Good Leadership is Indispensable!!!

Deuteronomy 16

We are walking in today:  Good Leadership is Indispensable!!!

Witness require throughout the Bible:  H1875 darash--to seek (with a demand),


Deuteronomy 18:19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require H1875 it of him.

The Torah...............
 Genesis 42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. H1875

The prophets..................
 Ezekiel 34:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require H1875 my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

The writings...........................
2 ​ ​Chronicles 24:6 And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required H1875 of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?

Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require H1875 of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

 Deuteronomy 16:18-20 18 “You are to appoint judges and officers for all your gates [in the cities] Adonai your God is giving you, tribe by tribe; and they are to judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You are not to distort justice or show favoritism, and you are not to accept a bribe, for a gift blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of even the upright. 20 Justice, only justice, you must pursue; so that you will live and inherit the land Adonai your God is giving you.

Good leadership is indispensable
I believe that trapped inside you is an undiscovered leader of great value to your generation! Are leaders born, made, developed, created, cultivated, or products of circumstances? Is leadership reserved only for an elite few, a specific gender, people of a particular social stratum, or those of advanced intelligence? Is leadership the prerogative of a rare breed; is it a by-product of the superior DNA of a super-race? Or can anyone from anywhere at any time emerge as a leader?

History has produced a legacy of distinguished and outstanding leaders who have impacted the world and furthered the development of humanity. They were both men and women, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, trained and untrained.

They came from every race, color, language, and culture of the world. Many of them had no ambition to become great or renowned. In fact, most of the individuals who have greatly affected humanity have been simple people who were thrust into circumstances that demanded the hidden qualities of their characters, or they were driven by personal, passionate goals.

Leaders are ordinary people who accept or are placed under extraordinary circumstances that bring forth their latent potential, producing character that inspires the confidence and trust of others. Our world today is in desperate need of such individuals.

In the political, civic, economic, social, and spiritual realms, recent events indicate that previous generations have produced weak leaders who fade in the presence of true leadership and leave our present generation in this same leadership vacuum.

The disgrace and fall of renowned Christian leaders, the exposure of corruption and unethical activities among political and business leaders, and the covert conspiracies of governments betraying their own people serve as evidence that this lack of quality leadership is affecting almost every sphere of our lives. We urgently need competent leaders.

Great leaders do not desire to lead but to serve
There is leadership potential in every person. Despite this universal latent ability, very few individuals realize this power, and fewer still have responded effectively to the call. As a result, our nations, societies, and communities are suffering from an astounding leadership void.

The answer to all our problems is qualified, just, and righteous leaders. The biblical record reveals God’s demand for quality leaders during times of human crisis. His search for effective leadership is expressed in numerous statements, such as these:

Jeremiah 4:22 “It is because my people are foolish —
they do not know me; they are stupid children,
without understanding, wise when doing evil;
but they don’t know how to do good.”

1 Timothy 2:1-2 First of all, then, I counsel that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all human beings, 2 including kings and all in positions of prominence; so that we may lead quiet and peaceful lives, being godly and upright in everything.

These and other passages of Scripture indicate that whenever a nation lacks quality, legitimate, and just leaders, nationwide deterioration occurs. However, just as it is impossible for a bitter spring to bring forth sweet water it is impossible for an unrighteous world to produce righteous leaders or for an unjust system to produce just characteristics.

The essence of leadership is the exercise of influence. The command given to the Christian church by Christ is, “Go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them the things I have taught you. This is a direct mandate to provide leadership for nations, instructing them to live according to the principles of the kingdom of God.

Matthew 28:19–20 19 Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age.”

Yet it is sad that even the church itself is in need of quality leadership. Perhaps part of the reason for this is that the church and its theology have been preoccupied with heaven and preparing individuals to leave the planet, meanwhile forsaking the responsibility of producing quality leaders for the earth today. The responsibility to meet this need is the challenge of our generation for the sake of the generations to come.

Called to Lead
The Great Leadership Misconception Not everyone would agree with the concept of everyday leaders. The great Greek philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, considered and explored the dynamics of human behavior and the nature of humanity. A significant portion of their investigation and contemplation focused on the art and dynamics of human social relationships in regard to governing.

They addressed the subject of leadership and examined this complex issue in much detail. One of their basic conclusions was that leadership is a product of natural endowment and personality traits. They postulated that one person is born to lead, while others are born to follow and be subordinate.

