If you like the topic of Leadership or if you are in, or want to be in a leadership position in a business or church, or really any group; then you need to know the name Patrick Lencioni. He is one of the top leaders and speaks and writes primarily about how teams function. In fact he has a Team Pyramid and he suggests that there are five healthy c…

This year in Iron Leadership we are focused on Jesus’ leadership. We are trying to learn from the best leader that ever stepped foot on our planet. Sometimes Jesus teaches his disciples things directly; sometimes he puts his disciples through a test. Other leadership traits are intended to be learned more through observation. Things are best learne…

Follow this link to watch the video discussed in the lesson. What Fuels Forgiveness? God’s Forgiveness of us! Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing…. Blessed ar…

Galatians 5 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” Self-control: Ascendancy over passions. Self-Government. This is a clip from the movie “Flight” and it shows how self control is such a powerful and realistic war. Appetites seem to call out to you behind a closed door scr…

Luke 5:1-11 I love these 11 verses and what it teaches about leadership. It teaches both what Jesus is looking for from his leaders and lessons on how we can develop future leaders. Here is a passage where Jesus is teaching eternal truths to a large group of people yet the focus is not on what Jesus taught but who Jesus was testing. Hear this; In G…

Leadership Lessons from Jesus Luke 5:1-11 I love these 11 verses and what it teaches about leadership. Both what Jesus is looking for from his leaders and lessons on how we can develop future leaders. Please notice that here is a passage where Jesus is teaching eternal truths to a large group of people, yet the focus is not on what Jesus taught but…

Rhythms & Routines I want to suggest that Rhythms & Routines are at the topic of our lives, very similar to a food chain. When the Wolves were taken out of Yellowstone National Park, chaos ensued. When they were re-introduced they effected everything. What happens in our Rhythm & Routines tumbles down into the rest of our lives. One thing Jesus wan…

Here we see a 40 year old man who was invited to his son’s 5th grade class to explain his job and give them a vision of what they could do. But Crystal doesn’t have a vision for his life, instead he feels stuck, stuck in a depressing, inevitable rut. It’s not a preferred future but he feels helpless to change it. William Wilberforce was a British p…

What we have in Mind “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” – 1 Corinthians 16:13 The Apostle Paul uses all familiar military terms to close out his letter to those who live in a very pagan culture. Just knowing these are military terms helps you understand what Paul thinks of how you make progress in Spiritual Maturity. I…

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 & Ephesians 6:1-4 “Children obey your parents for this is right.” The 21st Century Translation reads “Parents obey your children for this is right. Children, do not provoke your parents to become angry.” Why do I say this? Notice the Text in Ephesians. The child’s world revolves around the parents. The child needs to adapt to a ne…

Pictures of Marriage: People think in Pictures Marriage is more like a “workshop” where God works on your Soul, Marriage is intended to be much more Transformational than Pleasurable, not that it can’t be Pleasurable, just not Primarily about pleasure. Ephesians 5: 22-33 In Ephesians, Paul describes marriage as an object lesson to a more profound m…

My main question to you as a leader is: how do you respond to an emotionally charged moment? Take this classic scene from Secondhand Lions as an example: We will mainly be looking at this idea of Restraint from 1 Samuel 25. First, we meed to get a flow of the story so far. Chapter 19-26 is a series of pressurized leadership challenges for David. Yo…

On April 14, 1910, the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank, ending the lives of over 1,500 people. As most of you know, it was an accident that could have been avoided if just a few people had been more watchful. Captain Smith was trying to beat the fastest time crossing the Atlantic, so he was travelling to avoid collisions with Icebergs. Ironically, …

This Iron Leadership Lesson is by Sam Kennedy. How can you tell someone thinks of their work as not just a job, but as a calling? Take this guy for example: Calling is about vision and purpose. Knowing vision and purpose is essential for your leadership. Who has put you in your job, in your home, in your neighborhood, in your city? Why do they have…

I listened to a talk on ‘risk’ by Tim Keller…I’m now basically delivering it to you. So if you ever hear him talk about it, don’t say, “Hey, Pastor Paul said the very same thing! Keller must be listening to Iron Leadership talks and using them! Imagine a diagram with three different options: fear, risk, and foolishness. Which side to you tend towar…

Today we are discussing ‘Time.’ Psalm 144:4 – “Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.” Time passes quickly. Robert Herrick – “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.” Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. Ecclesiastes 1:4, 11 – “Generations come and genera…

