by Duane Huck - senior executive, business owner, pastor
·
There are many different ways to define
leadership and there are many different styles of leadership.
· Some leaders are great motivators, others are great teachers or visionaries, most leaders possess all of these abilities to one extent or the other.
· Great leaders know how to engage people and how to get them to work together for the common good of the whole.
· Great leaders have the uncanny ability to inspire greatness in people and help them accomplish more than they ever thought possible.
· Managers focus on the tasks to be accomplished, leaders focus on developing people.
· God is accomplishing his task of redeeming the earth by focusing on developing His people, by helping them grow and mature to become more like His son.
· Believers who embrace the call to leadership are critical in God’s plan of transforming culture. As leaders, we reproduce who we are.
· Dysfunctional, broken executives, managers, parents, teachers,etc. reproduce dysfunctional, broken environments.
· There will be poor attitudes, poor decision making, lack of integrity, lack of accountability, lack of trust.
· But healthy, thriving leaders reproduce healthy, thriving environments. I believe this is true, not only in families and the church, but in businesses as well.
· Leaders that “have the mind of Christ” exhibit good attitudes, make wise decisions, operate with integrity, accountability, and trust.
· Kingdom leaders conduct business with the kingdom in mind. They view every day, every meeting, every encounter as an opportunity to advance God’s kingdom. They understand that every day is another opportunity to release hope into the lives of those they lead.
· In his book, Developing the Leader Within You, John C. Maxwell writes, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.”
· If this statement is true, then then we are all leaders. We all have a measure of influence, whether it is at work, in the home or with our friends.
· Where we spend our time is where we have influence…it’s why we monitor very closely at a very young age who our children’s friends are.
· Who are they spending their time with? Who is influencing them?
· Those of us in business, or in the marketplace, likely spend 25% of our overall time there and roughly 35% of our waking hours there.
· So if leadership is about influence and connecting with others, then leading in the workplace with a Kingdom perspective is imperative if we are going to influence our culture for God’s Kingdom.
· When we look at what the key principles for Kingdom leadership are, I think we need to look no further than what Jesus said were the greatest commandments.
· Matthew 22:36-40New Living Translation (NLT)
· 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
· 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
· If Jesus was able to summarize all of the law in these two commandments, then how we respond to them will impact every area of our lives, including our ability to be effective leaders.
· When we love someone, we are concerned about them, we care about them – Kingdom leaders care about those they are leading.
· Our ability to lead in such a way that we are shaping the culture for the Kingdom of God is solely dependent on our willingness to live out these two commandments.
· And it’s really not our ability, because you and I are not capable of loving people the way Jesus commanded on our own…but rather our willingness to surrender daily to the leading of His Spirit will enable us to do so.
· It’s interesting that Jesus clarified that “loving God with all of our heart, soul, and mind” was the first commandment.
· Jesus’ number one goal while on the earth was to please the Father…to accomplish what the Father had sent him to earth to do.
· As leaders, our number one goal as we lead others should be to lead in such a way that we please the Father, that we honor Him above all else.
· This love that Jesus is referring to is a purposeful commitment to sacrificial action for another.
· It means being fully committed to our relationship with God, to the point that it costs us something – our time, our money, our pride…maybe even our popularity or approval from others.
· If we are to have any chance at being effective Kingdom leaders, the first thing we need to do is make sure our relationship with the Father is in order.
· Great leaders are effective at what they do because of who they are on the inside – in their heart, soul, and mind.
· Great leaders are able to forge healthy relationships in all aspects of their lives – but it starts by having a healthy relationship established with God the Father.
· When our relationship with our heavenly Father is in a healthy state, the outcome of that is Godly character.
· Character is defined as one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual.
· Most, if not all leaders, will face times of crisis when important decisions have to be made…it’s in these times when a person’s character is revealed.
· Adversity is an opportunity for leaders to either choose character or compromise…it’s like coming to a crossroads…which path will you take?
· Will you choose the easy path or the hard one? I believe this is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 7 - Matthew 7:13-14New International Version (NIV)
· The Narrow and Wide Gates
· 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
· Will you make the popular decision…the one that will make you look good or cause you the least amount of grief? Or will you make the RIGHT decision even if it cost you something?
· Notice in these verses, both paths LEAD to somewhere…one to destruction, the other to life.
· Our character is further created every time we make choices – choices that don’t compromise our beliefs, our values, or the moral standard that we carry as an image bearer of God
· Character isn’t just “talking the talk”…action is the real indicator of character.
· Will you do what you say you’re going to do? Every time? Even when it’s not convenient?