For many years now, this concept of leadership has prevailed in numerous schools of thought and has gone unchallenged, for the most part. The results have produced a historical, global concept that the masses are destined to be ruled by the significant, privileged few, sentenced by fate to their circumstances, to live life as dictated.

There are people who, based on the Greek philosophers’ theories, never would have been accepted as leadership material. Yet they became some of the greatest leaders in history.

Moses, a fugitive from Pharaoh’s justice—a murderer and a man who presented every excuse for why he should not be considered for leadership—became the greatest lawgiver in history.

Gideon, a coward, was threshing wheat for his father when the call came for him to rise and become the deliverer of his nation. His response to this challenge was, “My clan is the weakest in Israel, my family is poor, and I am the least likely candidate in my family.” (See Judges 6:15.) Yet Gideon became one of the greatest leaders and warriors of his generation.

David, an insignificant shepherd boy who was considered the least in his family, has his place in history as the greatest king the nation of Israel has ever produced.

Peter, a simple fisherman with an impulsive personality, was catapulted to the position of the first major leader of the early Christian church.

Everyone Can Lead
I believe there is a leader in everyone waiting to serve his or her generation. It is essential that you change your concept of leadership now and see yourself the way your Creator sees you. We are not all the same, but we are all leaders in our own unique ways.

Created to Lead
When I talk about a tendency to resist control, I am not referring to a person resisting collaboration and teamwork but to his or her frustration at being dominated. To understand yourself, you must understand three truths established in these words.

1. God created us in His image and likeness. These words connote His authority, His character, and His moral and spiritual nature. Power and rulership are part of God’s nature. He is the King and Ruler of the universe. Therefore, since man was made in God’s image, deeply embedded in the nature of man is the spirit of rulership and authority.

2. The Creator breathed His own life into human beings, further imparting His own nature to them.

3. God established man’s role and function in relationship to the earth by stating, “Let them rule [“have dominion” nkjv] over…all the earth.”

Genesis 1:26-27 26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in the likeness of ourselves; and let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created humankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.

Genesis 2:7  Then Adonai, God, formed a person  from the dust of the ground  and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living being.

God created man to rule, or to have dominion, over the earth.

God gave dominion over the earth to both male and female.

Male and female were created to dominate and not to be dominated.

Human beings are meant to rule according to God’s nature and Spirit.

God never gave people the authority to dominate one another.

(The male is not to dominate the female, and vice versa.)

God specified what humans were to rule, or have dominion over: the earth and creation.

You were not created to be dominated. This is why, whenever a human being is subjugated by another human being, whether it is by a governing system or forced labor, he has an inevitable desire and will to throw off this unnatural restraint. In God’s original purpose and plan, He never intended for there to be some people who are always leaders and others who are always followers or “subordinates” among men, as we know them today.

Each Person Is Meant to Fulfill a Unique Role
Each person is meant to fulfill his unique part in the whole, each being responsible for leadership in his sphere of assignment and accountable ultimately to God the Creator. In other words, each of us was created to be a leader led by the Spirit of God! No one is to lord it over others or prevent them from maximizing their potential.

Evidence of this interruption in God’s purpose and plan for each human being to exercise leadership is underscored in the pronouncements He made to the first man and woman after they disobeyed His word:

Genesis 3:16–19 To the woman he said, “...Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” To Adam he said, “...Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you....By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.”

Here we see the reversal of the order of dominion and authority. Instead of both male and female ruling and dominating the earth together, as God originally commanded, the subjection of man over man was introduced.

Also, instead of man dominating the earth, as had been established in the beginning, the earth was now poised to dominate man. This relationship is not natural; it goes against our original nature, which was to rule rather than to be ruled.

Return to Your Purpose to become a leader, therefore, you must return to your original purpose. I work with people all over the world in leadership development. There are two ways to discover the leadership purpose that the Creator has put inside you:

(1) Learn it and

(2) Experience it.

As you commit to the process of becoming a leader, you will be able to:

Discover your true self and bring meaning and fulfillment to your life.

Develop the gifts and talents you were meant to share with the world.

Leave a legacy that will be an influence for good even after you are gone.

There is a leader in everyone, waiting to be released. Will you discover the leader within you?

Shema Selah time to cultivate the leader in you!!  In the midst of the world crying out for principled leaders to serve the people! https://www.facebook.com/fiveam.prayer/videos/1599284630149647/?l=1036860128041951059

Men Of Torah Day--How to “Fall Up”!!!

