Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.
“
| — | John Wesley |
How to Achieve Greatness
Today we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Through his life he had many historical speeches and sermons includeing his I Have A Dream speech. Many would consider him a “great” man. I think deep down inside we all want to become men and women of greatness. Here is an excerpt from a sermon he preached addressing the issue of what it means to be great.
“And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness.”
“And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”
Greatness is something that we can choose and not something that is chosen for us. I pray that through the grace of God that we would all choose to be people of greatness by following in the steps of Christ and serving others.
My Influence
My life shall touch a dozen lives
Before this day is done.
Leave countless marks of good or ill,
E’er sets the evening sun.
This, the wish I always wish,
The prayer I always pray:
Lord, may my life help other lives
It touches by the way.
“
Leadership is not about making decisions on your own. It is about owning the decisions once you make them.
“
| — | Andy Stanley |
Steven Furtick and Rick Warren on Relationships
Awhile back Steven Furtick of Elevation Church posted a quote on twitter that read, “You’ve got to follow Jesus for yourself. But you can’t follow Jesus by yourself. Who’s got your back?”
In an interview of Rick Warren of Saddleback Church a months ago (via the catalyst podcast) he mentioned the importance of right relationships within ministry.
Rick Warren said, “To make it in ministry over the long haul you need four kinds of people in your life…”
Here are the four kinds of people he mentioned:
1. Mentors - The coaches. (Even Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods need coaches.)
2. Models - People who have come before you and are no longer alive, but have finished the race strong.
3. Partners - Co-workers and peers.
4. Friends - People that love you no matter what.
Do you have these four kinds of people in your life? Who’s got your back?
Listen to the entire Rick Warren interview here and follow Steven Furtick on twitter here.
