Chad Stutzman – Page 24 – Character Faith Generosity and Leadership

January 27, 2011

Love Well

I’ve been reading through the Message Bible this year. I have read the entire Bible in this version and am doing it again because I find myself drawn in by this version of the Bible. It is easy to read and I find myself reading large portions in one sitting. Yesterday I started reading the book of Philippians, but only got through one chapter. A portion of Paul’s prayer for the Philippians really jumped out at me and challenged me. Here it is, Chapter 1 verses 9 & 10:

“So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush.”

I can’t get this idea of loving well out of my mind. Lot’s of questions have run through my mind. How well do I love? How do I love well? What does he mean by love appropriately? Why should I use my head to test my feelings? Love is a word that has been used a lot and it’s meaning has been confused in my opinion. For many people the idea of loving well is somewhat confusing and intimidating. Many of the people I talk too and interact with struggle with this idea of loving well. There are so many struggling, broken relationships today that to love well is almost uncommon.

I don’t have time to go very deep on this thought, but I want to share some ideas I have on how to love well. These ideas may connect with you for your marriage relationship, your parenting relationship, or other relationships you currently are struggling in or are wanting to do better. There is a lot more to loving well, and none of us will ever love perfectly, but all of us can love better.

To love well, we must admit our inadequacy – What I mean by that is none of us know how to make intimate relationships work. We might know some things that work, but we are inadequate on our own to love well all the time. So say it with me, I don’t know what I am doing!

To love well, we must be humble – Pride destroys relationships, humility heals relationships. Humility is the secret of blessing and intimacy. In humility we think about our selves less and those close to us more. In humility we look to serve those around us without expecting anything in return. In humility we realize we need help from God in order to love well.
To love well, we must trust – Without trust no relationship can last. Trust is about always looking and believing the best about a person. Trust can only happen if I know who I am and who I am not. Trust leads to deeper intimacy, and also the potential for deeper hurt. Trust means I will open my heart and not close out people. Trust means never looking back and bringing up the things that are behind me. Trust does not mean I allow people to continue to hurt me or take advantage of me.
To love well, we must forgive – I know of no relationship that last over time that does not have to give and receive forgiveness. As humans we hurt each other, our natural tendency is to be selfish. When we are quick to forgive, we do not allow bitterness and anger the time to take root. If we are slow to forgive emotions come out of us that hurt and damage us and others. Forgiveness allows us to love well for the long haul.
To love well, we must persevere – Loving people is not easy. Patience and persistence are vital to loving well. Love never gives up. Through the most difficult of times we can love well if we have a long-term perspective. Loving the unlovable may seem impossible at times, yet to love well, we must love to the end. As mentioned earlier we can only do this with the power and strength that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is perfect love and he can give us what we need to love someone for the long haul.
To love well, we must grow – When we stop growing we often stop loving well. Whether it is spiritual growth, emotional growth, intellectual growth or even physical health. When we stop learning, growing and changing our love deteriorates and declines. If I find myself struggling to love the people around me as I should, I start to spend more time with God, I read more, I pray more, I exercise more, I schedule more one-on-one appointments, I talk to my life mentors. Just like a tree, to be healthy and strong it must keep growing. It’s roots go deeper to find more nutrients and water. It’s branches grow thicker to support the additional growth. We need to find ways to have our roots go deeper and our branches grow thicker in order to continue to love well.

I could come up with some more, but this is a great start. How well do you love? What would your spouse say? What would God say?

January 21, 2011

Depression

Christians can be depressed. There I said it, just because we are Christians does not mean we don’t struggle with things like depression and anxiety. Just read some of the Psalms from David in the Bible. “Why art thou cast down, oh my soul?” (Ps. 42:5) “O my God, my soul is cast down within me” (Ps. 42:6). Or even Elijah the great prophet – “O Lord, take away my life” (1Kings 19:4) How about Jonah? “It is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3). Jesus in Mathew 26:38 said “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death.”

That is some heavy stuff, a depression in which the person almost despaired of life itself. This time of year can be depressing in itself, because of the cold, no sunshine and darkness. So depression has been around for a long time and is not going away anytime soon. I just spoke this week with a man that had been experiencing depression and he was not even aware of how it was affecting him. So how does one deal with depression? For many people seeing a medical doctor is a great first step. Medication can do wonders in helping to think clearly and avoid the extreme lows, but don’t stop there. I want to give some helpful direction for people that struggle with depression from a Biblical viewpoint.