Proverbs 24:16


We are walking in today:  Men Of Torah Day--How to “Fall Up”!!!
 Witness fall throughout the Bible:  H5307 naphal--to fall, be cast down, fail

Numbers 14:3 And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall H5307

by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

The Torah testifies...............
 Numbers  14:29 Your carcases shall fall H5307 in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,

The prophets proclaim..................    
 Isaiah 10:4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall H5307 under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

The writings bear witness...........................
 1

​ ​

Chronicles 21:13 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall H5307 now

into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall H5307 into the hand of man.

Jeremiah  8:4 Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, H5307 and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?

Proverbs 24:16 For though he falls seven times, he will get up again; it’s the wicked who fail under stress.

How to “Fall Up”: Restoration After Character Failure:

The streets of history are littered with the remains of wasted lives— the lives of powerful, talented, skillful, and educated leaders who collapsed under the weight of their achievements, success, notoriety, influence, and power because they lacked an ethical foundation that could have carried them to their destiny.

Many of these onetime great leaders undervalued the priority and power of character in their lives. They traded faith for fame, principles for power, and moral respect for reputation.

It is tragic to observe the dishonorable descent of such leaders who, by their own indiscretion, irresponsibility, lack of discipline, and abuse of privilege sell their integrity for temporary pleasures and destroy their character.

Leaders are normally trained in how to succeed, but they are rarely taught how to fail effectively— by learning from their mistakes and making changes to avoid repeating them in the future. They fall down, but they don’t know how to “fall up” after failing.

Remember that a leader’s ability to function successfully in his role of influencing others for a great cause in the interest of humanity is what I call the “trust factor.” Trust is the currency of true leadership and is the power that is deposited into the leader’s influence account. The only way to protect this deposit of trust is to establish strong character.

It can take years for a leader to build this account— but only minutes of irresponsibility to deplete it and even cancel it.

The following are the steps to restoration, reconciliation, and reclamation after you have experienced a moral failure or otherwise “fallen” in your leadership role:

1. Admit your need for help.
2. Confess your violation of trust.
3. Identify a true and reliable authority in your life to be accountable to.
4. Practice complete submission to that authority without condition.
5. Obey the advice, counsel, and instruction of that authority without condition.
6. Accept full responsibility for your fall.
7. Agree never to attempt to defend yourself or your act of indiscretion.
8. Agree to allow the authority to represent and speak on your behalf to your constituency and the greater community.
9. Practice total submission to the discretion of the authority with regard to your readiness to return to public service.
10. Establish a permanent relationship with the authority for the purpose of ongoing accountability.

If a leader follows these steps, he can find healing and restoration. The safest course to take when you fall is to submit yourself to a qualified human authority. Again, failure is not the termination of a leader’s call, assignment, gifts, or talents.

Make sure you take time out from your other responsibilities to evaluate what went wrong. Some leaders who fail keep on going as if nothing had happened. You will need to seek forgiveness from those you have let down, but then you must develop self-control, steadiness, maturity, and all the other values of principled leadership.

Trust the Creator to restore you to leadership when you are ready for it. There is life after “the fall,” but you must follow the process of restoration in order to receive its benefits.

