Wise Leaders Still Seek Him

Years ago, one of my spiritual fathers, Leeroy Hill, taught me to ask God for wisdom every day.  He said, "if you'll ask God for wisdom everyday, He'll give you what you need in every area of your ministry, marriage and life."

Since that day, I have made that request as part of my daily prayer.  The Scriptures teach "if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5

Wisdom is gained by listening to counsel..."for by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counselors there is safety." Proverbs 24:6 

Wisdom yields great dividends..."Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." Proverbs 4:7 

As a leader, I need wisdom - His wisdom.  I don't just need wisdom because of my level of responsibility, but because I have NOTHING unless He gives it to me.  

The book of James (chapter 1 to be exact) is loaded with principles regarding LEADERSHIP and WISDOM.

Here's what I'm learning...

1. Leaders learn from their trials.  Just because you're going through a trial doesn't mean God is mad at you or you've made a bad decision.  James says to COUNT IT ALL JOY.  He didn't say, "consider it a shame" or "consider it an injustice" or "consider that God hates you."  He said..."COUNT IT ALL JOY!"   Honestly, it's difficult to count it all joy when you're going through the fires of Hell.  However, we'll never achieve joy if we approach the trial full of WORRY and ANXIETY.  One way to learn from the trial is to ask the Lord, "what are You trying to teach me through this?"  I realize that this past year has been extremely difficult for many members in our church.  There have been difficult times, including death...but through it all we can find JOY if we approach the trial with a heart to learn.
   
2. Leaders ask for wisdom.  Now that we know we NEED wisdom...we must also realize WHERE that wisdom comes from.  It is God that gives it to us (James 1:5) and He does so GENEROUSLY and without criticism.
   
3. Leaders trust God unconditionally.  We trust Him regardless of the wind that blows.  Trust requires the REMOVAL of doubt!  
• We trust Him in a down economy.
• We trust Him when the cupboards are bare.
• We trust Him during sickness and pain.
• We trust Him on cloudy days.Remember when Jesus came walking on the water in the middle of the storm? (Matthew 14)  The one who was willing to TRUST Him...walked on the water too!
  
4. Leaders make a decision.  You can have a boatload of trust and a sink full of wisdom but if you don't do anything with it you'll be at a STAND STILL.  James 1:8 says that "a man that is indecisive is unstable in all his ways."  This is where we MUST TRUST God and ask Him for wisdom.  You will be called upon to ACT!  You will have to make Godly decisions EVERY DAY!  When we seek wisdom from the Lord, He will PREPARE and EMPOWER us to act!  As a pastor, I am called upon to make tough decisions.  Those decisions have to be FULL of wisdom because they affect so many things.  This is where it is VITAL to be surrounded with men and women of strength...whose testimony is sure and wisdom proven.  Left to ourselves...we are a train wreck.  

You will also be called upon to make some TOUGH DECISIONS.  It isn't a matter of "if" but "when."  You're going to find yourself under pressure...the issue is how you handle that pressure.

1. Keep your Spiritual Disciplines in tact!  I've seen it many times, especially in the ministry, we can get so focused on the work of God that we forget the God of the work.  As a result, we neglect our spiritual disciplines.  Friend, we cannot afford to stop praying, reading the Bible, fasting, attending church, worship, discipleship, etc.  The enemy knows that if he can get you to forsake your spiritual disciplines, you'll end up being a cast away...rusty, crusty, dusty and musty!   Your enemy doesn't mind you working for God as long as he can keep you distracted from your disciplines!  When this happens, you'll end up being a critical mess...a fault finder...a dysfunctional disciple...a bear to work with.  I encourage our leaders at BFWC to keep the main thing, the main thing!  Your relationship with Christ comes before your ministry!  If you don't maintain that...you'll come up short in every other area...and 9 times out of 10 you'll be miserable rather than motivated!

2. Love your family!  When you're passionate about what you do you can easily neglect vital relationships.  It's important to work for the Lord in the ministry but it is more important be the right kind of leader in our homes first.

3. Take care of your body! Everyone reading this can do better than what they're doing right now.  When we do not take care of our bodies, we end up walking around with that "run down" feeling.  Exercise and a proper diet are VITAL if we're going to be able to go the distance!  If we are to sustain the energy necessary to cope with the pressures of ministry then we must take care of our bodies.

4. Love people.  We all respond differently under pressure.  We can be sharp tongued and ill tempered or we can be reasonable and soft spoken.  If you don't love people...you'll end up wanting to kill them.  If that is the case, you need to question why you're in the ministry.  The bottom line is that the work of God is ALL ABOUT PEOPLE!  Jesus was a people person and so should we be.  Indeed, we aren't really leaders at all unless we demonstrate Christ's love to those who are under our leadership.

5. No Fake and Phony Bologna! Learn to be yourself!  If you feel you have to impress people for them to like you then you're basically trying to gain acceptance by your works rather than who you are on the inside. (The real you)  Friends, it takes so much more unnecessary energy to be someone we're not.  Transparency means we are AUTHENTIC and lead with INTEGRITY.

6. If you mess up...repent quickly!  We've all made mistakes.  The key is to ADMIT your mistakes and then move forward in freedom.  If we postpone tough decisions, or we do not own up to our mistakes, the pressure will only get worse. 

7. Stay accountable!  We are all accountable to someone.  When we submit ourselves to accountability we are giving that person(s) the freedom to check our actions and are motives.  When we face external or internal pressure, these are the person(s) that are among the first who can help us.

8. Laugh a little more!  Don't take yourself so seriously!  Laugh at yourself and lighten up a bit! Laughter makes you feel better physically!   A joyful person can handle pressure a whole lot better!

9. Enjoy a hobby!  There are certain things I enjoy that help "de-stress" me.  I enjoy eating dinner at new restaurants with my family...reading...golf...a good movie...watching football...etc.  These are outside interests that help me handle the "pressure" of it all.  Spending time with my family and doing these things gives me a healthy perspective to the problems of life.

Friends, we need WISDOM to deal with life's pressures!  If we deal with them in healthy ways, we'll end up being healthier in the process.