WORDDEVO: "The Weekly Word with Leadership Principles" [11-25 thru 12-02] DEVOTIONALS

 

Seven Days of Devotion

 The Weekly Word is a Collection of Devotionals to be read on the Day Listed and presented freely as a service to and for the Body of Christ and Believers throughout the World that We may Hear God Speak to us as the Spirit of God gives us ears to hear and eyes to see what God would have for us daily in relationship to Him.

 

Confrontation is one of the toughest tasks of leadership; it takes real courage and is not without risks.

ReadEzekiel 23:36-39.

God told Ezekiel to confront the people of Judah that were being held in exile in Babylon with some tough facts of their past that needed to be dealt with if God was to be honored. Ezekiel uses striking imagery as he tells the story of two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, both prostitutes from their youth who freely gave themselves in detestable acts. Oholah and Oholibah are symbolic names for Israel and Judah who had not been faithful to God but had prostituted themselves by worshiping the gods of other nations. God told Ezekiel that his job as their moral leader was to confront the people and hold them accountable. 

There will be times when every leader must confront destructive behavior on their team. No healthy leader enjoys confrontation but no healthy leader can or should avoid it. Occasionally confrontation may be the most loving thing a leader can do for a teammate. Initially a confrontation may seem negative but effective leaders confront to build others up not tear them down. In fact for a leader to confront a teammate they must care enough for that teammate to challenge wrong behavior. Without relationship and a desire to help a teammate improve most leaders would find it easier to remove the problem than confront a teammate’s conduct. I have found that quite often the most straightforward confrontations are reserved for leaders that care the most.

• Do you struggle with the face-to-face encounters that are challenging because they involve a confrontation? A few things to remember in the process are:
• Determine to value the person even though you must confront.
• Do not assume you both see the situation the same way.
• Don’t come into the confrontation with a loaded verbal rifle intending to shoot to kill.
• Be specific and clear as you describe the issue.
• Listen to the other side of the story and make just judgments based on truth not a pre-determined conclusion.
• Give hope for a resolution if there is in fact any hope of resolution.
• Establish a plan and criteria for restoration and the consequences if no progress is made toward correcting the issue.

 

 

MONDAY

God-honoring leaders will exhibit the courage to address problems whether they are found in the janitor’s closet or the Boardroom.

Read Ezekiel 28:1-10.

When Judah and Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians as part of God’s judgment many of the counties around Judah were joyful. Their pride swelled in their god to see the God of the Jews dishonored when His city and His temple were destroyed. God instructed Ezekiel to prophesy concerning His punishment of these nations because of their hatred of the Jews and Him as their God. One of the nations that Ezekiel prophesied against was Tyre, maybe the richest, safest nation in the entire Near East. 

The city of Tyre consisted of a mainland metropolis and a small Island that stood about half a mile offshore. The prophecy mentioned in Ez. 26:14 found its fulfillment regarding mainland Tyre under Nebuchadnezzar. Three years after Ezekiel’s prophecy Nebuchadnezzar moved in and besieged the ancient city of Tyre. He attacked the mainland city and held it besieged for about thirteen years. He then marched into the city to find it nearly deserted. The Tyrians had abandoned the mainland and fortified themselves on the Island of Tyre. The mainland was over-run and defeated, and walls and buildings were torn down and the entire city left in ruins.

It is one thing for a leader to have the courage to take on problems that have a negative effect on all involved but Tyre was a nation of merchants and sea traders. Tyre was a center of commerce and home of the rich and famous. If Tyre was destroyed it negatively affected the economy of virtually every country. When Ezekiel prophesied against Tyre he needed the courage to state facts from God that were unpopular to every powerful leader.

God-honoring leaders exhibit great courage by addressing problems no matter where they are or who is involved. This level of courage comes from firm convictions and strong core values concerning right and wrong. Like Ezekiel, wise Christian leaders establish these core values based on God’s leading and Word. It would be a shame to miss the key word in verse 10 that gave Ezekiel his courage to state truths even concerning powerful, popular nations, “I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

When in a position to make a difficult decision do you seek God’s wisdom or rely primarily on your experience or what will give you the best benefit and cause you the least grief? Tyre was a godless nation, but they provided a great service and were of great benefit to all the nations that surrounded them. It would have been much easier from a human standpoint to simply leave out the prophecy about Tyre, but Ezekiel’s convictions came from God and with that truth he had the courage to act on those convictions

 

 

 TUESDAY

Whether leaders do good or evil, God is the one who allows them to have influence and He will either sustain them in that position or remove them from that position.

Read Ezekiel 30:20-26.

God had allowed Egypt superpower status for centuries. Egypt had taken in and assisted God’s chosen leader Jacob and his family back in the day but when a Pharaoh came into power that did not know the great leader Joseph, Jacob’s son, they enslaved the tribes of Jacob and kept them that way until God used Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. Even when God removed His people from Egypt and settled them in the land He had promised them, He did not take the superpower status from Egypt. Now, through the prophet Ezekiel, God is sending a message that Egypt will be become helpless before His appointed enforcer the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. Their days of superpower status were finished. 