70 Character Traits Of Principled Leaders:

1. Character protects power and vision.
2. Leadership is only as safe as your character.
3. Your gift can never protect your character but your character will protect your gift.
4. You were born to lead but you must become a leader.
5. True leaders never seek followers.
6. You cannot teach leadership; you give information that causes the leaders to develop.
7. Your skill is what you do, your gift is who you are.
8. Leadership is the capacity to influence others through inspiration geared by a passion.
9. Never trust an untested person.
10. True leadership is finding something to die for.
11. All great leaders are angry; the problem today is we don’t have enough angry leaders.
12. True leaders do not seek followers; true leaders attract followers.
13. You are a tree, and you must know people come for the fruit not the tree.
14. True leadership is not measured by how many people that serve you but how many people you serve.
15. Don’t depend on people to get your value.
16. That’s why many famous singers and entertainers do drugs and overdose- because they depend on people for their value.
17. True leadership is determined by character.
18. Character is not a gift you are not born with.
19. Character is developed; you can’t pray for it or fast for it. Character is the ability to go through test and still remain.
20. The foundation of leadership is character.
21. Without character you will crumble like sand.
22. Character is a word that means statue; it means to be set like dried cement.
23. Character is image; you are stable, predictable, and dependable.
24. Character- no matter what happens around you, you never change.
25. Character is when people around you can predict what you are doing when no one is watching.
26. Character is when I can trust you even when I cant see you.
27. Character means you don’t have another life; you are the same in the day and the same in the night.
28. What do you do when the pressure comes? Do you collapse like Samson or do you stand like Joseph? Both of them lost their clothing yet one of them stood past the test of the trials.
29. “Hypocrite” simply means a person with many masks.
30. The greatest compliment someone can tell you is that “I met you so many years ago and you are still the same today.”
31. Numbers and letters are characters because they don’t change.
32. In business your character will protect your business.
33. Trust is a product of passing tests over time.
34. Character is a self-imposed discipline.
35. Character is a commitment to set of values without compromise.
36. Character is a dedication to a set of standards without wavering.
37. Character is a constant effort to integrate one’s words, deeds, and actions.
38. Pertaining to character- what I say, do and am should be the same.
39. The same word for character is the same as Holy, that’s why God is Holy.
40. Our goal in life should be to grow, but never change just like an apple tree that doesn’t turn into an orange tree.
41. You shouldn’t marry someone you didn’t test.
42. Character is sacrificing to protect your convictions.
43. It’s better to be respected than liked.
44. Philosophy- means love to think, so be careful what you hear and think.
45. Your character becomes your lifestyle.
46. You shouldn’t want people around you who haven’t made any mistakes; you should want to be around people who survived mistakes.
47. You never trust people who didn’t survive anything.
48. Character is created out of tests.
49. You are as safe as your character.
50. You are not qualified to help someone if you have not been tested.
51. Every true business must go through a period of bankruptcy.
52. Every success story has a story; never trust anyone who doesn’t have a story.
53. Character controls your lifestyle.
54. If you are not afraid to be discovered; you have character.
55. Values are more important than vision.
56. A lack of values will destroy your vision.
57. A person of character has an alarm built in and it sounds off when it’s about to be violated.
58. Your conscience is a divine alarm system.
59. A person of character follows their conscience.
60. Vision without values is destiny without discipline.
61. Vision is protected by values.
62. The first thing God gave us is image; image is more important than power.
63. Reputation is what others think about you; character is what you know about yourself.
64. Character means you are the same all the time.
65. What you are in private should be who you are in public.
66. You are no better than your private life.
67. Would you marry you with all that you know about you?
68. Instant success is dangerous, God will not take you through a shortcut; he’s not fixing things, he is fixing you.
69. You can’t enjoy the struggle if you don’t know what it’s doing for you. Any test you don’t pass you will have to do again. Let God chisel character in your life.
70. Integrity is when your public life and private life become one. 

Shema Selah let us hear, listen and obey the instructions that build our character and walk out the recover for when we fall! https://www.facebook.com/fiveam.prayer/videos/1598249943586449/?l=7545144460501259430

Leaders Stand for Something--Vision, Leaders Stand on Something-- Values!!!

Matthew 13

We are walking in today: Leaders Stand for Something--Vision, Leaders Stand on Something-- Values!!!

 Witness stand throughout the Bible:  H5324 natsab--to stand, take one's stand, stand upright, be set (over), establish

Exodus 17:9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand H5324 on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

The Torah testifies...............
Exodus 33:21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand H5324 upon a rock:

The prophets proclaim..................
Isaiah 3:13 The LORD standeth up H5324 to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

The writings bear witness...........................
Psalm 45:9 Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand H5324 the queen in gold of Ophir.

Isaiah 3:13 The LORD standeth up H5324 to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

Your vision interprets your values in the sense that it reflects and communicates them. We need to make the reintroduction and development of character our number one priority. The purpose of this book has been to introduce you to yourself—to your intrinsic significance and your character alike.
A man without a vision is a man without a future. A man without a future will always return to his past.” (P.K. Bernard)

The level of sacrifice that an environment requires will determine the size of people that will follow” (Kris Vallotton).  A progressive revelation of an ageless revival for our generation is growing in our hearts. It is for those who went before us and for those who are yet to be born. Yet, the question of how the vision is to be implemented remains.


One famous Proverb says:
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law (The Teaching and Instruction)- Proverbs 29:18


Vision is the bridge between the present and the future. Without it we perish or go “unrestrained,” as the New American Standard Bible puts it. Vision gives pain a purpose. Those without vision spend their lives taking the path of least resistance as they try to avoid discomfort.


