Wisdom-Do you have it?

I heard someone say early on in my ministry that knowledge is knowing how to take things apart, but wisdom is knowing how to put them back together again.

I think inherent in the word wisdom is an implication of time spent doing something. Wisdom is not something that can be learned quickly. Wisdom comes from experience and from the pressure of carrying out a task or assignment. Wisdom is insight. Theodore Levitt from Harvard Business School says “Experience comes from what we have done. Wisdom comes from what we have done badly.” That’s so true. That also goes to prove that failing and making mistakes are the best teachers on how to improve and do things better.

Automaker Henry Ford asked electrical genius Charlie Steinmetz to build the generators for his factory. One day the generators ground to a halt, and the repairmen couldn't find the problem.  So Ford called Steinmetz, who tinkered with the machines for a few hours and then threw the switch. The generators whirred to life--but Ford got a bill for $10,000 from Steinmetz.  Flabbergasted, the rather tightfisted automaker inquired why the bill was so high.
Steinmetz's reply: “For tinkering with the generators, $10. For knowing where to tinker, $9,990.” Ford paid the bill.
(Today in the Word, MBI, April 1990, p. 27.)

Where can we find wisdom? James 1:7 tells us when we lack wisdom, to ask God. God is the source of wisdom. Do you need wisdom today? Are you asking Him for it? Let me know where you need wisdom and our team will be praying for you.

Integrity In Leadership

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe[a] came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
Acts 2:42-44

When you read those verses in Acts, the text tells us that “they gathered together to pray…” When I read that, the question I ask myself is, “Who motivated them to do that?”

Obviously, the Sunday School answer would be: GOD.

But who in the flesh led them? Peter and John.

These two men had been commanded not to speak about Jesus, and yet miracles kept happening so they were released. They returned to the people and continued to lead the way despite adversity, their lives being threatened, and more. Talk about leadership!

Suffice it to say, there’s no way to cover all there is to say about Leadership here. There are plenty of great books on Leadership.

Think about your church. Who’s leading? Is there even a leader? Is there a group of people trying to usurp the power of God’s leader?

In a lot of churches I have had the privilege to be in the last fifteen years, leadership was missing. Sometimes leadership was missing because...

Servanthood

This, to me, is the most missing characteristic among our modern day leaders. I’m not sure when that fact changed. It has been my experience that a lot of leaders now think that they should be served instead of being the ones to serve. After all, that’s the way we do it in our Westernized Christianity. Christian leaders have their entourage and their “gophers.”

We have to look no farther than Jesus Himself as our example of what it means for a leader to serve.
Author Alan Nelson describes it like this:
What underpins servant leadership is the motivation behind our actions as leaders. If personal desire was the sole decision criteria, Jesus would have chosen not to go through the pain and suffering on the cross. In the garden at Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, 'Father if you are willing take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours, be done.'(Luke 22:42) The weight of the burden of taking not only our guilt but also our sin, had become too heavy. Even at this point, Jesus could have got up and walked away. Jesus' leadership modeled servant leadership throughout his ministry. This will require us also to set aside personal gain, to make sacrifices, and to put the needs of others above the direction we may prefer for ourselves. You've probably met people who are highly career minded, people whose main motivation is to get him or herself in a position where they will gain some reward. This is the complete opposite of the leadership Jesus demonstrated.

Many years ago I was asked to help