Leadership
Leadership
Over the last few weeks, as I traveled the country, I have been on a quest for what I would like to call positively outrageous customer service. Being that I am in the service industry, I am always seeking people that can rise above the rest in their ability to serve. Once I find them, I try to ask what pushes them to be the way they are. Almost without exception, they tell me that they follow the lead of their leaders.
That is more profound than you probably realize. I think about Jesus Christ our Lord who knew that his time on earth was limited; and in order to spread his message to the entire world, he had to develop leaders that would push through the obstacles at all cost. Not only did the apostles do a standup job, they also taught others to be leaders as well. Jesus did not go to the finest universities or seek out the royal blue blood of society. He started with ordinary people like you and me. You can start today where you are and with what you have. If you follow the lead of Christ, you can change your life and influence those around you.
You may be saying to yourself right now that you do not want to lead anyone; all you want to do is get by. I say to you that as a child of a loving God, we owe to ourselves to be the best we can be. In order to do that, we have to remove as much negative as possible from our lives. We can’t wait for the oil leak to be capped, or the stock market to go up, or a new administration to come in, or the kids to move away before we start. We cannot wait for external changes before we make internal decisions. I recently read a statement that said “life is 10% about what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” How true that is. The teachings of Jesus Christ are meant to be handed on to those we come in contact. Not so much by preaching as much as by how we carry ourselves. If people see us as bitter, we give them permission to be bitter. If we come across as not caring, how can we expect others around us to care?
I hope you are getting the message I am trying to convey. I always write about ways to make positive changes to your life. Great leaders can be found in all walks of life and I encourage you to seek them out. They are easy to recognize because they have a genuine interest in the well being of others. Great leaders are never self serving because they serve. My challenge to you this week is not only to spot great leaders, but to start developing yourself to lead. If you have never taken the time to read The Acts of the Apostles, make that a goal this week to complete. Jesus set the stage of leadership; now it is up to us to carry it on. The torch is in your hand so you decide to elevate it or extinguish it. Remember we do not pay the price to be a Christian; we fully enjoy the benefits of being a Christian.
Lord, because you have made me, I owe you the whole of my love. I owe you the whole of myself; because you have promised so much. I pray you, Lord, make me taste by love what I taste by knowledge. Let me know by love what I know by understanding. I owe you more than my whole self, but I have no more, and by myself I cannot render the whole of it to you. Draw me to you, Lord, in the fullness of love. AMEN
Dale Childress
Over the last few weeks, as I traveled the country, I have been on a quest for what I would like to call positively outrageous customer service. Being that I am in the service industry, I am always seeking people that can rise above the rest in their ability to serve. Once I find them, I try to ask what pushes them to be the way they are. Almost without exception, they tell me that they follow the lead of their leaders.
That is more profound than you probably realize. I think about Jesus Christ our Lord who knew that his time on earth was limited; and in order to spread his message to the entire world, he had to develop leaders that would push through the obstacles at all cost. Not only did the apostles do a standup job, they also taught others to be leaders as well. Jesus did not go to the finest universities or seek out the royal blue blood of society. He started with ordinary people like you and me. You can start today where you are and with what you have. If you follow the lead of Christ, you can change your life and influence those around you.
You may be saying to yourself right now that you do not want to lead anyone; all you want to do is get by. I say to you that as a child of a loving God, we owe to ourselves to be the best we can be. In order to do that, we have to remove as much negative as possible from our lives. We can’t wait for the oil leak to be capped, or the stock market to go up, or a new administration to come in, or the kids to move away before we start. We cannot wait for external changes before we make internal decisions. I recently read a statement that said “life is 10% about what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” How true that is. The teachings of Jesus Christ are meant to be handed on to those we come in contact. Not so much by preaching as much as by how we carry ourselves. If people see us as bitter, we give them permission to be bitter. If we come across as not caring, how can we expect others around us to care?
I hope you are getting the message I am trying to convey. I always write about ways to make positive changes to your life. Great leaders can be found in all walks of life and I encourage you to seek them out. They are easy to recognize because they have a genuine interest in the well being of others. Great leaders are never self serving because they serve. My challenge to you this week is not only to spot great leaders, but to start developing yourself to lead. If you have never taken the time to read The Acts of the Apostles, make that a goal this week to complete. Jesus set the stage of leadership; now it is up to us to carry it on. The torch is in your hand so you decide to elevate it or extinguish it. Remember we do not pay the price to be a Christian; we fully enjoy the benefits of being a Christian.
Lord, because you have made me, I owe you the whole of my love. I owe you the whole of myself; because you have promised so much. I pray you, Lord, make me taste by love what I taste by knowledge. Let me know by love what I know by understanding. I owe you more than my whole self, but I have no more, and by myself I cannot render the whole of it to you. Draw me to you, Lord, in the fullness of love. AMEN
Dale Childress
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