NorthStar Leadership happens this Sunday night at 5pm at the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce.

This month’s lesson is about Taming Time, Setting Priorities and Making Decisions you won’t want to miss it.

Email northstar@elevate-church.com if you need more info.

Vision is that very precious resource that helps us get a picture of what that somewhere looks like.  Vision is not just for moguls, artists and leaders. Everyone needs vision.

The Bible says where there is no vision people perish (Proverbs 29.18). Where there is no vision for a godly marriage, relationships die.
Where there is no vision for a healthy lifestyle, vitality is depleted.
Where there is no vision for loving parenting, families break.
Where there is no vision for financial stewardship, money goes.
Where there is no vision for righteousness, the Christian life suffers.
Where there is no vision for servant leadership, organizations suffocate.
Where there is no vision for justice, society crumbles.

As a pastor, one of my chief responsibilities every weekend is to cast a vision for a new way to live and give people practical principles for living in that desired future. To whom are you casting vision?

Everyone ends up somewhere, but few people end up somewhere on purpose.

What areas of your life do you need to get a clear vision so you end up at somewhere on purpose?

NorthStar Leadership is an initiative of Elevate Church to help people from all walks of life develop as godly leaders. NorthStar’s next session is February 13, 2011 at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce (1645 Dixie Hwy) at 5pm. Email: northstar@elevate-church.com for more info.

Vision begins to take on form in the gestation period. The picture becomes clearer and some details are easier to see. Like an expectant mother sees changes in themselves during this time, so too the vision developing within begins to change and stretch the vision carrier. This is often the longest period of time leading up to the birth and for good reason – premature babies have complications within their life giving systems and a vision that isn’t properly gestated won’t have the momentum to sustain life when it comes time to launch.

No birth is complete without labor and labor doesn’t happen without labor pains. Just before it’s time to birth vision, the leader gets very uncomfortable and painful. The fight to see this vision become reality intensifies and if allowed, resistant forces will attempt to abort the vision before it can come to pass. As hard as it is in this time, focus your breathing and push because something good is about to happen!

Everything that has been taking shape in the heart of the leader is finally realized at birth. Before birth,  maybe a few people had the ability to see and be a part of what was going on but now everyone can see the fruit of what has been in the works. It’s a time to celebrate and others will come to help you do that. Welcome them and invite them to be part of seeing the vision grow.

Every vision must be birthed.  God given vision doesn’t happen without intimacy with God. John 5.4 tells us that everything born of the Spirit overcomes the world – in that case, vision birthing leaders must take the proper steps to ensure what is being conceived, gestated, labored and birthed through them begins with spending time in God’s presence. Birthing and maturing vision is hard work and often takes a lifetime – let’s be certain the vision we’re birthing is Spirit conceived, world-overcoming vision.

NorthStar Leadership is an initiative of Elevate Church to help people from all walks of life develop as godly leaders. NorthStar’s next session is February 13, 2011 at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce (1645 Dixie Hwy) at 5pm. Email: northstar@elevate-church.com for more info.

Man-Made Vision:                                                    God-Given Vision:
You create it based on your gifts & skills                You receive it as revelation from God
Success rests on staying ahead of others             Success rests on obedience
Similar vision is seen as competition                     Similar vision is seen as complementary
Builds your organization                                             Advances  God’s rule & honors God

The distance between man-made & God-given vision is what separates a good idea from a God idea.  God ideas start in heaven and are entrusted to leaders  for implementation  on earth.

How can you know if your vision is God-given?

NorthStar Leadership is an initiative of Elevate Church to help people from all walks of life develop as godly leaders. NorthStar’s next session is February 13, 2011 at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce (1645 Dixie Hwy) at 5pm. Email: northstar@elevate-church.com for more info.

Vision is a clear picture of a preferred future.
Vision provides a clear image on the inside of a leader which gives a specific direction and shows the desired outcome of a course of action. Vision demands that the future it projects not only COULD be done but it SHOULD be done.

