"CORE Strengths"

"Bring me seventy......who are known.....as leaders."

Numbers 11:16

Sometimes when I can't sleep which is quite often........I find myself just channel surfing.

There is a lot of informercials about everything throughout the night.

When I was turning the channels one got my attention,

it was a exercise program that works on your CORE.

As I laid on the couch, and as someone who needs to work

on my CORE (stomach muscles).

I watched it for a few minutes and even felt like I should get up

and exercise BUT........that motivation lasted for about 1/2 of a second.

Then the word "CORE" got inside of my head.

One of the definitions of CORE is - the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything.

"What if we spend so much time on our weaknesses,

and never develop our CORE strengths."

Then I recalled this story:

A group of neighborhood kids built a tree house and formed their own club. When the grownups were told who had been selected for which office, they were astonished to hear that a 4 year-old boy had been elected president.

"He must be a born leader," one dad observed. "How did it happen that all you bigger boys voted for him?"

His son replied, "Well, he can't very well be secretary because he doesn't know how to read or write. He couldn't be treasurer because he can't count. He would never do for sergeant-at-arms because he's too little to throw anybody out.

If we didn't choose him for anything, he'd feel bad. So we made him president."

Life usually doesn't work that way!!!!!!

You don't become successful by default,

you must work from your God-given strengths.

In life, your purpose is always connected to your giftedness.

God doesn't call you to do something you've no talent for.

God told Moses, "Bring me seventy...who are known to you as leaders."

You cannot grow to your full potential if you continually

work outside your CORE strengths.

Improvement is always related to ability.........

Do you know what happens when you spend all your time

working on your weaknesses, and never develop your strengths?

You will work really hard and claw your way up to mediocrity,

but you'll never get beyond it...........

Economic pressure and family responsibility may require you to work

for a season outside the area of your CORE strengths,

but don't settle there..........

We should always seek guidance, sharpen our gifts,

be patient (which for me is hard in some situations),

and God will open doors for you................

So, for myself these are 4 qualities could strengthen my CORE............

1) Submission

Only a leader who has followed well,

knows how to lead others well.

"Connecting" with people becomes possible

because you've walked in their shoes.

Leaders who've never submitted to authority tend to be proud,

unrealistic and high-and-mighty.

2) Self-discipline

To make consistently good decisions requires character

and self-discipline. To do otherwise, is to lose control of ourselves.

British writer, John Foster wrote,

"A man without decision of character

can never be said to belong to himself.

He belongs to whatever can make a captive of him."

3) Patience

Leaders look ahead, think ahead, and want to move ahead.

That's what makes them leaders.

But the true goal of leadership is not to cross the finish line first,

but to take as many others with you as you can.

For that reason you have to deliberately slow your pace,

stay connected to your people, keep them informed and inspired,

enlist the help of others to fulfill your vision, and keep going.........

And you can't do that if you're running too far ahead of everybody.

Solomon writes:

"Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride." (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

4) Accountability

Many people feel that accountability is a willingness to explain your actions. Real accountability begins long before you take action.

Most wrong actions come about because we are

not being accountable early enough.

So, besides needing to exercise and work on my CORE (stomach)........

These 4 CORE qualities is something to think about

to make us stronger leaders........

Probably, the number one CORE is learn to VALUE others -

the "salt" and "light" principles that Jesus taught calls for us

to INFLUENCE and ILLUMINATE others for GOOD and for GOD.......

"You must earn and grow, in order to give and guide."