· I know a high-level executive who will be talking with those he leads on the phone, and just abruptly end the conversation with “I’ve got to go, I’ll call you right back”. And come to find out in talking with others who know and work for this same executive, he really never does call back. So there’s this general lack of respect by those who work for him.
· Kingdom leaders are men and women of their word. They do what they say they’re going to do when they say they’re going to do it. Now I realize that from time to time things come up and plans change. But in those times we must communicate ahead of time that we can’t keep our commitment and need to reschedule. And we should make it a priority to reschedule whatever it is we are cancelling as soon as possible, not just when we can get around to it.
· We choose whether we are going to have godly character or not. A lot of things in life we don’t get to choose. Where we are born, who our parents are, where we live when we are growing up. But we do get to choose our character.
· In tough situations, will we cop out or dig in and persevere? Will we compromise the truth or stand for it at all costs?
· Taking responsibility as a leader means you come to terms with the fact that, plain and simple, your life affects others…when I make choices as a leader, it not only affects my life, but it also affects the lives of those I’m leading.
· Leaders should always make decisions based on what’s fair, what’s right, and what is best for the overall group they are leading. Making decisions based on what’s best for one individual, either yourself or someone you’re leading, can lead to dissension and lack of trust.
· All leaders make mistakes at some point or other. How you respond to those mistakes is what sets great leaders apart.
· None of us are perfect, nor is perfection a requirement to lead. But growth is. Effective leaders have a hunger to grow.
· They want to become more and more whole spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. They understand that the environments they are called to influence need them to be as healthy as possible in these areas.
· True leadership always involves other people. If there are no followers involved, then you’re not really leading.
· When followers recognize that a leader has flawed character, they will not continue to follow.
· So what are some practical things we can do to improve our character as leaders?
· If character is foundational to our ability to lead others effectively, then we must looks for cracks in this part of the foundation.
· Looks for places or times where you’ve cut corners, compromised, or let others down.
· Look for patterns where the same issue keeps surfacing, an area where you may have a particular weakness. Then ask God and the Holy Spirit to help you in this area.
· If you need to repair some damage done in the past due to flaws in your character, be humble and willing to admit your mistakes. And realize that God’s grace is greater than those mistakes.
· Face your flaws head on and deal with the consequences. Apologize if necessary to those you’re leading. You will gain a tremendous amount of respect from those you’re leading when they see your sincere willingness to admit that you’ve messed up and want to make things right.
· Make a plan that will help prevent you from making those same mistakes and move forward in God’s grace.
· Some leaders are great motivators, others are great teachers or visionaries, most leaders possess all of these abilities to one extent or the other.
· Great leaders know how to engage people and how to get them to work together for the common good of the whole.
· Great leaders have the uncanny ability to inspire greatness in people and help them accomplish more than they ever thought possible.
· Managers focus on the tasks to be accomplished, leaders focus on developing people.
· God is accomplishing his task of redeeming the earth by focusing on developing His people, by helping them grow and mature to become more like His son.
· Believers who embrace the call to leadership are critical in God’s plan of transforming culture. As leaders, we reproduce who we are.
· Dysfunctional, broken executives, managers, parents, teachers,etc. reproduce dysfunctional, broken environments.
· There will be poor attitudes, poor decision making, lack of integrity, lack of accountability, lack of trust.
· But healthy, thriving leaders reproduce healthy, thriving environments. I believe this is true, not only in families and the church, but in businesses as well.
· Leaders that “have the mind of Christ” exhibit good attitudes, make wise decisions, operate with integrity, accountability, and trust.
· Kingdom leaders conduct business with the kingdom in mind. They view every day, every meeting, every encounter as an opportunity to advance God’s kingdom. They understand that every day is another opportunity to release hope into the lives of those they lead.
· In his book, Developing the Leader Within You, John C. Maxwell writes, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.”
· If this statement is true, then then we are all leaders. We all have a measure of influence, whether it is at work, in the home or with our friends.
· Where we spend our time is where we have influence…it’s why we monitor very closely at a very young age who our children’s friends are.
· Who are they spending their time with? Who is influencing them?
· Those of us in business, or in the marketplace, likely spend 25% of our overall time there and roughly 35% of our waking hours there.
· So if leadership is about influence and connecting with others, then leading in the workplace with a Kingdom perspective is imperative if we are going to influence our culture for God’s Kingdom.
· When we look at what the key principles for Kingdom leadership are, I think we need to look no further than what Jesus said were the greatest commandments.
