September 9, 2022

Leaders Needed — Now More Than Ever

Leaders Needed — Now More Than Ever

Leaders Needed — Now More Than Ever

September 9, 2022
September 9, 2022

Leaders Needed — Now More Than Ever

Leaders Needed — Now More Than Ever

You are a leader. I am a leader. We are all leaders. We all have influence. In our current crisis, we must ask ourselves, “How am I influencing others?”

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You are a leader. I am a leader. We are all leaders. We all have influence.

In our current crisis, we must ask ourselves, “How am I influencing others?”

Leaders influence others by defining reality and offering hope.

Leaders Define Reality

The reality is this: we are at war. Our city, Memphis, is at war as people are being senselessly murdered. Rampant evil is in our midst, and we must mourn, lament, and cry out to God. However, right now the wars between people — especially on social media — about what to do next, seems to be producing even more hate and fear.

Likewise, the world is at war in Ukraine and many other places. Daily, many people are being senselessly terrorized, brutalized, taken captive, and murdered. Humanity is plagued by wars and violence for temporary control over territory, people, natural resources, and money. Hate and greed seem to be winning over peace and love. Partisan politics appears to be more important than working together for solutions.

Martin Luther King Jr. was able to rise above politics and describe reality as well as anyone:

“Why should we love our enemies? The first reason is fairly obvious. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies—or else? The chain reaction of evil—hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars—must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Leaders Offer Hope

Leaders define reality and offer hope. While Napoleon first said this, Jesus — the greatest leader the world has ever known — modeled this perfectly during His time on earth.

If we are going to successfully lead our families, organizations, and city, then our leadership needs to follow the pattern of the world's greatest leader. The King of all creation — who had everything He needed in heaven — chose to come to earth and save us, “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9). In doing this, Jesus used his authority as Prophet, Priest, and King in order to conquer hate, evil, and death — forever.  And though His victory is secure, Jesus calls and equips us to live and love the way He did. We do this by communicating truth, caring for others, and modeling love in action to the world. The time to lead like Jesus is now.

If you are a believer, Christ lives in you. For in Him we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Therefore, Jesus’ perfect communicating, caring, and modeling empowers leaders — such as you and me — to love and serve our neighbors both locally and globally.

Here are seven ways to lead with seven promises of God that inspire us to lead in The Way of Jesus:

1. Compassion - We must look at the suffering all around us and move from criticism to compassion. Empathy seeks understanding and sympathy offers personal condolence, but compassion moves to love filled action.  

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” - Matthew 9:36

2. Humility - We stop having the need to always be right. We can be curious and start to learn from others. We can seek to understand instead of trying to be understood. We can stop promoting political views and other ideas that are only rooted in divisiveness and instead seek common ground.

For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. - Matthew 23:12

3. Peace - More life ending weapons and violence are not the solution. We can seek to make new positive relationships with people of different ethnicity, backgrounds, professions, and income levels.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. - Matthew 5:9

4. Community - You are in the city where God planted you for a reason. We must invest in our city and build a flourishing community — together. Get together with others and make plans to invest in our city.

Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” - Jeremiah 29:7

5. Courage - We must fight the temptation to give up, move away, or build walls around our homes and lives. We do not have to be anxious. God cares for us more than we can think or imagine.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9

6. Service - We must move from working for personal gain to working to serve others. We must give today instead of storing up our resources because of fear for tomorrow. Specifically —

- We can all help mentor a child and help them learn to read — being able to read by 4th grade is the most successful indicator of whether someone turns to crime and violence or can flourish in our city. Organizations in Memphis who mentor children and teach them to read:

Arise to Read

Nathan Street

Orange Mound Outreach Ministries

- We can give our time and resources alongside organizations that serve the most vulnerable — the homeless, young mothers, the poor, the sick, and refugees are all people we can serve. Organizations in Memphis who serve the vulnerable:

Homeless — Union Mission

Poor — Neighborhood Christian Center

Sick — Church Health

Young Mothers — Young Lives

Youth — Streets

Refugees — World Relief

- We can give our time and resources alongside organizations that provide job training and a second chance for those who need it most. Organizations in Memphis who provide job training:

Advance Memphis

BDC Business Hub

EcOp Memphis

- We can work to create good jobs in the organizations where we lead, and pay wages that allow people to be independent and provide for their family.

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross! - Philippians 2:5-8

7. Eternity over temporary - Our prayer and our hope should be the same for our city as it is for ourselves. Come quickly Lord Jesus! As we have learned to pray, “Your kingdom will be done…” When this is our prayer, we are drawn closer to God and His will as we look forward with hope and assurance to how the story ends.

‘“Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”’ - Revelation 21:3-5

Follow To Lead

Our God loves us so much that He gives us a Savior. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. - John 3:16-17

We respond to the grace and mercy of our Savior by following Him, caring about what He cares about, and becoming like Him for as long as He leaves us on earth. His word — the Bible — gives us unlimited guidance on how to live. Our life gives us unlimited opportunities to become like Him.

