Tag Archives: leadership

Who gets the glory? (John 17:1-10), April 15, 2017

Today’s Podcast

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Do you ever get confused about who should get the praise or reward for the work you do? We probably all feel that little twinge of jealousy sometimes when someone else gets the glory for our work, but should we?
Scripture
1. John 17:1-10
2. Jesus (lifting His face to the heavens): Father, My time has come. Glorify Your Son, and I will bring You great glory because You have given Me total authority over humanity. I have come bearing the plentiful gifts of God; and all who receive Me will experience everlasting life, a new intimate relationship with You (the one True God) and Jesus the Anointed (the One You have sent). I have glorified You on earth and fulfilled the mission You set before Me.

In this moment, Father, fuse Our collective glory and bring Us together as We were before creation existed. You have entrusted Me with these men who have come out of this corrupt world order. I have told them about Your nature and declared Your name to them, and they have held on to Your words and understood that these words, like everything else You have given Me, come from You. It is true that these men You gave Me have received the words that come from You and not only understood them but also believed that You sent Me. I am now making an appeal to You on their behalf. This request is not for the entire world; it is for those whom You have given to Me because they are Yours. Yours and Mine, Mine and Yours, for all that are Mine are Yours. Through them I have been glorified.

Devotional
1. As a new officer in the Army, it bothered me when my commander would praise me for the work my platoon did. I had some really good soldiers in my platoon and they provided really great support for the unit in which we served.
  1. Medical support for a battalion
  2. Dining facility officer with soldiers that won Army competitions for their excellence in foodservice and culinary excellence
  3. High scores on inspections and competitions
  4. Soldiers did the work, but I got the praise from the commander
2. I always tried to share the praise with my soldiers
  1. Shared what the commander said
  2. Tried to give them awards and decorations for the work they did
  3. Recognized their individual efforts whenever possible
  4. But I still often got credit for the team effort
3. Learned over time to accept the praise because I was the leader responsible for whatever success or failure happened
  1. I also took the blame for the failure of any soldier in my charge
    1. Answered to the commander for DWI, AWOL, other disciplinary problems
    2. Described in detail why any particular soldier didn’t mean the training standard and what I was doing to correct it
    3. I took and accepted responsibility for good and bad within my unit
  2. My leaders taught me to accept both, success and failure, for the actions within my unit because I was their leader, just as my actions and performance reflected on my commander
4. In some small way, I learned a little of what Jesus let His disciples hear as He prayed
  1. Their actions would give glory to Him, not them
  2. His actions would give glory to the Father
  3. We don’t need to seek glory for ourselves, we just need to do the work He gives us to the best of our abilities and let Him receive all the glory
  4. We are His soldiers and He is our leader, He deserves all the credit, all the recognition, all the glory we can give Him
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

We are nothing, but enough (Mark 10:42-45) August 25, 2016

Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Proverbs 19

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 10:42-45
Jesus: You know that among the nations of the world the great ones lord it over the little people and act like tyrants. But that is not the way it will be among you. Whoever would be great among you must serve and minister. Whoever wants to be great among you must be slave of all. Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to be a servant—to offer His life as a ransom for others.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Serving in the military for thirty years makes you pretty proficient at understanding hierarchy, chain-of-command, authority, and so forth. A definitive rank structure holds the system in place in an organization that at times requires leaders to send subordinates into battle knowing that some may not return. No one likes war less than soldiers. They understand the stakes involved and although soldiers do as they are told, those that enjoy war are usually discharged because they obviously have something wrong with them. Soldiers detest war.

That hierarchy is necessary in keeping everything moving and working well in war. Someone must determine the objectives that must be taken if the war is to be won. Someone must determine what units and what soldiers must put their boots on the ground to take possession of these key pieces of terrain and deny the enemy their strategic value if the military is to decide the outcome of a conflict.

The various arms of the military work together to put munitions on targets and soften the enemy, perhaps even causing surrender of mass numbers of enemy before soldiers move forward, but ultimately, some soldier with little rank will stand on a piece of ground formerly held by enemy troops before victory can be declared. The generals determine what those targets will be. The generals approve those objectives and the lines and lanes on which soldiers will move to reduce the risk to friendly forces, but maximize the destruction of enemy strength.

The generals orchestrate the battle. Then the orders flow downhill. Colonels pass their part to their brigades and battalions. Lieutenant colonels give their directions to their company commanders to accomplish their part of the mission. Company commanders pass orders to their platoons to further refine their smaller piece of the mission. Platoons give their squads an even smaller part of the overall mission and the squads break the tasks down to team level. The team leader then assigns tasks to each team member. Each soldier has his or her job to do to make sure the generals’ plans are accomplished.

But something is wrong with those organization charts the way they are drawn for almost every military and civilian organization with any kind of hierarchy. You see, just as in the military illustration, although the general approves the plans and determines which objectives to win, it’s the privates who carry out the work. They should be at the top of the pyramid with the generals at the bottom. It’s really all those privates and corporals and sergeants who get the work done.

The same is true in every corporation. There is someone in charge and that person is important, they take a lot of risk and give direction to the company’s employees, but all those employees get the work done every day. Those are the people that make the products, sell the commodities, interface with the customers, make the revenue. Without those folks at the bottom of that hierarchy, the corporation would fold. Are those at the bottom of the chain of command easier to replace than those at the top? Maybe. But that doesn’t make them any less important. That doesn’t decrease their value to the overall accomplishment of the goals and objectives of the leadership.