· Matthew 22:36-40New Living Translation (NLT)
· 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
· 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
· If Jesus was able to summarize all of the law in these two commandments, then how we respond to them will impact every area of our lives, including our ability to be effective leaders.
· When we love someone, we are concerned about them, we care about them – Kingdom leaders care about those they are leading.
· Our ability to lead in such a way that we are shaping the culture for the Kingdom of God is solely dependent on our willingness to live out these two commandments.
· And it’s really not our ability, because you and I are not capable of loving people the way Jesus commanded on our own…but rather our willingness to surrender daily to the leading of His Spirit will enable us to do so.
· It’s interesting that Jesus clarified that “loving God with all of our heart, soul, and mind” was the first commandment.
· Jesus’ number one goal while on the earth was to please the Father…to accomplish what the Father had sent him to earth to do.
· As leaders, our number one goal as we lead others should be to lead in such a way that we please the Father, that we honor Him above all else.
· This love that Jesus is referring to is a purposeful commitment to sacrificial action for another.
· It means being fully committed to our relationship with God, to the point that it costs us something – our time, our money, our pride…maybe even our popularity or approval from others.
· If we are to have any chance at being effective Kingdom leaders, the first thing we need to do is make sure our relationship with the Father is in order.
· Great leaders are effective at what they do because of who they are on the inside – in their heart, soul, and mind.
· Great leaders are able to forge healthy relationships in all aspects of their lives – but it starts by having a healthy relationship established with God the Father.
· When our relationship with our heavenly Father is in a healthy state, the outcome of that is Godly character.
· Character is defined as one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual.
· Most, if not all leaders, will face times of crisis when important decisions have to be made…it’s in these times when a person’s character is revealed.
· Adversity is an opportunity for leaders to either choose character or compromise…it’s like coming to a crossroads…which path will you take?
· Will you choose the easy path or the hard one? I believe this is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 7 - Matthew 7:13-14New International Version (NIV)
· The Narrow and Wide Gates
· 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
· Will you make the popular decision…the one that will make you look good or cause you the least amount of grief? Or will you make the RIGHT decision even if it cost you something?
· Notice in these verses, both paths LEAD to somewhere…one to destruction, the other to life.
· Our character is further created every time we make choices – choices that don’t compromise our beliefs, our values, or the moral standard that we carry as an image bearer of God
· Character isn’t just “talking the talk”…action is the real indicator of character.
· Will you do what you say you’re going to do? Every time? Even when it’s not convenient?
· I know a high-level executive who will be talking with those he leads on the phone, and just abruptly end the conversation with “I’ve got to go, I’ll call you right back”. And come to find out in talking with others who know and work for this same executive, he really never does call back. So there’s this general lack of respect by those who work for him.
· Kingdom leaders are men and women of their word. They do what they say they’re going to do when they say they’re going to do it. Now I realize that from time to time things come up and plans change. But in those times we must communicate ahead of time that we can’t keep our commitment and need to reschedule. And we should make it a priority to reschedule whatever it is we are cancelling as soon as possible, not just when we can get around to it.
· We choose whether we are going to have godly character or not. A lot of things in life we don’t get to choose. Where we are born, who our parents are, where we live when we are growing up. But we do get to choose our character.
· In tough situations, will we cop out or dig in and persevere? Will we compromise the truth or stand for it at all costs?
· Taking responsibility as a leader means you come to terms with the fact that, plain and simple, your life affects others…when I make choices as a leader, it not only affects my life, but it also affects the lives of those I’m leading.
· Leaders should always make decisions based on what’s fair, what’s right, and what is best for the overall group they are leading. Making decisions based on what’s best for one individual, either yourself or someone you’re leading, can lead to dissension and lack of trust.
· All leaders make mistakes at some point or other. How you respond to those mistakes is what sets great leaders apart.
· None of us are perfect, nor is perfection a requirement to lead. But growth is. Effective leaders have a hunger to grow.
· They want to become more and more whole spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. They understand that the environments they are called to influence need them to be as healthy as possible in these areas.
· True leadership always involves other people. If there are no followers involved, then you’re not really leading.
· When followers recognize that a leader has flawed character, they will not continue to follow.
· So what are some practical things we can do to improve our character as leaders?
· If character is foundational to our ability to lead others effectively, then we must looks for cracks in this part of the foundation.
· Looks for places or times where you’ve cut corners, compromised, or let others down.
· Look for patterns where the same issue keeps surfacing, an area where you may have a particular weakness. Then ask God and the Holy Spirit to help you in this area.
· If you need to repair some damage done in the past due to flaws in your character, be humble and willing to admit your mistakes. And realize that God’s grace is greater than those mistakes.
