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A leader. . .is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.
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Nelson Mandela (Long Walk to Freedom)
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Sheep are always looking for a new shepherd when the terrain gets rocky.
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Karen Marie Moning (Iced (Fever, #6))
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There are two kinds of leaders, cowboys and Shepherds. Cowboys drive and Shepherds lead.
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John Paul Warren
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Those occupying leadership roles who completely lack integrity are what we call 'Blind shepherds'. They are not really 'bad' leaders, because they are not leaders at all: they are misleaders.
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John Adair (The Leadership of Muhammad)
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And there’s nothing in all human space that scares me like human leadership scared of facts.
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Joel Shepherd (Renegade (The Spiral Wars, #1))
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f you are too good to look after God’s trash, you are not good enough to look after God’s treasure.
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Matshona Dhliwayo
“
Don’t strive to be a well-rounded leader. Instead, discover your zone and stay there. Then delegate everything else.
Admitting a weakness is a sign of strength. Acknowledging weakness doesn’t make a leader less effective.
Everybody in your organization benefits when you delegate responsibilities that fall outside your core competency. Thoughtful delegation will allow someone else in your organization to shine. Your weakness is someone’s opportunity.
Leadership is not always about getting things done “right.” Leadership is about getting things done through other people.
The people who follow us are exactly where we have led them. If there is no one to whom we can delegate, it is our own fault.
As a leader, gifted by God to do a few things well, it is not right for you to attempt to do everything. Upgrade your performance by playing to your strengths and delegating your weaknesses.
There are many things I can do, but I have to narrow it down to the one thing I must do. The secret of concentration is elimination.
Devoting a little of yourself to everything means committing a great deal of yourself to nothing.
My competence in these areas defines my success as a pastor.
A sixty-hour workweek will not compensate for a poorly delivered sermon. People don’t show up on Sunday morning because I am a good pastor (leader, shepherd, counselor).
In my world, it is my communication skills that make the difference. So that is where I focus my time.
To develop a competent team, help the leaders in your organization discover their leadership competencies and delegate accordingly.
Once you step outside your zone, don’t attempt to lead. Follow.
The less you do, the more you will accomplish.
Only those leaders who act boldly in times of crisis and change are willingly followed.
Accepting the status quo is the equivalent of accepting a death sentence. Where there’s no progress, there’s no growth. If there’s no growth, there’s no life. Environments void of change are eventually void of life. So leaders find themselves in the precarious and often career-jeopardizing position of being the one to draw attention to the need for change. Consequently, courage is a nonnegotiable quality for the next generation leader.
The leader is the one who has the courage to act on what he sees.
A leader is someone who has the courage to say publicly what everybody else is whispering privately. It is not his insight that sets the leader apart from the crowd. It is his courage to act on what he sees, to speak up when everyone else is silent. Next generation leaders are those who would rather challenge what needs to change and pay the price than remain silent and die on the inside.
The first person to step out in a new direction is viewed as the leader. And being the first to step out requires courage. In this way, courage establishes leadership.
Leadership requires the courage to walk in the dark. The darkness is the uncertainty that always accompanies change. The mystery of whether or not a new enterprise will pan out. The reservation everyone initially feels when a new idea is introduced. The risk of being wrong.
Many who lack the courage to forge ahead alone yearn for someone to take the first step, to go first, to show the way. It could be argued that the dark provides the optimal context for leadership. After all, if the pathway to the future were well lit, it would be crowded.
Fear has kept many would-be leaders on the sidelines, while good opportunities paraded by. They didn’t lack insight. They lacked courage.
Leaders are not always the first to see the need for change, but they are the first to act.
Leadership is about moving boldly into the future in spite of uncertainty and risk.
You can’t lead without taking risk. You won’t take risk without courage. Courage is essential to leadership.
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Andy Stanley (Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future)
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Pope Francis once said, “A shepherd should smell like his sheep.
