Leadership Pain by Samuel R Chand

When we experience a sudden crisis or prolonged season of agony, we find out what makes us tick.

When we’re tempted to conclude that God doesn’t care, we need to look at the cross.

God never abandons us when we can’t sense his presence. 

God sometimes delivers us from pain, but more often he delivers us through it.

When we trust God in difficult times, our stumbling blocks become stepping-stones of growth.

When we face our deepest fears, our faith grows because we find God to be faithful.

When doubts cloud our minds, it’s time to refocus on God’s grace, greatness, and wisdom.

We may not like the path God has chosen for us, but we need to humbly accept pain as part of his plan.

When we suffer loss of any kind, we need to grieve. American’s aren’t very good at grief because we believe God has promised us a happy life. He hasn’t. But he’s promised us a meaningful life, one that involves pain and the necessary response: grief.

Life’s most defining moments are usually painful experiences.

Relationships are forged on trust, and trust can’t be built when hearts fail to connect.

Phony faith teaches nothing helpful.

One of the most enduring and endearing truths in the Bible is that God is more than willing to use flawed men and women to accomplish his purposes.

A strong hope for the future gives us strength to face pain today.

To persevere, we need a vision for the future that’s bigger than our pain.

God often uses difficulties to clarify our purpose, purify our motives, and give us a clearer sense of direction.

The existential angst of hopelessness and despair can only be addressed in community—close relationships with at least one, preferably a few, who genuinely care for us. Nothing less will do.

British author Samuel Johnson observed, “People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.”

Refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

I’ve never known any leaders who thrived—in their roles, in their families, or in their lives—without at least a few trusted friends. 

The essence of genuine humility isn’t thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less.

Don’t run from your pain. Don’t deny it exists. It’s the most effective leadership development tool the world has ever known.

Leadership Pain by Samuel R Chand

Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds. —Orison Swett Marden

Never trust a leader who doesn’t walk with a limp. —Dr. J. Robert Clinton

It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. —Julius Caesar

Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have—and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up. —James Belasco and Ralph Stayer

A life isn’t significant except for its impact on other lives. —Jackie Robinson

Adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with. —Thomas Carlyle

The worst thing that can happen to any of us is to have a path that’s made too smooth. One of the greatest blessings the Lord ever gave us was a cross. —Charles H. Spurgeon

For the believer all pain has meaning; all adversity is profitable. There is no question that adversity is difficult. It usually takes us by surprise and seems to strike where we are most vulnerable. To us it often appears completely senseless and irrational, but to God none of it is either senseless or irrational. He has a purpose in every pain He brings or allows in our lives. We can be sure the in some way He intends it for our profit and His glory. —Jerry Bridges, Trusting God

You must go through the way in which you are not.  —T.S.Elliot

We found that for leaders to make something great, their ambition has to be for the greatness of the work and the company, rather than for themselves. —Jim Collins, Good to Great

The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh. —Jonathan Edwards

By perseverance the snail reached the ark. —Charles H. Spurgeon

The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.  —John Stott

Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous at of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelm us.  —Jerry Bridges, Is God Really in Control?

There are two pains in life: the pain of discipline, or the pain of regret. You choose. —Wayne Cordeiro

You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. —J.K. Rowling

Leadership Pain by Samuel R Chand

Ignoring pain is leadership leprosy.

You’ll grow only to the threshold of your pain. To grow more, raise your threshold. 

No matter what your gifts and style may be, not matter how much you pour your heart into people, and no matter how much time you devote to your ministry, you’ll face criticism.

Contrary to the thinking of many people, stress isn’t the problem. Too much unrelieved stress is the culprit. A little stress brings out the best in us. 

In the vast majority of cases, burnout is the result of a long series of disappointments, setbacks, and heartaches. 

Our faith and character are developed most powerfully in times of adversity.

Pastors are uniquely vulnerable to the stress of unrealistic expectations. 

Perfectionism creates unrealistic expectations, which inevitably produce either nagging self-condemnation or crushing self-doubt. 

Virtually all leaders in every field of business or ministry assume that growth will relieve stress, but growth actually increases stress.

Difficulties are God’s curriculum for those who want to excel.

People notice when God’s people care. More people come to Christ because they feel our love than because they’re impressed with our building or our programs or our sermons.