According to Psalm 75:6-7, “No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges; He brings one down, He exalts another.” God orchestrates the rise and fall of the world’s superpowers. God will raise up one leader and God will remove another. God’s support is the ultimate qualification for leadership. God’s Word says that whether a leader is good or evil, He is the one that puts them in positions of power and He can sustain them there or He can remove them.

God’s direction concerning who has influence is not only true of the world’s greatest, most powerful leaders this is true for every leader. So, who are the people God raises up to be leaders? The Bible is full of examples and those God chooses are not always the most obvious choice. God chose Moses to lead the people out of Egypt when he was 80 years old, exiled from his homeland and working as a shepherd. God chose David to be the next king of Israel when he was just a boy before any of his family saw his potential. Jesus chose several fishermen and some social misfits to be His disciples and eventually lead the early church and He chose them over the brilliant theologians and religious leaders of the day.

God isn’t looking for human strength or degrees or experience, He is looking at the human heart. Skills, intelligence, and hard work may all be part of a leader’s package but in the final analysis those are not the criteria God consistently shows us through His Word. Whatever else qualifies a person for leadership, no one is qualified for greatness, by God’s standards, until their heart is ready.

What are you depending on to either give you more influence or to keep the influence you have? Are you stressed out that you won’t get the position you desperately seek or that you will be removed from the one you have because this quarter’s numbers are down? Do you want to be more relaxed and find security in your position? Ezekiel reminds us that it is God who determines who will lead and for how long. Leaders who bow to God’s sovereignty can be more relaxed about their promotion or their security in their current position.

Daniel 2:21 “He (God) changes times and seasons; He sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”

 

WEDNESDAY

Leaders can take on a dangerous kind of pride when they accept credit for what God is doing.

Read Ezekiel 31:1-18.

Ezekiel tells us that on June 21, 587 BC God asked him to write His words about the upcoming fall from power of Egypt. Ezekiel used an allegory comparing Egypt to a cedar tree that had grown more massive (powerful) than all other trees (nations) because it was nourished by the rich soil along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. They were being judged and would fall from power because the Pharaoh took credit for their lofty position and in his pride usurped God’s glory. Egypt was handed over to Babylon who is described in verse 12 as “…the most ruthless of foreign nations.” 

Chapter 31 is a powerful reminder for today’s leaders. When leaders accept credit for what God did through them, they will develop pride and according to Proverbs 8:13 the Lord hates pride and arrogance. A prideful leader’s haughty attitude ignores the fact that God positions each leader where He wants them for a specific purpose.

Leadership gives leaders a god-like function when they exercise control over the lives of others. Today’s leaders live in a time when people are more inclined to give them the credit for their power and influence than see it as a gift from God. When people respond to a leader’s influence as if it were created and sustained by the leader’s own actions, leaders can easily take on a self-pride that ignores God. That kind of pride puts a leader in a dangerous position where the next step is to steal God’s glory for their own.

Have you found yourself depending less on God and more on your own instincts as you make decisions? Do you believe you should receive recognition for certain achievements and become frustrated if you don’t? Have you started to ignore the leadership gifts of other leaders in your organization and started overreaching in the decision-making process? These are all signs of a pride that lacks trust in God’s sovereignty and demonstrates a core belief that everything depends on you. Wise leaders consistently look for signs that their pride is out of balance with their dependence on God and humble themselves in prayer, seeking forgiveness from the sovereign God.

 

THURSDAY

God holds leaders accountable as a watchman to warn their team when they drift from God’s standards.

ReadEzekiel 33:1-9.

God had established a remnant of Jews from the nation of Judah in Babylon. Even though they were captives exiled in Babylon their lives had been spared and they had been allowed to establish community. Ezekiel was assigned by God as their prophet to bring His words directly to the people. 

In today’s verses God spoke to Ezekiel concerning his responsibility to warn the people he was assigned to as a watchman. If Ezekiel was faithful to fulfill his leadership responsibilities and the people changed their actions they would be spared and Ezekiel would be innocent before God. If he warned them and they ignored the warning they would die for their sin but Ezekiel would be innocent. If he failed to warn them and the people died for their sin unwarned, Ezekiel would be held responsible for their death.

The words God spoke to Ezekiel indicate that the responsibility of Christian leaders to give moral leadership to their team is a major part of how God evaluates their faithfulness. When Christians accept the assignment to be a leader and God allows them influence over people, that leader accepts the obligation to be a watchman for God. If that leader sees moral drift or outright moral rebellion, sounds the trumpet clearly to warn their team, and takes every possible action to insure they are part of the solution not part of the problem, they will be innocent before God. If the watchman-leader fails to warn their team, God will hold the watchman-leader accountable for the lives lost. WOW – what a sobering truth concerning a leader’s responsibility!