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William H. McRaven (The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy))
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From the day he assumed command, Krulak’s leadership theory was the same one he had learned from Holland Smith in the Caribbean and from Lemuel Shepherd in the Pacific: training, training, and more training.
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Robert Coram (Brute: The Life of Victor Krulak, U.S. Marine)
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If you give your people halfhearted leadership, you’ll get a halfhearted following. But if you invest yourself in them, if you have a heart for them, your people will return your investment with a heartfelt following.
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Kevin Leman (The Way of the Shepherd: Seven Secrets to Managing Productive People)
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If you have a million fans and no talent,
you’re still not a success.
a million students and no lesson,
you’re still not a teacher.
a million sermons and no compassion,
you’re still not a priest.
a million children and no affection,
you’re still not a father.
a million anniversaries and no devotion,
you’re still not a husband.
If you have a million sheep and no courage,
you’re still not a shepherd.
a million seeds and no harvest,
you’re still not a farmer.
a million titles and no integrity,
you’re still not a champion.
a million thoughts and no insights,
you’re still not a philosopher.
a million predictions and no prophecy,
you’re still not a prophet.
If you have a million soldiers and no unity,
you’re still not an army.
a million monks and no camaraderie,
you’re still not a monastery.
a million cities and no borders,
you’re still not a country.
a million musicians and no harmony,
you’re still not an orchestra.
a million armies and no strategy,
you’re still not a general.
If you have a million titles, and no influence,
you’re still not a leader;
a million ideas and no creations,
you’re still not an artist.
a million theories, and no facts,
you’re still not a scholar;
a million books, and no wisdom,
you’re still not a sage;
a million virtues, and no love,
you’re still not a saint.
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Matshona Dhliwayo
“
The original Hebrew word for “rod” is shebet, which is a shepherd’s crook. In Hebrew culture, the rod was used to guide and protect sheep and to ward off wolves. It was a symbol of loving guidance, leadership, wisdom, and protection from outside harm. That verse suggests a more thoughtful way of disciplining children than simply hitting them.
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Stacey Patton (Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won't Save Black America)
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... those who were intrusted with the command of the troops of the Republic in battle, were wont to resume the shepherd's staff when they laid down the truncheon, and, like the Roman dictators, to retire to complete equality with their fellow-citizens, from the eminence of military command to which their talents, and the call of their country, had raised them.
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Walter Scott (Anne of Geierstein)
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No, Zahnd is baffled by the so-called shepherds. Scripture says God demands more from these Christian leaders. And yet, whether it’s Strang platforming the MyPillow lunatic, or Liberty University’s leadership trading evangelism for electioneering, or the pastor down the road in St. Louis, a onetime friend who now leads his Sunday services with a fifteen-minute political segment called “Ron’s Rants,” Zahnd sees a reckless abdication of duty on the part of the people in charge. They are, as Jesus said of the Pharisees, blind guides, leading their followers to fall into a pit. “You are forming your people in anger and hate. You are helping to intensify their capacity to hate other people,” Zahnd said. “You are giving them permission to carry around this permanent rage.
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Tim Alberta (The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism)
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Given some recent events, he'd come to doubt whether being a great warrior was all some made it out to be. But now he'd seen great warriors save the entire corbi race. And Liala had led them, not with bravado and shouting, but with calculation, patience and reason. Being a warrior, then, was more than just one thing. The best warriors, like Liala, Styx, Captain Debogande and Major Thakur, were far more than just brave and dangerous.
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Joel Shepherd (Qalea Drop (The Spiral Wars, #7))
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Since the local church is “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15b), its leaders must be rock-solid pillars of biblical doctrine or the house will crumble. Since the local church is also a small flock traveling over treacherous terrain that is infested with “savage wolves,” only those shepherds who know the way and see the wolves can lead the flock to its safe destination. An elder, then, must be characterized by doctrinal integrity.
