DuAnneSeeley.com

Jesus was the greatest leader in the history of the world. His model of leadership empowers. When we look at Jesus we will be motivated to ask what kind of leader we are. If I have false ideas of my strength, Jesus will expose my incompetence. When I feel totally beyond what I am capable of, he provides for me God’s enabling power.  When we look at Jesus we can become leaders who create vision and empower change. 

Some leaders work within situations, transformational leaders change situations.  Some leaders accept talk about change, transformational leaders change what can be talked about.  Some leaders talk about benefits; transformational leaders talk about vision and dreaming big.  Some leaders talk about what they can accomplish; transformational leaders talk about how “teamwork makes the dream work.”  (borrowed from John Maxwell)

I believe the world is desperate for transformational leadership.  When we look at Jesus we can become leaders who create vision and empower change.  Through Jesus we can become a transformational leader.  Are you a transformational leader?

Matthew and Aaron love superhero cartoons, movies and action figures.  They had superman tshirts, swimwear and even underwear.  At their request  I decorated one bedroom in Spiderman and one in Justice League.  Whether you have boys or even if you have not had children, I believe everyone enjoys seeing a good guy come in and  take care of the problem. 

Because it is our nature to desire harmony it is easy to feel the temptation to be a superhero. Especially a Christian leader.  Have people ever expected you to be superman or superwoman, solving every problem on your own?  How did you respond to these expectations?

God wants every church to grow.  Let me clarify that I am not talking about transfer of membership, people joining your church after attending another church.  Real church growth is people responding to the Gospel and praying to receive Christ.  This is the  purpose of the church. It is our responsibility as Christians.  The Great Commmission was given to all of us, not just the pastor.  Hudson Taylor (whom my youngest is named after) once said The Great Commission is not an option to be considered but a command to be obeyed. Unfortunately sometimes we lose sight of our purpose.  We get so caught up in our little world, our stuff, our careers, our desires, our comfort that we miss out on the greatest privilege  that a believer has…sharing the good news of Jesus.  Even a pastor can lose sight of this and focus more on filling the church with people vs. reaching the lost world.

When we penetrate our culture the church will reach those without Christ.  Bill Hybels once said that if your church is not growing you need to ask why.  When working with churches he will ask what are you afraid of and what are you controlling?

On a personal level ~ when is the last time that you shared the Gospel with someone?  Do you have a list of non-believing friends that  you are praying for?  What about a “Top Ten” most wanted list?  If you don’t have anyone to pray for in addition to family how about asking  the Lord to put someone who needs Him in your life. He will.

A crucial ingredient to becoming the influencer God wants is to spend time with leaders who motivate and inspire you to grow.  Who are you hanging with?

When reading the Bible I ask God to open my eyes to see Jesus.  As I look at the Lord this is what I see…Jesus loved the world, helped many and discipled a few.  How are we like Him?  How are we different?  How is the church like Him?  Sometimes I wonder if we are more committed to packing our churches than to pentrating our culture.  Jesus pentrated our culture.  I love the local church.  I’m committed to the local church.  But we cannot forget our purpose of reaching those without Christ.  I believe if Satan could keep us from one thing it would be this ~ pentrating the culture thereby reaching those in it.

Just returned from one of my favorite places with my children and visiting grandma.  Before marriage and children it was my #1 place to spend half a day if not the whole day.  The smell, the people, the filled aisles.  After all these years it is still one of my fav 5.  Sometimes I even take my laptop and indulge in a cup of coffee while enjoying the surroundings. I feel so at home when I go there. It doesn’t happen too often now, but when I do it is a gift to myself and pure luxury.  I’m talking about the bookstore.  Doesn’t matter to me if it is Barnes & Noble or Books A Million. 

I love to see where our culture is. What people are drawn to.  I love to see evidence in print of our need for Christ. Not that I don’t know this info already but somehow it deepens my burden for people when I see it with my own eyes.  A bookstore visit motivates me to pray more. It reminds me of the importance of kingdom living.  If reconnects me with the world around me.

This favorite place of mine also gets me excited about writing.  I have a couple of projects going and recently had contact from a book agent and we are scheduled to talk again in a couple of weeks.  Guess I will need to make a deadline commitment now.

Where is one of your favorite places to spend some off time?

