Be A People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective Relationships by Maxwell John C

Author:Maxwell, John C. [Maxwell, John C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: David C. Cook
Published: 2013-02-14T23:00:00+00:00

And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba.

His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.”

Such sober warnings in the Word of God should impress upon us the importance of keeping our priorities straight: God first, family second, ministry or career third. Only when a leader’s relationship to God is right, and only when responsibilities as a family member are being properly met, can the leader be fully faithful in exercising the ministry God has given him or her.

Am I Asking Myself the Difficult Questions?

What are the critical questions? The first one is, Why am I doing this? Why am I spending time on this project or with these people? What are my motives? If you’re doing the right job for the wrong reasons, don’t count on God to bless your project.

The second question is, How should it be done? This deals with presumption. The danger of presumption is ever-present, especially for people called to an adventurous ministry of faith. Moses strikes the rock to produce water on one occasion and then presumes quite wrongly that this is to be God’s method on a later occasion.

The third critical question is, When should I do it? This question deals with timing. When does God want his task accomplished? Again, aggressive leaders have a tendency to run ahead as Abraham did when he tried to speed up God’s promise to Ishmael. We have a tendency to want short-term success at the expense of God’s long-term will.

Am I Accountable to Someone in Authority over My Life?

In 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 we read, “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.”

You are at peace among yourselves when you are accountable to someone in authority. This is one reason why I believe in the local church. Every Christian should be a member of a local congregation and should submit to those in authority. It is very universal and very unhealthy for Christian organizations to have members on the board who are not tied in to a local church. I would be very frightened to follow someone who was not responsible to anyone. Only God himself can handle that kind of power and authority.

My friend Ron Jenson provided me with a great idea: Stop here for a minute and write down the name of the person to whom you are accountable.

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