The watchman role tends to be easier when you are leading in a Christian organization and the team has common core beliefs but quite another thing when your team is made up of individuals who don’t accept the Christian values as a standard. When I was leader of a Control Data Corp research and development project and when making films for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association with a mostly non-Christian crew, this job of watchman took some major effort. Each situation was different, and yours will be too, but God will give wisdom when a leader truly seeks to do His will and fulfill their responsibility in this area. The one piece of advice I can give for all situations is to lead by example.

Have you seen moral drift within your team? Have you allowed it to grow without confrontation? Have you tended to ignore your responsibility of watchman-leader because of its difficulty based on the lack of common values? Wise leaders don’t ignore their responsibilities as God’s watchman and effective leaders understand that their team will pay close attention to their actions as a leader.

 

FRIDAY

God raises up leaders to nurture their team.

Read Ezekiel 34:1-16.

At the end of chapter 33 God has Ezekiel explain the fall of Jerusalem to the Jews living in exile in Babylon. Inchapter 34 God uses an analogy of a shepherd to describe how leaders in Jerusalem had abused those entrusted to their care. Their actions were part of the problem that led to the destruction of Jerusalem. In verses 11-16 the Lord of Israel explains how He leads the people as the Great Shepherd and gives leaders today a model for care of those entrusted to them: 

• God rescues the scattered sheep (v. 12). A rescue by definition is to save someone from a harmful situation i.e. to rescue a failing factory. In today’s world this may mean a confrontation or exhortation to those teammates that have strayed from moral behavior or who have become slothful. This involves insuring the policies and procedures are applied fairly to all employees without favoritism as the team is held accountable.
• God promises to gather His people from hostile nations and feed His people (v. 13-14). This has to do with the leader caring for his team. It is providing a safe workplace, fair wages, and creating an environment where people can work with a relaxed spirit rather than constantly being on their guard to protect themselves.
• God promises to be a leader with personal involvement (v. 15). A leader does not do every job or micro-manage how leaders lead but they must take responsibility to insure God-honoring organizational core values are understood and implemented in the workplace.
• God strengthens the weak (v. 16). A leader can’t create a healing hospital for every sad case or dissatisfied individual in the job market or the organization will collapse under the weight of people’s demands, but neither should an employer layoff or fire good employees who are currently struggling with issues or attitudes. In the ebb and flow of life some teammates will fail and need help to rebuild. In the last half of verse 16 God condemned those powerful individuals that would push them out or take advantage of them for personal gain.

Each of these actions involves concern for those under a leader’s influence and they require relationship. Savvy leaders understand the better their relationship with their team the more effective they can be in their role as shepherd-leader. The relationships described in verses 11-16 will benefit all that are involved in them.

SATURDAY

Leaders must manage conflict to develop teamwork among those on their team. Read Ezekiel 37:15-28.

This Messianic passage describes God’s ideal for what leadership is to accomplish. Ezekiel enacts a symbol. Two sticks, representing the southern and northern kingdoms of Israel (Judah and Joseph being the chief tribes, respectively), are joined to form one stick, symbolizing the unity of the nation of Israel on its return to the homeland. These verses contain several references to peace and unity. Tribes that butted heads often during Israel’s history will have their conflict end. When conflict management works as it will in the Messianic Kingdom tensions are released, there is mutual understanding, and teamwork flourishes. 

Until the Messianic Kingdom is established it is certain that every leader will face conflict. The question for today’s leaders isn’t how to entirely avoid conflict but how to best manage it.

A few ideas that when properly applied will assist leaders in managing conflict:

• Don’t ignore the problem.
• Create an environment where people are allowed to work through their issues one-on-one.
• If the one-on-one has failed tackle the problem head on.
• Enter the process quickly.
• Go to the parties involved and address the issues face-to-face.
• As much as possible and as long as possible avoid involving a fourth person as this can lead to choosing up sides or lobbying for others support rather than addressing the issue.
• If all efforts have failed bring in “professional” help making it clear their involvement is for the purpose of bringing about reconciliation.
• If the conflict persists and reconciliation cannot be reached, you as the leader will need to impose a solution i.e. separation or transfers, or outright release of one or both.

Until the Messiah establishes His kingdom conflicts can’t be avoided. But they can be managed. The wise leader will be devoted to learning how to do that.

 

 

THE WEEKLY WORD WITH LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES

Can be found here:

 

http://theweeklywordleadershipprinciples.blogspot.com/

 

WORDDEVO: "The Weekly Word with Leadership Principles" [11-18 thru 11-24] DEVOTIONALS

 

Seven Days of Devotion

 The Weekly Word is a Collection of Devotionals to be read on the Day Listed and presented freely as a service to and for the Body of Christ and Believers throughout the World that We may Hear God Speak to us as the Spirit of God gives us ears to hear and eyes to see what God would have for us daily in relationship to Him.

Do you feel your situation is hopeless

and your team will never respond?

Even the best leaders are unable to turn some situations around.

Read Ezekiel 14:12-23.

The Lord came to Ezekiel when he was speaking to the elders of Israel exiled in Babylon and gave him a message of condemnation for their ongoing practice of idolatry. God named three of His best from their Jewish history including Daniel, a very familiar one who was a well-known leader during the exile, and stated that even they would not have been able to save this rebellious people from themselves. Even though all three were full of integrity, character, and discipline, totally competent and responsible to do the right thing; God says even they could save only themselves because the people would not listen to them. 

