Dare Great Things For Christ

The life of King Solomon is exceptional in many ways. From his virtue to his success to his covenant with God, the life of King Solomon serves as a great example and inspiration for Christian leaders. Nevertheless, not everything about the life of this great king is admirable. Like all of us he had faults and failings. And because he did not deal with them effectively these became the source of his downfall. And in his failure as much as his victory we can also learn how to lead.

It is said by many that success can be harder to cope with than failure. Certainly this was true for King Solomon. The incredible success we read about in first Kings 9 and 10 is only the prelude to his incredible downfall. But what a prelude it is. What does God want us to learn from it? In this our fifth segment on King Solomon, I examine the weight of success and the call for Christian leaders not only to achieve it but to live it like saints.

In the first book of Kings, the Word of God details the fact that King Solomon built the temple in which God lived. What is said here in a very matter of fact and simple fashion has profound implications for the way that we view the work of our hands. In this fourth part of our series on King Solomon we allow the life and example of the good king to challenge our own perspectives about our work and the ability we have to bring faith into our business.

The life of King Solomon was truly extraordinary. Gifted with outstanding wisdom, King Solomon’s wisdom blessed Israel with outstanding abundance. And even though everything in his life was not worthy of imitation, the Bible is careful to record that he used his gifts to build the temple of God. This might surprise us. Why would God want his leader to dedicate himself to building a temple? It’s a question that opens us to a deeper understanding of our own leadership today.

Amongst the many notable lives of leaders brought to us in the Bible, the life of King Solomon stands out. Not everything in his life is worthy of imitation, but other aspects of his life seem clearly to indicate the plan of God for us. And one of those aspects in particular is the benefits that God shows for those who possess wisdom. In this our second episode on King Solomon we look at the benefits of Godly wisdom in his life and compare it to the wisdom we find in Christ.

For anyone reading the Bible looking for an example of leadership, the life of King Solomon stands out as a must read. Not everything that he did was exemplary, in fact much of what he did was problematic. And yet still, God writes straight with crooked lines. And looking at his life as it’s given us can teach us lessons both good and bad. Things to do and things to avoid in our own leadership. We begin our series on King Solomon by looking at his prayer for a listening heart.

Of there is one common denominator across all societies and all times, it’s that human beings have to work. From finding the necessities of survival to advancing technology to a new level. Regardless of the many ways it can manifest itself, the imperative to work is common to all of us. Does these mean, however, that our lives are constrained to difficulty and toil? What about work benefits us and makes us good?

Can power be a pathway to holiness? It’s a provocative question, mostly because of the ways we view power today. But what if I asked it differently? What if I said, “Could leading others like a servant of Christ make you holy?” Most of us would then say, “Absolutely.” The way that we view leadership has a lot to do with how we exercise it. In this second part of our series I try to unpack for us how leadership, in fact, is a practical truth.

In the myriads of articles and books written on leadership, it’s astonishing how few times truth is mentioned. Certainly, there are many reasons for this but that fact that so many feel that truth can be omitted from a conversation on leadership only underscores its importance, especially or Christian leaders. But for many of us the questions remain: “why is truth important?”, “does truth divide us rather than unite us?”, and if there is a truth how do we come to know it? Welcome to the first of a series dedicated to these questions?

Reading the Gospels from the point of view of leadership offers us many wonderful insights into our own leadership. Afterall, watching how Jesus leads is the best way to discovering what he expects from us as well. Leadership can of course mean many different things, but when you look at how he was towards his disciples you can’t help but notice his intention to influence them as profoundly as possible. He does this through words through teaching through example and most powerfully through his presence.

When Christians look to grow in leadership there’s no better teacher than Jesus. Throughout the Gospel our Lord is confronted with many of the same situations we find ourselves confronted with both at work and in the family. In many ways his world was not that different from our own. And so watching him lead in his world can help us lead in ours. In this fourth episode in our series, I look at how our Lord focuses in on the heart without allowing his disciples to get distracted with lesser things.

Anyone who reads the gospels can’t help but notice the way that Jesus Christ is confronted by and chooses to confront those who surround him. His life was not easy and his public ministry was marked by confrontation. The fact that he does not hide this from his apostles and that those confrontations play such an important role in the Gospel provides a leadership lesson for us as well. Most of us will have to live through many confrontations and Jesus shows us how.

To lead we have to be able to bring talent forth – all great leaders have this in common. And Jesus Christ shows us this in a very special way. During the three years he was with his apostles he not only consoled and healed them but he also challenged them and trained them for a life of discipleship in the most challenging of circumstances. He trained his future leaders to lead by leading them into their own greatness even when this was hard.

Those involved in leadership spend a lot of time talking about leadership in the abstract. But Christian leadership can’t be spoken of without Christ. Which begs the question, “How did Jesus lead?”. While this subject is vast and can be approached from many angles perhaps the easiest way to understanding how Jesus leads is by watching how He actually led and His leadership begins with His choice of His twelve apostles. Join us in this first of our next series, “Watching Jesus Lead – The Choice Of The Twelve”.

Any person of Christian faith who is in position of leadership will find it easy to speak about prayer. Afterall, prayer is an essential part to the Christian life. But it might be more challenging for us to understand its practical power. Being men and women of action, we rely often on our own strength to make things happen. Given that sense of responsibility what value does prayer have? In this final talk in our seris on Joyful Leadership we explore the practical power of prayer in our lives.