Big Moments with God

Paul experienced an extremely big moment with God in his conversion. God revealed Himself in the form of a great light even in the midst of the mid-day sun. In this reveal, Jesus appointed this persecutor, Paul, to be His servant in the spreading of the gospel to all the people. For me, I have not had this overtly big moment as most would see it. But, I have had my big moment, surrounded by smaller moments that keep me moving forward.

In my bible study this morning, I continue looking at spiritual leadership and have come upon the lesson of “Encounters with God”. Henry and Richard Blackaby tell the story of Dwight L. Moody’s big moment and then ask for the review of Paul’s big moment to set the mind looking for your own. After reflection, my big moment was my ordination as deacon to the church. This was not something that I was looking for, nor even expected to come for Lori and me. We had been very active in the church in service from leading the music for worship all the way to leading many classes for children and youth. God wanted more for us and He sent the church to enlist us in that work. And our lives have been filled with the joy of doing His work ever since. From serving in multiple areas in the church to this blog/writing, we continue to impact through the work the LORD has for us.

It is not always the overt big moments that Paul experienced where we have those life changing encounters with God. They may be a bit more subtle and take some reflection to realize they have happened and the worth they have in our lives. I believe that as spiritual leaders, it is important to reflect on the influence of God in our lives to realize those encounters and see the impact. I have to remember to look back at where God revealed Himself to me. I have to look at the condition of my heart and my relationship with Him at the time to get back there to lead me to more opportunities for encounters with Him.

“Spiritual leadership flows out of a person’s vibrant, intimate relationship with God.” – Henry & Richard Blackaby

What are your big moments with God? Are you even aware that you have had them? What if you reflect and find that or those big moments, realize your heart and relationship to Him and get back to that place to experience even more encounters with Him?

Committed or Submitted

Wow, this morning I was hit right in the face with the Word of God. I am not complaining, as I am one of those who need the direct hit as I do not recognize the subtleties as some do. This was just what I needed in my walk with Christ and my aspiration of being the spiritual leader He has for me to be. You see, I have been committed to the LORD for quite a while now, but I have not, at least as I see it, been submitted to Him.

As I read and study this morning in the MasterWork materials, Henry and Richard Blackaby point out five characteristics of God-inspired leadership. 1. Organizational fulfilled promises. 2. Leader affirmation and vindication of reputation. 3. Changed lives of those touched. 4. Recognition of God in the life and agenda of the leader. 5. Recognized as Being Christ-like.

These are characteristics that I am able to pick out over the course of my career, well the first three that is. I have specific events or milestones in my career that I can point to for each of them, and it was not hard or even time consuming to do so. With the final two items, I am not sure that I have or do measure up.

Moses may not have been my or anyone’s first choice to be a spiritual leader. He had not exactly been or led a life of Christ in his younger years. He had to flee his childhood home for killing a man and he was not exactly known to be a great speaker. But, He was a man who was recognized as having and great relationship with God as you could see it on his face.

“²⁹When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” and “³⁵the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.” – Exodus 34:29 & 35 (ESV)

I can see in myself some but maybe not all of the characteristics of God-inspired leadership, but recognized by others as being so, I am not sure.

This is where I was hit in the face this morning. Am I going through the motions of being committed to Christ by doing the work and expecting that is the work I am to be doing. Or, am I submitted to Him and His leadership in my life to be the spiritual leader He would have of me. Where I come from this is that I feel as though with the first three characteristics identified above, I have met the standard, but with the final two, I don’t know. The first three I can find results to count, but the final two are seen by others and I have to ask myself, are they?

The Blackabys as a great question that I am unable to answer; “What evidences of God’s presence in your life are unmistakable?” I am unable to answer this one.

What is your status, committed or submitted? Are you going through the work assigned like a task list? What if you were to take on the five characteristics of God-inspired leadership to ensure that there is evidence of God’s presence in your life and it is unmistakable?

Where Not to Get Influence

When thinking of influence as a spiritual leader, it may be prudent to start with where not to look. In my studying this morning the title of the lesson is: “Illegitimate Sources of Influence”. I am pleased with myself as I immediately thought of more legitimate sources and what those would be. But, I had to bring myself back to the places not to look for the purpose of the validity of my study this morning. According to Henry and Richard Blackaby, the illegitimate sources are; position, power, and personality, and I could not agree more.

When I think about the three illegitimate sources of influence listed by the Blackabys, I see places of very shallow. Two of those can be take away from someone by another person or entity, and personality can be faked to cover some reality in one’s life. Position and power rely more heavily on a fear component to implore others to follow. And when the position or power are gone, there is no other way to get others to do what you would want done.