· Face your flaws head on and deal with the consequences. Apologize if necessary to those you’re leading. You will gain a tremendous amount of respect from those you’re leading when they see your sincere willingness to admit that you’ve messed up and want to make things right.
· Make a plan that will help prevent you from making those same mistakes and move forward in God’s grace.
The Role of the Prophetic Company in
the Movement of Hope
by Eric Lynch - prophetic gift and teacher
The world is asking:
Job 17:15 -where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?
Romans
8:19-“For the creation waits in eager
expectation for the children of God to be revealed.” In much the same way,
the world is awaiting the manifestations of God’s prophets to release a word of
hope!
The assurance of our
hope:
Hebrews
11:1-Now faith is the assurance of things
hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Before we can have the
assurance of faith, we must first have something we are hoping for. This
requires clarifying what our hope is: 1. What is the vision? 2. What is the
intended goal?
What is a Prophetic
Company:
A prophetic company is a community
of prophets who are members of a local church body or other organization for
the main purpose of providing service, prophecy, and supervision to those they
serve and those under their care.
If you take a moment to reference
the picture attached to this article, you will see that I used a unique looking
photo. The photo depicts a larger circle of people surrounding a smaller, inner
circle of people. A prophetic company can be understood as a shield. It is a
divine force that deflects the attacks of the enemy and demonic activity from
infiltrating, influencing, and touching the lives of those that company of
prophets is assigned to protect.
For example, let’s look at 1 Samuel
19:19-20, which says: "Word came to Saul: 'David is in Naioth at Ramah';
so he (Saul) sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets
prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came
on Saul's men, and they also prophesied." This passage is a clear picture
of how the prophetic company functions as a shield from demonic attack. When
Saul's men came to capture David, you had a community of prophets, organized by
Samuel, ready to confront and thwart the attack on David’s life.
The Role of a
Prophetic Company in a movement of Hope:
Referring back to 1 Samuel for a
moment, I want to point out something very interesting that God showed me. The
very first time we ever see the prophetic company mentioned in scripture is in
1 Samuel 10. 1 Samuel 10:5 records a conversation between Samuel and Saul, and
the Prophet says to Saul: “When you
arrive at Gibeah of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is located, you
will meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They will
be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be
prophesying.” Now, when I researched this passage, I was blown away!
When 1 Samuel 10:5 says that the
band of prophets, “will be prophesying”, the word prophesying didn’t mean
predicting future events, it actually meant that the prophets were singing
praises as a form of prophecy; they were releasing a sound of hope and joy! I
don’t believe it is any coincidence that the very first introduction we have to
the prophetic company commences with a sound of hope being released! According
to 1 Samuel 3:1, “…In those days the word
of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.” However, the prophet
Samuel is a “type” symbolizing prophetics in the New Testament, and his
ministry marks the beginning of a new era in the prophetic—an era characterized
by prophetic companies of hope.
When we look at Isaiah, he was a
prophet of hope, and in Isaiah 43:19 Isaiah prophesies, “See, I am doing a new
thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” A prophetic company is those
who God sends to answer the question Job asked in Job 17:15, ‘where is hope?’
They are the ones God enables to see hope for those who cannot see it
themselves, prophesying it into existence!
Characteristics of the
Prophetic Company in a Movement of Hope:
Ezekiel 37:1-4; 7-12: The hand of the Lord was on me, and he
brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley;
it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great
many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me,
“Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” 4
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear
the word of the Lord! 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was
prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together,
bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin
covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy
to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign
Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that
they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered
them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. 11 Then he said
to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones
are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and
say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to
open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land
of Israel.
Ezekiel 37 is a picture of the
House of Israel that had been scattered and become spiritually dead during the
exile that took place. This passage is a picture of a people with no
probability of hope. So, God sends Ezekiel to this hopeless, dried up, lifeless
people and tells him to prophesy into two main areas: 1. The body, and 2. The
breath. Not only did the bodies and lives of this hopeless nation need to rise
again and be unified, but a refilling of life needed to take place. For what
good is a form that has no life in it?
There are four primary goals and/or elements that characterize the job
of the prophetic company in a movement of hope:
1.
Assemble the body into a unified condition (Eze. 37:7-8).
2.
Provide spiritual covering (Eze. 37:8).
3.
Speak life into the Body of Christ, and all
those who are in a state of hopelessness (Eze.
37:10).
4.
Prophesy
the will of The Lord to bring them into a manifestation of God’s destiny for
their life (Eze. 37:12).