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Alexander Strauch (Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership)
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Meekness is not weakness. It’s power under control. It’s ambition grounded with humility and lived out in confidence, not arrogance. Quiet and appropriate confidence is way more attractive than loud and outspoken arrogance. Those who know the most many times are the ones who say the least. Humble leaders are willing to pass on the credit but absorb the criticism, push others higher while making themselves lower, and put the team’s desires ahead of their own. A leader’s job is to shepherd, not necessarily to always shine. It’s about the mission, the team, and the tribe, not about you and your ego. Leaders today should be more conductors than solo artists.
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Brad Lomenick (H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle.)
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One of my favorite examples of this occurred in the life of Moses in the Old Testament. Though born a Hebrew, he lived a life of privilege in the palace of Egypt until he was forty years old. But after killing an Egyptian, he was exiled to the desert for forty years. There God used him as a shepherd and father, and after four decades of faithful service in obscurity, Moses was called to leadership. Scripture says by that time he was the most humble man in the world. Bill Purvis, the senior pastor of a large church in Columbus, Georgia, said, “If you do what you can, with what you have, where you are, then God won’t leave you where you are, and He will increase what you have.
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John C. Maxwell (The Maxwell Daily Reader: 365 Days of Insight to Develop the Leader Within You and Influence Those Around You)
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The knight in shining armor who does all he can to protect others, the gentleman who lays down his cloak or opens a door for a lady—these are Christian ideals of manliness. Jesus said that he who would lead must be the servant of all. It’s the biblical idea of servant leadership. The true leader gives himself to the people he leads. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. Jesus died for those he loves. That is God’s idea of strength and leadership and blessing. It’s something to be used in the service of others. So God’s idea of masculine strength gives us the idea of a chivalrous gentleman toward women, not a bully or someone who sees no difference between himself and them.
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Eric Metaxas (Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness)
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A veritable pacifist when it comes to social guilds or luncheon clubs, I turn into something of a militant on the subject of the only true and living Church on the face of the earth. . . .
Setting aside for a time the heavenly host we hope one day to enjoy, I still choose the church of Jesus Christ to fill my need to be needed--here and now, as well as there and then. When public problems or private heartaches come--as surely they do come--I will be most fortunate if in that hour I find myself in the company of Latter-day Saints. . . .
When asked "What can I know?" a Latter-day Saint answers, "All that God knows." When asked "What ought I to do?" his disciples answer, "Follow the Master." When asked "What may I hope?" an entire dispensation declares, "Peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come" (D&C 59:23), indeed ultimately for "all that [the] Father hath" (D&C 84:38). Depressions and identity crises have a hard time holding up under that response. . . .
We cannot but wonder what frenzy the world would experience if a chapter of the Book of Mormon or a section of the Doctrine and Covenants or a conference address by President Spencer W. Kimball were to be discovered by some playful shepherd boy in an earthen jar near the Dead Sea caves of Qumran. The beneficiaries would probably build a special shrine in Jerusalem to house it, being very careful to regulate temperatures and restrict visitors. They would undoubtedly protect against earthquakes and war. Surely the edifice would be as beautiful as the contents would be valuable; its cost would be enormous, but its worth would be incalculable. Yet for the most part we have difficulty giving away copies of sacred scripture much more startling in their origin. Worse yet, some of us, knowing of the scriptures, have not even tried to share them, as if an angel were an every-day visitor and a prophet just another man in the street. We forget that our fathers lived for many centuries without priesthood power or prophetic leadership, and "dark ages" they were indeed.
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Jeffrey R. Holland
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New Testament, Christianized elders are not mere representatives of the people; they are, as the passages above show, spiritually qualified shepherds who protect, lead, and teach the people. They provide spiritual care for the entire flock. They are the official shepherds of the church.
