I was reading Jeremiah 7, and a few things jumped out at me, especially vs 22-24. Take a second and read them. The first thing that stood out at me was a lack of self-leadership a topic I covered last week. But secondly, I noticed a complete lack of any leadership. No one setting the standard, no one living according to God’s commands, no one calling others to repent. Just the prophet speaking the words of God, which God assures will fall on deaf ears. Don’t let that be you, your church, your family, your city. Live and lead according to God’s commands.

I also read an awesome blog by Perry Noble on Church. What it should be, what it can do, and how if we follow God, He will lead us to make an eternal difference in peoples live. Check it out here.

Then I read a great blog book review of De-Railed by Tim Irwin. The book talks about the failures of leadership and the impact it has. Then the blog list 5 specific failures. Check it out here.

Lastly I read an article on “Breaking the patterns of worry for your team.” It was a really good read, even if things are going well in your organization, it doesn’t mean things are going well with your people. It is also  has a link to a worksheet to help people work through what maybe causing worry. Check it out here.

Just wanted to share those few things with you and hope they are beneficial to you.

It is the hardest part of leadership for me to get right. For me it is easy to lead others, to tell them what to do, to accomplish a task, to achieve something bold. But when it comes to leading myself…well that seems a little more difficult. The reason it is so hard to lead myself is because I am such a tough follower. And to be a good self-leader you must first be a good follower.

In order to lead myself, I must be following some example or guide for personal growth, discipline and hard work. For me, my example is Jesus. So I ask myself before I face the day, “to be a good leader today where do I first need to follow.” I spend some time reading the Bible and in prayer and seeking God. I am not always aware of where I am not being a good self-leader and I need God’s objective eyes to see those areas. This time helps me get a better handle on following and setting me up for self-leadership success.

Another way to think about self-leadership is the term self control. If I am leading my self then I am in control of what I am doing and not doing at all times. At the end of the day the only one responsible for me and how I lived is me.

For all of us who are called, gifted or reluctantly find ourselves leading, make sure you are being a faithful self-leader by being a good follower.

Proverbs 25:28
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.