WISE INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TITUS CONNECTION Volume 18, Number 11 – November, 2024

Picture a group of large horses bridled together going in the same direction.  How can you get these animals that weight on average 900 – 1200 pounds (400 – 550 kgs) to go in the same direction together?  A horse is controlled by reins attached to a bridle.
The reins and bridles are what you can say unifies and focuses the horses to go in the same direction.  If you want a team to go in the same direction together and make an impact doing what the team is supposed to be doing, you need a purpose that allows for this.
Paul emphasized to Christians, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3, NIV).
Jesus knew Ephesians 4 would not be easy as He prayed in John 17:20-21, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
No matter what team you are on, you must have a purpose that promotes unity on the team. Traveling with no purpose does not make sense.  If you are traveling to a destination, you have to have a plan, a map to know where and how to get to your destination.
Within a team you need to know why you are on the team and what you are working for.  People will have variating opinions and ideas, but when it comes to carrying out a decision, they do it with integrity and without grumbling.  (Philippians 2:14).  The group has a common purpose that is clear and consistently provides direction in the “why the group exists” and decisions made.
Having your organization’s core values entrenched in your organization’s purpose, provides the proper “maps” to get the team on the route to reach your destination and you will have a sense that you are arriving where you want to go.  The organization needs to keep the main thing, the main thing so leadership will not head in different directions that will create ineffectiveness.
Just as horses are attached by a harness system of reins, bridles and bits, an effective human team must be accountable to each other.  At the same time, members can make independent decisions with the team purpose and goals in mind.
People are held to accountability that seeks to build one another up and positively encourages growth and development.  When confrontation is necessary, it is always to help the person become better in their relationship with both the Lord and others.  Accountability is never used to demean, ridicule or destroy one’s character.
You can freely follow your heart, making decisions and act according to personal desires and motives, keeping the team in mind.  When accountability is sought to build up another, then people have the tendency to make decisions that they feel are for the good of the group.
“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.  Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.  (Hebrews 13:16-17).  Accountability and autonomy encourage respect for an individual and one’s giftings, while pursuing positive results for the team.
Accountability should encourage each group member to be the best version of who you can be, to help a person reach their greatest potential.  When accountability is positively viewed, we have people in our lives that give guidance and are available to make sure a person does not stray away from the principles and truths that guide the person.  That is a team culture worth pursuing.

There is a saying that says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  Whoever came up with that saying never had anyone hurl an insult or something hurtful towards them.  Word can have some of the most devastating impacts on us.  I had a nickname given to me as a kid which to this day still carries a sting when I think of it.  Reality is the person who gave me the nickname, I still have to work at being nice to because bad thoughts can quickly fill my mind if I let it.
How hard is it to not retaliate or take revenge on someone when the person has harmed someone you care about or you?  Even when something is said about you, do you often wish you could say something revengeful or hurting right back at the ones who shoot daggers at you?
Yes, our instinct is to retaliate whenever something mean or hurtful happens to us.  Growing up we are told to stand up for ourselves, to not give in to bullies.  To walk away without doing anything takes a great deal of courage.
The Apostle Paul is sometimes hard to understand.  In Romans 12:17-19, he is very clear on what he is saying. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.”
Does this mean every time something bad or evil happens to me, that God will take revenge on the other person, right in front of my eyes?  No.  Paul is saying what you can control is you and how you handle bad situations.  When someone does evil or bad things to you, don’t take revenge, doing something revengeful in return.  God knows all things, thus seeing and knowing what happens to us.  Will justice always result here on earth?  Unfortunately, not.
We must rest in the fact that God is the ultimate Judge who perfectly rules and at the same time is merciful.  Often when people do evil acts and never become sorry nor seek to make things right toward those they have been evil to, this reveals a deeper issue in their lives and that is they are separated from God.  They do not have a personal relationship with Jesus and thus will not enter heaven.  God offers grace and if rejected, these people will suffer eternally for the evil committed here on earth.
To not retaliate nor treat people revengefully is difficult.  In numerous New Testament books he wrote, Paul encourages Christians to live peacefully as much as possible with others, to be willing to forgive and speak honestly but caringly about others.
This takes maturity and boldness to do. It is easy to speak and treat others with evil; it takes sensitivity, prayer and a slower tongue and a thinking process to encourage and do positive things to those who treat us less.  Ask the Lord to help you overcome evil with good and to represent Him well in difficult situations.