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Alexander Strauch (Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership)
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No, Zahnd is baffled by the so-called shepherds. Scripture says God demands more from these Christian leaders. And yet, whether it’s Strang platforming the MyPillow lunatic, or Liberty University’s leadership trading evangelism for electioneering, or the pastor down the road in St. Louis, a onetime friend who now leads his Sunday services with a fifteen-minute political segment called “Ron’s Rants,” Zahnd sees a reckless abdication of duty on the part of the people in charge. They are, as Jesus said of the Pharisees, blind guides, leading their followers to fall into a pit. “You
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Tim Alberta (The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism)
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A husband's role is to lovingly lead, provide, and protect his family, meeting their spiritual, emotional, marital, and financial needs. If he fails to do so, he is worse than an unbeliever, for he has abandoned his sacred responsibility as a guardian and shepherd of his household. A husband's leadership is not about control, but about caring for and nurturing his family, just as Christ loves and sacrifices for the Church.
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Shaila Touchton
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A narcissistic pastor cannot step away. In fact, in his mind he is essential in every decision. While he may speak of a vision that empowers the laity and staff, his actions say otherwise. Unlike the apostle Paul, who trained and commissioned others to travel, preach, and shepherd on his behalf, the narcissistic pastor cannot relinquish control. His hidden insecurity manifests in anxious, hypervigilant leadership in which significant meetings or decisions cannot happen without his blessing or presence. Often he arranges leadership structures and polity in such a way as to protect his authority at every level of decision-making.
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Chuck DeGroat (When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community From Emotional and Spiritual Abuse)
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Never fear your ability to stand out of the herd, only you will know if you can become the shepherd
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Husam Wafaei (Honourable Defection)
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A spiritual leader is not a mere prescriber of spiritual band-aids, but a shepherd who tends to the very soul of their flock, knowing that the weight of their congregation's eternal destiny rests on their watchful heart. They do not merely dispense wisdom, but invest their very life in the lives of those entrusted to their care, that they may flourish in the grace and love of God.
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Shaila Touchton
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Leadership is about taking people somewhere. Leaders see where we need to go, and they work out how to get there. They have a clear sense of what God wants, they make plans for how to move toward that, and they lovingly and clearly help people go there. They will cast a vision, determine the strategy, ensure adequate resourcing, engage people’s gifts, constantly encourage and motivate people, work at unity, solve problems, and celebrate blessings.
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Murray Capill (The Elder-Led Church: How an Eldership Team Shepherds a Healthy Flock)
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The Way of the Shepherd is a lifestyle of leadership that places great value on the worth of the flock.
"If you're going to be that type of leader, then you need to know there's a huge cost involved. It will cost you to get your people out of trouble when they wander off. It will cost you emotionally to wield the rod and to sometimes inflict pain on your people. You'll have to do things you won't particularly feel like doing at the time."
"Great leadership is hard work," he said. "More than that, it's unrelenting. Those who do it well do so because they are willing to pay the price."
"I understand," I said.
"I hope so," he replied. "Because if you're not willing to pay the price, your people will end up paying.
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Kevin Leman
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The Way of the Shepherd is a lifestyle of leadership that places great value on the worth of the flock."
"If you're going to be that type of leader, then you need to know there's a huge cost involved. It will cost you to get your people out of trouble when they wander off. It will cost you emotionally to wield the rod and to sometimes inflict pain on your people. You'll have to do things you won't particularly feel like doing at the time."
"Great leadership is hard work," he said. "More than that, it's unrelenting. Those who do it well do so because they are willing to pay the price."
"I understand," I said.
"I hope so," he replied. "Because if you're not willing to pay the price, your people will end up paying.
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Kevin Leman
“
In 2020 Christianity Today broke the story of how Timmis was removed from Acts 29 because of reports of abusive leadership, bullying, intimidation, heavy shepherding, and even threats of church discipline for those who resisted him.20 Those who worked with Timmis stated that when confronted with these behaviors, he not only refused to receive critical feedback but would often reverse the accusations, making the challengers out to be the real problem. They were just troublemakers, stirring up dissension in the church. Andy Stowell, a former elder at the Crowded House, summed it up this way: “People were and are afraid of Steve Timmis.
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Michael J. Kruger (Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church)
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The work of the shepherd was an abomination, we are told, to the ancient Egyptians, and so it is to all pulpit Pharaohs who are interested in building pyramids out of eloquent words.