We all have physical, emotional, and spiritual limitations, and we all need to stay within in them. Here are some questions to think about, that may be contributing to depression in your life.

Have you been getting enough sleep? – lack of sleep can contribute to feelings of exhaustion.
Are you eating properly and regularly? – When our bodies are not getting the nutrients it needs like protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, dairy, (Chocolate is not a food group) it can cause physical and emotional problems.
Is your life too busy to get rest and take care of yourself?

So there are some physical things to consider when dealing with depression. We also need to examine how we react to the things around us. The things that happen to us are not as important as the ways in which we respond to those events. Certain responses cause a chain-reaction that can lead to emotional and spiritual depression. Maybe someone disappoints us or treats us badly. Broken relationships tend to be the biggest cause of a improper response. There are three primary reactions that lead to depression according to David Seamands:

Indecision- When a decision needs to be made, do you put it off? Is that your standard way of dealing coping? There is a sense of powerlessness in a depressed person, feeling trapped. Sometimes a person is afraid of saying no because they do not want to hurt another person. Or maybe they are afraid of saying yes and taking responsibility. In any case, indecision often leads to depression.
Anger – one of the best definitions I have heard about depression is “Frozen Rage”. Depression is almost always a result of unresolved anger in a persons life. Unresolved, repressed or improperly expressed anger will lead to depression.
Injustice – Life is not fair and there injustice all around. When that leads to anger and is not resolved, depression is soon to follow.

Here are some helpful ideas on how to deal with depression. This list is not meant to be all inclusive and I always recommend getting checked out by a doctor as well.

Avoid being alone – isolation feeds depression.
Seek help from others – you can’t do this on your own.
Sing! make music – There are some great examples of this in the Old Testament (David & Saul).
Praise and give thanks – Thanks God for the simple things like the bird you saw fly by, the snow in the backyard etc.
Serve/volunteer – When we help someone else, it helps us as well.
Lean heavily on the power of God’s Word – the psalms can be very helpful. Here are some of the most helpful: 6, 13, 18, 23, 25, 27, 31, 32, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 46, 51, 55, 57, 62, 63, 69, 71, 73, 77, 84, 86, 90, 91, 94, 95, 103, 104, 107, 110, 116, 118, 121, 123, 124, 130, 138, 139, 141, 142, 143, 146, 147. Take a moment and read them out loud.
Rest in the fact that the Holy Spirit is present – Jesus promised us that the Holy Spirit would be with us always.

Depression is real and always has a root cause. It may take a lot of work and help in order to find that root and heal, but it will be worth the effort. If you are struggling with depression, don’t give up. If you know someone with depression, don’t judge them, love them, pray for them and encourage them. Our enemy would love for Christians to remain stuck in depression, because it keeps us from being effective in his kingdom.

January 14, 2011

Check Your Gauges

Every time I get into my truck, I scan the gauges to make sure they are all OK. I make sure that no warning lights are flashing and that I have enough gas to get where I am going. It has become almost a subconscious thing for me now. I also tend to watch the mileage to make sure I know when I need to get my oil changed or have the engine tuned up.

I know that if I do that I can avoid a lot of car problems in the future. I also notice when one of our vehicles starts making weird noises and get it checked out right away.

How often do we check our own gauges? Did you know that we all have gauges in our life and that if we don’t check them or watch our mileage, or listen for weird noises, we can have some major problems?

God made us with gauges called emotions. When our emotions start to get out of whack it is like the red lights on your dashboard flashing that something is wrong. The check engine light may come on. Our emotions are designed to help us navigate through life. When emotions become negative and are not checked out, it normally leads to a major breakdown. Things like anger, hostility, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness and self-hatred can lead to physical and mental breakdowns. Studies have shown that unchecked emotions like this can lead to hypertension, coronary artery disease, autoimmune disorders, rheumatoid arthritis and more.

Anxiety can lead to irritable bowel syndrome, panic attacks, heart palpitations and other problems. These negative emotions also tend to deteriorate our relationships as well. When emotions are out of whack, they can cause us to do damage to the important relationships in our lives. So how do you check your gauges and see how you are doing?