Vision is the alternative to the status quo.
No matter how good or bad things are right NOW, everybody wants a better tomorrow. Vision gives us the spark for getting off our brains and moving toward that preferred future. Vision is future focused so when the memories of the past or the comfort of the present are stronger than the desire for a better tomorrow – vision suffers.

Vision is the foresight that puts the “lead” in leader.
If a leader loses sight of the vision or fails to renew vision in their own mind’s eye, they effectively cease to lead others into the future and begin to react to the immediate around them. Without foresight, a leader is such in position or title only.

Vision solves a problem and serves a people.
Whether it is parents with an idea about how to raise their children, a CEO with a fresh direction for their company or a director with a plan for their non-profit; vision is about solutions to problems and serving people. If it’s not clear who you are serving and what problem you are solving, the vision isn’t refined enough. What if everyone was engaged in solving problems and serving others? What would that world look like?

Vision is the fuel for personal and organizational growth.
The Japanese Oranda fish grows to the size of the tank it is put into. The bigger the tank, the more the Oranda fish will grow. You and I grow much in the the same way and vision is our tank. The pursuit of a vision – especially a God-given vision – will stretch us  so we can grow, surface our faults so we can deal with them and draw out of us greatness like nothing else can. Seeing the thing come to pass is not the greatest part of pursuing vision – becoming who you were meant to be in that pursuit is where the value of vision lies.

Are you pursuing a vision for your life personally? Are you part of a vision that is bigger than you? If not, sit down and write what you’d do if there were no limits to your resources. What would you be doing – how would you feel on a daily basis? – what problem would you be solving? – who would you be serving? If you are part of a vision. write that vision and your role in it as clearly as you can.

NorthStar Leadership is an initiative of Elevate Church to help people from all walks of life develop as godly leaders. NorthStar’s next session is February 13, 2011 at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce (1645 Dixie Hwy) at 5pm. Email: northstar@elevate-church.com for more info.

Tim Irwin’s book De-Railed highlights the rise and fall of 6 corporate leaders.  Insecurities expressed in pride, controlling behavior and failure to receive constructive feedback were ultimately what ran each leader off the rails.

Recently, I discussed the example of Jesus in John 13.3-5  (click here to read that post), but its worth mentioning again.

Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.  So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist,  and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

Here’s the major distinctions between secure and insecure leaders:

secure leaders… insecure leaders…
…focus on towels                                             …focus on titles
…draw strength from identity                    …draw strength from image
…pursue service to others                           …pursue status with others
…want to add value to others                     …want to gain value from others

Insecurity can sabotage a leader.  Those who are Christians must learn to lead  from an identity firmly set in Jesus to keep from becoming their own worst enemies.

NorthStar Leadership is an initiative of Elevate Church to help people from all walks of life develop as godly leaders. Northstar’s material is based on the works of Dr. John Maxwell. NorthStar’s next session is January 9,2011 at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce (1645 Dixie Hwy) at 5pm. Email: northstar@elevate-church.com for more info

Surrendering all our skills, capacity, strengths and weaknesses to God is essential to the journey of becoming a godly leader in our field. And yet, it is one of the most difficult things to measure.

Recently, I asked a group of leaders to rank themselves on a scale of 0 to 100 on how completely they have placed their lives at God’s disposal. I didn’t have them share their ranking but rather what they feel might be keeping them from further surrender. Here’s some of the responses:

- there is a feeling of vulnerability that is uncomfortable with surrender
- the sense of giving up control can be disorienting
- placing yourself at God’s disposal requires more trust in God
- the unknown of what God will ask of us
- the burden of responsibility that comes with godly leadership

Ultimately, it is in the process of placing oneself at God’s disposal that qualifies one for genuine leadership and it’s in those seasons of surrender that character is forged more than any other.

It’s hard to quantify the metrics of placing oneself completely at God’s disposal, but here are three attitudes of total surrender that must be developed along the leadership journey:
We must have nothing to PROVE – don’t waste time trying to convince others of our self-worth
We must have nothing to LOSE -  fearing the opinions of people has the power to paralyze leaders
We must have nothing to HIDE – character and transparency flows from a life placed at God’s disposal

What would you add to the list of things that might keep one from total surrender to God? Which of the above attitudes of  surrender speak loudest to you in this season of life?