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Charles Jefferson (The Minister As Shepherd: Pastoral Leadership According to the Bible)
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The finest test of the consecration of a minister of Christ is not in his public performances, but in what he does when the world is not looking.
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Charles Jefferson (The Minister As Shepherd: Pastoral Leadership According to the Bible)
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If we want to understand Christian elders and their work, we must understand the biblical imagery of shepherding. As keepers of sheep, New Testament elders are to protect, feed, lead, and care for the flock’s many practical needs.
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Alexander Strauch (Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership)
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Both vocations call forth leadership and responsibility above, and demand docile compliance below. But that of the hunter elevated the will-to-power and eventually transferred his skill in slaughtering game to the more highly organized vocation of regimenting or slaughtering other men; while that of the shepherd moved toward the curbing of force and violence and the institution of some measure of justice, through which even the weakest member of the flock might be protected and nurtured. Certainly coercion and persuasion, aggression and protection, war and law, power and love, were alike solidified in the stones of the earliest urban communities, when they finally take form. When kingship appeared, the war lord and the law lord became land lord too.
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Lewis Mumford (The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects)
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Throughout the Bible, we see pictures of the global church (which includes all followers of Jesus in all locations) and the local church (which includes particular followers of Jesus in a particular location). Out of 114 times that the “church” is mentioned in the New Testament, at least ninety of them refer to specific local gatherings of believers who have banded together for fellowship and mission. God intends for every follower of Jesus to be a part of such a gathering under the servant leadership of pastors who shepherd the church for the glory of God.
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Francis Chan (Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples)
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Ken always says that his job is to create the best team possible, not to shepherd the careers of individual athletes.
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Patrick Lencioni (The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable)
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The most valuable treasure God has entrusted a shepherd with, is his sheep. No sheep is perfect but if shepherd despises them or adopts a scornful outlook for them then
he has already began his downward plunge into faith which if He does not repent instantly, may eventually find himself warring against God himself who is our Good Shepherd.
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Santosh Thankachan
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Charisma is not vision. It is a vehicle to deliver the vision. The under-shepherd is not a substitute for the Good Shepherd.
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Will Mancini (Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series Book 35))
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The giants have become an unruly elite of privilege and power,” Anu proclaimed. “They have conspired in revolution and have proven themselves unworthy of their status and authority. As of this day, the gods have removed the giants from leadership over you, and their organized activities have become illegal. The surviving Nephilim will no longer be allowed to congregate, and the Rephaim are considered outlaws for their conspiracy in the riots. They will no longer reign over you. Any giants that are found outside the employ of the palace or temple authority are considered criminals and will be executed. We gods have remained too distant and aloof from our people. But we will now leave our heavenly abode in the cosmic mountain and will reside in the cities of our patronage. We will protect you and shepherd you with our undivided attention.
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Brian Godawa (Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim #2))
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A leaders job is to shepherd, not necessarily to always shine.
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Brad Lomenick
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I hang around shepherds because I can't talk to sheep.
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James Jean-Pierre
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sheep. But David was a leader-in-waiting. God had gifted him with the skills necessary to lead a nation. Furthermore, God had chosen him to be the next king. But how do you work your way up from shepherd to king? Besides, everybody knows that the king’s son is next in line. Not some filthy shepherd boy. The thing that makes David’s story so relevant to our discussion is the role his courage played in distinguishing him as a leader. David’s leadership was established through his courage—not his talent or even his calling by God. David’s talent would never have been discovered apart from his courage. One courageous act thrust him onto the stage of national significance in Israel. His courage to act on what he saw was the catalyst that set in motion a long series of providential events.
