Who hears the problems of a leader.....

Is the concept of leadership a verb or a noun? Are people really leaders, or do they go through the actions of leading others? This is a question that is often asked in business books. "Are leaders born or made?" What part does God play in all of this? Is he the force that transforms the actions of leading into the person of Leadership? All leaders will suffer doubt, anxiety, anguish and without God, can they continue to go on in a effective way? The history books are filled with examples of people who had phenomenal leadership skills, and attained success just to see it all slip away, for one reason or another... Even in the Bible, King Solomon, the wisest man on earth failed, once he started straying away from God. His vice, listening to his many wives instead of God. This week I lost a mentor, a coach, and a friend to suicide. He was definately someone who was blessed with many of the skills to lead people. His passion was teaching kids how to wrestle. Wrestling is a tough sport that has no room for excuses. It teaches discipline, accountability, and a work ethic. My coach walked the halls every year recruiting young men to learn these life skills. No one gets cut from the team. If you go through the work, you are always accepted. He would actively recruit kids who were cut from other sports and give them a home on his team. It didn't matter your background, your social class or your affluence, once you hit the mat, you were all equals. I watched hundreds of kids find out how to be men on those teams. People that would surely be in serious trouble were given a venue to channel the energy. Grades improved, because you needed to be eligible to compete, and you worked way too hard to miss that opportunity. Coach was a master at knowing how to reach a young man to get him to dig a little deeper. Wrestlers made amazing personal sacrifices for the good of the team. Not everyone was thrilled with his methods or his tactics, and may have even walked away from the program angry, but somehow most of them found a reason to come back, at some point or another. PRIDE, SACRIFICE, DEDICATION, was the chant at the end of every practice, and by the volume of sweat left behind, everyone meant it. The rule in the room was that you never quit.....no matter what. So how does someone who is able to establish a program, a legacy of hard work, discipline and team work take his own life? Anxiety, depression, hopelessness, defeat. All of these feelings hit us, and "leaders" are the ones who usually help you through it, but who helps the leader? "God gives strength to the weary and gives power to the weak....Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary." -Isiah 40:29-31 Where else can leaders go when they are struggling? In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I know that this is something that I am trying to practice right now, because the loss of my friend and mentor in this manner definately transcends all of my understanding...... Verse 8 from the same chapter says, "...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." This is how I choose to remember my friend. I'm just saddened that the leader I knew was not able to find a place to go with his pain, worries and fears. I urge you all, as leaders, to make sure that you practice going to the Lord with your burdens. You can not depend on the people of this earth to be around when you need them, or have the answer to your problems, or give you the peace through true understanding. You can't depend on people to always be on your side and have your best interest in mind, and when they let you down, or are not there for you, and you feel overwhelmed, you won't have the strength that you need. Good-bye Coach, I'll miss you.

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.....

Remember your first love?  The notes passed in class, the hours on the phone (even though you hated talking on the phone).  All of the dreams, and thoughts, and parts of your day that you couldn't wait to share?

That is how God feels about his relationship with you.  He wants to talk to you , and hear from you.....All of the time!  Yet many times, we "schedule" our time with God when we can fit him into our schedule.  In Psalms 55:16-17, it talks about praying to God in the morning, afternoon, and evening.  This implies that we should communicate with him throughout the day.

An easy way to remember to spend this time with God is to eat your meals with him.  I don't mean just saying grace before you eat.  I'm talking about spending some quality time with God before, during, or after your meal to catch him up on your day.  As a leader, this can be the most important time you spend throughout the day.  In the morning you can talk to him about the big meetings, the things on your calendar that you worry about, the projects you have to handle and the conversations that you have to have.  At the mid point of your day, (while you are probably eating at your desk) you can ask him for the patience to deal with the things that are going wrong, or to help you re-focus on what he wants you to do. At your evening meal, you can thank him for what went well, ask forgiveness for what you handled poorly, and reflect over things that you could have done better.

Once you get used to talking to God (praying) at your meal times, you can add right when you wake up, and right before you go to bed.  The conversations don't need to be long, but if you spend time with God throughout your whole day, you may be surprised how much more clearly you will see things.  Your stress levels will also go down.....I promise.  The more you talk to God, the more you will feel his presence throughout the day.

When you boil prayer down to the basics, it is just a fancy word for talking to God.  the key to any conversation is to start it.  Don't waste time wondering if you are doing it right, as the Nike slogan used to say "Just Do It".  The rest will work itself out.

God wants to be your first love.  Like any other love in your life, he would love to go to dinner with you!