What does it take to be a seasoned Christian leader? Even if we are respected leaders in our community, with talents and a love for the people around us, there are many other competencies needed to create a sustainable and productive life in this line of work. Some skills only come with years of experience. The main purpose of being a seasoned Christian leader is to guide others to follow Christ, to instruct them in scripture and imitation of Christ. It is what we have been discussing the last few weeks, and today this completes the series in exploring seasoned Christian leadership: loving and supporting the Church…

What’s a recent occasion where you have applied the word of God in your life?  As Christian leaders, we understand that God’s word is a gift and meant to be used to find wisdom and hope, but it can be easy to forget we have this tool at the tips of our fingers at all times. The Word of God is always accessible and there is always a verse or a story that can be applied to life. Anytime we are seeking advice, a moment of peace or a reminder of Jesus’s love, we can turn to scripture. There are many verses that have been life-changing for me. I remember reading “The Lord is my shepherd, he lets me rest,” during a period of burnout. Even though I had read this same verse many times, it was the perfect moment to rediscover it. It shifted something in me, and once I applied it to my life, I could finally begin to recover…

God designed this world perfectly with natural laws. Consider a basic example: fruit, which Britannica describes as “the fleshy or dry ripened ovary of a flowering plant, enclosing the seed or seeds.” How perfect and beautiful fruit was made, to carry its own species’ means of survival inside itself. This seed will go on to ensure the fruit continues to replicate…

In my last blog, we looked at how to better listen to the Holy Spirit. How we can make the time and space to sit with God and learn to hear His words. However, this is just the first step. After we can see and understand the Lord’s plans, we must then take action. What is the point of listening if we don’t use our new understanding to make transformation happen?

Just because a leader is a Christian, just because they go to church and pray, doesn’t always mean they are hearing what the Holy Spirit is telling them. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in many ways throughout our day, but it can take intentional practice to understand what God is saying. God is working in the world at all times, and we are at our most effective as leaders when we understand the work and take the actions that the Spirit is guiding us to take…

The life and work of a mentor, coach or professional supervisor, really any career in Christian leadership, comes with many different seasons. There will be beautiful warm springs full of hope and productivity, and long hot stretches of summer full of life and passion for the calling. However, there will also be chilly autumns full of uncertainty and doubts, as well as cold and harsh winters that may give in to depression, stress and burnout. Of course, the seasons of a Christian leader’s life rarely line up with the annual changes of weather, but the awareness of the good times following the bad, the difficult seasons following a happy and hopeful one, is an ongoing pattern. This is a truth that all leaders need to accept and anticipate…

It seems natural to contemplate what makes a seasoned Christian leader during this season. Easter Sunday was an excellent reminder that our leadership should always come from a humble imitation of Christ. Christ calls us to take our cross and follow him as His disciples. The seasoned Christian leader participates in understanding the wonders that God brings us and the comfort that we receive in Jesus’s ministry, in His grace, and by welcoming and including others into our community…

Being a mature disciple comes down to two primary commitments: the commitment to the Great Commandment – loving others and loving God and the Great Commission – spreading the good news of Jesus. Of course, these two commitments are linked because if you genuinely love others, you want them to experience the same blessings that you experience. If you are having a great meal, you want to share your food with them. If you read an excellent book, you want to pass that book onto them, and if you love Jesus, you want to introduce them to Him, too. However, if you try to follow the commission of spreading the news without loving the people you want to reach, you come across as arrogant, manipulative or judgmental. These two commitments should always be lived out together…

Who are you working for? You might have a boss, a manager, a board, or you might run your own business, but who are you really working for? We must remind ourselves that we are ultimately working for God and, while God is our provider, “the Lord is our shepherd,” we still must take responsibility for our time, our treasures and our talents. Are we using them how God desires us to use them?