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Andy Stanley (Next Generation Leader)
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He maintained that when it comes to Christian leadership: the proper motive is love, the proper attitude is humility, and the proper strategy is service. He
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Mark S. Milwee (Encouragement From the Heart of a Shepherd)
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When the parents act like children, we have a dysfunctional family. And when shepherds act like sheep, we have a dysfunctional church. There is no way to have accountable leadership if you do not know who to hold accountable and for what. The congregation is there to minister. The pastor is there to lead. The board is there to govern. The staff is there to manage. Don't mix up the positions if you are playing to win.
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John Edmund Kaiser
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Not surprisingly, the model of the leader as shepherd fits perfectly the work-and-keep Masculine Mandate of Genesis 2:15. God placed Adam in the garden to work it—to make it grow—and shepherds are leaders who nurture and inspire the hearts of those who follow. God also called Adam to keep the garden—to stand guard over it—and it is the shepherd-leader who protects those under his charge, keeping one eye always on the flock and the other alert for predators. Good shepherd-leadership, then, will always resemble Adam’s servant-lordship as the flock, like a garden, grows and bears fruit of all kinds under the watchful protection of the shepherd.
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Richard D. Phillips (The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling to Men)
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Will you join me for some honest self-assessment? What do we as leaders eat? To what sources do we return for our soul’s primary sustenance? Is our “diet” rich in God’s word? Are we as leaders good readers? Do we really study scripture and meditate on it daily, relishing its insights as spiritual delicacies? Do we supplement this feeling with devotional classics, theological treasures, and inspiring biographies? Or do we fill our hungry void with the empty calories provided on television and by endless “browsing” on the internet?
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Timothy Laniak (While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks: Forty Daily Reflections on Biblical Leadership)
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The truth, however, is that these are not vocations but temptations. Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” Jesus sends us out to be shepherds, and Jesus promises a life in which we increasingly have to stretch out our hands and be led to places where we would rather not go. He asks us to move from a concern for relevance to a life of prayer, from worries about popularity to communal and mutual ministry, and from a leadership built on power to a leadership in which we critically discern where God is leading us and our people.
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Henri J.M. Nouwen (In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership)
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As king, Saul was entrusted with a measure of anointing to lead the armies of Israel to victory and shepherd the people. Yet, without the strength of character that only comes by winning private battles, these public victories exposed the previously hidden weakness of Saul’s heart toward God.
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Bill Johnson (Strengthen Yourself in the Lord: How to Release the Hidden Power of God in Your Life)
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There is a clear difference between leadership that is gentle and loving in its strength, and leadership that is forceful and overbearing. Shepherds lead others to walk in the ways of the Lord.
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Marcus Honeysett (Powerful Leaders?: When Church Leadership Goes Wrong And How to Prevent It)
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Christian leaders are not Jesus’ top generals. They are under-shepherds helping the flock enjoy and feed on God, out of which flows firm and secure faith: ‘Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm’ (2 Corinthians 1:24).
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Marcus Honeysett (Powerful Leaders?: When Church Leadership Goes Wrong And How to Prevent It)
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his job is to create the best team possible, not to shepherd the careers of individual
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Patrick Lencioni (The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable)
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The shepherd's fortune is in his sheep.
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Matshona Dhliwayo
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When you strike the shepherd you strike the sheep.
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Matshona Dhliwayo
“
When God calls, be patient. Your responsibility is to take your next step.
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Dave Earley (Pastoral Leadership is...: How to Shepherd God's People with Passion and Confidence)
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The quality of the sheep determines the quality of the shepherd.
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Matshona Dhliwayo
“
A good shepherd always feeds his sheep first, even when he himself is hungry.
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Matshona Dhliwayo
“
A good shepherd feeds his sheep first, even when he himself is hungry.
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Matshona Dhliwayo
“
Paul sarcastically notes that the Corinthians are so wise, and this wisdom of theirs is the basis for them "suffering fools gladly." He says that they will tolerate and put up with men who exploit them—but are in effect intolerant of true shepherds. As the people of God, we are being abused by the leadership of the modern evangelical movement—by this I mean the men standing behind the cash registers—and we cravenly submit. We know the taste of boot polish.
