LEARNING THE ART OF BEING A GREAT LEADER

Leadership is a process (by Pastor Davis)

LEADERSHIP is an art, and if you desire to be a successful leader in any calling you must master this art.  It all revolves around knowledge, and knowledge is power.  Gaining both knowledge and power depends on how well you choose the team that will help you achieve your desired goals.  Being the leader of any organization, means you must chose a team of people to work with you to help build the organization and make it successful.

If you truly want to learn the art of being a great leader by choosing and training your team, I encourage you to begin by studying how Jesus taught this art.  He first chose a staff of twelve men; some were illiteracy, with questionable backgrounds, some had fractious feelings, and still others were momentary cowardice.  Despite their differences they went on to accomplish the tasks Jesus trained them to do, and in doing so they influence the world and set the pattern of how real leaders should learn how to lead their organizations.

In (2 Samuel 23:8-17), we discover how David built one of the most successful fighting teams, because he knew what it took as a leader to mold and shape the talents of men that had the spirit of God in them. David knew that the mark of a great leader is how many great people will join his or her team.  David’s team was comprised of “mighty men.” Because David attempted mighty things, only the mighty could keep up with him.  Those who could not keep pace could not join the team.Don Bennett was the first amputee to climb Mt. Rainier.  His testimony is simple—if you try such a feat with only one leg, “you can’t do it alone.”  That makes a lot of sense!  However, what is not immediately obvious is that not just anyone can help.  Bennett did not recruit his helpers in a nursing home.  He built a team of people who wanted to climb a 14,410-foot peak and who could climb a 14,410-foot peak.  One who attempts mighty feats had better be capable of recruiting a mighty team.

General Colin Powell was like David.  He showed his leadership skills by helping to build our U.S. Army into one of the World’s most powerful and successful fighting machines.  Now let us pause right here for a moment and listen to General Colin Powell speak on how to be a great leader and I will meet you on the other side of this short video clip.

My hope is that General Colin Powell has spoken to your heart and provided you with some necessary tools that will equip you to be a great leader.  There are a number of video clips inside of this clip of some of our nations’ greatest leaders that can also provide you with additional help.  Therefore, I encourage you to return to this lesson often for a complete study on becoming a great leader.  Now please continue to read the rest of this lesson on how David and others became great leaders and built great teams.

GENERAL COLIN POWELL was a leader who taught us how to lead and build successful leadership teams.  It is my belief that perhaps General Powell acquired some of David’s leadership skills that helped him to become a great leader.  From our studies, we know that David  was one of the most celebrated teams in the entire Old Testament.  This group was the all-star team of his battle-hardened warriors.  Several things stand out as we consider how David pulled his team together.

First, he spent time with them in battle.  These men were welded to David by the hot fires of battle.  His inner circle consisted of those men who had fought alongside him.  He knew their capabilities, because he had seen what they could do with his own eyes.

Second, he sacrificed for them.  When three of his mighty men risked their lives to obtain drinking water for him during a battle, David refused to drink it, choosing instead to pour it out onto the ground.  That act of sacrifice communicated a depth of devotion and love that had to have impressed those warriors.

Third, they enjoyed victory together.  Time and again David and his mighty men faced
seemingly insurmountable odds and saw God deliver them

Finally, David honored them.  These men were well known throughout the land as “David’s Mighty Men.”  That phrase served as a banner that set them apart as extraordinary.

As you read this account, one thing becomes clear;  David knew he couldn’t do it alone.  A team is capable of accomplishing things that no individual, no matter how multi-talented, could do alone.  To function well, a team must be committed to a common vision and purpose, and it must be willing to work in unity for the improvement of the whole rather than the advancement of any one member.

TEAMS are comprised of positional specialists.  These individuals have been recruited on thebasis of individual ability and expected contribution.  But they aren’t a solid team until theirindividual strengths combine to produce an outcome which no single member alone could have produced.  High performance teams are tough to build.  So we look to the MASTER TEACHER for a demonstration of how to recruit and mold a world-class team.

Every competent leader knows the importance of building a team.  But how is this accomplished?  Strong teams functioning at their best reflect similarities to the relationship that exists within the DIVINE TRINITY.  When a team works together in an order-centered manner, it mirrors the creativity and mutual regard that is derived from God himself.

For additional study on this subject, click on any month on the right side of this page.  On the left side you will see the heading category.  Stroll down to the title of leadership and click on it.  In the center of the page you will find many lessons we have taught on this subject.  If you are a leader in your church, business enterprise are desire to become a great leader we encourage you to spend some time studying these topics.

In conclusion, let me remind you to think Globally and work Locally.  We minister to you this day and everyday from a position of Peace, Purpose, Power and Prosperity.  I remain your Brother in CHRIST, PASTOR DAVIS/MASTER TEACHER!

Today we have taught the lesson title, “LEARNING THE ART OF BEING A GREAT LEADER.”