As Christians in the work force, we need to remember Jesus’ words. Whoever would be great among you must be a servant of all. Remember that the further up the ladder of what the world calls success you might progress, the more important to serve those others might say are beneath you. They are not. They are the ones you hold up so the missions can be completed. They are the ones you lift with your encouragement, your enthusiasm, your resources, so their job can be done and your objectives achieved. You are their servant to make sure they have what they need to do the job you asked them to do.

From Jesus’ perspective, the ones the world thinks are great are not so great. He measures people from the perspective of God. No one measures up. So if you think you are climbing high and about to reach the pinacle of success, just think about where you are compared to God. He owns it all. How much gold has yet to be mined on this planet? How much more is out there in the rest of the universe? How do you measure God’s net value? How many diamonds does God own? What is the value of His real estate? Get the picture? When we compare ourselves to God, no matter how great we might think we are, we are nothing. Yet He loves us enough to come and live alongside us for a while, die for our sins, and give Himself to us to guide us in His truth every day.

We are nothing compared to God, but important enough to Him that He gave His very best for us. Just imagine!

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The servant of all (Mark 9:33-35) August 13, 2016

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – John 5-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 9:33-35
At last, they came to Capernaum where they gathered in a house.
Jesus: What was it I heard you arguing about along the way?
They looked down at the floor and wouldn’t answer, for they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest of Jesus’ disciples.
Jesus: Whoever wants to be first must be last, and whoever wants to be the greatest must be the servant of all.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

There is a lot of talk about servant leadership, especially in Christian circles. We’re told if you want to really make an impact on the world you need to lead, but you need to serve the people you lead. You need to show others the way, guide them to the truth, teach them about God and His plans for this world and for all humankind, but do it as a servant. Leader and servant are pretty contradictory terms when you think about it.

A leader is defined as a person who leads: as a : guide, conductor b (1) : a person who directs a military force or unit (2) : a person who has commanding authority or influence c (1) : the principal officer of a British political party (2) : a party member chosen to manage party activities in a legislative body (3) : such a party member presiding over the whole legislative body when the party constitutes a majority d (1) : conductor c (2) : a first or principal performer of a group

While a servant is defined as one that serves others ; especially : one that performs duties about the person or home of a master or personal employer.

So how do you help others find their way to Christ, lead them toward Him, guide them to the truth, do the things that are described as the roles of a leader and yet live the life of a servant? Isn’t that an oxymoron, to ask someone to be both, to be a servant-leader? Does Jesus know what He’s saying when He tells us to lead from the back of the line instead of the front? How can we do that? What does He really mean?

I think the answer comes in two areas. First, we must check our character and our attitude. Jesus starts His ministry with the Sermon on the Mount. You can read it in Matthew chapters five through seven. He opens that sermon with a section we have title the Beatitudes. Stick a pause after the first sylable and you get His meaning in that sermonette. They are the Be Attitudes. He asks us to change how we think about ourselves and about others. He asks us to love God and love our all of His creation. He asks us to let God change our internal wiring so the way we think is transformed to the way He thinks about things. He wants our character, our attitude to mimic His.

When our character comes in line with His, we see others on an equal footing. All races, all socio-economic levels, all nationalities, both genders, all ages, everyone is created by God and for His purposes. When we recognize that, our attitude toward them changes. We begin to love all people. We begin to sorrow for those who cannot see the truth of God’s word because it is available to them and they know what it says about Jesus, the only way into God’s kingdom. If they choose to rebel against God, it is to their eternal peril. When we see the doom individuals bring upon themselves through God’s eyes, it should break our hearts.

The second thing this servant leader concept brings to mind is we must not only have Jesus’ attitude, but we must act like Jesus. No one can say Jesus did not serve those around Him. He proved Himself a servant day after day as He fed and healed and exorcised demons and preached and raised the dead and did anything and everything He could to ease the misery of those with whom He came in contact. Jesus served. I think He often served to the point of exhaustion. It why He sometimes had to get away and be alone with His Father. He just had to rest. He even washed His disciples feet as an example of His servanthood.

So are we to wash the feet of those we lead? Maybe. That’s not so necessary today since most people wear shoes and socks and we don’t have animals defecating in the streets anymore. But the point Jesus makes is that nothing is too demeaning for leaders to do if it furthers God’s kingdom. Nothing is below the level of what a leader should be willing to perform as we work along side those who work for us.

I have to tell you, the military and most organizations have their organization charts upside down. If we really focused on who is important in an organization, it’s the people at the bottom of those charts that do the work that make the products and clean the offices and answer the phones. Yes, the CEOs and the generals make decisions and take a lot of risk with their careers as they lead those within their organizations, but without all those people below them, the missions would never be accomplished. As a leadership consultant, I often shock those senior folks by showing those charts just that way, upside down, to get the point across. The people at the top should be the servant of all those they lead.

Jesus was a servant and He is the Son of God. If He can lower Himself to perform the lowliest task of the lowest servant in the household, washing animal feces off the feet of the guests before dinner, don’t you think we should serve those we lead as well? People flocked to His leadership style. If you want to be first, be last, the servant of all.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.