Don't get so addicted to vision that the people feel like equipment

If we were to boil down Christianity to its core, we'd be left with simply this: relationship with God. The living, loving God of the universe has spoken throughout history, and still speaks today - not just to pastors or priests, but to anyone who will listen. God will speak to you.

The leader is the organization's top strategist... systematically envisioning the future and specifically mapping out how to get there.

Whenever you see something going well - whenever light begins to chase back the darkness that threatens to engulf our world - look closely. There stands a leader who is holding that candle.

If you're living a yielded life, and if you have the preaching and teaching gift, and you're yielding that to God on a continual basis, that's one of the signs that you're in the right place doing the right thing for the right reasons. If you're doing something in the kingdom, and you rarely feel that, that's a red flag. Something needs to be looked at. Are you using the right gift? Are you using it in the right way? For the right reasons? At the right time? In the right context? If I didn't feel it consistently, that would be quite troubling to me.

The more varied the environments in which you exercise your leadership gift, the stronger that gift will become. You will become a far more effective leader.

It's a huge responsibility to have influence and to steward it in a way that leads to God-honoring leadership.