TRANSCRIPT: Good morning, Five Minute Families! Did your family choose a word for the year? If so, please let us know how the process went for you. This morning we are kicking off a series called, “It is well” and today we are discussing leading well. Leadership is valuable but knowing how to lead well can be tricky.

A quick internet search will yield numerous articles on good leadership. Trip Kimball suggests we use the acronym of LEAD. L is listen and learn. E is educate and equip. A is accept and acknowledge. And, D is disciple and delegate.

Alison Doyle tells us that effective leaders have the ability to communicate well, motivate their team, handle and delegate responsibilities, listen to feedback, and have the flexibility to solve problems in an ever-changing workplace.

Steven Halter encourages leaders to lead out of love for God and obedience to Him as well as selfless concern for others – speaking the truth in love, listening humbly, serving, and supporting others.

Many more articles, books, and posts exist from the business world about leading well. Five elements become apparent as we look at the concept of leading well – AUTHORITY, THEM, YOU, GOALS, and ACTIONS.

A family is not a business, however. It isn’t the military or some other organization. Each family is a mini-church, which means our leadership example must be Jesus. Please read Philippians 2:5-8. Jesus is not an authoritarian leader nor is He simply a backseat navigator. He leads with authority and with humility. He leads with power and respect. He leads with holiness and love.

Christ is the greatest example of servant leadership. A good Christian leader considers each element of leading well – AUTHORITY, THEM, YOU, GOALS, and ACTIONS – in light of Jesus’s example:

First is a respect for authority, and in Five Minute Families, that authority is GOD. Since Psalm 37:23 points us that our steps are ordered by the Lord and Psalm 32:8 says that He will instruct us and teach us in the ways we should go, we must be able to recognize and respect the leadership of the Lord and His word.

A second element in leading well is to recognize the THEM of the group. Many ‘lead well’ lists give you the ideas to empower, equip, enable, motivate, and support your team. The THEM for a Five Minute Family is, of course, your family. Ephesians 4:16 reminds us that “from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” We must work together and recognize the gifts each person brings to the family and the kingdom of God. Again, to lead well you must empower, equip, enable, motivate, and support THEM – your family members.

Leading well is not just about God and your family members. YOU are a fundamental element, though we list you third. YOU must take responsibility. YOU must start with your own attitude. So many ‘lead well’ lists state things like “Start with you.” “Stop doing dumb things.” “Work on yourself, too.” “Make sure your attitude, appearance, and approach are aligned.” God’s Word says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” And that includes your ability to lead well.

A crucial fourth element of leading your family well includes GOALS – family goals. Proverbs 29:18 prompts us, “where there is no vision, the people perish.” Perish in the King James Version translates to ‘let loose’. To have a “vision” is to have a road map that shows us where we are going, what our goal is, and how to get there.

And, our final element to ‘lead well’ is taken from James 1:22: “Let them not just be hearers of the Word but doers also.” ACTION. You must take action. As others have stated, “Culture is created by the behavior you tolerate. You can post posters with uplifting words, your memos and speeches can have soaring ideals, but demonstrated behavior is what forms a culture.” Take the action of giving feedback, making it “fast, frequent, relevant, and positively delivered.”

We recommend that you choose one of these five actions to take to lead your family well this week:

1.    Go out of your way to praise a family member today.

2.    Review if your family members have the tools they need to succeed. If not, work on getting those tools for them.

3.    “Either find the time to have meaningful and regularly scheduled one-on-one time with your family members, or reconsider how you use the word ‘leader.’”

4.    “Communicate your [family goals] frequently. Telepathy doesn’t cut it.”

5.    Acknowledge emotions but don’t wallow in them.

Thank you for joining us this morning. Check us out at Clear View Retreat.org. May God give you hope for the future and energy to invest in each of the moments you have with your loved ones. God bless!