Titus Email May 2018

WISE INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
TITUS EMAIL
Volume 12, Number 5 – MAY, 2018

Greetings. WILD has had a historic month as WILD’s four regional directors (Rev. Henry Mukonda, Rev. Edward Baleke, David Mulbah and Rev. Ram Prasad Shrestha) met with the WILD International board for the first time ever. We strategically planned WILD for the next three to five years. God is graciously and strategically using WILD for His glory. What an honor. Also Henry, Edward and David were able to do something most Africans and Asians have not done before….shovel snow. We had a major snowfall and these three men graciously expressed servant leadership by helping with the shoveling!!! See the end of this email. Thank. Mike

LEADERSHIP – DYING TO SELF

In our world today, we toss the concept of “leader” and “spiritual leader” around like it is easy to attain and that there is no responsibility that goes with such a description of a person. It is true that the simple definition is leadership is influence; so anytime we have any kind of influence over another person, we are leading them. I am leading you right now as you read this because you are following my words as I influence your thinking.

We all influence someone in some way some of the time so the concept of leadership can quickly be almost meaningless. Yet when a person is given a leadership role, many people struggle with the concept and how they are to act as a leader. They ask, “What am I supposed to do?” If we simply tie leadership to positions or titles, we miss the essence of what it means to be a leader.

In WILD we develop people to be spiritual leaders. There is a saying someone once shared, “Let the job or responsibility of an office chase after the person, rather than the person chase after the office.” Simply put, develop as a spiritual leader, in the ways God desires His people to be becoming godly, ambassadors of Jesus, after which opportunities to lead will come about. Do not desire or pursue titles and glamorous positions. Rather pursue being holy like Jesus as we are commanded in 1 Peter 1:15-16. Let God open the doors for you to lead.

Robert Quinn, a leadership professor at the University of Michigan, has shared that the origins of the word “leader” means to “go forth and die”. He wrote, “Leadership authors do not understand that leadership means, ’Go forth and die’. If they did understand it, they would not be enticed to write about it – because people do not want to hear this message. Most people want to be told how to get extraordinary results with minimal risk. They want to know how to get out-of-the-box results with in-the-box courage!”

I do not know if Robert Quinn is a Christian but he hit the point of leadership on the head. This is spiritual leadership. If we are going to be spiritual leaders, we die to ourselves so that others can develop and flourish. Am I willing to be an unknown servant of God for His glory? Jesus came to this earth to serve, seeking and saving those who were lost (Luke 19:10).

Denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily is not a popular sermon topic in places where persecution is minimal or non-existent. We Christians should be the examples throughout the world as the examples of what true leadership means and is. Our Christian life and how we are to live is it is not about me; it is about others. It is not about what is going on now, it is about the future.

What you and I do as believers is to live for others. As spiritual leaders, we are to develop others. In the Bible, church leadership is instructed in Ephesians 4 to train and develop the body of Christ to serve. Jesus took twelve guys and for three years trained and developed them to run the Church. Honestly, if you are a spiritual leader, no matter the application of where you are leading, whether at home, work, community or church, you need to be influencing and developing people, either drawing them into a relationship with Jesus or enhancing that relationship.

In the Christian worldview, we define leadership as dying to oneself and then live out that life. If we were to live out that definition, the world would take notice and just imagine the amount of influence we would have with people. They would be drawn to the Savior Himself.

YOUTH MINISTRY – NUGGETS OF TRUTH ABOUT OUR ATTITUDE

“And now, dear (young) brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” The apostle Paul addressed that to you in Philippians 4:8. As a person thinks, so he or she is was once written. Your attitude so often makes or breaks you.

What is “attitude”? It is an expression of favor or disfavor toward a situation, place or people. Our attitudes normally come out in our behavior. Positive attitudes include affectionate, friendly, responsible, self-confident, cheerful, humble, sensitive, considerate, thoughtful and sincere. Negative attitudes include apathetic, malicious, insincere, arrogant, inflexible, cruel, resentful, deceiving, rigid and rude.

How does a person’s attitude affect or impact our lives? Here are a few thoughts. We are responsible for our attitudes. Your attitude is totally in your control! You and I can’t control the length of our life, but we can control its width and depth. I can’t control the contour of my face, but I can control its expression. What happens to me does not matter as much as what happens in me.
My attitude determines my altitude (John Maxwell quote). Maintain it daily.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference”, so said Winston Churchill, Prime minister of Great Brittan during World War 2. Maintaining the right attitude is easier than trying to regain it. Things will happen to every one of us, most of which we have no control over. What we do control is how we handle the situation (our attitude) which then affects the outcome of the situation. Attitude is a choice on how we handle life’s situations.

According to Shawn Byler, PhD., of Momentum Performance Development, performance is “directly related to how an athlete feels about himself/herself. Your athletes will learn faster, perform better, and have fewer practice problems when you, the coach, use techniques to catapult the athlete toward confidence and self-esteem.” Being a Christian should help us to develop an understanding of how wonderfully made we are by God, that what is on the inside of us is so much greater than what is on the outside and how well we perform different feats in life.

Additionally, there is not much difference between success and failure. Consider these two math equations – 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 243 and 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 = 1,024. We have increased the numbers by one or 33% but the total has increased 400%. Our attitudes do not determine the whole picture or the results but one thing can make a difference in your life. Someone once said your attitude is the paint brush of your mind.

“There is little difference in people, but the little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” (W. Clement Stone).

Finally change your attitude if that is what needs to be changed. Your willing to change determines the success of your attitude change more than anything else. Jesus’ attitude was to do whatever His Father wanted Him to accomplish. Hours before dying on the cross, Jesus told His Father that He was willing to do His Father’s will, not His own will (Luke 22:42).

If you have been told to have an attitude adjust sometime in your life, it is not easy because you do not want to do that whatsoever. But your willingness to have a soft, teachable heart can make the difference between joy and sorrow, being honorable or arrogant and rude. Pursue the way Jesus wants you to live

ILLUSTRATION

Every problem has a hidden possibility. Instructions: Draw 4 lines through all the dots without lifting your pen from the paper. See if you can do it. A lot has to do with your attitude

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