In a previous post I clarified that spiritual transformation is the ongoing process of being shaped into the image of Jesus. I’ve often pondered what hinders us from spiritual transformation. How can someone who has been a Christian for only two years seem so much more like Christ than someone who claims to have been a Christian for 20 years?  Here are 4 crucial ingredients for spiritual transformation…

1.  The Holy Spirit

2.  Spiriutal Disciplines

3.  Key Relationships

4.  Pain and suffering

Checkpoint:  Are you walking in the power of the Holy Spirit?  Do you keep short accounts with God and others? Are you practicing spiritual disciplines?  Do you have key relationships?  People who walk with Christ, ask you hard questions and are not afraid to be honest with you?  Do you invite these kind of relationships into your life or shun them?  Are you a good steward of pain and suffering?

“The American Gospel separates justification from sanctification.  Though these words have different meanings, sometimes we damage them by separating them. When we do this we give the impression that being a Christian means obtaining a protected status with God.  We think that this act of justification settles the issue—”Come in where it’s safe and secure” rather than teaching that a call to believe in Christ should also compel following Him.  The point of salvation (justification) isn’t the finish line but the starting point for a journey (sanctification).

Discipleship flourishes when we present the Gospel as a journey of transformation.   The problem with our culture is that we have created and taught a faith that doesn’t transform people.  There is often such a disconnect between Christianity and holiness.  In Scripture this kind of Christianity doesn’t exist. 

I fear that because we have preached this kind of gospel, a number of people think they are Christians/saved/born again when they really are not.  We make the test for salvation doctrinal rather than behavioral, ritualizing it with walking down an aisle, saying a prayer or signing a doctrinal statement.  Personally I was a church members for years before I became a Christian.  I had an intellectual belief but not a Biblical faith. 

American Discipleship has led to what some call bar-code Christians…people who belive the right things but don’t follow Jesus.  The real Gospel requires us to repent of our sin.  To believe means to follow Jesus daily.  The Gospel requires us to make disciples who learn to obey everything Christ taught.  By their fruits you will know them.  The evidence of Christianity is living a life of transformation.  I’m not talking about earning salvation but the proof of salvation.  Bill Hull suggested we ask Does the gospel we teach produce disciples or does it produce consumers of religious goods and services. ”

Are you more like Jesus today? How have you grown in holiness since becoming a Christian?

Sometimes we try to make discipleship into other things that will diminish what the Bible says it is.  Unfortunately that can  cause leaders to make the wrong choice their main focus.   Here are 5 things that discipleship is not…

1.  Not a Program

The most common mistake is turning discipleship into a curriculum that a person completes.  Instead of supporting an ongoing process, a program focuses on finishing material or learning information.  Because discipleship is about a choice to follow Jesus, it needs to be a way of life for all of life.  Discipleship is the heart of what it means to be a Christian.

2.  Not a Production Line

At one time in my life I thought of discipleship as a production plan based on multiplication for reaching the world.  The truth is only disciples who are passionate for Christ will be able to sustain any effort to reach others around them.  I have learned that discipleship is much more about the depth of character and spiritual passion of each disciple than it is a plan for church growth.

3.  Not Just For New Christians

When I hear people communicate that discipleship is for new Christians I cringe.  It is a huge mistake to think that anyone arrives or is beyond the basics.  Far too many Christians no longer practice the basics and are out of shape spiritually. 

4.  Not Just For Leaders

Sometimes lay people feel inferior spiritually to those who are in leadership or who are in full time ministry.  Sure, pastors know more about religious matters than most lay people but this doesn’t mean they are more spiritual.  The starting point and goal of spiritual formation and discipleship is transformation to the image of Christ.  To goal of discipleship is for us to be more like Jesus, thinking how he thinks, feeling as he feels, loving as he loves and living as He wants us to live.

5.  Not Just For People Who Like Structure

Remember that discipleship is not a program, although many of us have been taught that it is.  Sure there have been tools published to help us.  Todd and I even developed the Life2Life Notebook which is a discipleship tool.  However, if we strip down discipleship to just completing something it becomes much less than God intended.

Discipline is tough to learn on your own.  A discipleship tool can set you in motion with energy.  Even if you are not drawn to structure, it can enrich your life in Christ.  Maybe you think structure robs you of freedom and flexibility but I believe it gives you freedom and flexibility.  Without it my life has a tendency to get out of control. 

How are you doing with the basics of the Christian life?  Are you listening to His voice? How is God speaking to you through His Word?

The term spiritual formation comes from Galations 4:19. The word formed comes from morphe, which means “to shape.”  When combined with the Greek prepositions, it is translated as “conformed” in Romams 8:29 and “transformed” in 12:2. 

Spiritual formation describes the sanctification or transformation of disciples.  The term has become popular for those who want to avoid the baggage that discipleship has carried in recent years.  Disciple does seem to dominate the Gospels, while spiritual formation describes spirituality in the Epistles. 

Because discipleship has stood the test of time and links believers directly to Jesus, it is the word I choose to use.