6 Ways to Earn the Right to Lead People

October 10, 2014

By Rick Warren

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You’ll never have to earn God’s favor. God loves you and is pleased with you completely because of grace and not because of your performance. People, on the other hand, are a little different. If you want to lead people, you must establish credibility and earn the respect and the right to lead them.

Leadership is influence. The way you can tell you’re a leader is to look over your shoulder. If somebody’s following, then you’re the leader. If nobody’s following, you’re not the leader. The moment you have to say to the people in your ministry, “I’m the leader!” you are no longer the leader. Leadership is something that is earned. You earn the right to lead through six character qualities in your life.

1 Timothy 3:1, 7 says, “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task… He also must have a good reputation with outsiders so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”

If you set your heart on being an overseer, that’s a good ambition. It’s okay to have an ambition to be a leader. But if you’re going to be leader, you’ve got to have a good reputation. The key to a good reputation can be summed up in the word “character” – your inner attitudes, your values, and your actions. There’s a difference between reputation and character. Reputation is what people think you are. Character is what you actually are. D.L. Moody said, “Character is what you are in the dark.” Character is what you are when nobody’s around. Character is what you have left when you’ve lost your reputation. It’s what’s left over. The key to a good reputation is having good character. The problem is, we’re more concerned about image than character.

If leadership is influence, then influence is earned by respect. If you don’t have the respect of people, you’re not a leader. There are six character qualities, all in Proverbs that establish the respect we need to lead.

1. We earn respect through integrity.

If you don’t have integrity, it’s not real success; it’s phony success. Proverbs 10:9 says, “The man of integrity walks securely. He who takes crooked paths will be found out.” One of the benefits of walking in integrity is confidence because you have nothing to hide. Confidence comes from having no fear of being found out.

2. We earn respect through humility.

Proverbs 29:23 (Good News) “Arrogance will bring your downfall but if you’re humble, you will be respected.” The Bible also says, “Clothe yourselves in humility”. If you want to dress for success, that’s a good way to dress. Just about the time I think I’ve got it all together, God pulls the rug out from under me. It’s no problem at all for God to humble you. You can either humble yourself or He will humiliate you. Those are the options.

I remember hearing about a school principal one time who made a major mistake and everybody in the school knew about it. He thought, “I’m not going to apologize to everybody. I’d be embarrassed and go down in the kids’ eyes.” Then he changed his mind. So he spoke over the intercom to the entire school and said, “I made a mistake and I apologize. I want to ask this whole school to forgive me for this decision.” He became the most honored principal of that school, simply because the teachers and the kids were so unused to having someone admit it when they were wrong. The kids went up to him saying, “I just wish I had a father like you. I wish I had a dad who could admit it when he was wrong.” The Bible says, “Before honor is humility.” So, when we admit we’re wrong, rather than being downgraded in people’s eyes, we’re raised in people’s eyes.

3. We earn respect through dependability.

We admire people who can be counted on, people who are reliable, who are trustworthy. Proverbs 25:15 says, “Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give.” Have you ever met anybody like that? Always promising the moon but delivering nothing. Always saying they’re going to help you in the ministry but they don’t. They’re always long on promises but short on performance. Napoleon once said, “Promise everything, deliver nothing.” He could have been a politician. That’s not the way to live.

4. We earn respect by living by right priorities.

Respect is earned through living by priority. Proverbs 11:27 says, “If your goals are good you’ll be respected.” Proverbs 14:22 in the Good News translation says, “You will earn the trust and respect of others if you work for good.” If you want to be a leader, have good goals. If your goals are respected and your goals are good, you will be respected. The average American will live 25,550 days. How you invest that time is totally up to you. You can waste it, you can spend it, and you can invest it. But you’ve got to have worthy goals.

5. We earn respect through generosity.

Proverbs 11:16 declares, “He who gives generously to the needy and shows kindness will be powerful and respected.” The fact of life is, no one is ever honored for what they’ve received. They always are honored for what they give. We’re never honored for what we keep, what we get, but what we give away.

Andrew Carnegie once wrote down some goals and when he died they found them in his desk: “I’m going to spend the first half of my life making all the money that I can and I’m going to spend the second half of my life giving it all away.” And he did. As a result, his name is still known years and years later. Generations later.

