The First Thing
Many things help make a leader, but this first step is necessary if you are to every start on the life journey as an influencer and a strength to others. This five minute teaching from a seasoned leader will help you get off to a good start.
The State of the Church
May 11, 2009 by chuckquinley
Filed under LeadOthers, Walk
What is the state of the church? I can accurately tell you that it is vibrant and budding with new life—and that it is stuck in tradition and dying moment by moment with no hope of resuscitation. It is generous and sacrificial to the point of actual martyrdom and it is corrupt and full of nepotism and hidden dealings in money. The church is holy and careful about bringing the name of the Lord into any disrepute among the unbelievers and it is also a place of great sexual immorality among its single adults and even its married members.
You see, the church is as healthy as its leaders are. I have been in churches where the leaders committed themselves to a daily ministry of prayer on behalf of their sheep and where pastors and their wives sacrificed gladly to see God’s children cared for. I have also seen churches where the leadership was incredibly self-indulgent, controlling finances with relatives and trusted confidants, seeming to care very little for the church. Whatever the state of the leadership, it filters down to the flock. As the Leader, so the people. Leaders who stand up for Christ in spite of beatings, imprisonment and even death raise up a church of champions where even the children are faithful unto death.
But leadership is not only vested in the clergy. We all have influence. We are all the church and have the ability to speak up against unbiblical patterns of action. Our obedient and sacrificial actions can send waves of change throughout our circle of believers. We can’t control the state of the church in other fellowships and nations, but we can do all we can to become part of a functioning community of disciples that lives according to the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus Christ. I want to make a personal contribution to the health of the church. I know that you do too.
I Want a New Church!
April 3, 2009 by chuckquinley
Filed under LeadOthers, Walk
OK, this has been a long time coming but I can’t hold it in any more. I want a new church. I LOVE the church and my soul has been enriched by my church life more than anything other than my family, but I am just so dissatisfied with my experience of trying to find a local church to go to when we aren’t on the road that I want to start a conversation about it. Everywhere I go I hear the same groans from people who love the Lord and who love the church, but are agonizing over what church has become. Much of this conversation comes even from the pastors themselves. This year we are traveling across the land visiting churches to advocate for stronger involvement in Asian missions so we are seeing many models of church. Much of this we have enjoyed, but we also have seen warning signs in some churches that trouble us. We haven’t been in America much for the past 5 years so I feel we are seeing things a bit more objectively than if we lived here and experienced the change gradually. Here’s what I feel…
Life In-Between Chapters
author: Pastor Terry Ross
I once read some tremendously insightful words that have helped me understand the process of transitions in life and in leadership: Healthy things grow; growing things change; changing things challenge us; challenging things force us to trust God; trust leads to obedience; obedience makes us healthy; and healthy things grow.
Growth, change, challenge, trust, obedience, health, growth – it all sounds like transition to me. At the age of 58, I have now experienced many life transitions – 37 years of marriage, the birth of 2 incredible daughters (talk about transitions!) and now 6 incredible grandkids, deaths of both parents, open heart surgery and the changes that came with that experience. Then there have been the many transitions in vocation through the years. These have helped me gain experiences (both good and bad), pick up knowledge and wisdom along the way, and survive some poor leadership models and also thrive under a couple of great leadership models.
Each of these transitions came with its own unique and often difficult challenges. However, for those of us who live to honor Christ, the challenges we face really do cause us to trust God with every decision and in every facet of our lives.
This is why at an early age I made my life’s scripture passage Proverbs 3:5-8. Listen to these verses from a modern translation called The Message//Remix:
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health; your very bones will vibrate with life!
Transitions of many kinds are a guaranteed part of our lives. We need to understand that each of them holds possibilities for bringing positive change.
What transitions can you pinpoint in life that have helped develop the leader/person you are today?
How have you survived and/or thrived in your own transitions?