Stress is the biggest cause of emotions getting out of whack. It is the same way with your car, the more stress you put on the engine and the tires etc. the quicker the car breaks down. the more stress you put on a vehicle the more care you need to give it. Yet in our own lives the more stress we take on the less time we tend to give to caring for ourselves. So here are some tips on how to check your gauges and take care of yourself:

Check your attitude gauge – Are you mostly negative or positive?
Check your stress level – The highest causes of stress include:

Death of Spouse or loved one
Divorce
Marital separation
Personal injury or illness
Just being married
Work conflict or deadlines
retirement
pregnancy
change of employment
Financial trouble
Trouble with relatives

3. Check your joy gauge – do you experience moments of joy daily or rarely?

4. Check your energy gauge – do you feel tired most of the time or energized?

5. Check your sleep gauge – do you get enough sleep or do you struggle to get enough sleep?

6. Check your patience gauge – are you impatient most of the time or patient?

7. Check your love gauge – do you find it hard to love people or easy?

8. Check your relational gauge – do people like hanging out with you or are they avoiding you?

I could share more gauges, but I think you get the idea. Checking our gauges allows us to do the maintenance we need to do to avoid a major breakdown. Self-care is vital, so make sure you are taking time for yourself in the areas of physical, emotional, relational and spiritual. Some simple things to do might be regular times of reading, exercise, dating your spouse, do something fun, attend church, join a small group, volunteer, give to help someone in need, plan a day just for yourself, go see a counselor or meet with a mentor.

There are many ways to take care of yourself, but the main idea is you have to have a plan for doing it on a regular basis. So check your gauges daily and make sure you are caring for yourself, so that you can care for those around you better.

January 6, 2011

Journal Entries from 2002

Today I was reading through some of my old journal entries from 2002. It was fun to read some of things I wrote, the prayers I wrote down, the Scriptures I was reading and the struggles I was going through. I also was reminded of some of the prayers that God has answered in my life. I thought I would share a few of the entries:

November 8, 2002:

Our time here on earth is very short. That is why each day must be lived to the fullest. Each day we must strive to serve God the best that we can. It may be only small insignificant things like writing letters, studying, moving chairs and tables, making copies, talking to a friend. All of these are important in God’s eyes. Each task we do, each thought we think, each word we say is important to God. We only have a short time to impact this world we live in and we must start with ourselves, our own hearts and minds. When we can do that others will see the results and be changed as well. That is why self-leadership is so important. You cannot change someone else if you cannot change yourself, and that is only possible with the help of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

November 17, 2002:

When I am afraid I trust in You. When I am weak I trust in You. When I am stressed I trust in You. When I am hurting I trust in You. When I am down I trust in You. When I am angry I trust in You. When I am lonely I trust in You. No matter what the circumstances of life, I need to trust in God for He is my light and my refuge, my strength and my motivation, my companion and my friend, my counselor and my father. Praise be to God – Thank you Lord for saving my soul – for loving me as much as you do. I love you Lord.

December 16, 2002:

Praise be to God! You are awesome, O God, whose power and might are beyond comprehension. You are worthy of all praise and adoration. You are the King of the universe the Mighty One. You reign on high – You reign in my life. Father I am reminded again today of your power and might. I adore you and love you. I thank you for leading me and directing my path. Help me to be obedient to your will. Grant me wisdom and discernment to know Your ways and to follow You every day. Give me the strength I need this day to serve You.

I am starting a new journal today. It may only be a few sentences or some days an entire page. For me this practice of writing my thoughts and prayers helps to keep me focused and is a great way to connect with God. I know this is not for everyone, but I believe I need to start this again. Find what works for you to connect with God and start doing that today.