There’s only one problem with that philosophy. Nobody knows when they’re going to die. How are you going to know when to start giving away? How does he know when he’s at the half way point? Do your given’ while you’re livin’ then you’re knowin’ where it’s goin’. When it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing.

6. We earn respect through spirituality.

You earn respect by making God the priority in your life and getting close to Him. Proverbs 3:4-6 (Living Bible) “If you want favor with God and man and a reputation for good judgment and common sense, then trust the Lord completely. In everything you do put God first and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Notice it says, “If you want favor with man as well as with God…” When you put God first in your life, it not only gives you favor with God but it gives you favor with man. People are drawn to those who naturally love the Lord, those who are naturally in love with Jesus Christ.

These are the six areas that produce respect. We earn respect through integrity, humility, generosity, spirituality, dependability, and living by priority. These are the issues. Twenty years from now what are people going to remember about you? Leadership is influence, but you cannot lead without these issues. They are the basis to build respect. When you have the respect of people, people will follow you anywhere.

Ref. http://pastors.com/5-ways-excel-ministry-leadership/

5 Ways to Excel In Your Ministry and Leadership

October 16, 2014

 

By Rick Warren

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God is more concerned with your progress than your perfect performance. The very nature of discipleship is progressive. God’s purpose is that you become more and more like His Son, Jesus, and He will use your entire life to work that process out. As ministry leaders, we are not exceptions. We are examples. If we aren’t growing and challenging ourselves to move to the next level, personally and professionally, we can’t lead a congregation or a team to do so.

Excellence, in and of itself, isn’t a core value at our church. We’d rather launch things imperfectly than wait for perfect conditions, which never really arrive. Having said that, excelling or growing and improving is another matter. While we don’t have to have reached perfection to serve God, we must be willing to grow. Some Pastors and leaders excel and grow, while others don’t. What makes the difference? The Bible mentions at least five factors that cause us to excel…

1. People who excel work with enthusiasm.

Emerson once said “Nothing great has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm.” Regardless of whether the job is big or small, give it your best. Great performers give their best effort, no matter what is the size of the audience. The Bible says, “Whatever your task is, put your whole heart and soul into it, as work done for the Lord, and not merely for men.” (Colossians 3:23)

2. People who excel sharpen their skills.

They never stop developing…growing…learning…improving. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “If the ax is dull, and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.” It takes more than desire to excel, it takes skill! Remember – you’re never wasting time when you are sharpening your “ax”.

3. People who excel keep their word.

They are reliable. They can be counted on to do what they say they’ll do. So they excel because people of integrity are rare in our society. “Everyone talks about how loyal and faithful they are, but just try to find someone who really is!” Proverbs 20:6 (GN) Reliability trumps talent in the long run every time.

4. People who excel maintain a positive attitude.

Even under pressure…or change…or unrealistic demands, they don’t allow themselves to become negative. Complainers never excel at anything except complaining. “Do all things without grumbling or arguing…and you will shine out like a light in a dark world.” (Philippians 2:14-15) And remember “If the boss is angry with you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit will quiet his bad temper!” (Ecclesiastes 10:4 LB)

5. People who excel do more than is expected.

This is a secret that every successful leader has discovered. You’ll never excel by only doing what is required – the bare minimum. Jesus said, “If anybody forces you to go a mile with him, do more, go two miles with him.” (Matthew 5:41, Ph)

Oscar Hammerstein told that story of seeing the top of the head of the Statue of Liberty up close from a helicopter. What impressed him was the incredible detail the artist had sculpted on an area of the statue that the artist never expected anyone to see. The artist had no idea man would someday fly above his statue!

When you are tempted to cut corners and think “No one will ever know” remember God is looking down and sees everything you do. Give it your best this week!

5 Phrases That Will Kill Your Leadership

November 28, 2012


By Scott Couchenour



"I can do it better myself.”

True, to an extent. But you can’t do everything better. And even if you could, where would you find the time? This phrase leads down the path of “I must do it all”. You can’t do it all. You are finite. You are rhythmic. You cannot sustain a fevered pace, going from one task to the next. You will burn out. You must delegate wisely.


“I am judged on results.”

