In Jesus' discourse about the Good Shepherd in John 10 there are several parties involved. In this article I would like us to look at the comparison and relationship between shepherds and hirelings in the specific part of Scripture. To achieve this, we will consider sheep, hirelings and the Good Shepherd.

Two Fundamental Characteristics of an Effective Leader

In this article we will be able to see that being a leader goes beyond telling people what do. We will be able to see that just having people following you is not enough. Many followers are satisfied with this concept of just following somebody, because it takes away the responsibility that they also have to do their part in God's Kingdom. This mentality seems to also satisfy many of our current leaders as they are comfortable with the idea of members over disciples. All seems to be about the number of members and the size of the building. It is perhaps the reason why in our churches we have so many brothers and sisters doing absolutely nothing with their God-given talents.

We all seem to have questions about our identity and about how to discover what we are on this earth for. My hope is that through this series, you will more clearly discover your Identity and in the process, find your destiny.

I believe Christianity today is suffering under an epidemic of worldwide proportions. It is potentially more devastating to the world than the persecutions of the early centuries – and certainly more widespread. It is quite simply, an identity crisis. As a whole, we simply do not know who we are. If we did, our lives and our stories would look a whole lot different than they do today.

Join me in this six-part series, as we will look at the amazing endowment God has invested in each of us and unpack the critical components of the identity that was infused in us from before we were even born.

God says: “You rock!”
According to Romans 8:11 the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us. Jesus said that we would do the miracles He did, and more. God created us for specific good works that He intended for us from before we were born, according to Ephesians 2:10. And in Philippians 3:12 we are encouraged to apprehend that for which Christ apprehended us. Before too long it becomes quite apparent that God has specifically endowed us with ability and power, which is more enabling than we often acknowledge. If we take a moment to unpack the places in which God has gifted us, it becomes apparent that He has intended to make us able in every category of our lives, because He truly wants us to live very practically victorious.

In this series we will look at five components of our lives that serve to reveal the unique abilities that God has given us. It is the overlap of these five areas that represents the sweet spot from which we are meant to contribute uniquely to the world. God has made it so that when we do what He wired us to do, when we contribute from our giftings and the abilities He has blessed us with – it just feels fantastic. We literally experience a sense of euphoria that is physical and measurable that makes us want to come back and do it again. Functioning out of the giftings God blessed you with just plain feels great!

My Journey
I remember the first time I got to speak publicly about this issue of our identity. I was a little nervous, but mostly I was beside myself with excitement. Up to that point I had never heard anyone speak on the subject and I was burning with enthusiasm to act on what God had shown me. I was confident and engaged, and the whole experience left me feeling energized and strong. I loved it! Afterward people came up to me and said how much they enjoyed my talk; that it was an important message for our time and that I needed to continue to do it. It was the beginning of a new and exciting journey for me that marked a turning point in my life.

Ever since then I have been on an ongoing journey of discovery. Discovering who I am and who God made me to be. What He blessed me with and what I am supposed to do with what He gave me. Experimenting with how I do it and when I do it, and all along finding more of Him. It is a wonderful way to experience God in my life and in the lives of others. In this series I want to share with you what God has shown me because I want you to be as fulfilled and content as God intended you to be. I don’t believe you can get there without using what He gave you.

It’s about Your Joy
The reality is, most of us don’t live out of our strengths. We don’t live out of the abundant talent that God poured intentionally into us. We don’t know where we are strong so we cannot function in our strengths. When we don’t function in our giftings or our places of strength, we don’t get the joy God made for us as the reward. So work and contribution comes out of obligation and necessity instead of from talent and joy and as a result it often feels draining.

Next time we will tackle the first of the five areas of contribution that help to reveal your true identity, the full identity that represents God’s complete intention for your life. Contribution #1 will be the most obvious: Physical talent. I hope this series will help you as much as it has helped me. I am more fulfilled and content in my life now than I have ever been. I know who I am, I know where I am going and I know why. If you can’t say the same things about your life, perhaps you will consider joining me through this series and see what God reveals to you?

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Allan Kelsey is the president of Leading Leaders, an identity-based leadership organization in Dallas. At Leading Leaders, his primary focus is to create dramatically improved performance and life satisfaction for people, by helping them understand who they are first and then where they are gifted. Then turning those abilities into their strongest contribution to the world, work, passions and life. You can find him online at www.leadingleaders.net.

Do senior-level executives need to improve their leadership skills? Two-thirds of companies think so. In all, more than half agree that senior management needs to sharpen their strategic thinking and communications abilities. So says a survey by ClearRock, an outplacement and executive coaching firm headquartered in Boston.

Biographers universally agree that personal insecurity factored heavily in the downfall of former American President Richard Nixon. Rather than empowering others, President Nixon clutched at power so tightly that he lost all sense of morality and ethics. Obsessively fearing his critics, Nixon authorized a domestic espionage group to spy on his political opponents. When members of the group were caught burglarizing the Watergate Hotel, Nixon tried unsuccessfully to cover up the incident. Eventually he resigned in shame, having left a dubious legacy of scandal.

Most of us never see our dreams come true. Instead of soaring through the clouds, our dreams languish like a broken-down airplane confined to its hangar. Through life, I have come to identify five common reasons why dreams don’t take flight.

Perhaps no one in all of history provides a better example of great leadership than the Apostle Paul, whose leadership strength is without equal.

Paul is largely credited with being the principle architect of Christianity. It may be impossible to overstate his impact on Western Civilization. Clearly Paul never would have imagined the magnitude of his accomplishments. Perhaps to his even greater amazement would be that he provides 21st-century leaders with a virtual perfect model for modern leadership. The fact is that his leadership was absolutely incredible – perhaps the greatest leadership ever.