A question asked by the Blackabys; Whom in your life do you regularly have opportunity to influence? It was not hard for me to make the connection. Those who attend training classes where I am leading. Tom Landry is quoted as saying; “The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.” Now, I am not Tom Landry, but I do believe that I can substitute “trainer” for football coach and “others” for men in the quote and it fits pretty nicely. So as a trainer, I have the opportunity to influence others regularly.

Thinking of the role of trainer, I could use power, position, and/or personality to get others to do the work needing to accomplish. But when I think about it, I am only getting them to do things while I am watching and directing. By using those “illegitimate sources” of influence, I am dealing more in coercion as opposed to influence and the others will simply fall into their own ways once I am no longer around and driving them. So, as I noted above, once the source of influence is gone, the influence itself goes away.

Spiritual leadership depends on the guidance and work of the Holy Spirit to achieve the goal of God’s agenda. The power, position, and personality are His, not mine. I take direction from Him to achieve His goals and not my own. His power, position, and personality will not go away. And as they will not go away, they will continue to provide long after I have gone. My leadership comes from the legitimate source of God.

Where are you seeking your influence? Are you looking to your power, position, and/or personality to influence others? What about when they are gone, what if you were to get your influence from God as He will be here always?

Communicate the Vision, How and What

In my continued study of leadership, and right now spiritual leadership, I have found as noted that the role of the spiritual leader is to communicate the revelation of God. Remembering that vision of the spiritual leader is not his own, but that which is received from the LORD as pertains to His agenda. The next thing to think of is how and what exactly to communicate.

Let’s start with how. In short, communicating the vision, rather revelation of the LORD should be done continually. Think of the old saying, “out of sight, out of mind”. Whereas I am not sure who said it originally, it is very fitting as relates to the vision of any organization, including the church. Too often, a vision is created, stated, and placed on the wall somewhere. For a brief time, there is a laser on the vision (really just because it is new) and then it fades and becomes another forgotten trend of the moment. Those that have staying power and are remembered and worked are those that are mentioned continually. At The Bridge Fellowship (our church), the vision is stated at every service and any time the work of the church is mentioned.

Now, what is it that is communicated. Well, to start with, the words should be stated. It is important for the people to know the words as they do have meaning. And then, once the words are stated, the history, present, and future should be related to the words.

Start with what has been accomplished in the past. Communicate stories of what the organization has done relating to the vision. Pronounce to the organization the wins of yesterday to get us to today. Next, speak of what is being accomplished today. When it comes to the vision and the organization, what is being done right now to live out and work toward that which is found in the vision. And then, show what the future would look like as the vision continues to be accomplished. What does tomorrow’s success present as wins.

Communication of the vision of God is our role, and now we see that there is a method to that communication and not just that it is announced. How and what to communicate present the vision in a way that it is shown to be alive and will remain alive when we are working toward it for the benefit of the Lord. Remember the new definition of spiritual leadership from Henry and Richard Blackaby:

“Spiritual leadership is moving people on to God’s agenda.”

We get there by receiving God’s vision and communicating that vision continually and through stories of the past, present, and future.

How and what are you communicating the vision the LORD has revealed? Are you mentioning it once and then expecting it to find root and grow? What if you were continually speaking the vision and calling our the wins of the past, present, and future to demonstrate how it is alive?

Spiritual Leaders Role with the Vision

Buying in to the revelation of God is where the vision comes to life. But here is the thing with the revelation of God, it cannot be forced upon another. I cannot be given an edict from someone else and expect to carry it out blindly, that is compliance and not commitment or buying in. As I have written based on my study, the buy in comes from our receiving the revelation of God for ourselves and following the will of Him.

The question asked by Henry and Richard Blackaby is this: “How are you helping others grow in their relationship with God?” Well, how are you and what does that mean to the others? For me it is by discipling. First understanding what discipling is and next sharing that with others so they will understand and then share themselves. This is helping others to find the LORD through study and learning and thereby opening them up to receive the revelations of God for their lives.

So, the role of the spiritual leader with the vision is communication. As a spiritual leader, we are to share the gospel and the revelation that we have received. Not to command others to follow us, but to lead others to follow God. Our role is to bring others into the family of God as witnesses for Him, not to convert them, but to allow for God to reveal to them His glory, His agenda, and His will for them.

“¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” – Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)

What do you believe your role to be as a spiritual leader? Are you to deliver and expect all to follow your vision? What if you were to bring the people to God for His glory, agenda, and will to be revealed to them by Him?

