carry them in our hearts and pray for them often as they are not forgotten.You can continue to partner with us by giving at NRPUkraine.com 

Christ is returning for a victorious Church. Just as a bride prepares for her wedding—welcoming her guests with care, remaining loyal and resolved in her relationship with her groom, and knowing his heart—so should we, as the Bride of Christ. This is a great picture of the Church.

A pillar resists a downward pressure and anchors for the upward force of wind. God has called us, the Church, to be the pillars of Truth. To be there, we have to be firmly planted in the foundation of Christ.

As leaders, we can demonstrate our confidence in God not based on our personal perfection, but in our response to God and how He works in our lives. Being approved by God through the things we have gone through and our response, that is integrity. When you cut through something that is solid wood, all of the layers are wood. It's the same thing through and through. Integrity is there. Integrity is consistency.

Scripture outlines some core values of a disciple—work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope. Faith is a work; it is something we do. Love is a labor at times, but is also our motivation. And staying steadfast in our hope, that gives God the opportunity to move.

Sanctification is the mark of Christian growth and maturity. It is God's divine empowerment of our will. Not that we rely on our will to not sin, but a yielding of our will to the Holy Spirit.

Increase your capacity with your convictions, competency, curiosity, and connection. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives on increasing your capacity. Convictions override feelings. Increasing your competency will increase your capacity. Curiosity is part of a learning venue. And connection multiplies your capacity.

If you are going to increase your capacity, you have to take advantage of what you already have. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives on increasing your capacity. People tend to complain about what they don't have, but they don't fill up what they do have. The greatest mark of a leader is that a leader leads himself.

Capacity is what you can take hold of, what you can handle. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives. Increasing your capacity doesn't mean you have to get a new talent. It means you have to use the talents you have more effectively. For leaders, the key way to drill down is learning the power of “yes” and “no.” If you say no to the right things, you'll be able to say yes to the right things—that increases your capacity.

How can we say that love never fails? True love, godly love, is always representing Christ. It is being like Jesus. Love never fails because love always honors God. 

There is a pattern in Scripture of a baptizing of the Holy Spirit after salvation through the laying on of hands. In the majority of those times, the evidence of that happening is that they spoke in tongues. We are edified and emboldened when we pray in the Spirit. When we are praying in the Holy Spirit, our spiritual antenna gets pointed in the right direction. 

Angels are still active beings, creative for the purpose of worshiping God. They are not to be used to authenticate spiritual experiences. But they are part of the supernatural and we need to not forget about them. We can call on the Lord to send them to minister to us.

In everything we do, there's this one thing we should always do—forget what's behind us and look forward. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives, the Prize of Leadership. When we look forward and not behind, we can press toward the goal of the prize. If we are pressing forward, the prize is that God will always be calling us to greater things. The prize is God trusting you. The prize is peace, knowing you are obeying God. 

You get stronger when you lift weights. If you run away from any of the pain points in leadership, you won't get stronger in them. You will only get stronger when you press through them. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives, the Pain of Leadership.

Leadership is ministry; it's serving. Today we are pulling an episode from the archives, the Privilege of Leadership. The God of Heaven, the God that spoke the galaxies into existence, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the sender of the Holy Spirit trusts you to do great things in His Name. We need to treat that like it is a privilege all the time.

God wants to release the Holy Spirit through His Church–not just when we are gathered together, but when we are out and about throughout the week. Scripture promises that “these signs shall follow those who believe.” But if there is no believing, there is nothing to follow. When there is nothing to follow, there will be no signs and wonders. Who is the person in your life who is waving their arms because they are open? Pray. Be aware. And then act in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The culture cannot dictate the design that God has for the family unit.The world is ruthless and the standard has been lowered. The enemy wants to take out the masculine definition of protection and providing. We need men who are going to stand up to provide and lead their families. Ask yourself: What do we want our families to look like and are our actions leading to that desired outcome?

If you want to follow Jesus, survival of self is not guaranteed.To follow Jesus, we must be willing to pick up our cross and follow Him wherever He leads. Denial is the reality of courageous men. What you say yes to and what you say no to are the seeds of your destiny. When was the last time you said no to your flesh?

Courage is contagious, when a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others often stiffened. –Billy GrahamFear is a reaction, but courage is a decision. When we make that decision, we need to acknowledge our fears, accept responsibility, and activate a plan of action so that we can move forward in obedience to the Lord.

