Most people know that in order to excel at anything in life you must be devoted; you have to sacrifice time, expend energy, and give yourself over to your goals in order to achieve them. Paul the Apostle told us in Philippians that this attitude was the key to his great success as a disciple of Christ. Philippians 3:13-14 says “ . . . . I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." This one thing I do. Less is more when we are focused on achieving mastery in any area of our lives.

Though many may be associates of either senior pastors or business owners, it is virtually impossible to understand the pressures, sacrifices, and weight of responsibility that rests upon the shoulders of effective senior leaders. The following points illustrate some of the hazards of executive level leadership. - 1. Executive level leaders often isolate themselves, 2. Executive level leaders often violate principles of Sabbath rest, 3. Executive level leaders often do not celebrate the processes of success, 4. Executive level leaders often judge themselves by the success stories of other leaders, 5. Executive level leaders often sacrifice the health of their soul for the urgent matters of pending tasks, 6. Executive level leaders often do not have a plan for personal growth and development and 7. Executive level leaders often put the work of the organization before the health of their family and key personnel.

During the 47 years that I have been a born-again Christian, I have learnt some important truths that have encouraged me and given direction and purpose to my life. I share them here with you with the hope that they will be an encouragement to you as well. God Loves Us As He Loved Jesus, God Delights In Honest People,  God Delights In A Cheerful Giver, Holiness Comes By Looking Unto Jesus, We Must Be Continually Filled With The Holy Spirit, The Way Of The Cross Is The Way Of Life, Man's Opinions Are Fit Only For The Garbage Bin, Nobody Can Harm Us Except We Ourselves, God Has A Perfect Plan For Each Of Our Lives, Knowing God Intimately Is The Secret Of Being Strong, We Are Called To Be Rejected And Persecuted By Men, We Must Receive All Whom God Has Received, We Must Treat Every Human Being With Dignity, We Must Reveal Our Financial Needs Only To God. Read and be blessed by Zac Poonen's journey in faithfulness to God.

No, I’m not talking about the next big thing, I’m talking about things that matter continually because they are of higher significance. I want to live life with a constant attitude of growth and change. I hate being put into a box. Anytime I realize that I’m ‘in-a-box’, I try and do something to grow a little bigger, become a little more mysterious. I would say that I used to dislike the mundane and commonplace. It would drive me nuts doing the same thing over and over again. Yet somehow, I’ve found myself in a place where I’ve begun to ask myself the questions of higher significance.

Let us seek for the approval of God and not that of men. . . . In the final analysis, when we stand before the Lord, the opinions of all the billions of people in the world will count for nothing. Only God's opinion will matter in that day. Even the praises of your fellow-believers are fit only to be thrown in the garbage bin. It's only what God thinks about you that matters. People may praise you to the skies, while God thinks nothing of you. On the other hand, people may tear you to pieces and God may consider you to be the greatest man in your generation. Few have the spiritual discernment to recognise a man's worth in his lifetime. So don't get discouraged if you find people don't understand the way you are going. If God sees that you are humble, He will give you grace and you will overcome sin and the world.

I had the privilege of interviewing a visionary leader Pastor Pritam Singh. I was always amazed at the dedication and diligence he displayed when overcoming obstacles, finishing tasks, and seeing his dreams become a reality. When I look at this man, there really is nothing else that beats in his heart. He honestly lives out the Great Commission, and believes what the Bible says. He honors his God as he pastors, as he fathers, as he is an awesome husband, as an amazing friend, and as a exemplary visionary. This man speaks what he lives and I appreciate that so much about him. I have been touched by his dedication to ministry and to fulfilling the call of God on his life.

Daniel never knew, when he started out being faithful as a young man (probably around 17 years old), what a tremendous ministry he was going to have. He just remained faithful to God in little things and big, and God accomplished a great ministry through him. Daniel's life was a testimony to the people of Medo-Persia concerning the true God. God allows trials to come to us too, in order to manifest our testimony to others. When we endure in persecution and love our persecutors, others will see Christ in us. And if we have to lay down our lives for the gospel one day, let us lay it down with our heads lifted up and a spirit of praise in our hearts to the Lord because we know that our God is on the throne. 

In the progressive church, leadership means having to successfully deal with many different kinds of leaders in our church in order to fulfill our vision. Truly, learning how to release different kinds of people is the key to releasing your vision. Noah is symbolically a great model for this kind of leadership because he had to navigate a ship that had animals together as diverse as a lion and a sheep. Today’s progressive apostolic leader must learn how to shepherd emerging political, financial, and church leadership all in one ship.

Study after study, not to mention good old common sense, demonstrates the key to exceptional leadership lies in developing the leadership competencies related to people skills.  Strengthening one's interpersonal skills elevates a person's leadership abilities and results dramatically.  These people skills are well defined and discussed within the concepts set forth in the groundbreaking work done by Daniel Goleman on Emotional Intelligence.  Studies have demonstrated that leaders who consistently outperform their peers not only have the technical skills required, but more importantly, have mastered most of the aspects of Emotional Intelligence.

The Bible teaches that the Scriptures were given to us so we could learn from their example (1 Corinthians 10:11). Out of all the biblical heroes, there was perhaps no one more enigmatic than Elijah, who experienced all the highs and lows most of us experience in our Christian and human journey. One day he was confronting the enemy; the next day he was running from the enemy in need a fresh word of the Lord to continue his mission. The following passages on the life of Elijah show the various stages all of us go through i.e. The Alone Stage, The Needy Stage, The Persevering and Testing Stage, The Great Faith Stage,  The Discouragement Stage, The Recharging Stage, The Reassessment Stage and The Recommissioning Stage.