Lesson #1: If you feel it is necessary to continually remind people you are the leader, there is a real possibility you are not.

Lesson #2: Be Last.

Lesson #3: Praise Publicly. Correct Privately. Encourage Consistently.

Lesson #4: Listen and allow input. Never let yours be the only voice you hear.

One thing is certain- leaders communicate. Vision, direction, instruction, and expectations must all be communicated for an organization to function properly. Although many ways exist, the primary means of communications remains verbal. Leaders stand before their people day in and day out to reinforce their organization’s mission and purpose. After all, leaders are called/hired for this reason and the organization looks to the that leader guidance. It is easy for the leader of an organization to get comfortable with and prefer to hear his/her own voice. This can be harmful to an organization.

There comes a point where leaders must listen to the people who make up the organization; to the people whose responsibility it is to carry out the organization’s mission. Effective leaders take time and listen. They understand that although they have the responsibility to guide the organization, they don’t have all the answers, nor do they possess all the good ideas. Effective leaders regularly seek input and feedback from the members of the organization regarding what they are hearing. This allows the leader to be confident that the message being communication is being correctly, while sending a message that the members of the organization matter and are valued. As a pastor, I have found that some of the best ideas for ministry were not mine. Instead, the best ideas came from the pews. Smart leaders will not allow their voice to be the only one heard within their organization.

Today is a day of transition. Yesterday was my last day as the senior pastor of Port Royal Baptist Church, my home for the last eight years. I will be forever indebted to the people of Port Royal Baptist for allowing me the opportunity to serve and grow alongside them. I leave the church healthy and poised for future growth and effective ministry. A few words of thanks to the people of Port Royal Baptist.

Thank you for giving me the freedom to preach God’s Word. As a minister of the gospel, I am called to share the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). At times, God’s Word is not easy to hear or handle. You have never asked me to soften, back off, or water-down God’s message. I appreciate being able to carry out my calling among you while honoring God with a clear presentation of Scripture.

Thank you for your willingness to accept all people into the fellowship.  God has called us to reach all people. Thank you for embracing an ethnically and socially diverse community. There are churches that say, by word or action, that only certain types and colors of people are allowed. You gave me the confidence to go into the community and invite everyone, knowing they would be welcome.

Thank you for loving my family. The lives of a pastor’s wife and children are unique. At times, they are asked to take a back seat to the entire congregation. Thank you for being a blessing to Terri and Jordan. Thank you for not putting unusually high and unfair expectations on them. Thank you for encouraging and allowing me to take the necessary time to foster these critical relationships. Thank you for taking care of my family emotionally, spiritually, and financially. I would like to especially thank you for allowing me the time to be with my dad when while he was sick. How you ministered to my family at this death is something that will live with me for the rest of my life.

Thank you for trusting me. You allowed me to lead as I have been led. I have asked a great deal from you these eight years. I asked you trust and love each other during a difficult time. I asked you to love your neighbor as yourself. I asked you to be increasingly active in reaching our community. I asked you to give more to missions. Each time you responded. You trusted me when I didn’t get it right.

I will be assuming the same role at First Baptist Church of Perry, Florida on August 1^st. This move is different from those in the past. Moves before this one included our son, Jordan. Now that he is grown, married, and on his own, his adjustment to a new church, school, etc. has not been part of our decision. It’s just the two of us. My heart is full of excitement about this new chapter in our lives. To the people of First Baptist Perry – I look forward to serving alongside of you. I look forward to investing in you and the community. I look forward to walking with you as God reveals His perfect plan for the church. I will be writing more about this transition in the future.

This week will be filled with funerals – yesterday, tomorrow, and Friday. Two of the families we are ministering to are part of our church family at Port Royal Baptist. We find ourselves back in Florida today and tomorrow for the funeral of Terri’s aunt. With funeral prep, funerals, travel, sermon prep, and meetings with ministry leaders in preparation for my exit from Port Royal Baptist, I haven’t had much time for recreational writing. 