"Courage is contagious, when a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others often stiffened."–Billy GrahamFear is a reaction, but courage is a decision. When we make that decision, we need to acknowledge our fears, accept responsibility, and activate a plan of action so that we can move forward in obedience to the Lord.

Don't just cut off the giant's head. Display it and testify of what God has done.The enemy would rather steal the seed than chop down the forest. But we can turn the moment into momentum by celebrating what God is doing. When God is doing something, we need to seal it with the word of our testimony.

When you obey God, there is always a blessing from God. But often, obedience yields a negative reward from men. Courage allows us to focus on obedience and standing for Truth instead of focusing on the ramifications of that obedience.

You will repeat what you replay. Who are you listening to? What are you listening to? Are you feeding yourself something that is poisoning you? Fear comes by hearing the word of the devil. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. 

Where have you lost your anointing? Where have you lost your edge? When we aren't doing the things we once did (giving, serving, sharing, pursuing the Lord), we can go back to the point where we lost it and get it back. It may not be easy to get to. But through humility and repentance, we can go back, take responsibility, and pick up that ax head.

The purpose of delegation is not to take something off one person's plate and put it on another person's plate. The purpose is having the right thing on the right person's plate. Delegation is the heart of multiplication.

It's important to know how to have sincere conversations, even if they are uncomfortable. Do remember that each conversation has three people involved—you, the other person, and God. Do ask clarifying questions. Do enter the conversation open-hearted, open-minded, and with open ears. Don't prejudge the conversation. Don't feel like you have to come to a conclusion in that moment. And don't procrastinate. No one likes confrontation, but everyone likes clarification!

We all have a measure of faith and we need to use that faith effectively. Faith comes by the Word. Faith has a confession. Faith has corresponding actions. Faith has an awareness of righteousness.

If you are thinking about yourself, then God is not working through you at that moment. If God has to humble you, it means that you have not been humbling yourself. A humble person doesn't think about me first. A humble person isn't focused on how something impacts them, what they get out of it, or what others will think of them. God loves humility.

How we handle trials shows who we are, but how we handle privilege shows our character even more. We should never come to a place where our privilege stops us from being a servant or being accountable. Serving God is a privilege and that means not taking advantage of every opportunity. 

God's Truth is settled in Heaven. There are no new Truths. There is a lot of weirdness in the body of Christ. Proclaimed revelation needs to be tested. Does it match the Word? Is there an application for the revelation? Is the person carrying the revelation consistent, competent, and do they have character? Is the person open to being critiqued? 

In the midst of the chaos, the brokenness and destruction, there are a group of people in Ukraine who are expanding the Kingdom. Pastor Keith and the team are back from Ukraine. Today he shares with us about that trip.The video and update referenced in today's podcast is up on NRP's social media. You can find it by searching NRPastors.

You cannot be led by the Spirit and be fearful. Often, leaders are led by fear rather than discernment, concern, or stewardship. Fear will not lead us into the future of God. An atmosphere full of faith will lead to equipping and empowering.

Strong is not bad. It's a lot easier to get things done when you have strong horses pulling the wagon. Harnessing and steering them takes a lot less effort than trying to drag someone out of the stable and get them moving.

The Church has grown old because we are missing the “dew” in the youth that God has given us to refresh us. We are waiting on them to mature rather than helping them in the maturity process. We shouldn't count them out by waiting until they are older. We can give them a platform right where they are in their maturity and walk with God. We get to be encouragers, affirmers, and investors in them.

We each play a different role in the next generation's life. A brother or sister connects and understands. A father or mother takes on a teaching role and helps to prepare for what is next. A grandfather and grandmother affirms and encourages.

You can't have a little bit of faith and a little bit of law and hope that will get you through. If your faith isn't in the fact that Jesus took your place and paid the price for your salvation, it's not faith. Faith has been and will always be the means of people being saved.

The purpose of the Jewish nation was to love and worship God in such a way that the other nations would be provoked to serve the Lord. That is the same purpose the Church has–we have the same mission, the same Lord, the same purpose.

You cannot trust two things at the same time. You can't trust Jesus AND your traditions to save you. All have sinned, all need to be saved, and there is no other way to be saved except by the cross.

The book of Jude concludes with five things we need to do when dealing with false teachers causing division in the church: (1) Keep yourself in the love of God, (2) anticipate the increase of the mercy of God in your life, (3) give away some of that mercy, (4) don't be silent, and (5) hate what sin does.

When someone defies the Word of God, when they go their own way, when they are rebellious and cause division in the church, they are not working against you but are working against the Lord. How do we not act like that? Jude instructs us to be responsible to build ourselves up in faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.