• This depends on your relationship with God. How much emphasis do you have on God, and how much are you willing to sacrifice for God. These are the determining factors.
• Spiritual bankruptcy will surface when leadership is dependent on talents and competency. Often times, we tend to want to attend certain churches because of it's management rather than about God.
• Christian leadership is attained by seeking God daily through prayer.
• Philippians 3:8 says "For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh".
• Those who seek God privately will be rewarded publicly and those who pursue God and not personal glorification will have an uncompromising success and will reach the end.
• If today, you feel that God has by-passed you for someone else, God says to you "Patience, my child." Indeed, all things are done according to His time and acted according to His plans.

2. Pursue God not Self-promotion

• This simply means to wait for God to promote us and reward us accordingly. Take for example, there are many philanthropist in the world today who wishes to remain anonymous for the works they do. This is not about avoiding unwanted media attention but it is about what true charity is all about. Donations ought to come from the heart. This is so, as when a donation comes from the heart, the donation will be blessed by you and in turn it will be blessed in manifold ways. This same principle applies here. Do what God commands us to do, and we will be rewarded by Him in His time. Do not however, treat doing God's work as a form of a publicity stunt for your own recognition and promotion.

3. Pursue God not Status and seeking Favouritism

• Jesus condemns the categorisation of his people.
• Servant-hood is the antidote to status and favouritism
• Read up on Matthew 20:20-23.

4. Pursue God not Personal Gain

• Success of the ministry is not wealth or numbers but it is changed lives. Indeed. A successful ministry is about how many lives have been changed such that God is of utmost importance in each and every one of their lives. A successful ministry will be one that can feed and satisfy a church that hungers for God. While numbers and changed lives seems to be the perfect combination yet numbers alone only justifies the amount of effort a church does to draw attention to it.
• Through such a pursue, God will bless his people in manifold ways.

B. Treasure God's Call

• Romans 1:1 "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God - " Some people are called by God to serve in a ministry full-time while some in many other ways. When God calls you to serve him, one way or another, do not avoid him and neither should you be reluctant. God's call is unavoidable.

C. Be committed

• The foundation of commitment is dedication and the keys to dedication are having a heart for God and sacrifice.
• Romans 12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. [2]Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
• Our body and our mind is a living sacrifice to God. Sometimes our body maybe praising God but our mind is drifting away from God take for example the sermon in church. Haven't we all been guilty of thinking of something else when the pastor is preaching rather than to give God our fullest attention?

D. Have Vision

• There is no leadership without vision. A leader without vision would only become a visionary leader and not one with vision. Faith is vision.
• Proverbs 29:18 says "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law."
• Having vision includes having optimism and being able to seize every opportunity that knocks on your door. With such visions, we need to do something about it, otherwise, it becomes futile.
• However great a leader is, every leader needs a successor to pass on his knowledge and to ensure that the organisation or ministry can continue to grow in good faith. Similarly, a great leader cannot act as a solitary figure. A leader requirecouncilorsrs whom he can consult with and must most importantly heed the voices and cries of the people. Proverbs 11:14 says "For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure."
• Read up on Elisha and the Syrian i.e. 2 Kings 6:8-23

E. Keep our Focus

• Philippians 3:13-14 says "Brothers, 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, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
• We need to let go of our past and present and ignore all distractions that would result in us having to deviate from our main objective. With focus comes direction. With this sense of direction, then comes a sense of purpose in what you are doing.

F. Be Strong and Courageous

• Sometimes we ask God, why must this happen to me and not to someone else. We say to God "If I am a child of yours like him, why then am I treated differently from him; why am I suffering while he is enjoying himself..." God is a fair and just God. Everything that happens in our lives, every challenge, every obstacle, every difficulty we face are all part of God's plan to shape us and mould us into a stronger person. Rather than to lament on our plight albeit the human nature to do so, think of the possible reasons about why God allow sorrow, hurt, anger, pain, melancholia, disappointments... in your life... There is a purpose in everything that God allows to happen in your life.
• Joshua was constantly reminded by God to be strong. Just from Joshua 1:1-9 God reminded Joshua to be strong three times particularly in verses 6,7 and 9.
• Only when we are strong and courageous can our leadership be an effective one as this means that we can not only stand against all odds but also able to use these personal experiences as a form of personal testimonial to win souls for the Lord.
• Being strong and courageous is very much applicable in confronting sin. Read up on Exodus 32:1-35 and Numbers 25:1-8.
• To be strong and courageous, we need to be decisive and not be swayed by the crowd. A leader needs to have a firm stand on matters particularly matters that are already sanctioned by law or by an agreement within involved parties. Any sign of relent will then mark the downfall of you as a leader.

G. To stay Humble

• Humility is a daily struggle. However, because humility is a daily struggle, it therefore also shows how important humility is to our lives. Proverbs 22:4 says " Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honour and life." Similarly, Psalm 37:11 says "But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace." and Matthew 5:5 " Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
• Humility is synonymous to patience. Hence when we say humility is a daily struggle, the underlying assumption is that our patience is likewise being tested.

• In what ways must we be humble?

1. Humble to Serve

• Philippians 2:4 says "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Indeed, when we speak about humility, we need to put aside our pride and humble ourselves regardless of your personal qualifications.

2. Humble to be Transparent

• Personal life stories are the ones that really bless other people. If you have purchased Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, I would encourage you to read Day 37 on Sharing your Life message. Otherwise, it would have to wait for one of my subsequent blog entries.
• Accept our short-comings. No one is perfect. We therefore need to embrace our short-comings and learn how to adapt and overcome them.

3. Humble to overcome criticism and praises

• Who likes to be told that he/she is wrong? Who likes to always be scolded? When faced with criticism or worst unfair treatment in the form of wrongful accusation, rather than to allow your anger to take control of you, simmer down and ask God to bless you with his inner peace and allow yourself tsieveve through all your thoughts in the most logical fashion fathomable. Let God take charge!
• Haughtiness leads to arrogance which in turn leads to fractured relationships.

4. Humble to be forgiving.

• To forgive a person means that we need to let go of our pride and anger towards the person. It also means that we need to humble ourselves because the sole reason why we cannot forgive a person is because we cling too dearly to our pride and this pride is essentially a sign of our haughtiness towards the person. Hence, we need to ask for humility however difficult it may seem to be.

5. Humble to press on.

• Read the book of Psalm, chapter 8.

H. Have Integrity

• Psalm 1:1-3 says "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. [2] But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. [3] He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."
• Luke 8:15 says "But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."
• 1 Peter 2:12 says "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." Have integrity even when you are tempted. Your persistence in obeying God's word will make you a great leader for God.
• The keys in keeping our integrity are our honesty and impartiality. 1 Peter 5:2-3 says "Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; [3] not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."

I. Be Kind and Loving

• Pursue God and then you can then love people. Read up on 1 Corinthians, chapter 13.

J. Will not be intimidated.

• Avoid comparisons.

"Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city." Jeremiah 5:1

God is searching for individuals i.e. a man to do his work. Are you willing to do so? Are you willing to be a leader for God?