Back in 2001, I attended the Heart-Cry for Revival conference, a biennial event sponsored by Life Action Ministries. The Lord did a great work of conviction and renewal in my heart, for which I will be forever grateful. Prayer and the preaching of the Word brought about a defining moment of repentance and renewal for me, one that significantly impacted my life and ministry from that point forward.
It's been ten years since I attended that conference. Over the course of the past decade my wife and I have continued to be blessed through Revive magazine, a quarterly publication of Life Action Ministries. Its stated mission is "to ignite movements of revival and authentic Christianity." We have found each issue to be filled with biblical, practical articles written by leading Christian men and women.
In fact, leadership is the key theme of the magazine's most recent issue. Leadership is influence If we want to influence people for God, if we want to impact people for Christ, we must possess the distinctive qualities of Christian leadership. With this in mind, pastor and author Crawford Loritts laid out several "Guiding Principles for Godly Leadership." I have found these to be scripturally based and practically beneficial, which is why I'm sharing them here on the TruthWalk blog. Here they are:
- Do not tell God how to use you. Stay open. Stay flexible.
- Do not compete or compare. No mortal being can take from you waht God as for you. Just pursue what God places in front of you.
- Do not live by your rights, but respond to what is right. People who live by their rights only grow to the level of their demands.
- Do not operate from giftedness; operate from brokenness. Your gifts are not a statement of your identity--they are only something God uses. Your real identity is found in Jesus.
- Do not make decisions based foremost on your gifts. God wants to grow you and bring about new things. He may want you in a situation outside of your gifts so He an do something greater in your heart and life.
Can you think of some references and real-life examples and incidents from Scripture that validate these principles? Why not write them down next to your own reprint of this list?