No you’re not. You may be employedto produce results. But you’re not judged by God to produce results. That’s His arena. Your task is to remain obedient and faithful. This requires a stellar and growing, dynamic relationship with Christ, Himself. Many of your colleagues have burned out thinking they were being judged by the results, which were not forthcoming in their assignment.


“If I work hard, God will provide.”

Nope. Hard work isn’t a trigger for God’s provision. At least, hard work ALONE isn’t. This phrase implies that you can go and go and go, at the expense of other areas of your life (like your physical health, your marriage, your parenting) and somehow God will fill in the gaps. Those who live by this phrase believe resting is evil and lazy. Again, not true. Resting is not only a solid practice, it’s ordained.


“I’m called to the ministry.”

No you’re not. If you’re a pastor, you’re called to be a disciple who is cleverly positioned in the pastoral context. If you’re a youth volunteer, you’re called to be a disciple who is cleverly positioned in the youth ministry context. Get the idea? If you believe the “called to ministry” phrase, you run the risk of replacing God with ministry and begin worshipping the ministry itself.
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“I need others.”

True and not true. You need others because you are wired for community. Even if you’re an introvert, you cannot survive in ministry leadership without a few, deep relationships. But don’t fall into the trap of believing you need others. What you need is Christ. Co-dependency on others is unhealthy. If you believe you deeply need others, you will hang on every slice of approval and morsel of disapproval. As a result, you’ll ride a rollercoaster of emotions.

Want to remain strong in your ministry leadership? Then you’ll have to come to grips with these 5 phrases. Don’t be deceived by them. They sound good on the surface. But stick to the truth or one day you’ll hit the wall and be totally surprised.

The 3 Privileges and 3 Temptations of Leadership

                        BY RICK WARREN             

                        IN LEADERSHIP · RICK WARREN

                        — 28 AUG, 2013

Do you think it’s easier handling success or failure?  Thomas Caryle once said, “For every one hundred people who can handle adversity there is only one who can handle prosperity.”  I think most people can’t handle being at the top.  It changes them.  In fact, success destroys some people. There are several legitimate benefits of being in leadership.

                        Position — you can become more

                        Power — you can do more

                        Privilege — you can have more

The extra effort and work you put in you get more position, more power and more privilege.  With each one of these comes a very great temptation that can be your downfall as a leader if you misuse it.  I Cor. 10:12 “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”

We’re going to look at the temptations of leadership, an appropriate thing if you read the newspaper.  The three greatest nations of the world often face turmoil because of the abuses of leadership. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Today we’re going to look at the temptations of leadership and the antidote.

1.  You will be tempted to misuse your position. 

Have you ever seen anyone get a promotion at work and they suddenly become a little dictator?  It changes them.  They’re a nice guy until they get the promotion.  Then all of a sudden they start treating everybody demeaningly, derogatorily, making excessive demands on people.  Unrealistic demands demoralize people.

Pastors are elders and overseers, and the shepherding of the church is in our hands. But this is not an excuse to abuse the influence granted to us and to exploit people. In fact, the Bible is clear that the church’s shepherd-leaders will be judged far more harshly because of their potential to influence people to move toward Christ or away from Him.

2.  You will be tempted to abuse your power.

You can be a driver or a motivator. Drivers have no appreciation for the people they oversee while motivators are constantly finding ways to empower the people around them. Your role as a Pastor isn’t to hold people down and have them to serve your needs, but to elevate them and equip them to serve Jesus and change the world. In other words, the power God gave you as a leaders isn’t for you, it’s for others.

3.  You will be tempted to profit from your privileges. 

When The Purpose Driven Life went global, two things came into our lives that we never expected – a new global influence and a new financial affluence. Kay and I had to make a decision about what we would do with those resources. We decided to start reverse-tithing. We started giving away 90% of the income we were receiving and living off the other 10%, and I stopped taking a salary. I’m Saddleback’s busiest volunteer!

When you decide to profit from the privileges of your leadership, you give people a reason to question your motives. That doesn’t mean Pastors can’t be compensated in a generous way. It simply means that we have to check the motives of our heart as leaders to avoid any question about why we’re doing what we’re doing.

Next week, I want to talk about three ways to keep your integrity as a leader. Until then, beware of these three temptations of leadership.

