A Leader Who Shines....Connects with Preparation

Leadership Development, Leadership Wednesday
Apr 202011

Submitted by Victoria Robinson

Live the Prepared Life. Preparation is an activity that is often attributed to God: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” 1Corinthians 2:9

It is also an activity that God wants for believers.  Before the Boy Scouts had the motto “Be Prepared” God called His people to live the prepared life!

The ministry of Jesus was introduced by John the Baptist who declared: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord” in Luke 3: 3-6.

Francis Frangipane has written:

“Repentance always precedes the coming forth of the living Christ in a person’s life. To prepare and make ready is the purpose of repentance.  Let us understand this: John’s repentance didn’t just make men sorry, it made men prepared.”

What does this prepared life look like?

First we start with repentance.  We must turn from anything that is keeping us from God’s best for us and purpose to live what we know is God’s will for our lives.

Second we see in 1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”  Our minds are “prepared for action” when we are prepared to pray, preach or die!

Pray

There are public service announcements that prepare us on what to do if our clothes catch on fire, to “Stop Drop and Roll!” As PWOC leaders we need to be prepared to “Stop, Drop and Pray!” This comes by daily having our hearts set to “pray without ceasing;” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Preach

“But in your hearts always set apart Christ as Lord, always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15

“Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary use words.”( Francis of Assisi)  We must be prepared to preach with or without words.

Die

It is said that the person who has settled where they will spend eternity is truly the person who is prepared to live their earthly life.  Paul said; “To me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

In John 14:2 we read the words of Jesus; “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”

Jesus is preparing a wonderful place for us.  This is a powerful motivator to live a prepared life for Him!

Be prepared to pray, preach or die!

A familiar chorus gives us a prayer for the prepared life.

Lord Prepare me to be a sanctuary,

Pure and holy, tried and true

With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living

Sanctuary for You

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A Leader Who Shines....Connects with Holiness

Leadership Development, Leadership Wednesday
Feb 162011

“Inwardly cleansed, interiorly enlightened and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, may we be able to follow in the footsteps of your beloved Son.”

This prayer by a fellow saint, Saint Francis of Assisi, is quite arresting isn’t it?

If we consider St Francis’ prayer we see that there is a lot going on inside that enables us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. In 1 Peter 1:15-16 Peter implores us in our calling and in the light of our redemption, ”just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Jesus likened trying to be holy from the outside to whitewashed tombs  – appearing to be holy & righteous but with nothing inside but dead bones (Matthew 23:27).

The Holman Bible Dictionary defines holiness as “a work of the Holy Spirit on the basis of Christ’s atonement that calls for obedient submission from those who have been saved.” We are holy because of our calling in Christ, because of His atonement for our sins, and because the Holy Spirit continues to minister to our spirits – doing a work in us to make us holy and not just a beautifully whitewashed tomb.

Inwardly cleansed – That’s where our pursuit for holiness starts. As Christ followers “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). While we are called to holiness, it isn’t something we have to or can do ourselves.

Interiorly enlightened – Paul prays this for the Ephesians – “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better… that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” There is illumination in knowing our Lord and the hope within us that sets us apart, leads us and empowers us to lead others to and in Christ.

Inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit – There is Stephen – full of the Holy Spirit, Paul – filled with the Holy Spirit, and Peter – while speaking, the Holy Spirit coming on all who were listening to his message (Acts 7,10 and 13). These are examples of the Holy Spirit’s “inflammation” of the power of God – examples of holiness in action. It was this same earnest desire and infilling that brought martyred missionary, Jim Elliot, to pray, “Saturate me with the oil of Thy Spirit, that I may be aflame. Make me Thy fuel O flame of God.”

No whitewashed tombs here.

Will you approach our Lord with such prayers desiring His holiness to ignite you to follow in His steps?

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Submitted by Cinky Jones. Make comments on this post here.

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A Leader Who Shines...Connects with Love

Leadership Development, Leadership Wednesday
Aug 042010

“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.“ John 13:34-35 (NIV)

A Leader Who Shines… Connects with Love

Christ had a genuine love for the people He served – us. To serve us – He took the earthly form of a man, even though He was the Son of God. To serve us – He became a sacrifice, although He was a King. Christ is our shining example and model of leading with love.

As disciples of Christ we are called to servant leadership. This is not “naturally” an easy thing to do. We enter this world believing “it’s all about me.” There is some heart work to be done by God and our parents right from the beginning! As we step into leadership we really need to examine our hearts’ motivation. As Christ leads our hearts and minds we lead with the right motivation. Our best source of heart leading material is God’s Word.

According to Oswald Chambers, “the measure of the words of our public activity for God is the private communion we have with Him.” Our private communion with God through prayer and His Word is invaluable as a servant leader. Through His Word, God shines light into the dark places and fills those places with His wisdom. The Greek definition of the word for wisdom, sophia, includes the content and truth of the Word as well as the application of the Word. Blessedly, the Holy Spirit teaches and reminds us to apply His wisdom as servant leaders. Left to our own understanding, we can tend to puff up ourselves when we gain a little knowledge and a leadership position. 1 Corinthians 8:1 states that to God’s glory, “love builds up” and that the leader “who loves God is known by God.”  His is a Name to drop! “Yes, I am known by God!”

Jesus counseled His disciples when they got carried away in their understanding and being name-droppers. In Matthew 20:25-28 He fills them in about how man lords position, knowledge and power over others. Not so with His leaders. He calls us to serve and give as He so lovingly did for us.

If we love God and are known by Him, we will love those we lead and they will know that we are Christ’s disciples.

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:3 (NIV)

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How do you Connect?

Leadership Development, Leadership Wednesday, News & Announcements
Oct 212009

Letters with stamps. Remember those? Maybe a long distant phone call with a timer that keeps track of how much money you’ve spent. Maybe an occasional visit in person with someone you haven’t seen in a long time.

Does that sound like a long time ago? How do you connect with others?

Yes, going next door or down the street for that hot cup of coffee and understanding ear is still preferred, but if you can’t make personal contact, how do you reach out to others and feel connected?

I facebook. It has changed the way I see ministry. The possibilities multiply by being connected to so many people.

I began emailing in 1996, instant messaging not much after that, have used the internet for research for at least a decade, but am completely sold on social networking as the #1 way to reach someone that’s not living close to you.

We have currently been given favor and approval to have our very own fan page on facebook! In six days, we had reached 400 fans with an average of 10-20 new fans per hour! If you’ve already signed on, you know the benefits. You will see the daily PWOCI blog with opportunity to leave comments. You, the fan, will be able to post pictures and comments, and we hope to hear your great conference stories. You will reconnect with ladies you’ve known in your different local PWOCs and meet new friends. There are discussions set up for a variety of topics: blog, conferences, regions, change, publicity ideas, prayer, and several more. Our website is linked to our facebook page, making it more convenient for you to connect. Look for the button on the home page and the blog page.

By being on facebook, you can connect with many PWOC ladies around the world. Imagine that squeal that we hear in the lobby of a conference hotel. Imagine that it’s an “online squeal” when you join the facebook called “Protestant Women of the Chapel International.” See ya there!

And bring some new friends to join the fun!!

Melinda Hemphill, PWOCI Communications

Link to PWOC on Facebook here.

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