Leaders are designed by God to do what they do – lead! If their team is not responding they assume that the application of more leadership, closer supervision, more and closer checkpoints to monitor progress, seeking different counsel, or a myriad of other techniques will help them gain momentum and bring a situation under control, and generally it does. But, there are times, according to Ezekiel 14, when people’s hearts become so hard that no leader can succeed.

I have seen times when a leader has had their head down for days, months or years looking inward because they could not get a team to respond. Truth be known, no leader could turn some of these teams around. It should and generally does take an experienced leader, who has seen success, a long time to give up on trying to turn a situation from chaos to productive but according to Ezekiel, there may arise a situation where people won’t change. In Matthew 10 when Jesus sent His team out to various towns and gave them supernatural authority over the spirit world and disease and sickness, Jesus told His team there would be a time they may have to leave a town or individuals that were hard hearted (v 14).

Do you feel your situation is hopeless and your team will never respond? Do you think it may be time to move on for your own sanity and self-preservation? Today’s study contains elements that can be tricky. Leaders’ emotion to the lack of success can convince them they are in an impossible situation and should leave. That may be true or like with Joseph in the Bible, God may have you in a specific situation for a period of development for greater things in the future. If there is ever a time for a leader to seek the heart and wisdom of God it is when they are determining to give up on an individual or a team. Wise, God-honoring leaders pray they stay in God’s will, seek God’s wisdom, pray for discernment and don’t make emotional, rash, knee-jerk decisions when it comes to giving up on a team.

Psalm 94:14 “For the Lord will not reject His people; He will never forsake His inheritance.”

MONDAY

Are you experiencing a high rate of turnover

among the senior leadership?

A leader will attract like minded individuals.

Read Ezekiel 16:23-29.

God delivered a strong message of condemnation of the city of Jerusalem through Ezekiel to the Jews exiled in Babylon. It was meant to dash the hopes of those who still had dreams of returning to their homeland and once again living in the glorious city of Jerusalem. Through Ezekiel God explains to the people the many ways those living in the city had broken their covenant with Him and just why Jerusalem would be destroyed. Verses 23-29show how the attitude of the religious elite in Jerusalem toward honoring the gods of other nations had given rise to construction of images of pagan gods in public areas of the city and had attracted worshipers of the gods from Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. 

Leaders establish the organizational climate that attracts or repulses certain kinds of individuals. This is a law of behavior that functions as surely as the law of gravity. I have seen times when, for appearance, a leader desired to have people on their team with God-honoring core values. They sought out those kinds of individuals and hired them but there was high turnover. They could hire God-honoring individuals but they couldn’t hold them because their inner-hidden-deeper-secret core values were not God-honoring but self-serving. I have seen other times when an individual desired to work for an organization because of their great reputation and managed to gain employment there but soon left because they really had no desire to live under God-honoring core values.

A leader’s defined values are like a GPS unit that electronically controls the rudder of a ship; once values are established, if there is any change of an organization’s behavior consistently violating those established values, a leader’s internal alarms go off and the leader takes action to steer the organization back on course. When the leader and team have the same values the team functions well together in the midst of this value course correction; when the leader and a team member have different values there is frustration and a questioning of the reason for change. Team members tend to stay with leaders and organizations that function in unity and tend to leave when major philosophical differences continue to be the order of the day.

Has your team been put together based on needed skills but ignoring individual defined values? Are you experiencing a high rate of turnover among the senior leadership based on philosophical differences? Wise leaders understand that when they live by specific values they will attract individuals that have the same core values and repulse those of different core values.

 

 TUESDAY

Are justice and fairness hallmarks of your leadership?

Leaders will be held accountable by God for how they deal with justice and fairness in their leadership.

ReadEzekiel 16:49-50.

While Ezekiel, speaking for God to those exiled in Babylon, was describing the ways Jerusalem had offended God he makes some comparisons to other cities God had destroyed for their evil practices. One of those cities the Jewish people in Ezekiel’s audience knew well was Sodom because it was directly tied to the father of their faith, Abraham, and his nephew Lot. Of all of Sodom’s sins (Genesis 19), notice which ones God singled out. Their arrogance and self-centeredness brought about a failure to use power and resources that gave justice to the poor and needy. 

If after honest self-evaluation of the core values a leader admits their heart desires power, wealth, or fame more than anything else, it will be impossible for that leader to be a leader who strives for justice. When a leader’s focus is on self, justice and fairness rarely advance their cause.

Justice is a by-product of the pursuit of God and the pursuit of God is the antithesis of putting self first. God’s prophet Zechariah, when writing to Israel’s religious leaders, addressed justice and mercy as elements that are irreplaceable in the foundation of moral leadership. Zechariah said, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other’” (Zechariah 7:9-10). Even a leader’s religious observances are of little value if the community has no concern for social justice.

