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Christmas time and highly effective church leaders.




Christmas time and highly effective leaders.

For me New Year is a time to look forward, to plan and strategise a time to set goals but Christmas time  is the time of year I look back and remember that Jesus  was born in a humble stable on a bed of straw. It is the time of year that I evaluate my habits and see how effective I have been. The birth of Jesus was the beginning of the most successful ministry ever seen both before and since. So as I look back and reflect not only on Christ's ministry I look and reflect on my habits and ministry and how effective I have been.
My take then on the habits of highly effective church leadership goes something like this:

1) Highly effective church leaders like to take risks. They are willing to push beyond their own comfort zone. They see things in people that other more cautious church leaders do not and they take a chance on them by giving opportunities. Jesus was a risk taker in a time of Roman occupation and an entrenched religious establishment. His 12 disciples were a risk.

2) Highly effective church leaders are humble and honest about themselves and are reflective about both their successes and their failures.(especially the latter) They are also willing to laugh at themselves and at their own expense. Jesus grew in stature and in wisdom in the eyes of men and God but never flaunted or bragged, he was humble heart and spirit.

3) Highly effective church leaders are not afraid to ask other people about things. They collect as much information as they can about a subject, concept or vision idea. They arm themselves in order to fight the battles ahead. Jesus had a clear vision and objective, but he still asked question when he was young in the temple with Nicodemus and in discussion with his disciples.

4) Highly effective church leaders listen very carefully. Advice can be taken or ignored but there is no excuse for not listening, forewarned is forearmed.

5) Highly effective church leaders are always open to new idea, they view life with an open mind. "These things and greater will you do" said Jesus.

6) Highly effective church leaders have a very close, intimate relationship with God, they never neglect asking Him first. From the very start of his ministry Jesus spent 40 days fasting and praying after that as often as he could in the cool at the start of the day or even in the evening he would spend time alone with his heavenly father.

These are the habits that I like to believe I use and am effective in, after all it started with Jesus and ended with Jesus. All the days of our lives should be Christ centred, How else will I be effective this Christmas time?

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