Dysfunctional Leadership

Leadership is a topic that is widely discussed in our modern world. Leadership has always been a hot topic because, as humans, we were created to be led. Our number one leader is God. He created us to follow Him. Following a leader is embedded deep within the human psyche. The question is not, “do we have a leader whom we follow?” because that is hardwired in us. The question is, “what kind of leader are we following“?  The Bible is full of examples of positive and negative leadership. I believe that we have much to learn from the positive and the negative leaders and that is why it is important to study the characteristics of both positive and negative leaders.

God, Good Leaders, and Deliverance

Our summer series is in full swing. At Southern Calvert Baptist Church, we are walking through the Old Testament this summer. This week brings us to I Samuel 11. Often, the negative qualities of King Saul are presented when teaching Bible lessons about his life and ministry. There is an ample amount of negative information about him. This week, on the other hand, we are going to focus on some of the positive qualities presented in the Scriptures about King Saul. Did you realize that there were positive qualities?

Let us be like the nations!

I am preparing a message for our Connect Groups at Southern Calvert Baptist Church this coming weekend. We are continuing our journey through the entire Bible over a three year period. We just finished the period of the judges over Israel. Samuel is the last judge. He is about to be led by God to choose the first king over Israel. How did they get to the point where they wanted a king to rule over them instead of being led by the Sovereign God of the universe? That is what we want to discover this week in our lesson.

Joshua finishes his ministry strong

I am so excited for the next couple of weeks. We are entering Holy Week this coming Sunday as we celebrate Palm Sunday. Our Connect Group lesson is on Joshua, how he finishes his ministry strong. Our previous lesson was on sin and consequences in the life of Achan and the people of Israel.

Joshua: An example of Biblical Leadership

I am preparing our upcoming lesson for our Connect Groups at Southern Calvert Baptist Church. We are walking through the Bible, cover to cover, over a three year period. On our journey, we have arrived at the point where God leads His people into the Promised Land. This has been an amazing journey from slavery in Egypt to the trials in the wilderness. A leadership change has taken place. Moses has died and he handed the reins over to Joshua. The Lord encouraged Joshua and called him to lead in Joshua, chapter one. Now, the children of Israel are preparing to cross the Jordan river into the Promised Land. As Dr. John C. Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership“. Let’s dig in to Joshua chapters three and four to discover HOW Joshua leads the people.

Joshua: Called to be a servant leader

I am preparing to teach a Bible study this coming Sunday at Southern Calvert Baptist Church based on Joshua, chapter 1. This chapter sets the stage for Joshua’s ministry, a ministry that exemplifies leadership. Volumes and volumes have been written about leadership in our modern world. Many strive to be leaders. Leadership is a calling from the Lord. Answering that call and learning leadership based on the Word of God will lead to success. There is no magic bullet. There is no three-step plan. In order to understand leadership, we need to study the leaders of the Bible. That is what we are going to do in this Bible study. I cannot wait to teach it. We need leaders to answer the call the way that Joshua did.

Leadership is hard, deal with it!

The title of this article probably sounds harsh to 21st Century ears. This is ancient wisdom for modern times and I am so glad to be able to learn this and share it with others. Moses was a meek man by nature and the trials of leadership helped chisel that meekness into a beautiful virtue. Meekness is not weakness. It is power under control. Moses was obviously a powerful man with a temper. He beat a man to death who was trying to beat another man to death. Moses was no wimp. Moses rose to the call of leadership. He was hesitant at first, and rightfully so. He was going to have to lead an obstinate, stiff necked people to the Promised Land. The Pharaoh of Egypt wanted to kill Moses. The children of Israel wanted to stone Moses. In Numbers 16, his own sister rose up in opposition against him. In Numbers 16, a man named Korah convinced 250 people to rise up against Moses. Leadership was hard. Moses dealt with it. How do you react when you get difficult news? Moses is about to get some terrible news, right on the heels of the death of his sister, Miriam. Let’s examine Numbers 20.

Principles of Leadership from Nehemiah

I love the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. I have been studying it off and on for the past month or so. I have already written some articles on the first two chapters of Nehemiah’s book. I invite you to read them.

• Nehemiah’s Prayer
• Nehemiah: Servant, Leader, and Restorer of society

Faith and Obedience go hand in hand

This coming Sunday, at Southern Calvert Baptist Church, we are going to study John chapter five. This is the story of the healing of the lame man. Last week, we learned about Jesus, the healer in the Gospel of Mark, chapter five. This week, we are also going to learn more about Jesus the healer. The healing that Jesus offers leads to eternal life. This healing changes us for all of eternity.

As a church, we are walking through the entire Bible, from cover to cover, over a three year period. We are now in year three. It took us three years to walk through the Old Testament. We have been studying the Gospels for about two months now. Each lesson just keeps getting better and better.

Moses’ last message

This Sunday during our Connect Groups, we are going to conclude the life and ministry of the great man of God, Moses. He has led the children of Israel faithfully for 40 years. It has been a difficult task for Moses and now he is giving his last charge to the people before turning over the leadership role to one of his disciples, Joshua. Our text this week with be Deuteronomy 31 and 32.

Last week we took a look at Balak and Balaam in a lesson entitled: A prophet seeking a profit. We have also seen

• God’s provision for salvation
• Heroes appear after the danger
• The day of atonement
• Idolatry: Are you not entertained?