Truth Encounter: Spiritual Leadership Series

As we come to the end of our series on Spiritual Leadership, this study on 1 Timothy 3:3 provides an exposure to biblical teaching on one of the more disputed areas of the Christian life in the church today.

From dreams of winning the lottery to investment schemes that promise security in old age, money demands attention in the modern world. From courtroom to boardroom, money holds the power, but the rising cries against this deification of wealth indicate that we all know there is something wrong with this passion. We need leaders who place principles before bank accounts.

Your skill might be undisputed, yet you could fail. Unless you develop a very important skill besides the technical skill, you will probably be fired more often than hired. Dave Wyrtzen is talking about leadership—spiritual leadership—and together we will discover the characteristic that can keep us from stalling out in our career.

Our study on Spiritual Leadership turns to the practical issue of making meals, opening our homes and being willing to recapture the art of hospitality in a society where almost everyone is too tired to do anything more in the evening than turn on their TEVO or watch a DVD. One of the greatest God-given needs as human beings—we need one another. Spiritual leaders must be devoted to hospitality.

The phrase is a simple one. 1 Timothy 3:2 simply states that a spiritual leader in the church needs to be a “one woman man.” Yet down through church history the phrase has been used to argue that spiritual leadership needs to be celibate—married only to the church, or never remarried after the death of their spouse or that a divorcee can never exercise spiritual leadership in the church. Emotions can get tense over this phrase, but let’s look again at this important qualification for leadership.

What is the number one cause of the social problems in America—problems like drugs, gang violence, the plummeting SAT Scores and poor grade performance in schools? After thousands of dollars, research sociologists have put their finger on the root cause of these problems. We can throw blame in lots of directions, but it is time for us to look at the individuals who are actually responsible for the behavior of their kids! Our series topic is leadership and it is time to turn to the leader’s family.

We hear a lot about self expression and self fulfillment. What about self control? Day by day others are watching how we handle steady pressures of every day life when it comes time to choose leaders the ability to control one’s passions in order to execute a worthy plan rises to the surface. One of the most important character traits of a leader is the ability to control his or her passions, the ability to keep a cool head in the hot zone.

From Machiavelli to Clinton, there have been those who have stressed that personal morality has no bearing upon political competency to get the job done, but on the other hand moral issues are invading the political arena. There are strong arguments that character needs to take precedence over competency. What does the bible have to say about this debate between efficient pragmatism, moral absolutism, and the media is the message? In the midst of our series on Spiritual Leadership: the issue of character.

In this age of self-fulfillment it is time for many to shed their passivity and enthusiastically volunteer to fill the spaces in our society that need to be filled for the good of others. Leaders who genuinely care can make major differences in the way a little league team or a local church is managed. If your church responsibilities are overwhelming your life, listen in as Dave shares the truth about leadership from a biblical perspective.

There have never been more people on planet earth than there are today. You would think that this would insure that no one is alone, yet tragically this is not the case. Loneliness is one of the major problems causing depression and sometimes even suicide. As kids we tend to make friends easily but why do we begin to move away from this strong tendency to reach out to others? We trust by listening you will discover the only lasting solution that can keep you from being a lonesome dove.

As moderns we look at the horde of gods and goddesses that filled the world of ancient Egypt, Babylon, Greece and Rome and we smile at the naivety or worshipping the forces of nature and thinking that gods rule over certain localities and regions. But who do we worship in the modern world? May worship the voice within which says, “I want it! It will make me happy!” Because many worship and serve themselves, isn’t it time for us to return to the incredible truth revealed to Moses in the book of Deuteronomy—God is One?

Change –everyone and everything experiences it. It is relentless. It can get you down yet in the midst of change there is someone who never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Dave Wyrtzen begins by sharing about their wedding photo album. How long has it been since you took a peak at your wedding pictures?

Remember the games of your childhood? Blindman’s bluff, ring around the rosie, just plain old tag. My favorite was hide and seek, especially when you had a bunch of kids and it was starting to get dark. There’s something exciting about being concealed just a few feet from someone who is trying to find you. The sad fact is that many of us continue to play hide and seek as adults. Only this time it is not a game, IT IS LIFE! We think we can play it with the Someone who has the ultimate x-ray vision.

All of us began at a point in time, and slid down the birth canal out into the light of existence. Now here is a riddle for you. Think of a man who was born at a specific time, who died on a specific date, yet you cannot determine his age from his life span, yet if you used this figure to give his age, you would come up with a totally wrong answer.

Contrary to a lot of modern opinions, leadership is not having the right media image or the ability to get a 51% majority. True leadership begins with some convictions about reality that prove to be true no matter how anyone votes. Take for example this question: Can a man live without believing in God? Dave invites us to pretend that there is no God… listen and think about some of the tough questions the atheist needs to be able to answer.

The SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP CRISIS. It is one thing when congresspersons are mocked by the general populace, but it is even more serious when the credibility of ministers is put on the level of a crooked used car salesman. Perhaps it is time to take another look at the kind of personal character it takes to become a leader than can command respect and honor.