A friend posted the following on Facebook and I thought it might encourage you today:

Excerpts from John Wesley's Journal
Great Awakening mid 1700's:

May 5 - Preached at St. Anne’s, asked not to come back
May 12 - Preached, deacons said I couldn’t return
May 19 - Preached on street, kicked off street
May 26 - Preached in meadow, chased out by a bull
May 26 - Preached on edge to town, kicked off the highway.
June 2 - Preached in a pasture. Ten thousand came to hear me.

John Wesley, Journal Entries, 1739

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Reminds me of the old adage, "If at first you don't succeed...try, try again."

That's how ministry works.

We preach, serve, love people, and on and on...often resulting in failure and rejection.

But we push on because we're ON A MISSION.

And don't you ever forget it.

This isn't time to draw back...it's time to push forward. It's time to be challenged in our thinking. It's time to level-up as a leader and learn how to reach THIS generation in this time and season....

What is a clutch leader?

Clutch players elevate their game when the pressure is on. They relish the moments where their contribution has a chance to make a disproportionate impact.

A clutch leader takes their performance to a higher level when the pressure is on.

Here's how you can become a clutch leader.

Put your foot on the GAS!

1. Grace

2. Attention to Detail

3. Spirit

Grace 

What comes out when you get pressed? 

In your dealings with others.

Here's how to do a grace level checkup:

1. How's my love for the lost?

2. How's my love for fellow believers?

3. How's my love for my family?

4. Is my communication graceful or harsh?

Attention to Detail 

Little things matter a lot! (Illustration? Rowing a boat?). In a cumulative effort, details are exponentially more significant. Smaller things are magnified both positively and negatively! 

Rowing Crew: The challenge facing the team of nine is to perform a complicated sequence of movements, which each member must execute...

Leaders live at a higher level. They arrive early and leave late. They give more because they care more. 

What is a spiritual leader?

A spiritual leader pursues God wholeheartedly and subjugates their personal agenda to a Kingdom agenda. They lay down their lives in pursuit of a heavenly vision. (Acts 26:19)

Spiritual leaders go beyond the natural into the supernatural.

They model what it looks like to be fully devoted followers of Jesus.

Before we can make disciples we must be disciples! 

SPIRITUAL LEADERS:

1 Corinthians 11:1 (Imitate me as I imitate Christ).

Characteristics we must model:

• Hunger for God - Psalm 42:1,2, Psalm 63:1
• A Repentant Spirit - Psalm 51
• A Humble Heart - Philippians 2:3-5
• Love for the Lost - Luke 15
• Care for Fellow Believers - John 13:35, Galatians 6:10
• Prayer - Luke 5:15, 16
• A Life of Worship - Psalm 71:8
• Passion for the Word - Psalm 119:97-105

Multipliers was recommended by a friend and I'm glad I read it! I definitely picked up a few things from the book that I've already been able to apply to my leadership. Probably the most helpful sections of the book had to do with the differences between Diminishers (leaders that get less from people) and Multipliers (leaders that...well you get the idea). These contrasts at the end of each chapter were really interesting and helpful to me.

Here are a few takeaways:

1. I definitely have some Diminisher tendencies as a leader...ouch! I am very passionate and I care about everything when it comes to the church so I tend to overcommunicate...cough......overshare...basically not let other people talk. What was interesting to me is that in their research the authors found that a lot of diminishers are smart and passionate people that were good in a specific role. Then they get promoted to a leadership role and suddenly it's not about their individual contribution but rather...