When the well is running dry, we need to drill deeper. As a leader, your most valuable resource is your own heart. The greatest risk is becoming so tired, so discouraged, or so angry that your soul begins to shrivel.

Before God promotes us, he takes us through pain to purify our hearts, deepen our dependence on him, and impart spiritual wisdom.

When pastors try to be experts at everything, they lose their sense of reality and sense of identity.

We need to be completely honest with ourselves, with God, and with at least one other person.

Celebrate the fact that the sovereign God of the universe has given you particular strengths and embrace your limitations.

If we give, love, and serve to win approval or gain control over others, we’re not really giving at all; we’re only manipulating people for our benefit.

Pain isn’t an accident in God’s world. Even when it’s self-inflicted through doubt and sin, God graciously weaves the strands of these experiences into something beautiful—if we’ll let him.

We find true spiritual strength when we trust God when we’re weak.

On Being A Servant Of God By Warren Wiersbe (pt4)

Perhaps the hardest lesson we learn from failure is that we aren’t as great as we thought we were.

Do your work by faith, and leave the results with the Lord.

It’s our job to prepare the younger generation to step in and take over.

Your heart grows by giving out, but your mind grows by taking in; and both are necessary to a happy and balanced life of service. 

Readers are leaders only if they turn their learning into living.

As we mature in Christ, we stop choosing between the good and the bad and start distinguishing the better and the best. 

Remember, the best thing you can do for your ministry is build a godly family; and the best thing you can do for your family is build a ministry that glorifies God. Home and ministry are friends, not enemies; and it’s your job to keep them that way.

No matter what kind of Christian service God has called you to, it’s a privilege to be in ministry and to serve Jesus Christ. 

First and foremost, I think, is the job of pleasing the Lord because you’re doing what He wants you to do.

The Word of God reveals the God of the Word; and the servants must know the Master if we are to serve Him acceptably. 

We read the Bible to get to know the heart and mind of God. The better we know God, the better we can enjoy Him and minster for Him. 

The Word of God reveals the character of God to us, and as it does, it also renews the mind so that we start to think the way God wants us to think.

What we think determines what we are and what we do.

I suggest you discipline yourself to spend time daily in a systematic reading of God’s Word. Make this “quiet time” a priority that nobody can change.

When God speaks, that word has power; and when we believe that word and act on it, the. power goes to work. 

Whether you’re cooking a dinner, cleaning the nursery, folding bulletins, or raking leaves on the church lawn, ask God to use your part of the ministry to reach lost people with the gospel. 

Many disagreements and divisions start when we focus on a minor detail and forget the big picture. 

Don’t focus on yourself or the people you serve; focus God and His glory.

In the economy of God, suffering and glory go together. 

What grace that God not only gives us work to do and the ability to do it, but He then rewards us for what He enabled us to accomplish!

You aren’t responsible for the way others treat you, but you are responsible for the way your respond.

As long as your enemies are on the outside, you’re safe; but when you let them get on the inside, you’re in for trouble. 

On Being A Servant Of God By Warren Wiersbe (pt3)

When you find yourself more corned about your “image” more than your character and your work, you have stopped glorifying God.

Whatever God calls us to do, we can do with His help; otherwise, He would never have called us. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

If God has called you to minister, no matter what that ministry may be, He hasn’t made a mistake. He knows what He’s doing, and the best thing you can do is gratefully submit to His will and trust Him to work. 

God always prepares His servants before He calls them.

You are unique in what you are and what you can do, and God doesn’t want you to destroy that uniqueness by trying to be somebody else.

It’s not how much we have to start with that really counts but what we have to show for it at the end.

Those of us who minister must put others ahead of ourselves, but we must put the Lord ahead of others. 

Focusing on serving the Lord can make a big difference in your ministry.

I firmly believe that God has a specific plan for each of His children and that He wants to share His plan with us and help us to fulfill it.

The purpose of discipline is restoration, and the results of restoration ought to be fellowship and ministry.

God will get His work done either with you or without you (Esther 4:14), but you are the loser if you quit.

There’s no substitute for Christian character. No matter how much talent and training we may have, if we d on’t have character, we don’t have anything.

You can use all kinds of gimmicks and techniques to gather a crowd or build an organization, but that’s not the same as building His church.

Paul wasn’t always successful in helping people mature, nor will we be; but with the Lord’s help, he did his best. If people failed to mature, the failure was theirs and not Paul’s.

