I admire the leadership and wisdom of John Maxwell. There have been few times where leadership has been needed was much as it is now (during this time of the coronavirus pandemic). As Dr. Maxwell would have it said, “A leader knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way”.
About 3 weeks ago, John Maxwell put together a three-part online series called, Leading Through Crisis, which you can find available on YouTube (if you choose to go ahead and watch it). In this blog I am going to share the notes I took for each part, prayerfully offering edifying insights and “leader shifts” (a reference to John Maxwell’s recently published book by that title).
In Part 1, Dr. Maxwell went on to talk about the necessity of “salt and light leadership” ( a reference to Matthew 5:13-16), in that seemingly dark times offer us opportunity to offer better and brighter leadership to those in need. We spoke to the positive and negative value of the fact that, “Crisis has the potential to exaggerate everything” and that much of our properly navigating these times has to do with perspective, in that, “How we view things determines how we do things”. John Maxwell offered five perspective-points (of which I copied down four). They were:
1.) Crisis is quite common. We always exaggerate it.
2.) Crisis is distracting. We must prioritise our daily agenda and maintain traction. John goes on to say, “The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda”. It is in your daily agenda you can find the things you can control because nothing will give you more anxiety than trying to control things you can’t.
3.) Crisis reveals what’s inside of us. Faith or fear? Struggle with hope or attitude of defeat?
4.) Crisis is when real leaders show up. John says, “Leaders help people get traction during times of distraction”.
The 1st segment ended with Dr. Maxwell challenging us to maintain a healthy perspective, a hope-filled reality, by using this time as opportunity to grow. “Crisis never leaves us the same. Normal has been changed”.
In Part 2, Dr. Maxwell began detailing how we can turn “adversity into advantage”. He highlighted the reality that no matter who social-economic background you have, we are all in this together. Therefore, the gaining of “distinct advantages” will have everything to do with those who maintain a right perspective. John goes on to say that, “A crisis will make you do things you wouldn’t have done if there wasn’t a crisis”. This calls us to a time of increased focus. What do you need to focus on getting done? And sure enough, John Maxwell isn’t alone in such a declaration that this current time can serve as opportunity. Albert Einstein had said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”. And couple that wisdom with Napoleon Hill, who said, “Within every adversity is an equal or greater benefit. Within every problem is an opportunity”.
John offered the following six challenges each of us can “turn bad times into good times” during this time of social-distancing and self-isolation.:
1.) Personal time – find ways to “upgrade yourself”
2.) Family time – appreciate and edify one another
3.) Catch up time – take note of things you would have never gotten to
4.) Adding value time – everyday find a way to encourage someone
5.) Faith time – find ways to express your faith in Christ
6.) Get better at life time – enhance your life experience with something new or something you enjoy.
In Part 3, Dr. Maxwell highlighted that the mentality of knowing, “your surroundings don’t determine your spirit”, has everything to do with leading through crisis and turning adversity into advantage. He encouraged us to use this time to “feed our faith and starve our fears”. He told us to consider asking ourselves, “What am I doing right now to turn my negative emotions into positive outcomes?”.
Theologically I know that the enmity that the carnal mind has toward God and our right thinking is a reality. It’s in the practical moments that I often forget to consider that, wherein it is needed the most. Therefore, I hope Dr. John Maxwell’s insights were as edifying and reminding to you as they were to me. We must maintain the proper perspective and continue on in seeking to offer good leadership during these current times. As the Apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthians about attitudes that ran contrary to the faith, so we shall heed that wisdom in our current day, “We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)”. Furthermore, he highlighted what we should be maintaining, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).
In Service to Him,
Michael Miano, pastor
The Blue Point Bible Church
www.bluepointbiblechurch.org
The Preterist Pastors Network 