January 5, 2011

Book Review – Louder Than Words – Andy Stanley

I finished reading a book last week called “Louder than Words” by Andy Stanley. The book is about character. Andy Stanley is a great communicator and writer. I have learned a lot by listening to his messages and reading his books. I read this book with 8 other guys. We all write up a one page report on what we got out of the book. We also include some of the main points and quotes in the book. I thought it would be good to share some of those quotes in my Blog:

Your character is not stagnate, but is either developing or deteriorating
Character is the lubricant that allows our personalities to mesh.
Character deficiencies are at the heart of every divided home or divided church.
Three elements are always present in a healthy relationship: Respect, Trust, Communication.
Our question shouldn’t be Why doesn’t God do something?, but What is God up to, and how can I get in on it.?
His goal is to recreate in you and me the character of Jesus Christ.
When what grieves God no longer grieves you, your heart is hard. When what bothers God doesn’t bother you anymore, your heart is hard.
Christianity is not an event but a process designed with God’s purposes in mind. Being a Christian doesn’t guarantee change. Only a renewed mind does.
Until you deal with your belief system, your behavior will never change. Because what we believe impacts what we do.
Refusing to deal with our past will eventually impact current and future relationships as well.
Unresolved hurt opens the gate of our heart to the destructive forces of anger, resentment, and bitterness
Living in your own strength is like pushing a car instead of driving it.
Character is produced through us; it is not manufactured by us. Our job is not to keep rules. Our job is to walk in the Spirit.
It’s not about committing to something. It’s about depending upon someone. God’s goal is not to control us, or to have us end up in the right place. His goal for us is to have a relationship with us, one in which we depend on Him for the strength to follow through.

I hope some of those quotes resonated with you like they did with me. I hope you will make Christ-like character a high value in 2011.

December 31, 2010

My Top Ten Business and Spiritual Books

I love to read. Reading is one way that I grow and change every year. Maybe you have heard the saying “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Every year I am very intentional about planning out some of the books I want to read in the coming year. I don’t always get them all read, but it really helps to have a list. I have started using a website called Goodreads to keep track of the books I am currently reading, the ones I want to read and the ones that I have finished.

I have been meeting with a group of guys that have committed to read one book per month for 10 months. Some of these guys were not readers and this has been a struggle, but they have hung in there and made a solid effort to get through the books. I know it is stretching and changing these guys. They will not be the same after these 10 months.

I hope you will consider increasing your reading. It may be reading one book this year or maybe its reading one per month. Set a realistic goal and then start reading. If you spend a little time each day reading, you can finish nearly any book in a month.

Here is my top ten business book list followed by my top ten spiritual book list:

Tribes: We need you to lead us – by Seth Godin
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Becoming a Coaching Leader by Daniel Harkavy
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
First Break all the Rules: by Marcus Buckingham
The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner
The 360 Degree Leader by John Maxwell
The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn

Spiritual Growth Top Ten:

The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg
Crazy Love by Fancis Chan
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Victory Over Darkness and Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett
TrueFaced by Bill Thrall
Deadly Emotions by Don Colbert
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero
Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

There are many more I could add to each list, but these are some of the ones that have influenced me the most over the years. If you want to change in 2011, then make a commitment to read. Schedule it on your calendar if you have to. One last thing, I also read the Bible every year, usually in a different versions. Some of my favorite versions of the Bible are:

The Message by Eugene Peterson
New International Version
Amplified Bible
New Living Translation
The Leadership Bible New King James Version

Leaders are readers!

December 27, 2010

Christian Mentoring

At NewPointe Community Church the way in which we help most people is through mentoring. Whether it is couples looking for help with their marriage, or someone struggling financially or someone struggling with addictions, hangups or broken relationships.

The idea of mentoring has been around for a long time, but it has mostly been associated with children and students and not adults. In the business world there is mentoring of new employee’s, but this is usually not a long-term relationship.

There is a difference between Christian mentoring and the world’s mentoring. Christian mentors do not build a reliance on themselves, but point their mentee’s to God. When we point people to God it puts them in a position to make different choices in their life. Mentoring does not change people or heal broken relationships, only God can do that.

Mentoring takes a longer term view of helping people. Instead of putting a band-aid on the problem, we want to help the person dig down into the problem to see what the root of the problem really is. We also want to help them get closer to God, so that He can bring peace, forgiveness and hope into their life.

God’s leadership is transformational. That is why we do mentoring, to lead people to a transformational, renewed life, the God life. God radically and permanently changes His people from the inside out. God never demands conduct that He does not first empower His followers to achieve. Here are seven things that God does on the inside of us if we allow Him full access to our lives:

He Liberates us – He frees us from our past (guilt)
He lifts us up – He encourages us and gives us hope
He educates us – He gives us wise counsel and direction in life
He fills our gaps – He fills areas where we are weak or lack competence
He motivates us – He gives us a new vision for our purpose in life
He renews us – He helps us do things we could not do on our own
He pushes us – He encourages us to take action, to make a difference.