The level of sacrifice that a vision requires will determine the size of people who follow. Sacrifice separates the small from the great. So many of us go through life not understanding the purposes of our trials. We spend our days walking a crooked path, believing that every obstacle in the road is a problem and something to be avoided.


The second part of this Proverb says, “But happy is he who keeps the Law.” The law (God’s Teaching and Instruction) isn’t just something God gave to Moses. It is also the restraint, boundaries and disciplines we develop around our life to direct us through obstacles instead of around them.


These obstacles become baptisms of fire that forge our character so we can attain and maintain a life of greatness.

WHAT IS VISION?

Vision is what we see, but it is also the way in which we see. Vision is the lens that interprets the events of our life, the way we view people and our concept of God. If we have a scratch on our glasses, it may seem like everybody around us has scratches too, but the problem actually lies with us because our vision is impaired. Jesus said that our eyes are the windows of our heart. Paul prayed that the eyes of our heart would be enlightened. In other words, we perceive with our eyes but we see with our hearts.


Our minds receive images from our eyes but our heart interprets these images. If our heart becomes bitter, jealous, hurt or in someway infected, the lens of our heart is distorted. What we perceive is happening and what is really going on could be two completely different things.

Yeshua said, “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). The word truth used here is not referring to the Bible itself, (although all truth is rooted in the Bible) but here the word truth means reality. Yeshua is saying, you will understand what is real and that will free you.

So many of us live in a virtual reality. The way we view life can feel and look real, or make perfect sense, but still not be real at all. Have you ever watched a good movie and gotten totally into it? You experience all the emotions of real life. You may even leave the theater still “feeling” the movie, but it was just a movie? it was never real.

The truth is: we see what we believe to be true. Another way to put it is, if you have the wrong pretext you will misunderstand the context. Having a revelation of what is real will deliver us from a life of torment that virtual reality often causes.
Matthew 13:45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for fine pearls. 46 On finding one very valuable pearl he went away, sold everything he owned and bought it.

Integrating Vision and Values:

“Leaders stand for something— vision. Leaders stand on something— values.” —Dr. Myles Munroe

A woman was in the process of cleaning out several boxes in her attic that had been stored there for years— ever since she and her husband had moved into their home to accommodate their growing family of four children, who were now adults.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a box half-hidden behind the chimney. It was covered with dust and was still taped shut. I wonder what’s in there? She thought.

Suddenly, a memory flashed into her mind, taking her back three decades, and she instantly remembered what the items in the box were: several jade objects from China that a friend had given her, which she had inherited from her father.

The next week, she had the items appraised, and she was stunned to find out they were comparable in age and quality to an eighteenth-century jade collection that had been featured on the television program Antiques Roadshow several years earlier. The items in that collection had been valued at as much as one million dollars.

A Long-Forgotten Treasure:

In many ways, character in our contemporary culture has become like the long-forgotten treasure the woman in the above scenario found inside the dusty box.

Likewise, our society has increasingly relegated values and moral standards to the “attics” and “basements” of our culture. Many people don’t realize what a treasure our society has lost, because it is out of their moral range of vision.

Similar to the merchant who sold everything he owned to obtain the pearl “of great value,” we need to make the reintroduction and development of character our number one priority.

The Intersection of Vision and Values:

We could sum up the entire message of this book in the following way: Leaders stand for something—vision. Leaders stand on something— values. And, of these two elements, values are of higher importance. As we have noted throughout the preceding chapters, if a leader does not have an active commitment to his values, moral standards, principles, discipline, and ethical code, all of his endeavors will be weakened— and may even be nullified.

Since character must be our number one priority in leadership, let’s review how vision and values are permanently interrelated in the life of a principled leader.

1. Vision Is an Interpretation of Values Your vision interprets your values in the sense that it reflects and communicates them. For example, suppose your vision is to help young people who are members of gangs that are undermining your community to become engaged in positive activities that will build up the community, instead.

2. Vision Is Protected by Values Your vision is only as safe as the values that undergird it. If you cherish a great vision but don’t value the principles that would enable you to realize it, you may as well not pursue that vision. There needs to be a marriage of purpose and principles. You have to know your purpose, but you must live by your principles.

Vision Without Values— a False Attempt at Reaching Destiny When a leader pursues his vision without having established values, he is attempting to reach his destiny without the necessary component of discipline.