How do We Buy In to the Vision

I am sure that most have been part of an organization that espouses some vision of the future. I know that the organizations I have been a part of sure have. The thing is, I am only able to remember and follow really only one of them. All of the others I could not see the benefit to me. I was not bought into the vision as there was nothing in it for me.

Now, the one that I can remember and buy into is the vision of our church. The vision of the Bridge Fellowship in Boerne, Texas is this: “We long to see a gospel movement that reaches every person of the Hill Country and is carried to the ends of the earth.” This vision is derived from the words of Jesus as He ascends to Heaven.

“⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8 (ESV)

Now, how is it that I get behind something that is taken from somewhere else. Well, because it is inspired by God. It is His vision and we are taking it on as ours. It has been revealed to be the work to expand the kingdom of God. I am bringing the gospel to others so that they will have that which I do. I win when my brothers and sisters are there with me. I benefit therefor I am behind it. I buy in thanks to the reward in heaven for my work.

Visions are a dime a dozen and as I have noted above, I have had my share of them. But the visions fade when there is nothing in it for me. It is the revelation that comes from the LORD that drives the work to get behind. Buy in is easy when the benefit is known and understood.

What is your buy in to vision? Do you even know the vision of the organization you are a part? What if you knew the vision was from God and the benefit to you was clear, wouldn’t that be the revelation you would buy into?

Vision or Revelation Which is it for You

As a Christian, I receive my direction from the LORD. As a spiritual leader, I receive my vision from the LORD. That vision comes in the form of revelation. As I read this morning in my MasterWork study of spiritual leadership, I find that, “Vision is something people produce, revelation is something people receive.”

Each of us has work to perform that comes from God. We may not know exactly what the final result of the work will be, but we do know that it brings glory to God. Our role is to do that which is assigned. Notice my words above that the work “comes from God” and we are “to do that which is assigned”. We I look at the difference in vision and revelation from the Blackabys, I really start to understand those words I wrote. I am to do the work assigned, or revealed to me by God for His glory.

“¹⁸Without revelation people run wild,” — Proverbs 29:18a (CSB)

It is possible for people to create a vision that will produce results in this world, and that is what secular leaders are out to achieve, results in this world. But notice the verse above from Proverbs, that it is revelation that should be sought and not vision. The vision may produce the results in this world, but it is like boating without a rudder. There is just wild movements and not able to achieve the ending that the LORD has planned. A lot of work happening, but no lasting heavenly results to account.

As a spiritual leader, I am to “walk closely with the Father” to be “keenly aware of His revelation and are ready to respond in obedience to His initiatives”. It is in this close walk that the LORD will reveal to me His plan for me and my actions to forward His gospel to His glory.

For me it is revelation that I seek and not vision. I am looking to do the work of the Father and look to Him for that work to be revealed.

Where are you getting your direction? Are you creating a vision to carry you forward? What if instead you sought revelation to carry the LORD’s work forward?

Vision: Needed, But From Where is it Coming

It is pretty widely known and accepted that for an organization to move forward, that organization should have a vision of where to go. But, where does that vision come from? According to Henry and Richard Blackaby, it will come from “Duplicating Success, Vanity, Need, Available Resources, Leader-Driven”. A case can be made for each of them, and even as I contemplate each of them, a place to start with a vision can be had from any of them.

The organization needs a north star, if you will, to guide them. A vision can and will do that, but is it leading to the right place, that is the question. Let’s start with “Duplicating Success”. New organizations, will take the success of previous or even alternate organizations and put in place a vision based on that success and model. Where the vision was effective for that organization, it may not be the right vision for the new. Just because it worked once, does not mean that it will work again.

Next, we have “Vanity”. This vision is driven by the one to gain notoriety for himself as the purveyor of the vision. The attitude that “I put this in place and am driving the organization forward” approach. This is an organization, not a sole-proprietorship. There needs to be mass buy-in as opposed to edict from the one.

What about “Need”? Looking at the constituent landscape and determining the need and driving the organization based on that need. What a noble approach, solving the problem in the area. But what about the long term. Seems to me that the organization that seek to meet a specific need, loses focus as the need gets close to being met.

And then we have the “Available Resources”. This is the approach of looking at your organization and seeing what you have at your disposal and working with what you have to drive what you will do. This is not the same as using the resources you have to accomplish your vision, but rather setting the vision based on what you have available.

And finally, from the Blackabys we have “Leader-Driven”. This one to me is where we should be, but it is not one man as the leader providing the vision. Yes, there is one man at the top of the organization, but is the one man the premier authority? Where the motives of the one man may be sound and wholesome, is this the approach of spiritual leadership as designed by God?