Mentoring is all about pointing people to God and the possibility of life change. We cannot fix each other, the harder we try to worse it gets. Husbands and wives are not called to fix each other or improve each other, they are called to love each other. The same thing goes for Christians, we are not called to judge other people or fix other people or change other people. We are called to love other people, care for other people, help other people. So let God do what He does best in your own life and the lives of those around you. Just point the way.

December 24, 2010

Seven Ideas to Improve Your Pace of Life

I’ve been thinking about the word pace over the last several days. One of the definitions in the dictionary is “a rate of activity, progress, growth, performance, etc; tempo.” The reason I have been thinking about this word is because I am a runner. Pace is very important when you are running. Your pace depends on how far you are running and what kind of terrain you are running on.

I was on the treadmill this week and decided to run to 45 minutes. I started out at a slower pace and then kept increasing the pace each mile. I averaged a 7.5 minute mile for the 45 minutes, but I was running much faster and harder at certain points than others. As I was running at the fastest pace I noticed a few things.

My running form started to slip
My ability to focus was decreased, because I was feeling some pain and was getting tired
I was watching the clock a lot more instead of focusing on my form.
I was more likely to get injured because my form was sloppy.

As I thought about this idea of pace, it struck me that many of our lives are just like that. We start out at a steady pace, but often find ourselves in a sprint trying to juggle all of the stuff we are involved in. We can barely keep up and are in danger of taking a serious fall.

My wife and I were eating at a local restaurant and one of the waitresses commented to us how busy her life was right now. We talked about the hectic Christmas schedule and how sometimes we can feel overwhelmed. Then she said that she would love to have a day just for herself, where she could just do what she wanted and slow down the pace. Right after she said that she then said, “that is not going to happen.”

The pace in which we run in our lives is a choice that we make. It often does not feel like we have a choice, but the reason most people are running at a very fast pace, is because of the choices they have made.

I work at a place that runs at a pretty fast pace. One of the most important lessons I have learned is that I need to train to run my leg of the race and not the entire race. Think about it like this; when you are running a marathon, you can train and run it on your own or you can train with a group and run it as a relay. You can run the marathon much faster if you do a relay in which each person runs a portion of the race. That is how I view my role at NewPointe. I need to train for my portion of the race and run that leg as best I can. I can encourage and train with the other staff, but we each have a portion of the race that we are ultimately responsible for.

So here are some take-away ideas for improving your pace of life:

Determine to say no more than you do right now – What do you need to stop doing? Sometimes you need to say no to some good things in order to enjoy the best things.
Plan and schedule time for yourself – If you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen. Self-care is critical and most people don’t take the time to care for themselves emotionally, spiritually and physically. Rest and relaxation are vital. Getting enough rest is hard work, but it is worth it.
Find some good training partners – Surrounding yourself with the right people can make all the difference. Having accountability in your life is a key to a healthy life pace.
Make sure you are running the right race and on the right track – Everyone is here for a reason and a purpose. Are you running in the right direction? Are you on the right path? God has a path for all of us, choosing His path makes all the difference.
Set aside time to lead yourself – I am the most difficult person in my life to lead. Often times, we are our own worst enemy. Take time to do personal development. The more we grow, learn and change the bigger impact we will have on our journey.
Invest in others – When you take the time to use the life experience that you have to help someone else you get much more than you give. Investing in people brings new life and energy to your life. People are always more important than things, projects and money.
Take some time to develop a life plan – A life plan is simply writing down the main areas of your life and then creating some goals and action steps for each of those areas. It then helps to keep you focused and on track throughout the year. For more information on how to develop a life plan go to Michael Hyatt’s Blog.

Think about the pace of your life right now. Are you running at a pace that is causing your form to slip? Are you nearing a severe injury because you are running too hard? Knowing when to speed up your pace and slow down your pace will help you run a successful and enjoyable race.

December 17, 2010

Does Character Matter?

One of my personal values is to be growing in my character. This has been a lifelong process and I have had my times where I lacked character. In those moments I have tried to learned and grow. I continue to make some of the same mistakes, but the key for me is that I am growing and changing. I have been reading a book on character by Andy Stanley called “Louder than Words”. I also have been listening to messages about character and reading other things about character. Here are some things I have been learning about character.