Real justice involves the application of power and influence to other-centered concerns. This kind of justice is counter-intuitive and only appears when a leader has Christlike attitude toward self and others. According toPhilippians 2:3-4 a leader should “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Are justice and fairness hallmarks of your leadership? Do you struggle to be fair? If when you look back over your decisions in the last 12 months you can see your track record would not pass God’s tests for justice, seek God’s wisdom and guidance to make changes that make justice a mainstay of your leadership. According to Proverbs 16:11-12tlb, your right to lead depends on being just and fair: “The Lord demands fairness in every business deal. He established this principle. It is a horrible thing for a king (a leader) to do evil. His right to rule depends upon his fairness.”

 

WEDNESDAY

Do you have situational leadership skills?

The best leaders assess every situation and respond appropriately.

Read Ezekiel 18:1-32.

The Jewish people used a proverb that said the next generation would suffer the consequences for the actions of the current generation. Ezekiel was directed to tell the people that this proverb will no longer be used by the people. The goal was to let the people living in exile in Babylon know that if they lived a God-honoring life they would flourish as a people even though their relatives living in Judah were still in rebellion against God. Ezekiel was to make it clear that God looked at each specific situation and it was their own actions that would determine their blessing or curse not the actions of the generation before. Chapter 18 makes it clear that God discerns each individual situation and responds appropriately for each situation. 

Situational leadership is not easy. Every leader develops patterns and instinctively reacts from those patterns. Situational leadership requires a leader to use their discernment and to do the work to gather accurate information on the current information. The leader cannot act or react on a desire or whim but must determine a specific intelligent action plan based on this situation. Effective leadership is driven by the situation and what the team needs to do this time around. Situational leadership requires watching, listening and investing time and energy to analyze the facts as they are. Wise leaders don’t throw out the lessons of experience or stop listening to their gut instincts but rather selectively apply them based on their discernment of specific needs for this current situation.

When a new situation arises are some of your first thoughts “we have never done it that way”? Do you have a pattern of reacting to new situations with solutions used in earlier days? Have you seen limited success with new situations from your first actions and consistently having to revise the plan after an initial failure? These are signs that you are not an accomplished situational leader.

Since life is full of unexpected circumstances and situational twists the wise leader takes the time to develop situational leadership skills. Just as Ezekiel told the Jewish people living in Babylon that God would handle each situation based on its merits and would not judge the son for the father’s crimes, effective leaders are very intentional to handle each situation on its own merits.

 

THURSDAY

Have you found yourself without self-control in various situations?

If leaders can’t rule themselves they can’t rule others.

Read Ezekiel 19:1-14.

Ezekiel wrote an allegorical lament in chapter 19 concerning the princes of Israel. He pictured them as out of control roaring lions that were eventually caught in a net and taken into captivity. Because none of them had the self-discipline to rule themselves they were removed from leadership and not allowed to rule others. 

Self-discipline is the ability to do what is necessary or sensible without needing to be urged by somebody else even when the assignment is unpleasant. Self-discipline is one of the fruits of the spirit and generally leaders who can demonstrate self-control are productive, dependable, influential leaders. When a leader develops self-discipline they apply it to all areas of their life and it is as beneficial in their home and social life as it is in the workplace. Self-discipline affects productivity, financial accountability, physical fitness, the ability to stick to a strategy or task and a hundred other areas of our life.

Anyone who has served in the military understands that consistent training can develop self-discipline. During my time in the Marine Corp we were trained to be so self-disciplined that we would move under fire at significant personal risk on command no questions asked. None of the guys I served with would have considered such an idea practical prior to our training but because of the repetitious training to control our emotions, trust our leader, and respond to instruction in any given situation; after just a few months we developed self-control that dominated our decisions even when we were in harms way.

Have you found yourself without self-control in various situations? Do you seem to give up easily when the physical or emotional job conditions become extremely difficult? According to Ezekiel this lack of self-control could eventually remove you from leadership. Effective leaders identify the habits they need to change to be self-disciplined and find ways to build them into their life so they can lead with diligence. Self-control isn’t a “just add water” kind of fix. It will take work but the wise leaders know disciplined habits will give them the momentum they need to not only move forward, but also to live their life with strength and purpose.

FRIDAY

Do you have an ever growing awareness that you are accountable to God?

Every leader, no matter their understanding or belief in God, will ultimately be accountable to Him.

ReadEzekiel 21:1-23.

God had Ezekiel prophesy that He would bring a destroying force against Judah. His intention was to use Babylon, a pagan nation, to fulfill His judgment against Judah by having Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attack Jerusalem, the capitol city of Judah. The great Babylonian king was God’s instrument and he didn’t even know it. Even leaders who fail to acknowledge God’s existence are ultimately accountable to Him. 

In its most basic form accountability is simply being responsible to somebody or for something. In a world where virtually everyone desires the freedom to be accountable only to himself, every created being, whether humans or angels, are accountable to God. Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful individual in the known world and was treated like a god by the people of Babylon and every nation he captured. Yet in verses 18-23, God directed his path to set up siege ramps against Jerusalem, gave him an assignment to take the city with his sword, and held him accountable for the results.

