{"id":27018,"date":"2023-07-04T22:00:54","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T05:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-thessalonians-1_1-10-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-06-20T15:10:39","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T22:10:39","slug":"1-thessalonians-2_1-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-thessalonians-2_1-12\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Traits of Excellent Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 \u00a0<\/strong> Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today’s passage is\u00a01\u00a0Thessalonians\u00a02:1-12.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go:<\/p>\n

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed–God is our witness.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you,
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-12:\u00a0 In this passage we get an inside look at what made Paul and his companions such excellent ministers of the gospel and such excellent leaders.<\/p>\n

You too are called to be a leader, whether it’s in your home, your workplace, your school, your church, or a team you lead.\u00a0 Here are 10 traits of excellent leaders we learn from today\u2019s passage:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Excellent leaders don’t let fear or suffering keep them from chasing the dream God has placed in their heart. \u00a0<\/strong>Paul and his companions “had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi” (v2).\u00a0 They faced “strong opposition”.\u00a0 Still “with the help of our God” they “dared to proclaim the gospel” to the city of Thessalonica (v2).\u00a0 Excellent leaders push through pain to get to their dream.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Excellent leaders do a self-check. \u00a0<\/strong>As Paul writes in verse 3, “the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.” \u00a0In other words, excellent leaders check two things.\u00a0 First, they\u00a0check their facts to ensure they are not in error.\u00a0 Second, they check their hearts to ensure their motives are pure.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Excellent leaders are focused on pleasing God, not people. \u00a0<\/strong>Paul writes in verse 4, “We are not trying to please men, but God, who tests our hearts” (v4).\u00a0 Excellent leaders are not people-pleasers who are enslaved to people’s opinions.\u00a0 Rather they make wise decisions that please God, even if those decisions are not well received by everyone.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Excellent leaders do not use flattery.<\/strong>\u00a0 As Paul says, “we never used flattery” (v5).\u00a0 Flattery is the opposite of gossip. Gossip is speaking mean and untrue words about a person behind their back. Flattery is speaking nice but insincere things about a person to their face.\u00a0 Usually when a person uses flattery, it’s for personal gain, not for truly building the other person up.\u00a0 Excellent leaders build people up with truth rather than seeking personal gain with flattery.\u00a0 As Paul says in verse 3, “we are not trying to trick you” (v3).<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Excellent leaders do not live for people’s praise.<\/strong>\u00a0 Verse 6 says, “We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else”. Jesus once noted that the Pharisees were insecure leaders because “they love praise from men more than praise from God” (John\u00a012:43).\u00a0 Excellent leaders realize that life is not a popularity contest.\u00a0 Excellent leaders live for an audience of One.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Excellent leaders care for the people they lead<\/strong>. In verses 7-8 Paul writes, “we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children…you had become so dear to us.” \u00a0 In other words, excellent leaders are not just there to push an agenda.\u00a0 Rather, they genuinely love and care for the people they lead.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0Excellent leaders connect with those they lead on a personal level<\/strong>.\u00a0 Verse 8 says, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well”.\u00a0 In other words, Paul and his team opened up not just their Bibles to the people they led, but their hearts and lives as well.\u00a0 Excellent leaders find ways to connect with the people they lead on a personal level.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0Excellent leaders work hard. \u00a0<\/strong>In verse 9, Paul reminds his church of the “toil and hardship” he and his team went through.\u00a0 As pastors and missionaries they were absolutely entitled to receive financial support from the church they were leading, but instead they chose to work a second job so that the church did not need to support them financially (v9).\u00a0 Paul and his team went above and beyond the call of duty.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0Excellent leaders have exemplary character<\/strong>.\u00a0 Verse 10 says “You are witnesses, and so is God, of\u00a0how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you\u00a0<\/em>who believed.” \u00a0 Excellent leaders are not just talented.\u00a0 They also have character worth following.\u00a0 As Paul says elsewhere, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” (1\u00a0Corinthians 11:1).<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0Excellent leaders encourage those they lead to dream big and to live for God’s glory<\/strong>. In verses 11 and 12, Paul writes, “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” \u00a0In other words, the aim of Paul’s leadership was not to gain glory for himself, but to help the people he led to live for a purpose bigger than themselves, to dream big and to do it all for God’s glory.<\/p>\n

Those are 10 things that excellent leaders do.\u00a0 Which of these 10 traits do you need to work on the most?<\/p>\n

With leadership like that, it’s no wonder Paul’s last visit to the church in Thessalonica was a success and “not without results” (v1).\u00a0 You too are called to be a leader.\u00a0 I pray that you too would demonstrate these 10 traits in the way you lead others, whether it’s at home, at church, in the workplace or elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You for being the greatest leader.\u00a0 In the way I lead I pray that I would demonstrate these 10 traits and be a more effective leader like You.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today’s passage is\u00a01\u00a0Thessalonians\u00a02:1-12.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go:<\/p>\n

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.
\n4\u00a0\u00a0On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
\n5\u00a0\u00a0You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed–God is our witness.<\/p>\n

On verses 1-12:\u00a0 In this passage we get an inside look at what made Paul and his companions such excellent ministers of the gospel and such excellent leaders.<\/p>\n

You too are called to be a leader, whether it’s in your home, your workplace, your school, your church, or a team you lead.\u00a0 Here are 10 traits of excellent leaders we learn from today\u2019s passage:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Excellent leaders don’t let fear or suffering keep them from chasing the dream God has placed in their heart. \u00a0Paul and his companions “had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi” (v2).\u00a0 They faced “strong opposition”.\u00a0 Still “with the help of our God” they “dared to proclaim the gospel” to the city of Thessalonica (v2).\u00a0 Excellent leaders push through pain to get to their dream.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27018"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27021,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27018\/revisions\/27021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}