Ref: http://pastors.com/the-3-privileges-and-3-temptations-of-leadership/

How to Keep Your Integrity As a Leader

BY RICK WARREN

                        

IN LEADERSHIP · RICK WARREN

                        — 4 SEP, 2013

Last week, I wrote about the three greatest temptations of leadership. This week, I want to talk about the three ways we can keep our integrity and prevent those temptations from destroying our testimony and diminishing our influence.

First, deepen your reverence for God.

Never forget that God put you in the position you’re in today. Psalm 75:6 says, “For promotion and power come from nowhere on earth, but only from God.  He promotes one and deposes another.” Great leaders realize that they are stewards.  They realize that it’s not their world, their church, their business; they are just the manager, the stewart.  Promotion comes from God, not from other people.

You also much realize that God is holding you accountable. One of the reasons I think leaders try to get away secret sin it is that they don’t fear God. But the Bible says, “Obey your spiritual leaders and be willing to do what they say.  For their work is to watch over your souls and God will judge them on how well they do.” That verse ought to put the fear in leaders. God is going to judge us. There is no authority without accountability.  The Bible says clearly that we Pastors are accountable to God, as are all leaders in God’s kingdom. As a leader you are called to be accountable before God.  Where there is a deep reverence for God, there will be integrity before Him.

Second, develop a love for people.

There is a law of leadership that states, losers focus on what they can get while leaders focus on what they can give. The Bible says, “David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skill he led them.”  Good News says, “He shepherded them with unselfish devotion.”  Psalm 78:72 is one of my life verses.  I pray that God will let me shepherd with integrity and with skill.

I find when I study leaders, good and bad, the leaders who consistently abuse their powers are those who don’t love people. Paul said, “Because of our love for you we were ready to share with you not only the Good News but even our own lives.  You were so dear to us!”  Notice that he says “We gave even our own lives.”  If you really love people you’re not going to abuse and misuse them.

Third, discipline yourself for eternal rewards.

If you’re going to be a leader, instead of having more and more privileges as your influence grows, there is really less space for personal privileges. More is required of leaders, there are more restrictions on leaders.  The higher you go in a position of authority, the more is expected of you, the more is restricted of you, and the less freedom you really have.  You must often sacrifice privilege in exchange for influence.

There’s a leadership law that states, losers focus on their rights while leaders focus on their responsibilities.

Hebrews 11 tells us that, “Moses preferred to suffer with God’s people rather than to enjoy sin for a little while.”  There are few people in the history of the world that had more potential to have the power, privilege and position that Moses did.  He was number two man in line for the number one position as Pharaoh of the most successful nation of the world at that time — Egypt.  And he left it all to lead a bunch of slaves across the desert.  He gave up power, position and privilege — the very thing most of us spend our lives trying to get.  He gave it up because he had his values right.  He had his values right because he had his vision right. He kept his eyes on the future reward.

Protect your integrity at all costs – if you lose it, little else matters as a leader.

Ref: http://pastors.com/how-to-keep-your-integrity-as-a-leader/

MI ROPI PAWL IH AN HLAWHTLINNAK THUTHUP

by Lal Hre

1. Thudik Rel An Hreh Lo

"Na ti dik lo san relfiah hnakin dikzet ih ti mai hi a awlsam sawn a si" {Henry Wordsorth Longfellow}.

Kan ti dik lomi rel mai ding hi kan hreh t'heu ruangah khuh mawi awknak hawl in kan helkual ciamam t'heu.Ti dik lomi cu helkual duh rero loin "ka ti dik lo, ka ti sual" ti vohvi mai hi mai hrangah a hahdam ih, mi nehnak le mi ngaisan zawng arak si fawn.

Mi ropi pawl cun thudik hi an uar. An sualnak le palhnak hi rel an hreh lo.

2. An Thiltimi Parah Rinawknak An Nei

"Kan rinawk dan vek in thiltitheinak kan nei t'heu" {Willian Hazlitt }

"Na ti dingmi dik tak na ti sungah hlawhsamnak ruangah thin um nuam loin umawter duh hlah"{Mother Teresa }

Kan ti dingmi diktak kan tinak ah mah le mah rinawknak kan neih a t'ul. Mah le mah rinawknak hin thil tampi a rak ti thei. Leitlun ih mi hlawhtling thei lo pawl le huham nei thei lo pawl khi mah le mah rinawknak nei lo an si tlangpi.