Paul knew of the challenges which faced the leaders of the church. He knew that there would always be a tendency for the one to drive the direction of the many. Now there may be the one who is driving, it is not for the one to decide on the direction to go or path to take. It is this “one” who, unless fully dependent and obedient to God, who will decide on the vision based on the five places noted above.

“²⁰Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” – 1 Corinthians 1:20-21 (ESV)

As for spiritual leadership, It is from God where vision should come. We should not be moving on our own accord but should be working toward the goal of the LORD as He provides and directs.

Where is your vision coming from? Are you looking to one of the five places above? What if you were to take your direction from the LORD and allow Him to provide and guide you?

Becoming a Spiritual Leader is a Process

Generally, a newborn does not just get up and start running around as a champion sprinter. First the child must learn to crawl, then walk, and then run. And even in each step, there is time devoted to each to get good at it. Becoming a spiritual leader is similar in that it is a process and one must gain in one and work to get good at it before moving on to the next.

The process starts with our relationship with God. We first accept Him as our Father and work to engage with Him to understand and follow where He would have us go. It is devotion to the LORD that opens our heart and soul to accept Him as our Father and know that whatever He has for us is for our continued development to the achieve the purpose He has for us.

Next, we are put on the path to develop the character needed to take on the role of spiritual leader. It is not an easy path, and it is long. As noted in another of my writings from my study of spiritual leadership, “Spiritual Leadership Takes Time”. There are no shortcuts, and just when you “figure it out” the only thing you figure out is that there is more to learn and the path is even more challenging that originally thought.

Once we have developed the character needed to take on the role of spiritual leader, we will then be entrusted with the role. But, even when we have been entrusted with the role, we are still learning and developing through the experiences we encounter daily. Those experiences will be “both good and bad” as Henry and Richard Blackaby indicate. It takes them both to round us into the spiritual leaders that God has for us to become. Even when mistakes happen, “Wise leaders allow God to make the most of their mistakes.” – Henry and Richard Blakaby.

The thing is, becoming the spiritual leader God has for me to become takes time and experience in the development of my character. Each of those are determined, according to the Blackabys, by my dedication to “trust in God and obedience to God”. Only God can give and grow in me the character He is looking for to take on the role of spiritual leader. I can take comfort in that once He selects me for the role, He will provide all that I will need to accomplish the work that He has set for me to accomplish for His glory.

What is your thoughts on becoming a spiritual leader? Are you of the camp that believes you can just start running with it? What if you knew and understood that becoming a spiritual leader is a process and you were to lean on the LORD to work you through that process?

Spiritual Leadership Takes Time

It is interesting to see people as they are just getting started in a role and how they change over time. Those that learn from experiences, whether those are successes or failures, are those who the greatest movement is witnessed.

As for spiritual leadership, the same is true. Growing in spiritual maturity and into the spiritual leader does not generally come once one is found in the new role. Sure, there is excitement and action taken by the new Christian, but excitement and action should not be confused with maturity and leadership.

Paul’s conversion was a turning point in his life and in the life of the spread of the gospel. It was a dramatic event and had a profound impact on the man, Paul. Yet, as strong a leader he was before his conversion, it would be 10-15 years before he would make his first missionary journey. Again demonstrating that it takes time to grow into spiritual maturity and leadership.

Abraham started his life as a worshiper of the moon, yet was chosen by God to be the father of all nations. It certainly did not happen overnight, for it was 25 years after God told him his wife would give him a son that it actually happened. As Richard and Henry Blackaby write, “Abraham did not being his life as a paragon of faith, but gradually over many years, he developed a mature and deep relationship with God.”

We have to wait and learn from the LORD and devote ourselves fully to Him and He will create in us the spiritual leader we are to become. It is our heart devotion and not just our outward appearances. It is important that we are devoted to the LORD and give all of ourselves to Him and trust that He will provide that which is needed when it is needed.

“⁹For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” – 2 Chronicles 16:9 (ESV)

Asa reigned in Judah and was by biblical account was good;

“2 And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.” – 2 Chronicles 14:2 (ESV)

Yet, as Asa did not give himself fully to God, with His heart, he found himself out of the safe favor of the LORD. He was a leader, yes, but he was not the leader that led with the help and guidance of the LORD, and there He found himself missing out.

Spiritual Leadership takes time and is something to be developed over that time with our heart set on God. We may have been given leadership roles, it is likely that we are not the leaders we are meant to be, yet. We have to now ensure that we have given all of ourselves to the LORD and over time He will make us the spiritual leader He intends for us.

What is your view on becoming a leader? Once you have the role have you somehow arrived? What if you look at it as just the beginning of the journey, devote your whole self to the LORD and allow Him to develop you into the spiritual leader He has in store for you?