Since our first days in Lancaster, it has been my passion to develop a cohesive team at Lancaster Baptist Church and ministries. I praise the Lord that on our staff and among our church family there is a unified team spirit—a shared heart to exalt Christ and win the lost. I attribute the great team spirit in our ministry to the work of the Holy Spirit and the yieldedness of individual team members.

There was never a more cohesive and victorious time in the early history of the church than at Jerusalem around the time of Pentecost. An obvious reason for this was the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Yet there was another factor—the common convictions these Christians shared about the truth.

In the August edition of the Spiritual Leadership Podcast, we explore the convictions necessary to developing a cohesive team.

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Strong teams have an alignment of four leadership domains—the heart, head, hands, and habits. Each member must have a heart for God, the mind of Christ, a willingness to lend a helping hand, and a shared habit of soulwinning. These four areas are properly aligned when members of the team share the very convictions common to the early Christians in Jerusalem. (more…)

This past Sunday I was privileged to preach the 50^th anniversary services of the Grace Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina. What an honor it was for me to stand in the pulpit of the great men of God who started and have pastored this church—Moody Roberts, Marshall Godfrey, Floyd Paschall, Dr. Clayton Shumpert, and, my good friend and mentor, Dr. Bob Kelley. Brother Bill Egerdahal currently serves this church as pastor. (more…)

If you were to advertise in the classified section of a newspaper in search of a  leader, what qualifications would you ask for? Knowledge? People skills? Ability to assume and maintain control?

One person suggested the following classifieds ad:

HELP WANTED: SERVANT—Someone to do the often undesirable work for the sake of others. Needs strong sense of [worth] in God’s eyes and true compassion for others. Must be personally acquainted with the greatest Servant of all in order to continue his training. Work requires being on call 24 hours a day to meet needs of family, friends, and even strangers. Must be willing to give up his rights—no experience necessary—job begins today, right where you are.

Yes, leaders must continually grow in a wide variety of skills, but the baseline of spiritual leadership is a servant’s heart. Without it, no other skills will produce eternal fruit.

Our tendency is to want to be served far more than wanting to serve others. Yet Jesus Himself said, “…the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

Could you answer an ad for a servant?

Most mature Christians know 2 Timothy 2:2 by heart: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” We recognize the importance of training and mentoring young Christians, and we desire to develop a new generation of leaders in fruitful ministry.

Yet sometimes we miss profitable discipleship and mentoring because we don’t have a clear objective in mind. Leadership training isn’t merely about spending time together; it is about using that time intentionally. Every mentoring moment is a teaching moment; and as the mentor, you must predetermine how you will use each moment. What must you teach future leaders? Here are the basics: (more…)

Leadership can be a scary position, but not all fear is dangerous. There are healthy and and unhealthy fears of leaders. Let’s examine them briefly:

We must fear the Lord.

Psalm 111:10 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” The fear of the Lord helps us recognize our accountability to God for the stewardship of leadership. It motivates us to seek the Lord’s wisdom and understanding in difficult situations. And it challenges us to give our all to the Lord by serving those we lead with love and humility.

We must not fear perception.

Fear of man is the enemy of the fear of the Lord. The fear of man pushes us to perform for man’s approval rather than according to God’s directives. It encourages visible results at the expense of private worship and growth. It causes us to over-commit and spread ourselves beyond the Holy Spirit’s leading. It limits our ministry and stunts our walk with the Lord.

The fear of man is a terrible, binding trap. Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”

While the fear of the Lord motivates us to give our best by His Spirit, the fear of man intimidates us into fleshly production. The fear of man strangles us, because we can never please everybody; but the fear of the Lord frees us, because it challenges us to live and serve for an audience of One.

Are you operating under the fear of the Lord or the fear of others’ perceptions?