Mah le mah rinawknak nei pawl cu an thiltimi  ah an ding hnget. An thin a thi depdep. An hlawhsam tik khalah an thin a nau in an bei a dawng mai lo. Dodaltu, nautattu le sawiseltu an neih tik khalah an hnaberek a thak loih an feh dan kelten an feh ngetngo.

3.An Thiltimi Parah An Zuam, An Taima

"Ziangtik khalah na zuam lole, Ziangtik khalah na hlawhtling dah lo ding"{Abraham Lincoln }.

"Mitin in kan theihtawk cio hi tuah suak sehla cu kanmah rori hmanin mak kan tizet ding"{Thomas Alva Edison }.

Abraham Lincoln le Edison hi ziangtluk an zuam ti cu kan theih t'hehmi a si. Leitlun ih mi ropi le mi hlawhtlingpawl hi mi zangzel an um lo. Mihrek cu hlawhtlin  kan duh na'n kan zuam paih lo. Theihtawk kan suah lo ruangah tuni ting kan hlawhtling thei lo. Kan thiltimi ah kan zuam ih taimak kan suah phawt cun kan hlawhtling tengteng.

4. Dodaltu Le Nahsiiktu An Neih Tikah An Lungawi

"Zangfahmi si hnakin nahsiikmi si hi a t'ha sawn"
{Herodatus }

"Nahsiiknak hi sunlawihnak phunkhat a si" {Thomas Gray}

Mi thinlungte pawl cu nahsiiktu le dodaltu kan neih tikah  an parah kan thinheng. t'ongkam t'ha le mithmai t'ha in kan bia in kan zoh thei lo. Leitlun ih mi ropi, mi hlawhtlingpawl cu nahsiiktu le dodaltu an neih tam le an lung a awi sinsin.

Zumnak lam ih kan pa le mi ropi, mi hlawhtling pawl Moses, Josef, David, Nehemiah le Daniel pawl kan zoh tik khalah nahsiiktu le dodaltu nei hlir anrak si. Nahsiiktu le dodaltu kan nei lo a si ahcun mi menmen kan si lai tinak a si. Nahsiiktu le dodaltu kan neih cun mi menmen kan si nawn loih mi ngaisanmi thiktlak kan si zo tinak a si.

5. An Thiltimi ah Hlawhsam Le Mualpho An Ngam

"Huaisen zetih hlawhsam ngam pawl hi ropi zetin an hlawhtling t'heu" {Robert Kennedy }

"Thil ti sual dah lo pawl cu thil ziang khal tuah dah lo pawl  lawng an si" {Roosevelf }

"Ka thin a nau mai ding maw? Hlawhsamnak le tisual pang ih piangin  t'hansohnak a um zel ti ka thei si ih"{Thomas Alva Edison }

Mi hrekkhat cu hlawhsam le mualpho kan t'ih ruangah zianghman ti ngam loin kan um t'heu. Mualpho t'ih ih zianghman na tuah ngam lole ziangtik khal ah na mualpho lo dingih ziangtik khal ah mi ropi le mihlawhtling na si thei fawn lo ding. Leitlun ih mi ropi le mihlawhtling pawl hi voi tampi rak hlawhsam le voi tampi rak mualpho an si tlangpi.

"Voi sarih na tluk le voi riat tho aw"{Chinese thufim}

6.An Tum A Ruh

"Mi hlawhtling tiih kan sim t'heumi pawl hi an thiltum thleng dualdo loih thinlung ruhseh zetih tuah t'heu pawl an si" {Cecil De Mille }

"Tumruhnak hi hlawhtlinnak lamzin ih ka theihmi umsun a si"{William Feather }

"Tumtahmi a niam le nun a niam t'heu. Curuangah na theihpatawp ih sang le kauin tumtahnak tuah t'ha aw"
{Stephen Collins Foster }

Tumruhnak cun duhnak le beiseinak a suahter.
-Beiseinak le duhnak cun zuamnak le aatcilhnak a suahter.
Zuamnak le aatcilhnak cun hlawhtlinnak a suahter.
-Hlawhtlinnak cun lungawinak a suahter.