Believers who try to serve the Lord can expect to have problems with people.

Christian service is supposed to make us grow, and it will if we’re in the right place with the right attitude.

Discouragement and depression are two of Satan’s chief devices for getting Christians on detours.

If your only motive for service is to be recognized and thanked, you had better get prepared for a lot of disappointment.

When your service is the most difficult, God may be doing His deepest work in your life, so don’t run away.

No matter what you did wrong, confess it to the Lord and claim His forgiveness.

The future is our friend when Jesus is our Lord.

On Being A Servant Of God By Warren Wiersbe (pt2

No matter how difficult the work or how many times we feel like quitting, we can keep going and growing if we minister the way God tells us to in His Word.

The trouble with too many of us is that we think God called us to be manufacturers when He really called us to be distributors. 

You don’t earn grace, and you don’t deserve grace; you simply receive it as God’s loving gift and then share it with others.

It’s a basic law of the kingdom of God that the servants who know how poor they are become the richest, and those who give the most receive the most and therefore have the most to give.

The best thing we can for for people is not to solve their problems for them but so relate them to God’s grace that they will be enabled to solve their problems and not repeat them.

Selfishness says, “What will I get?” Service says, “What I have I’ll give to you.”

If the motivation for our service is anything less than Christ’s love—His love for us and our love for Him—our ministry will not really meet human needs or glorify God.

God is as concerned about the servant as He is about the service.

God is glorified when people see the Lord and not the servant.

It takes more than a winning personality to influence people for Christ; it takes godly character.

We must put into our Christian living the same kind of discipline that athletes put into sports.

God makes us holy so that He can use us to do the work He want us to do.

God is at work making people more like His Son, and that’s what Christian service is all about.

We who are servants of God don’t deserve His grace any more than the ones we are serving deserve it, and who are we to limit God’s grace and mercy?

The love that we need for ministry is not a natural ability; it’s a supernatural quality that only God can provide. 

One of the best ways to discover the divine resources that others need is to need them yourself and trust God to supply them. 

If our motive for serving is anything other than the glory of God, what we do will be only religious activity and not true Christian ministry.

God is glorified when people see the Master and not the minister.

Build on your strengths, and ask God for helpers who can compensate for your weaknesses.

Obedience to the will of God give you wings, not chains!

What a tragedy it is when Christian leaders sell their character just to make more money or use devious means to get people to donate more money to their work. When money takes over, character goes—and so does ministry.

On Being A Servant of God by Warren Wiersbe (pt1)

Ministry takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God. 

Certainly we need methods to serve God, but we must remember that methods work because of the principles behind them.

In your ministry, you must be yourself.

Ministry is not just another way of making a living; it’s a wonderful opportunity for making a life.

In Christian service, a sensitive spirit and a tender heart are absolutely essential.

God’s servants don’t always have to be right.

God is building your character while He is building His church, and what He does will last forever.

The better know the Bible, the better we can know the person of God, the will of God, and how to work for God.

If reaching lost sinners is so important to God, it ought to be important to us.

If the worker doesn’t get a blessing out of the work, something is radically wrong. Serving God isn’t punishment; it’s nourishment.

We are often tempted in ministry to get rid of the very people God wants us to help.

Fortunately, acceptable Christian service isn’t based on feelings; it’s based on obedience.

I would rather serve with an average worker who is reliable than a talented one who can’t be depended on from one week to the next.

A holy life is a useful life.

Life is built on character, but character is built on decisions.

Most of the people you meet day after day are either wasting their lives or merely spending their lives, but God’s servants have the privilege of investing their lives in what is eternal.

You are shaping your life by your thoughts, attitudes, and actions and becoming either more or less like Jesus Christ.

You’ll meet problem people and problem situations wherever you go, so make up your mind to expect them, accept them, and let God use them in your life.

The Holy Spirit can make you adequate for any ministry challenge God brings to you.

The difficulty of the task God gives us is one of His loving gifts for our maturity.

I believe that unfaithful stewardship on the part of God’s people is one sin that is holding back revival in the church today.

Chazown by Craig Groeschel

“When you begin to understand what you’re supposed to do, you can better discern what you’re not supposed to do.”

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“What you cherish at your core is what you aim at with your life.”

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“God’s vision for you is bigger than you can imagine and impossible for you to do on your own.”

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“If you don’t know where you’re going in life, put aside you pride—stop and ask.”