For example, regardless of how great a leader’s vision might be— whether it is to build a family, a church, a business, or a country— the entire process must be balanced by clear, strong values that guide his conduct.

The Power of Character to Create Leaders of Principle:

In the introduction to this book, we examined principles that showed how crucial leaders are to the development and well-being of a culture.

Let’s now review what we’ve learned about the importance of character to the development of leaders equipped to help bring about a cultural course correction and to advance our societies through ethical principles.

1. Character Gives Leaders Credibility The only avenue for gaining credibility with people so that they will respect our leadership is to develop genuine character. When we demonstrate character, people will not only make deposits in our “trust account,” but they will also advance us “credit” as an investment in our future.

2. Character Gives Leaders Moral Force Character— not power— is the force of true leadership. If a person has moral force, he doesn’t need to put physical or emotional pressure on people to make them do what he wants.

“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.” —Mark Twain

3. Character Ensures That Leaders Maintain Trustworthiness:

Trust is a privilege given to the leader by his followers; therefore, a leader must maintain that trust over time and keep it up-to-date.

4. Character Legitimizes Leaders:

It is character that gives people a legitimate right to lead others. Leaders without character are “illegal,” because they are asking people to place their faith in an untrustworthy source.

5. Character Establishes Integrity in Leaders:

We have learned that character is built through tests over time and that having integrity involves the integration of one’s thoughts, words, and actions. Thus, a leader’s integrity can be established only over the course of time, which allows for this integration to occur.

For this reason, leadership should not be given to people who have not yet been tested and tried. Therefore, it’s important for us not only to build our own character, and not only to look for demonstrated character in other leaders, but also to help our followers develop their character so they may become trusted leaders, as well.

Vision Gives Meaning to People…

Many leaders think that their goal should be to get people to believe in them. On the contrary, the goal of leaders should be to get people to believe in themselves— to provide an avenue through which they can discover meaning for their lives and manifest their purpose through their personal vision.

Helping people to do this requires balance on the part of the leader, because, when people are inspired by a leader’s passion, they often confuse the vision with the leader in their minds. In this way, they think they are being drawn to the person.

As we have seen, a leader of principle takes the focus off of himself and puts it on the vision. It is the vision— not the leader— that gives people meaning.

Think about it: If we don’t maintain our passion for our vision, the people may also lose their energy for their vision. When we feel like giving up and start talking about quitting, the people may also begin to lose their sense of purpose.

…and Values Preserve That Vision:

It is imperative that people stay focused on the vision rather than on the leader, because of the danger that a cult of personality will develop. You must never allow people to become so attached to you that they begin to idolize you.

How many organizations today have become defunct because they were run by leaders who were “worshipped” by their followers, so that everything fell apart when the leaders had a major moral failure? Leaders need to watch their pride in this respect, because pride can destroy them and their vision.

Pride is what makes leaders think they should be idolized. They being to think the vision is all about them, that it’s built around them, that its success is all up to them.

A New Beginning for Character:

The purpose of this book has been to introduce you to yourself— to your intrinsic significance and your character alike. I want history to write a good account of your life on earth. Please don’t become one of those leaders who begins well and starts a good work, only to have a moral failure or become sidetracked before reaching his destiny.

Instead, be a great leader who stays true to his convictions and fulfills his purpose and vision according to strong values; one who never betrays the followers who have placed their trust in him.

How to “Fall Up”: Restoration after Character Failure

Leaders are normally trained in how to succeed, but they are rarely taught how to fail effectively— by learning from their mistakes and making changes to avoid repeating them in the future. They fall down, but they don’t know how to “fall up” after failing.

The following are the steps to restoration, reconciliation, and reclamation after you have experienced a moral failure or otherwise “fallen” in your leadership role:

Admit your need for help.

Confess your violation of trust.

Identify a true and reliable authority in your life to be accountable to.

Practice complete submission to that authority without condition.

Obey the advice, counsel, and instruction of that authority without condition.

Accept full responsibility for your fall.

Agree never to attempt to defend yourself or your act of indiscretion.

Agree to allow the authority to represent and speak on your behalf to your constituency and the greater community.

Practice total submission to the discretion of the authority with regard to your readiness to return to public service.

Establish a permanent relationship with the authority for the purpose of ongoing accountability.

Shema Selah let us consider fully how we are to stand on both vision and values!!! https://www.facebook.com/fiveam.prayer/videos/1597159770362133/?l=3204752824802554056