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Douglas Wilson (A Primer on Worship and Reformation)
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The German army was in fact debilitated not just by Hitler, but also by economic and organizational weakness, and by the German army leadership’s regard – or
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Ben H. Shepherd (Hitler's Soldiers: The German Army in the Third Reich)
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Culture, in John Kotter’s model, is not changed until the end of the change process. It is that challenging and that time consuming. As difficult as changing behavior is, changing church culture is even more difficult. We only need to return to Nehemiah to learn this painful reality. While he was able to lead the transforming of a wall, though he tried, he was unable to lead the transformation of the culture. A wall was constructed, but the culture was never transformed. After the wall was rebuilt and Ezra read the Law for the first time since the captivity in Babylon, the people responded to God in worship. In Nehemiah 9, they confessed their sins to the Lord. They admitted that their hearts turned from God, in part, because they forgot His great and gracious works for them on their behalf (v. 17). After their confession, they committed in a signed vow to be faithful to the Lord in a few very specific areas: they wouldn’t intermarry with others to preserve their Hebrew faith (10:30), they wouldn’t profane the Sabbath with merchandise (10:31), and they would give to the work of the temple (10:33). But the people were unable to live up to their commitments. When Nehemiah returned to Persia, as he promised, the people miserably violated each of their specific vows (Neh. 13). They were no longer valuing the work of the temple. The Levites, those who served in the temple, had to find another vocation because their needs weren’t met through the giving of God’s people. Work was occurring on the Sabbath again, and the people were intermarrying again, causing God’s people to not know the language of Judah. The people failed in every one of their vows. They couldn’t keep even one. There wasn’t one glimmer of hope, not one indication that they could be faithful to the Lord. Nehemiah begs God to remember him, and then the book ends. Just like that. The book ends with a painful picture of our inability to follow through on our bold commitments to the Lord. We’re left with the humbling realization that we can’t keep our vows. We’re utterly incapable, in our own merit, of delivering on our commitments. The abrupt and bitter ending is intentional. The written Word is shepherding us to our need for the living Word—for Jesus. What the people in the book of Nehemiah needed, and what we find in Christ, is a new covenant written on our hearts (Jer. 31:33). The ending of the book of Nehemiah is both humbling and hopeful for leaders in God’s Church. It is humbling because we understand how challenging it is to cultivate culture. It is hopeful because of Jesus. Because of God’s grace, because He replaces hearts of stone with hearts of flesh, we can have great hope for our church cultures. Who better to understand transformation than the people of God who have been transformed? Can anyone better than Christ-followers understand what it means to be changed? We are transformed people.
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Eric Geiger (Designed to Lead: The Church and Leadership Development)
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Elders profoundly embody the gospel when they search out wandering members. Keeping watch and tracking down strays is a Jesus-shaped activity.
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Jeramie Rinne (Church Elders: How to Shepherd God's People Like Jesus (9Marks: Building Healthy Churches))
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Commit to Priorities Set the appropriate cadence for your OKR cycle. I recommend dual tracking, with quarterly OKRs (for shorter-term goals) and annual OKRs (keyed to longer-term strategies) deployed in parallel. To work out implementation kinks and strengthen leaders’ commitment, phase in your rollout of OKRs with upper management first. Allow the process to gain momentum before enlisting individual contributors to join in. Designate an OKR shepherd to make sure that every individual devotes the time each cycle to choosing what matters most. Commit to three to five top objectives—what you need to achieve—per cycle. Too many OKRs dilute and scatter people’s efforts. Expand your effective capacity by deciding what not to do, and discard, defer, or deemphasize accordingly. In choosing OKRs, look for objectives with the most leverage for outstanding performance. Find the raw material for top-line OKRs in the organization’s mission statement, strategic plan, or a broad theme chosen by leadership. To emphasize a departmental objective and enlist lateral support, elevate it to a company OKR.
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John Doerr (Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs)
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A good shepherd is known to have great wisdom to unconditionally protect, provide and guide, and so are great leaders.
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Wayne Chirisa
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