The Zone Gathering

Today, we begin a new Thursday Leadership Lesson series on Laying the Foundation. At the Leadership Retreat, Some Assembly Required was our theme, and we talked about the tools, resources, and best practices needed to create community, make disciples, and do ministry. Whenever you build, you must carefully lay a solid foundation first. The load of the entire building is transmitted to the foundation, so the foundation must be able to support the entire weight and growth of the structure. Everything comes back to the foundation. The more people you lead and the longer you lead, the heavier that load will become and the stronger your foundation must be.

There are times in leadership when you may feel as if you are going to be crushed under the wieght of leadership pressure. However, God reassures us in Isaiah 28:16:

“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.”

The Scriptures speak throughout about the importance of building our lives on a firm foundation. The Old Testament speaks of Christ’s coming and the foundation he would provide for our faith (Isaiah 28:16, Isaiah 33:6), and it is echoed in the writings of Paul (I Corinthians and Ephesians). Our lives must rest on the foundation of Christ. Both Matthew and Luke recall Jesus’ teaching of the wise man who built his house upon a rock.

The first task in good leadership is to lead ourselves well, which means building our lives on the firm foundation of Christ and Biblical principles.

Over the next 12 weeks, we will explore principles and practical ideas for laying a strong foundation for both our personal lives and our leadership. Topics will include the following:

• Character
• Growing as a leader
• Humility
• Prayer
• Doctrine
• Time Management
• Decision-making
• Accountability
• Endurance

I’m convinced that 90% of leadership comes back to our foundation, and I want to spend the first semester of 2007 talking about them and helping you take practical steps to lay a foundation that you can build on for years to come.

Between now and next week, try to think of 3 things you could do that would make a significant difference in your leadership.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 8th, 2007 at 4:47 pm and is filed under Foundations, Leadership Lessons, News and Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.