Resolve to Learn

To be a leader is to be a lifelong learner.

We should never stop learning.  This morning, I ran into a lady who knew quite  a bit about natural remedies and healthy living.  I know very little about any of that, so I had a lengthy conversation with her, soaking up every bit of information I could get.  Natural remedies don’t have much to do with leadership, but you never know when that kind of information will come in handy, or who I can introduce to my new friend who can use that kind of information.

We need to seek learning experiences.

We shouldn’t just wait for them to happen.  The world is full of learning experiences waiting to happen.  They come in all forms, from books and magazines to a planned lunch with an expert in a certain field.  This is the information age, and there’s no end to the things we can learn if we just put our minds to it.

We can’t be an expert in every field, but a general knowledge over a broad range of fields opens up our ability to make better decisions, communicate better, and be better stewards of our world.

Last year, I didn’t read as much as I should have.  I didn’t deliberately seek out learning experiences.  As a result, I had trouble growing.

This year, I resolve to Learn everything that I can.  I pray that God will show me to good learning experiences, put people in my path that I can learn from, and give me the patience and good sense to learn from them when He does.

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,

Matt

Resolve to Follow

My first resolution of the year is to be a better follower.

All Christian leaders are followers.  Nobody gets the top spot in this organization except of course God.  One of the things I've learned this last year is that your Christian leadership ability is tied closely with how you follow God.

A person who isn't following God very closely isn't going to be able to lead in a godly manner or influence God's people.  God isn't going to bless that person with a supernatural ability to lead, and that leader won't be leading in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I find myself in that position more often than I'd like to admit.  I find myself reading the Bible only to study for my writing, or for curriculum development, or to teach a bible study.  In those times I'm not having a relationship with God, I'm using Him as a resource.   Like a library.  I seriously doubt He honors that, and I can tell when I'm drifting away from Him even though I'm in His word every day.

This year, one of my main goals is to really develop a living relationship with God.

 I want to be closer to Him.  I want to know Him better.

It's more than a matter of reading my Bible more.  I read it a lot.  I'm planning on meditating on His word, spending more time in prayer, and especially in listening, and spending some serious time in solitude and quiet listening to Him.

A Christian leader needs a close relationship with God.  It is from God that a leader's abilities and work flow.

What are you doing to draw closer to God this year?  How about right now?

Training Tomorrow's Leaders Today,
Matt

A New Year for ___________

I used to think that New Year's Resolutions were stupid.  I didn't see the point in making a bunch of resolutions that I was going to break in a couple of weeks.  I've lightened my opinion a bit, however, because for any leader, goals and aspirations are a good thing.  They keep us moving in a direction and give us something to measure against and celebrate.


My wife and I sat down last night and worked out our personal goals for the year, but I wanted to share my personal leadership resolutions with you, and hope also to hear from some of you about your resolutions.


For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be talking about some of my resolutions, detailing them,  letting you know where they came from and why.  For now, here is a list of my resolutions:

1.  I resolve to Follow
2.  I resolve to Learn
3.  I resolve to Grow
4.  I resolve to Lead

What's your New Year's Resolutions, and why? 

Training Tomorrow's Leaders Today,
Matt

Book Review: Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas

It's been a while since I last reviewed a book, but after reading Bonhoeffer, by Eric Metaxas, I had to write something about it. 

 History, Theology, and Leadership:  Bonhoeffer has it all!
I think this book is special to me because it is not only about theology, or history, but a man of God who led people through a very difficult time of history.  Bonhoeffer stood for something, and his beliefs informed his actions. 

Bonhoeffer is interesting because he provides such an eclectic personality from our point of view.  Many different sides claim him as one of their spiritual fathers.  Bonhoeffer would have laughed at this no doubt, being a player in an ecumenical movement that was vibrant and faithful.  Metaxas strives to show Bonhoeffer as a theological conservative (which he no doubt was) that was also involved with monastic ideas and social justice issues.  Metaxas also strives to show the man and his behaviors through the lens of his theology, which is so important if you want to understand Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his leadership during the Nazi crisis in Germany.

Metaxas' style is easy to read, yet deep and thorough in it's scholarship.  It's a thick book, which no doubt could have been more thick.  But Metaxas drives home his points, and the life and tragedy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer leap out of the page at you. 

Bonhoeffer will drive you to your knees
Reading Bonhoeffer will somehow make you feel as though you have been cut from lesser cloth.  Bonhoeffer's devotion to his God, his family, his friends, and everyone that he met will convict you and show you what is possible when a man gives himself to Christ. 
His devotional life is something else that Metaxas demonstrates aptly, and again, it will drive you to your knees.  Reading about Dietrich Bonhoeffer's relationship with God will make you want a deeper relationship with Him, and if nothing else is gained from the book, that is enough.

Bonhoeffer wrote that "when Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." 
We have no better example of that than Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

I hope you enjoy the book.
Training Tomorrow's Leaders Today,
Matt