I posted last week I would resume my Leadership Lessons today. I am not going to be able to that, or any other writing this week. Please forgive me and pray for us this week and I will resume writing next week. Thank you for your patience. 

I had planned on sharing the second part of the Leadership Lessons series today. We are  heading to Perry, Florida to look for homes over the next three days. I will continue the series on Tuesday of next week. Thank you for your patience. 

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

 Last words are important. They communicate what is most important on a person’s mind, while reinforcing what needs to be remembered. In today’s passage, we find some of the final words and instructions of Jesus for His disciples prior to His ascension. There are two important truths at work here. First, the strength to do what has been asked of us by Jesus does not come from within. Our power is from on high. The reality of this verse was experienced on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and the early church. That power is still at work today within the church and in us. We have all that we will ever need in Him. Second, every believer is employed in the task of introducing people to Jesus. His command to be witnesses should not be accomplished by verbal communication alone. Our life, as much as our words, is witness to the world about Jesus. What we do and how we live matters as much as our words. It is one of the reasons so many people are turned off to Christianity. They don’t see any difference between Christians and everyone else. Wherever we find ourselves, whether that be Jerusalem (your community), Judea and Samaria (your state and country), or the uttermost parts of the world, you are witness to the One who changed your life.

Reflection Questions.

How do people see you? Would someone else characterize you as a Christ-follower?

Where is there inconsistency between your life and your message?

How does it make you feel that someone else may make their decision about trusting Jesus based on what they see in your life?

“Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, ‘Look at us.’ So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them – walking, leaping, and praising God.” (Acts 3:1-8)

Have you ever found yourself in a situation, perhaps as a result of an injury, surgery, or illness, that has forced you to be dependent on others?  For most of us, that is a very uncomfortable position. We watch those in our household getting their own food, dressing themselves, and performing other fundamental daily tasks while we cannot. We desperately want our independence restored.  One day Peter and John met a man in Jerusalem who had been crippled from birth. Without a doubt this man wanted to be like the others in his life. Instead, his disability sent him to the streets to beg for money, food, and help. As this man lay destitute and disheveled, Peter and John stepped into this man’s life, touched him, and offered him the one thing he needed more than anything. Not money. Not food. Not the ability to walk. They offered him Jesus. By God’s mercy and power, the man was made whole; both physically and spiritually. Christians are the church on the street. We encounter people every day who are hurting and helpless. We must be willing to dirty our hands in the work of the ministry. We must be willing to move past the comfortable to the uncomfortable. We must be willing to give away what we have. Above all, we must ensure that we give away the main thing. People might have piles of problems we want God to fix. Some may be serious: cancer, financial burdens, etc. Yet the most important thing people need is not a quick fix from God. The most important thing people need is the Savior Jesus Christ.

Reflection Questions.

When was the last time you stepped into another’s life because their need moved you to action? How did you feel afterwards?

In our service to people, we must often meet a physical need before we can introduce them to their most important need: spiritual healing and forgiveness of sin. Do you agree? If yes, what would that look like practically?

“So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.” (1 Kings 19:19-21)

Elijah the prophet placed his mantle (cloak) upon the shoulders of Elisha the farmer. Elijah was summoning Elisha, at God’s leading, to leave his farm and take on the work of prophet for God’s people. This was not a small request, and it would require a great commitment from Elisha. He made his commitment clear. He brought an end to his occupation as a farmer by killing his oxen, burning the plow to cook the meat, and sharing it with his family and neighbors. They had become witnesses to the change in his life. Elisha wanted to show God and everyone that he was fully committed. From that point forward, there was no looking back. Whole-hearted service requires a commitment to allow the Holy Spirit work in our lives. Service in the kingdom does not always demand a career change, but it does require placing everything we have into God’s service.

Reflection Questions.

On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being uninvolved and 5 being totally involved), how would you rate your current level of service through the church? Why did you give yourself that score?

Are you carrying around things from your past that are keeping you from whole-heartedly serving the Lord today? Name them.