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 »

When a leader has the wrong decision at the wrong time, it will equal a disaster. When a leader has the wrong decision at the right time, it will equal a mistake. When a leader has the right decision at the wrong time, it will look like an error in judgment. When a leader has the right decision at the right time, it will equal a success. Read 2 Chronicles 13:4-18.

Abijah replaced his father Rehoboam as king of Judah in the eighteenth year of the split kingdom. Jeroboam, king of the northern ten tribes quickly declared war on Judah hoping to exploit the new king and gain the rich southern part of Israel. Read more »

Leadership by its very nature requires action, and taking action requires courage. Courage is needed for something as simple as making a leadership decision—you may be wrong and lose face or worse cost someone some money or their job; or a leader may be asked to lead when people’s lives, including their own, may be on the line. Read 2 Kings 11:1-21.

Jehu, future king of the northern kingdom, Israel, murdered Joram, King of Israel, to ascend to the throne. Ahaziah, King of Judah, the southern kingdom, happened to be a guest at Joram’s palace when Jehu assassinated Joram, so Jehu killed him also. Second Kings 11:1 says, “When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.” This power hungry woman wanted the throne and was willing to kill all her grandsons in order to have it. Enter the scene, two leaders with great courage: Read more »

An old axiom in sales is that “The fear of loss is greater than the anticipation of gain.” This is why there are so many ads that prominently display “Limited time offer” or that establish the countdown to sales i.e. only two days left at this price. We take action to buy because we are driven more that the deal may run out and we will miss it than our need for the product.

The same axiom, “The fear of loss is greater than the anticipation for gain” is true when viewing the motivation to take action by some leaders. Many leaders play it safe when risk is required to move their team to the next level. They know in their heart what is the correct thing to do but they just can’t take a chance that they might fail or not have a 100% victory so they do nothing but fortify their current position. It takes courage for a leader to overcome the fear of loss. Today, we look at a leader that “Went for it!” Read 1 Kings 18:1-40. Read more »

It cannot be stated too strongly or too often that living a godly life and demonstrating godly leadership requires extraordinary courage. Read 1 Kings 17:1 and 18:16-40.

Elijah was a prophet of the one true God and he lived in the northern kingdom during the time of King Ahab’s rule. Since Ahab had chosen to serve other gods, there was continual conflict between Elijah and Ahab. Even though Elijah knew he served the one true God, he was also aware that prophets then, as Christians are today, can be martyred for the one they serve. Once Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, had imported prophets of the god she served from her home country of Tyre, the conflict between Elijah, God’s spokesperson, and Ahab escalated. Read more »