NorthStar Leadership is an initiative of Elevate Church to help people from all walks of life develop as godly leaders. Northstar’s material is based on the works of Dr. John Maxwell. NorthStar’s next session is January 9,2011 at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce (1645 Dixie Hwy) at 5pm. Email: northstar@elevate-church.com for more info

In this post we’ll look at how leadership is a platform to serve more people.
Servant Leadership
Godly leadership is servant leadership.  God does not manipulate, bulldoze or force nor does He use His authority as leverage for selfish gain but He serves all of creation as Sustainer, Provider, Father and King.

Jesus exemplified servant leadership in His life  and John 13 is a perfect snapshot of what it means to lead with a servant heart.  The text tells us that Jesus knew God had given Him authority over all things so He grabs a basin of water, puts a towel around His waist and (get this) washes His disciples feet.

Did you catch that? It was the realization of the authority Jesus had that compelled Him to serve. Apparently the more secure a person is in their leadership, the more they understand leading is about serving.

The Theology of Leadership would be incomplete without the perspective that godly leadership is about servant leadership. Followers of Jesus use their platform of leadership to serve others.

How does the example of Jesus in John 13 affect how you lead? What does it mean for you to be a servant-leader in your sphere of influence?

NorthStar Leadership is an initiative of Elevate Church to help people from all walks of life develop as godly leaders. NorthStar’s next session is December 12, 2010 at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce (1645 Dixie Hwy) at 5pm. Email: northstar@elevate-church.com for more info

Today we’ll look at the cultural mandate to lead with common grace in all sectors of society.

Isaiah 9.6 tells us that the increase of God’s rule and peace will be without end.  Leadership for a follower of Jesus is an opportunity to bring God’s peace and presence into the sphere of influence in which they find themselves.

God’s kingdom does not come to a church building or is it restricted to religious matters. God’s kingdom – His rule and peace – comes to the human heart and from there influences every aspect of culture. This cultural mandate is not to preachers, pastors or priests but to ever person through their vocation and work.

The Hebrew word avodah means both “work” and “worship” – so in the language of the Bible, our work is a form of worship to the God who worked for 6 days of creation and rested on the 7th. If you’ve been given a platform of leadership, then your work of leading others should be viewed as a form of worship to the God who holds all authority and has delegated it to mankind.

As a leader, you are an ambassador of God’s kingdom – the expression of His common grace, peace and way of life – in your field.

How can you approach your vocation as worship? How does Isaiah 9.6 help shape your view and practice of leadership?

NorthStar Leadership is an initiative of Elevate Church to help people from all walks of life develop as godly leaders. NorthStar’s next session is December 12, 2010 at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce (1645 Dixie Hwy) at 5pm. Email: northstar@elevate-church.com for more info

For the next few Thursdays, we’ll explore the theology of leadership and what godly leadership looks like as part of our NorthStar Leadership Series.

God’s Call for us to Lead

God gave humans authority over the world. Genesis 1.26 says God made man in his own image and gave them authority over the whole earth. God’s design is for mankind to steward creation by His delegated authority. We were made for leadership and creativity.
There are two things we were purposed for and should embrace:
1) acknowledging God’s authority over us and seeking His will for ourselves and creation
2) affirming a sphere of influence where God has called us to lead

Everyone is commissioned to lead at some level. According to your gifts, strengths, personality and opportunity – a platform to influence others and steward God’s creation is the destiny for all mankind. And if God has mandated leadership for us, then He will enable us to do it.

Adam and Eve were given the Eden as a place to create, define, steward and lead. Where’s your Eden?

Have you discovered your primary place leadership? If so, what is it? If not, what can you do to discover it?

NorthStar Leadership is an initiative of Elevate Church to help people from all walks of life develop as godly leaders.
NorthStar’s next session is December 12, 2010 at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce (1645 Dixie Hwy) at 5pm.
Email: northstar@elevate-church.com for more info