My mom had a thousand one-line sayings that have stuck with me over the years. One of them that I remember from about age 13 was, “You can pick your nose and you can pick your friends, but choose your friends carefully because you can’t pick your friend’s nose.” My mom had a memorable way of telling a 13-year-old that I had the ability to eliminate items from my person that were a problem or irritating but if my friend had a life issue, I would not be able to change them and it might influence me for life. The book of Proverbs says the same thing for adults, “A mirror reflects a man’s face but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses” Proverbs 27:19 (tlb). Wise leaders understand that positive or negative relationships will shape their leadership. Read 2 Chronicles 21.

Jehoshaphat is known as a godly king even with the weakness he displayed for unhealthy alliances. When he died his son Jehoram assumed the throne. Jehoram was one of the people directly affected by one of Jehoshaphat’s unhealthy alliances. Jehoram had an arranged marriage to Athaliah, King Ahab of Israel’s daughter. Ahab was one of the most evil kings ever to reign the Jewish people of the northern kingdom. Jehoram’s life shows the influence Athaliah had on his core values. Read more »

It is possible for a leader to have most areas of their leadership life squared away, be successful in virtually everything they touch and still have one area continually out of control. Wise leaders understand that even allowing one area to be out of control will influence their legacy. Read 2 Chronicles 17-20.

King Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king of Judah and reigned in Jerusalem for 25 years. For the most part Jehoshaphat was an outstanding godly leader. Second Chronicles tells us that Jehoshaphat sought the Lord in virtually all areas of his life, had great wealth and honor, became more and more powerful and even the arch enemy of Judah, the Philistines, brought Jehoshaphat gifts and were at peace with him. Read more »

President Harry Truman made a famous statement that indicated the buck stopped at his desk. He was ultimately responsible for the decisions of both the military and civilian leaders that surrounded his presidency. Responsibility is the ability to meet obligations; the act of being accountable; a duty of trust. A leader can share responsibility and a wise leader will delegate responsibility and authority for areas assigned to other leaders but the ultimate responsibility for results cannot be given away. Read 2 Chronicles 20:1-25.

Jehoshaphat had assumed the responsibilities of king of Judah. He had sent leaders to teach the people from the Book of the Law and had appointed some trusted leaders to administer the law and settle disputes. Just as Jehoshaphat was finishing his reforms to strengthen Judah’s internal governing structure, Judah was threatened by an army made up of a three nation alliance. Reports of this huge army’s activities and advance frightened Jehoshaphat. Read more »

Effective leaders understand the need for the constant restatement of goals and core values. Read 2 Chronicles 17.

King Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king of Judah and reigned in Jerusalem for 25 years. Jehoshaphat desired to be a leader that led a nation that honored the laws and moral code of the one true God not just in his palace but every part of the nation under his rule. In a day when the communication and transportation options were limited it would be difficult to see how a leader would quickly turn around not just people’s observance of an external set of laws but the internal value system they chose to live by. Read more »

Some reading this leadership study began influencing people in their teen years and now have decades of leadership experience. God gifted us with experience and expects us to use that experience to become the best leader we can be and thereby bring honor to His name. Generally with experience comes stronger, more well rounded leadership and fewer mistakes, but there is a danger for the Christian leader that comes with experience—when we become leadership professionals, we tend to rely on our own knowledge, wisdom and experience rather than continuing to look for a fresh touch from God in our daily leadership life. Read 2 Chronicles 14-16.

Early in the leadership life of King Asa of Judah, Asa used his God-given abilities and position to influence the people of Judah to follow the Lord and trust Him. He served his subjects by fortifying their towns and protecting them with a strong military force. God honored his prayers of dependence by giving him victory when his army was outnumbered and, from every human standpoint, should have been defeated by a vast Cushite army. Asa led reformations for God in the Southern kingdom of Judah in such a way that his influence spread beyond his own borders and many individuals living in the northern kingdom, under totally different leadership, were impacted and entered into a renewed covenant with the one true God. Read more »