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“For a Christian, success means becoming who God wants us to be.”

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“Sin doesn’t have to be intentional. It’s the default mode for humans most of the time.”

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“Someone said, ‘Discipline is doing what I can do today, to enable me to do tomorrow what I can’t do today.’”

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“Accountability makes the difference between what you say you want to do and what you actually do.”

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“Accountability closes the gap between intentions and actions.”

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“You’ll never do all that God wants you to do without His people holding you accountable.”

Spiritual Leadership by J Oswald Sanders

Spiritual leaders should know the experience of praying in the Spirit as part of their daily walk.

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Each moment of the day is a gift from God that deserves care, for by any measure, our time is short and the work is great.

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Our problem is not too little time, but making better use of the time we have. Each of us has as much time as anyone else.

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It is often helpful to keep records of how each hour in a given week is spent, and then look at the record in the light of scriptural priorities. The results may be shocking. Often the record shows that we have much more time available for Christian service than we imagine.

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The spiritual leader should choose books for their spiritual benefit.

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Paul became a great spiritual leader when his heart and mind were captured by Jesus Christ.

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Jesus’ classrooms were the highways of life; His principles and values came across in the midst of daily experience.

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We can afford to read only the best, only that which invigorates our mission.

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Not every Christian is called to major leadership in the church, but every Christian is a leader, for we all influence others. All of us should strive to improve our leadership potential.

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The toll of true leadership is heavy, and the more effective the leadership, the higher it goes.

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Even Jesus grew weary in ministry and had to rest (John 4:6).

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Jesus defined leadership as service, and that applies whether a leader works in a secular or a church organization. 

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A leader cannot afford to ignore the counsel of cautious people, who can save a mission from mistakes and loss. But caution should not curb vision and initiative, especially when the leader knows God is in control. 

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If leaders are to survive, they must view the difficult as commonplace, the complex as normal.

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How a leader handles failure will set much of the agenda for the future.

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God will defend the leaders He has chosen. He will honor, protect and vindicate them. Leaders need not worry about defending their rights or their office.

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The degree to which a leader is able to delegate work is a measure of his success. A one-person office can never grow larger than the load one person can carry.

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Once a leader delegates, he should show utmost confidence in the people he has entrusted.

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The true test of a person’s leadership is the health of the organization when the organizer is gone.

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Every work of God includes days of frustration and days of joy.

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All quotes were from J Oswald Sanders in his book: Spiritual Leadership. You can purchase his book here.

Spiritual Leadership by J Oswald Sanders

The filling of the Spirit is essential for spiritual leadership. 

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All Christians are called to develop God-given talents, to make the most of their lives, to develop to the fullest their God-given powers and capacities.

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Ambition that centers on the glory of God and welfare of the church is a mighty force for good.
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The true spiritual leader will never “campaign for promotion.”

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True greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you. True service is never without cost.

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Leaders today—those who are truly spiritual—must pass on the torch to younger people as a first-line duty. 

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One does not become a spiritual leader by merely filling an office, taking course work in the subject, or resolving in one’s own will to do this task. A person must qualify to be a spiritual leader.

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If you cannot keep a secret, do not try to lead. If you cannot yield a point when someone else’s ideas are better, save yourself the frustration of failed leadership. If you want to maintain an image of infallibility, find something else to do besides leading people.

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The reputation of a great leader grows with the years. 

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The leader cannot spend time on secondary matters while essential obligations scream for attention. A day needs careful planning. The person who wants to excel must select and reject, then concentrate on the most important items.

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A leader should read to have fellowship with great minds.

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Jesus placed disciples into internships (Luke 10:17-24) that enabled them to learn through failure and success (Mark 9:14-29).

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Before we can conquer the world, we must first conquer the self.

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Many who drop out of ministry are sufficiently gifted, but have large areas of life floating free from the Holy Spirit’s control.

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Lazy and disorganized people never rise to true leadership.

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Many who aspire to leadership fail because they have never learned to follow.

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Leaders need to be able to reconcile opposing viewpoints without giving offense or compromising principle.

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Behind all the busyness of the apostles was the executive activity of the Spirit.

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To be filled with the Spirit means simply that the Christian voluntarily surrenders life and will to the Spirit.

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All quotes were from J Oswald Sanders in his book: Spiritual Leadership. You can purchase his book here.