How to be Great
(excerpt)
All men and women have inside them the desire to become 'great' and being great will mean different things to different people. We want to be great politicians, great architects, great parents, great musicians, great athletes, great students, great pastors … and so on. The problem is that most of us confuse true greatness with worldly greatness and either do not believe we can achieve worldly greatness or have given up trying out of frustration. For non-Christians, pursuing worldly greatness is an exercise that leads to ultimate futility devoid of eternal significance. Christians, having already accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, can achieve eternal greatness by obeying and applying God's Word and living an humble spirited, servant lifestyle as Jesus Christ did. Do not discount the significance of such a lifestyle. In Luke 18:14 Jesus tells us, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Effective & Enduring Leadership™ can be simply defined as leading and Discipling others so that we teach Godly legacies to future generations. Jesus left us a model of Effective & Enduring Leadership and Discipleship and, as a result, a model of eternal greatness that we can all strive to achieve. Christians achieve eternal greatness in Heaven through fulfillment of God's purposes for our lives. Matthew 16:27 says: “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” My study Bible says, “Our heavenly rewards will be the most accurate reflection of what we have done on earth, and they will be far greater than we can imagine.”13 What can we possibly do during our time here on Earth to please God other than fulfill His purposes for us?
Over many decades, indeed centuries, Christianity has lost its legacies and has not developed or Discipled Effective & Enduring Leaders™ and so Christians do not understand or know how to become great in God's eyes. Indeed, God expects us to be E & E Leaders™ for our families, our communities, our work, our government, and society in general. Billy Graham said, “Every generation is crucial, every generation is strategic. But we are not responsible for the past generation, and we cannot bear full responsibility for the next one. However, we do have our generation! God will hold us responsible at the Judgement Seat of Christ for how well we fulfilled our responsibilities and took advantage of our opportunities.”14 What 'responsibilities' are Billy Graham talking about? Perhaps he is talking about God's New Testament purposes for our lives as discussed by Rick Warren; Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and Mission4. This book, through application of God's Word, leads Christians to achieve greatness as Jesus Christ modeled for us – to become Effective & Enduring Leaders in our generation. It is the goal of this book to Disciple people to live more Christ-like and not according to man's intentions or expectations, mine or any one else's.
All men and women have inside them the desire to become 'great' and being great will mean different things to different people. We want to be great politicians, great architects, great parents, great musicians, great athletes, great students, great pastors … and so on. The problem is that most of us confuse true greatness with worldly greatness and either do not believe we can achieve worldly greatness or have given up trying out of frustration. For non-Christians, pursuing worldly greatness is an exercise that leads to ultimate futility devoid of eternal significance. Christians, having already accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, can achieve eternal greatness by obeying and applying God's Word and living an humble spirited, servant lifestyle as Jesus Christ did. Do not discount the significance of such a lifestyle. In Luke 18:14 Jesus tells us, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Effective & Enduring Leadership™ can be simply defined as leading and Discipling others so that we teach Godly legacies to future generations. Jesus left us a model of Effective & Enduring Leadership and Discipleship and, as a result, a model of eternal greatness that we can all strive to achieve. Christians achieve eternal greatness in Heaven through fulfillment of God's purposes for our lives. Matthew 16:27 says: “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” My study Bible says, “Our heavenly rewards will be the most accurate reflection of what we have done on earth, and they will be far greater than we can imagine.”13 What can we possibly do during our time here on Earth to please God other than fulfill His purposes for us?
Over many decades, indeed centuries, Christianity has lost its legacies and has not developed or Discipled Effective & Enduring Leaders™ and so Christians do not understand or know how to become great in God's eyes. Indeed, God expects us to be E & E Leaders™ for our families, our communities, our work, our government, and society in general. Billy Graham said, “Every generation is crucial, every generation is strategic. But we are not responsible for the past generation, and we cannot bear full responsibility for the next one. However, we do have our generation! God will hold us responsible at the Judgement Seat of Christ for how well we fulfilled our responsibilities and took advantage of our opportunities.”14 What 'responsibilities' are Billy Graham talking about? Perhaps he is talking about God's New Testament purposes for our lives as discussed by Rick Warren; Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, and Mission4. This book, through application of God's Word, leads Christians to achieve greatness as Jesus Christ modeled for us – to become Effective & Enduring Leaders in our generation. It is the goal of this book to Disciple people to live more Christ-like and not according to man's intentions or expectations, mine or any one else's.
