by Steve Murrell

Two leaders: Moses and Pharaoh.
Two completely different leadership philosophies.
Two voices giving us two totally different directions.

One is destructive, the other is constructive.
One is demanding, the other is empowering.
One produces bondage, the other produces freedom.

Moses or Pharaoh, which leader would you rather follow?
Moses or Pharaoh, which leader do you sound like?

Pharaoh type leaders constantly say things like:
- “Get back to work” (Ex 5:4)
- “Work harder” (Ex 5:9)
- “Your work will not be reduced” (Ex 5:11)
- “Complete the work required of you” (Ex 5:12)
- “Meet your quota” (Ex 5:14)
- “Get back to work” (Ex 5:18)
- “produce your full quota” (Ex 5:18)

Pharaoh leaders love words like:
- requirements
- quotas
- work

As a recovering work-a-holic, I am all for hard work. But I would rather follow a Moses leader than a Pharaoh leader.

Moses leaders call people to: (Exodus 5:1)
- worship
- freedom
- festival

Questions for leaders:
Do you sound like Moses or Pharaoh?
Do you call people to work for God or to walk with God?
Do you preach about requirements or about relationships?

Steve Murrell is a missionary, pastor, and the author of “The Reluctant Leader” and “The Accidental Missionary.”

by Steve Murrell

Abraham is one of the greatest leaders ever, and one my all-time favorite Bible characters. Here are seven simple leadership lessons from his adventure:

1.   Great leaders are CALLED (Gen 12:1). They don’t just make it up as they go; they hear from God and obey. They don’t do whatever they want to do; they do what God calls them to do. They don’t live to please the crowd; they live to please God.

2.   Great leaders are WORSHIPPERS (Gen 12:7,8). Just as Abraham was constantly setting up altars and crying out to God, great leaders don’t even attempt to lead without God’s presence.

3.   Great leaders are NOT PERFECT (Gen 12:13, Gen 20:2). Abraham lied about his wife, twice! But God still used him. And, He will probably still use us, in spite of our mistakes.

4.   Great leaders are LOYAL (Gen 14:12-17). Abraham risked his life rescuing Lot from his selfish decisions. What are friends for?

5.   Great leaders are GENEROUS (Gen 14:20). Abraham tithed. Do you tithe? Do the members of your leadership team tithe?

6.   Great leaders are TEMPORARY and they know it. That’s why Abraham was always thinking about the next generation. (Gen 17:7-9, 18:19)

7.   Great leaders are TESTED (Gen 22). God always tests, before he invests.

Steve Murrell is a missionary, pastor, and the author of “The Reluctant Leader” and “The Accidental Missionary.”

by Russ Austin

And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. Mark 1:22 (ESV)

Every time I read this verse I stop and pray ask the Lord to help me to speak with authority when I present a message to our folks at SCC. Speaking with authority is different than teaching effectively or communicating clearly although it can and should do both. I am a big believer in illustrations that illuminate truth and humor that makes truth easier to digest but these alone do not make you one that speaks with authority.

Speaking with authority is that moment when you are delivering the “word of the Lord.” That gem in your message that God illuminates and you feel virtue flow out touching the hearers. It is a different level, a different temperature, a different tone (even thought nothing about your voice has changed). This doesn’t mean the rest of your message is fodder. Not at all. But a moment of “authority” is something special.

How can we preach with authority?

Here are a few quick bullet points:

1. Pray over each point of your message the day before you preach it. Pray it into your spirit. When it comes out it will be different.
2. Cultivate an intimate devotional life becoming familiar with the presence of Jesus.
3. Stand in faith on the integrity and power of God’s Word. It won’t return void. It will accomplish the thing it was sent to do. When we have faith in the power and integrity of God’s word there is something in us that makes it’s release from us different.
4. Know what your people need. Love them enough to prayerfully and dligently find the thing to say that will lift them, encourage them and help them in their walk with Jesus.

What are your thoughts on how to preach with authority?

Russ Austin is the founding pastor of Southpoint Community Church in Jacksonville, FLorida. He is married to Debbie and they have three children, Ryan, Aaron and Chelsea and a granddaughter, Madison.

It is our great pleasure to share that the registration for EN2010 is now up and running!

A few minutes before we opened the International Registration, we experienced technical problems with our server. The number of people who signed in our Every Nation and EN2010 websites overwhelmed and crashed our server which caused the delay. Our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience this caused you.

Despite the initial technical difficulties, the result of the opening of the International Registration for EN2010 has been very favorable. We have around 150 registrants from more than 10 nations around the world just during the first hour of registration and as of this writing, more people continue to register.

We are working double time to ensure the same problem doesn’t happen again. International registration is still ongoing and we pray for more of our Every Nation family from around the world to join us at EN2010.

Thank you so much for your patience and for sharing in our excitement. We look forward to seeing you in July!

For more information, please go to www.en2010.com

EN2010 on Facebook

The International Registration for EN2010 is now open! To register, please click Registration. You can register up to a maximum of 10 adults and 10 kids per transaction! The registration fee per adult is US$35 and US$15 per child. For more information, please go to www.en2010.com

EN2010 Facebook