The Greek word for character is often translated “image”. It means a notch, indentation, a sharpening, scratching, or writing on a stone or a coin. In the same way, character historically meant a distinctive mark impressed or formed on the inside of a person by an outside force. John Maxwell shares some common misconceptions about character:

Character is not merely how a person acts; some can masquerade poor character.
Character isn’t just what a person will ideally be in the future; that is called hope.
Character is not only what others see on the outside; it begins on the inside.
Character isn’t limited to wisdom in evaluating others behavior; that’s judgment.
Character isn’t only about discipline; I may be disciplined in one area and not in another.

So basically character is more than just talking the right talk. Anyone can say they have integrity and that they are honest, but action is the real indicator of character. Character is a choice, it will either limit or support you as a leader. Whether you are leading a family, a company, a department, a team, a church or yourself.

In Psalm 15 the writer gives us a word picture of a person growing in character:

Possesses integrity (v. 2)
Does what is right (v. 2)
Is honest and trustworthy (v. 2)
Does not gossip (v. 3)
Goes not listen to gossip (v.3)
Does no harm to others (v. 3)
Speaks out against wrong (v. 4)
Honors others who walk in truth (v. 4)
Keeps their word even when it costs them (v. 4)
Is not greedy to gain at the expense of others (v. 5)
Lends money to those in need without interest (v. 5)
Takes no bribes against anyone (v. 5)
Is strong and stable (v. 5)

Character is the foundation on which you build your life. Relationships are built on trust, respect and communication. When you are a person of good character, your relationships with people and God are much more solid. People will follow you only as far as they can trust you. Character communicates credibility, harnesses respect, creates consistency, and earns trust.

Character is developed in private, what you do when no one is watching. In those private moments you are deepening your character or destroying your character. I believe that the only way we can truly be men and women of character is by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Through that relationship we have access to character that we cannot have on our own. When we plug into God He builds into us, shaping and molding us into men and women of character.

Lead with character!

December 10, 2010

7 Principles for Attracting People to Your Team

I’ve been reading about David in the Bible, the book of Chronicles. It is the story of how he rose to power as King of Israel. The part that is very interesting to me is the mighty men that joined David early on in his story. The mighty men were among the most skilled at what they did, “They were bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the left hand.” Each man brought a different kind of skill to the team. All of the skills were needed for David to accomplish the vision God had for him.

David had been anointed king for some time, but was not yet in power. David attracted people with the skills he needed in order for God’s vision to happen in His people. God chose David and then people chose David. So how does that happen? When you are walking with God and following Him, how do the right people come along to help you with that journey?

Here are 7 principles I have learned on my journey in leadership:

The key to leadership is leading yourself well. Most of your leadership time should be spent on growing, learning and changing as a leader. The more you grow, the better leader you become.
Allow the people around you to lead. Don’t feel like you need to make all the decisions. Trusting people and then backing them up is a great way to develop people. This takes self-confidence and courage, to allow people to make key decisions. Even when they make mistakes, you can use that as a coaching time to help them grow.
Make sure you are pouring into others. You have to spend time with people in order for them to commit to helping with the vision you are following. As you grow, you can pour into others and build those relationships. Make sure you are allowing others to pour inbto you as well.
Be likeable. You will get more people to join you and help you if they like you than any other reason. How likeable are you? Do people like to spend time with you? Are you approachable or do you come across as too busy or too distracted?
Be real. This is a big deal, don’t try to be someone you are not. For many years I did that and found myself with few followers. People soon find out if you are what you say you are when they spend some time around you, they will either buy-in or bow out.
Admit your mistakes. I learned early on that it is much better to simply admit when you made a mistake, rather than making excuses and trying to cover things up to make yourself look good. Doing this brings credibility to your leadership.
Be humble, yet persistent. Humility is thinking less about yourself and more about others. It is being confident in who you are and not needed to get all the recognition and credit. When you balance that with a laser focus on the vision and how to get there, people will follow.

Leading well is not about learning a bunch of leadership techniques. It’s about loving and caring about people. If you really care about the people God brings into your life, you will focus on them as real people and not a means to an end. I believe that the way to build a fantastic team is to honor and care for the them. When you do that it builds loyalty and increases the passion of the team to accomplish the vision.

Lead Well!