The mind and ways of God are hard to interpret. God’s judgments are beyond human investigation and understanding. He does not consult with any leader and He does not explain Himself to any leader. Rather, it is every leader’s responsibility to trust Him and submit to His purposes. This is true whether a leader understands where God is leading them or not.

In today’s world where people want to make truth relative to current circumstances, understanding and interpretation, the real truth of the Bible is that every knee will bow before God and “each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). Christian leaders must have an ever-growing awareness that “…we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” 2 Corinthians 5:10.

Hebrews 4:13 “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

SATURDAY

God-honoring leaders will stand in the gap for their team.

Read Ezekiel 22:1-31.

Through Ezekiel God describes the leaders in Judah and Jerusalem. They oppressed and destroyed those God had given them influence over. God contrasts that in verse 30 with the kind of leader he is looking for that will “stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land (and the people) so I would not have to destroy it.” Because there were no leaders who were not self-serving, God brought judgment on the entire nation of Judah. 

In his study notes in the Maxwell Leadership Bible John Maxwell lists 10 traits of leaders God affirms:

1. Consecration: They set themselves apart and remain committed to their call.
2. Discipline: They do what is right even when it is difficult.
3. Servanthood: They model a selfless life, lived for the benefit of others.
4. Vision: They see what God sees and live off the power of potential.
5. Compassion: Love for their cause and their people moves them to action.
6. Trustworthiness: They keep their word regardless of what others do.
7. Decisiveness: They make good decisions in a timely manner.
8. Wisdom: They think like God thinks and avoid impetuous moves.
9. Courage: They take risks for what is right.
10. Passion: They demonstrate enthusiasm for their divine calling.

When your team comes under scrutiny from senior management is your first instinct to stand in the gap and defend your team’s actions or is your very first instinct to protect yourself and toss them under the bus? If your first thought was to protect yourself rather than stand in the gap for your team, your attitude would disqualify you from being counted with the leaders God called for in verse 30. The good news is there is time to change should you sense the conviction that you are wrong. The list above from John Maxwell can become your vision targets for change.

THE WEEKLY WORD WITH LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES

Can be found here:

 

http://theweeklywordleadershipprinciples.blogspot.com/

 

WORDDEVO: "The Weekly Word with Leadership Principles" [11-11 thru 11-17] DEVOTIONALS

 

Seven Days of Devotion

 The Weekly Word is a Collection of Devotionals to be read on the Day Listed and presented freely as a service to and for the Body of Christ and Believers throughout the World that We may Hear God Speak to us as the Spirit of God gives us ears to hear and eyes to see what God would have for us daily in relationship to Him.

 

 

Are you being asked to lead in changing situations?

Written by Barry-Werner

 

Effective leaders adapt their leadership to their followers’ needs. Read Ezekiel 3:8-9.

In Ezekiel chapter two and the early part of chapter three, God told Ezekiel that the people he was being sent to would not listen to his words. Even though they spoke the same language and had clear understanding of his examples because of a common background, their hearts were hard and they did not want to hear from Ezekiel because they did not want to hear from God. For this reason God told Ezekiel that he was preparing him to lead in this specific leadership situation by making him unyielding and as hard as the people he was asked to lead.

Effective Christian leaders allow God to shape them into the kind of leader they need to be to meet the needs of their team in a specific situation. They must maintain godly character and God-honoring core values but they must not get stuck on one style of leadership or mode of operation. Effective leaders adapt their leadership to meet the needs of their team. There are elements that help a leader evaluate the type of leadership they must apply for the existing situation:

• Is the team losing momentum, static, or making forward progress?
• What is the team’s attitude? Are they open to change? Do they want to set checkpoints and achieve milestones or is there resistance, fear of failure or maybe even fear of success?
• Will the team take instruction based on positional authority or do they resist and mistrust positional authority?
• Is the team the right team? Do they have the gifts and skills needed to accomplish the organization’s goals?
• How urgent is change? Is there some time to evaluate the situation and team or does the situation require an “instant” fix to save the organization?• Does the organization possess the resources to support a highly efficient team or does infrastructure need to be built along with the team’s growth?• Am I the right leader for the job?

Have you been given a new assignment or have the organization’s goals changed creating a new situation in which you are being asked to lead? Situational leadership is not easy. It demands a leader’s attention to evaluate the situation and the team’s conditions. Wise leaders know that when they adapt their leadership to meet the situation in which God has placed them, it will be time well invested and time that will pay dividends.

  

MONDAY

Can you answer your team’s questions about the vision?

 

An effective leader uses whatever tools are at their disposal to communicate vision to their team. Read Ezekiel 4 and 5.

Ezekiel’s job was clear. Make the Jewish people who were living in captivity in Babylon aware that God had additional punishment in store for their friends and family still living in Jerusalem. He had to dash their hopes of returning and help them understand why all this was happening.

