Spirit of Leadership

THE SPIRIT OF LEADERSHIP We should remember that James and John became two of Jesus’s favorites. I believe that this was because they had the right interests, the right pursuits, and the right attitudes. They didn’t want to be average. They didn’t want to be followers. When someone comes to us and says that he wants to do something great and big, we normally think that he is overly ambitious and proud. Actually, he’s exercising his true nature. But what do we do? We intimidate him in order to try to dis courage him. Sometimes, we even use religion as a justifica tion for telling others not to seek greatness. But here Jesus is telling his disciples, in essence, “You want to be great? Then here’s how to do it: You serve others.” Likewise, the early church writer Paul wrote in his first epistle to his associate Timothy, “If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” Paul was saying, “Look, if you want to be a great person, if you want to be a leader, that’s not bad.” We’ve been taught that this desire is bad, yet Paul simply went on to explain what is required for leadership. Please note that the apostle emphasized that the desire to be a leader (setting one’s heart on it) is “noble.” I want you to truly understand that the human desire for greatness is natural and inherent. L OVING MONEY AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS IS AN ABUSE OF OUR POWER TO GET WEALTH .

FINDING YOUR “MANSION”— YOUR POSITION OF AUTHORITY

In a number of ways, Jesus Christ introduced his dis ciples to the phenomenon of the power that a human being

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