Now is not the time for action for everyone. Those who are mourning need to mourn. Those who are grieving need to grieve.

Join us to discuss how to put these principles into practice at the proper pace, together, and learn more about how to Lead Like Jesus.

Sign up

Howard Graham
Howard Graham
Executive Director

You are a leader. I am a leader. We are all leaders. We all have influence.

In our current crisis, we must ask ourselves, “How am I influencing others?”

Leaders influence others by defining reality and offering hope.

Leaders Define Reality

The reality is this: we are at war. Our city, Memphis, is at war as people are being senselessly murdered. Rampant evil is in our midst, and we must mourn, lament, and cry out to God. However, right now the wars between people — especially on social media — about what to do next, seems to be producing even more hate and fear.

Likewise, the world is at war in Ukraine and many other places. Daily, many people are being senselessly terrorized, brutalized, taken captive, and murdered. Humanity is plagued by wars and violence for temporary control over territory, people, natural resources, and money. Hate and greed seem to be winning over peace and love. Partisan politics appears to be more important than working together for solutions.

Martin Luther King Jr. was able to rise above politics and describe reality as well as anyone:

“Why should we love our enemies? The first reason is fairly obvious. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies—or else? The chain reaction of evil—hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars—must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Leaders Offer Hope

Leaders define reality and offer hope. While Napoleon first said this, Jesus — the greatest leader the world has ever known — modeled this perfectly during His time on earth.

If we are going to successfully lead our families, organizations, and city, then our leadership needs to follow the pattern of the world's greatest leader. The King of all creation — who had everything He needed in heaven — chose to come to earth and save us, “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9). In doing this, Jesus used his authority as Prophet, Priest, and King in order to conquer hate, evil, and death — forever.  And though His victory is secure, Jesus calls and equips us to live and love the way He did. We do this by communicating truth, caring for others, and modeling love in action to the world. The time to lead like Jesus is now.

If you are a believer, Christ lives in you. For in Him we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Therefore, Jesus’ perfect communicating, caring, and modeling empowers leaders — such as you and me — to love and serve our neighbors both locally and globally.

Here are seven ways to lead with seven promises of God that inspire us to lead in The Way of Jesus:

1. Compassion - We must look at the suffering all around us and move from criticism to compassion. Empathy seeks understanding and sympathy offers personal condolence, but compassion moves to love filled action.  

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” - Matthew 9:36

2. Humility - We stop having the need to always be right. We can be curious and start to learn from others. We can seek to understand instead of trying to be understood. We can stop promoting political views and other ideas that are only rooted in divisiveness and instead seek common ground.

For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. - Matthew 23:12

3. Peace - More life ending weapons and violence are not the solution. We can seek to make new positive relationships with people of different ethnicity, backgrounds, professions, and income levels.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. - Matthew 5:9

4. Community - You are in the city where God planted you for a reason. We must invest in our city and build a flourishing community — together. Get together with others and make plans to invest in our city.

Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” - Jeremiah 29:7

5. Courage - We must fight the temptation to give up, move away, or build walls around our homes and lives. We do not have to be anxious. God cares for us more than we can think or imagine.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9

6. Service - We must move from working for personal gain to working to serve others. We must give today instead of storing up our resources because of fear for tomorrow. Specifically —

- We can all help mentor a child and help them learn to read — being able to read by 4th grade is the most successful indicator of whether someone turns to crime and violence or can flourish in our city. Organizations in Memphis who mentor children and teach them to read:

Arise to Read

Nathan Street

Orange Mound Outreach Ministries

- We can give our time and resources alongside organizations that serve the most vulnerable — the homeless, young mothers, the poor, the sick, and refugees are all people we can serve. Organizations in Memphis who serve the vulnerable:

Homeless — Union Mission

Poor — Neighborhood Christian Center

Sick — Church Health

Young Mothers — Young Lives

Youth — Streets

Refugees — World Relief

- We can give our time and resources alongside organizations that provide job training and a second chance for those who need it most. Organizations in Memphis who provide job training:

Advance Memphis

BDC Business Hub

EcOp Memphis

- We can work to create good jobs in the organizations where we lead, and pay wages that allow people to be independent and provide for their family.

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross! - Philippians 2:5-8

7. Eternity over temporary - Our prayer and our hope should be the same for our city as it is for ourselves. Come quickly Lord Jesus! As we have learned to pray, “Your kingdom will be done…” When this is our prayer, we are drawn closer to God and His will as we look forward with hope and assurance to how the story ends.

‘“Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”’ - Revelation 21:3-5

Follow To Lead

Our God loves us so much that He gives us a Savior. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. - John 3:16-17

We respond to the grace and mercy of our Savior by following Him, caring about what He cares about, and becoming like Him for as long as He leaves us on earth. His word — the Bible — gives us unlimited guidance on how to live. Our life gives us unlimited opportunities to become like Him.

Now is not the time for action for everyone. Those who are mourning need to mourn. Those who are grieving need to grieve.

Join us to discuss how to put these principles into practice at the proper pace, together, and learn more about how to Lead Like Jesus.

Sign up

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