Ezekiel’s unusual actions were probably the talk of the entire population. He communicated God’s message for the future of Jerusalem and a message of what life in Jerusalem would be like under a Babylonian siege through physical actions and demonstrations. When dialog and word pictures fail a leader may have to live out the vision to help communicate it clearly and effectively to their team.

True visionary leaders often see elements that are a bit overwhelming to their teammates. This feeling of weakness generally turns out to be a strength. If the team does not at least initially feel they are in over their heads there may be no spark of excitement, no challenge to push beyond the status quo.

Wise leaders help their team accept the overwhelming vision by answering a few questions:

• Who will ultimately accept responsibility to complete the vision?
• Is there some evidence that the vision is legitimate? You need to help the team overcome their skepticism.
• What is the hope that the project can succeed? People have seen too many projects that simply turned out to be disappointing and embarrassing. People eagerly desire to invest their time and effort in a successful venture.
• Can the team find enough belief in the leader? If there is a track record of one failed over-the-top vision after another it will be difficult to communicate a new vision to the team.
• Will the team’s legitimate concerns be addressed? When a concern requires faith and trust address it with honesty so the team knows what they are getting into.
• Can you give the team a reason to get past their doubts? Allow them to see the ultimate reward.

Wise leaders find ways to communicate vision. Sometimes that is straight forward and other times, as it was with Ezekiel, it may take extraordinary methods.

 

 TUESDAY

Are you prepared to be judged for your ethical standards?

 

God deals with leaders based on the standard they use to deal with others. Read Ezekiel 7:27.

As Ezekiel gave God’s word in detail concerning the demise of Jerusalem to the Jewish people living in Babylon, he had a special message for the leaders. He stated in verse 27, “I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them.”

What a principle to encourage every leader to lead with high God-honoring standards and ethical character. God isn’t impressed by a leader’s highly developed skills if that same leader has defective character. Only through their character can a leader participate in God’s divine nature and escape corruption.

This is such an important principle that when my son graduated from high school and had an opportunity for a football scholarship at one or more impressive schools, my advice to him was to evaluate a school for three elements in this order:

• Look for a God-honoring environment on the campus.
• Look for a school that has quality academics.
• Look for a quality athletic program.

The natural temptation for a student athlete is to look at the athletics first, the academics second and the school’s “character” environment third (maybe fourth if you throw cheerleaders in the mix). I have met individuals that graduated from Ivy League schools with impressive credentials and great knowledge and skills whose lives were a mess from lifestyle problems developed during their college years. These leaders are setting themselves up for a harsh judgment according to verse 27.

Have you functioned at a lower moral and ethical standard than you want to be judged by when you stand before the Lord? Through Ezekiel, God makes it abundantly clear that the leaders will be judged according to their conduct and by their own standards. Wise leaders will learn from Ezekiel’s words to the Jewish people living in Babylon.

Matthew 7:2 “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

 

WEDNESDAY

 

In your heart where only you know you, do you sense that you lack integrity? 

 

A leader without integrity is a dangerous person. Read Ezekiel 8.

God had directed Ezekiel to prophesy stern judgments on Jerusalem. In Chapter eight he was transported to Jerusalem in visions from God and shown the reason for the judgments. God showed Ezekiel scene after scene of idol worship in the temple built to worship Him and Him alone. In the vision, within the temple itself, Ezekiel saw people worshiping a statue of Asherah, the Canaanite goddess of fertility that King Josiah had removed 30 years earlier, he saw crawly things that reflected Egyptian influence, Tammuz a Babylonian fertility god, people worshiping the sun and in verses 12 and 13 he saw 70 elders each worshiping at the shrine of his own idol.

It is interesting that in Ezekiel’s vision he saw leaders (elders) worshiping their idol in the darkness. God was showing Ezekiel that the leaders demonstrated one behavior in the daylight when the people of Jerusalem observed them but demonstrated another behavior in private. God wanted Ezekiel to communicate to his countrymen that by living double lives these leaders lacked the integrity demanded by God to serve as His leader. A leader (an elder in Ezekiel’s case) who is convinced that God does not see their behavior at all times is a dangerous person.

Just how important is integrity to leadership? Richard Baxter, an English “Pastor to Pastors” on page 63 of the book The Reformed Pastor said, “Take heed to yourselves, lest your example contradict your doctrine, and lest you lay such stumbling-blocks before the blind, as may be the occasion of their ruin; lest you unsay with your lives, what you say with your tongues; and be the greatest hinderers of the success of your own labors…He that means as he speaks, will surely do as he speaks.”

Every leader has an opportunity to demonstrate consistent behavior that supports their beliefs or they can demonstrate multiple behaviors that call their true beliefs into question. All leaders will blow it from time to time but that is not what Richard Baxter or Ezekiel is talking about in their warning to leaders. They are pointing to the conscious, deliberate living out of two or more value systems that contradict each other. They are talking about leaders who live dual standards for personal gain or to specifically make people believe they are someone they are not. Through Ezekiel God made it known that He will judge leaders for lacking integrity.

In that inner-hidden-deeper-secret part of your heart where only you know you, do you sense that you lack integrity? Do you sense that if pressured enough or given the right reward that you might cave in to behavior that does not honor God? The wise leader will take those feelings to God immediately and seek truth from the Bible to become a leader of integrity that will honor God in all parts of his leadership.

 

THURSDAY

Do you know the values that drive your actions?

 

Leaders must continually address the values and viewpoints that drive their behavior. Read Ezekiel 11:1-13.

In chapter 10 God carried Ezekiel to Jerusalem in his spirit and showed him that He had withdrawn His spirit and glory from the temple. As chapter 11 begins God carried Ezekiel in spirit to a specific temple gate and allowed him to see 25 leaders who were discussing the economic opportunity that would be available to them when the Babylonian siege ended. They had totally missed the point of God’s discipline of the people living in Jerusalem and were planning to take advantage of the poor once things were back to normal. A very revealing statement that should be considered by ever leader is when God said, “I know what is going through your mind.”

When a leader is evaluated by God it is not only their actions but the values and heart intent behind the actions that are of concern. God judges a leader’s actions by the intent of the heart that controls the actions. Developing effective leadership does not only involve learning new information and skills but implementing that new information through a God-honoring value system that becomes God-honoring behavior. The following are just a few of the God-honoring heart characteristics Christian leaders should strive for daily:

• A growing intimacy with God
• A compassionate love and respect for people
• A strong Biblical identity
• A humble servant’s heart
• A hunger for Biblical values and priorities
• A decision-making process that centers around godly principles

The above list is not exhaustive but only establishes a pattern for a leader to build a more complete list. A leader must have leadership skills but in the process of developing those skills they should remember that when skills are developed daily in an environment of the above heart characteristics a leader’s actions will honor God. These core values will become the foundation that drives their actions. Wise leaders know that when God measures the greatness of a leader, He measures the heart behind the actions not the knowledge in their head that developed the skill.

FRIDAY

 

Do you have trouble getting your vision brought to reality? 

 

Effective leaders do more than talk about vision, they develop an implementation strategy and include action steps. Read Ezekiel 12:21-28.

In the early part of chapter 12 God instructed Ezekiel to pack his belongings and dig through the wall at dusk as a symbolic act for his fellow Jews in exile. This demonstration was to show the acts King Zedekiah would soon take in Jerusalem to escape capture by the Babylonians. The people responded with a proverb spoken often among the Jews, “The days go by and every vision comes to nothing.” God told Ezekiel to tell the people that He would put an end to this proverb “…and they will no longer quote it in Israel.”

Our teams are no different than the Jewish people hearing the prophecy from Ezekiel. They too often hear talk of what can or will happen and too seldom see the action steps that start the process. Visions are simply talk unless someone puts feet to them. Visions lose their strength without action to support them. Effective leaders always communicate both the vision and the steps to its implementation.

I am just old enough to remember when the President of the United States told the nation we would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Today that doesn’t seem like an outrageous statement but back in the day, nothing like that had ever been done or even considered. Who could imagine that it could happen or think of how to implement such a thing? There are a few common sense steps to creating implementation strategies for even the wildest vision:

• Start with prayer seeking God’s wisdom.
• Break the vision down into as many parts as you can think of in this early stage.
• Prioritize the parts. This is not an exact science but it is reasonably easy to know those elements that need to happen at the start of the project i.e. clarifying the vision and getting it in clear language, basic research, estimating the resources to start, etc.
• Establish some level of leadership to get the processes started.
• Create some timelines, checkpoints, deadlines, and celebrations to keep the team accountable and motivated.
• Make sure your team knows these early decisions must be flexible.

Have you had trouble getting a vision brought to reality? Have you tried numerous times to get your team excited about a vision but can’t overcome their skepticism? Wise leaders help their team catch the vision by taking some initial steps to get feet under the vision. Effective leaders make it clear that these are preliminary steps and not the final strategy. They help their team understand that these preliminary steps are designed to start some forward momentum. These early steps help the team’s belief level and become a bridge to the next level strategy.

 

SATURDAY

 

Do you lead in every situation with integrity?

When a leader is less than truthful it most often leads to other half-truths or outright lies to cover the first indiscretion. Read Ezekiel 13:1-16.

God commanded Ezekiel to prophecy against those who were false prophets in Israel. These religious leaders claimed they had heard from God and convinced the people they were speaking truth when they were simply speaking out of their own imagination for their own benefit. Ezekiel called the lies a “flimsy wall,” and the cover-up he labeled “whitewash.” Ezekiel stated that any enterprise built on falsehood has shoddy workmanship and is not built with quality on a firm foundation. He flatly stated that their attempts to cover up the lack of quality were like a whitewash that would come off the first time it got wet.

Wise leaders seek to lead in every situation with integrity. Leaders who start down a path of lies need more lies to cover their lack of honesty and integrity. When a leader looks to the world’s value system as an acceptable standard they will soon be confused by self-interest, social conditions, the need for recognition and will slip to situational ethics. God is aware of a leader’s heart and demands the right behavior for the right reasons.

James 2:18 “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”

 

 

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