Let’s start by watching this clip, this is about raising the flag at Iwo Jima during WWII. “I think about what went on, on D-day and subsequent days in order to get that flag there.” It takes a great deal of sacrifice to wage war and win! There is a great book about the men who raised the flag called Flag of Our Fathers. James Bradley, the author a…

This Iron Leadership Lesson is by Brandon Hart. At our previous Iron Leadership meeting, Paul discussed self-control, and he referenced Titus, chapter 2. Let’s turn there now and highlight something. You’ll notice self-control is used four times in this short chapter. But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sob…

In my opinion, real, true friendship is one of the most beautiful, most valuable, and most powerful forces on earth. If you want to have a strong interior wall as a leader, a strong character which will help you in the various challenges you face, then you need thick friendships. There are some moments in the Bible so beautiful that you long to exp…

Today’s topic is anger. The Avengers movies give us a great example of anger in the Hulk. As seen in the Hulk, anger causes you to destroy your enemies, but also hurt your friends. So, it’s an emotion you must deal with very carefully. Our focus will be listening to Jesus’ teaching on anger from the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:21-26). The Sermon…

This year we are focusing on building our Interior Wall. The goal is that no matter what external challenge you face, you will be internally prepared. The question is: how do you build interior walls? What character traits and habits can prepare you for the storms you face as a leader? Take this picture of Mexico Beach after Hurricane Michael as a …

Audio Recording from 5/18/18 I want to close our year with Nehemiah by thinking about two things: How do you leverage yourself for the benefit of others, especially those who are in trouble or need? Another way to say it is: What troubled or needy situation might you insert yourself into to cause a change? This leveraging of yourself – How does it …

This morning I want to focus on the never ending fight against our enemies. This scene from All Quiet on the Western Front comes near the end of the movie. It’s WWI, the soldier has survived endless attacks, and many of his friends have not made it through the war. Now, the soldier is writing one last letter home to his girlfriend saying he would s…

Spence Hackney did a great job once again. He taught us about Nehemiah’s generosity. View Spence’s lesson from last year: Daniel: Who’s On Top? Paul told me I could talk about whatever I wanted to. I didn’t have to talk about Nehemiah, but this next passage was something I just couldn’t get away from. The worlds view of leadership, and a view I fel…

Last time we talked about leading when facing an external threat. In chapter 4, Nehemiah and his team began to make noticeable progress on rebuilding the wall of protection around the city of Jerusalem. According to Nehemiah 4:6, the wall had reached half of its height. Half-way through the project, Nehemiah faced 2 great threats: external and inte…

To set the foundation of today’s lesson, we’ll watch this clip from The Pursuit of Happyness. These statements are so powerful: Don’t ever let anyone tell you, you can’t do something, not even your Dad. O how many dreams have died in just one conversation. How many men live with the voice of their father ringing in their memories? Fathers, do you u…

Last week we defined Leadership as moving people from here to there. Nehemiah moves people with 3 basic steps you will use over and over (All found in 2:17). Define Reality (Here) – (v. 17a) Define the Future (There) – (v. 17b) We Can’t Stay Here – (v. 17b) What will it take for Nehemiah to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem? A TEAM. Teamwork is our foc…

John Maxwell wrote an excellent book titled: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. It’s a great read and I highly recommend it, but 21 laws to follow is a lot to keep in mind. I want to reduce it to 2 laws of leadership. Of course there are more, but if I only had two, I would mention the two found at the end of Nehemiah Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. C…

Audio Recording This winter and spring we will examine how Nehemiah implements his Vision. In the process, we’ll receive a Master’s Degree in Leadership from him! We can draw three points from Nehemiah Chapter 2. 9 Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers …

Continuing from where we left off last week, there are three common wrong or incomplete views of work. 1. Secular View The primary purpose of work is self-fulfillment. Success in your life means success at your work. Weaknesses: The promises of fulfillment are fleeting – mirage. Self-fulfillment, like a new car, eventually loses its shine. Work bec…

The following audio clip begins with the testimony of Brandon Hart and continues with the leadership lesson. Nehemiah 2:9 represents a transition. Nehemiah has been emotionally moved by a report about the condition of his people back in Jerusalem. He has caught a vision of what could and should be. He has prayed, fasted and planned. He has courageo…

So far this year we’ve been talking about vision. This morning I want to talk about one more thing it takes to move forward in your Vision: Courage. – Even after you have done all the pounding needed on clarifying your vision – there will come a moment when what you need most is Courage: Courage to walk toward a difficult or impossible looking situ…

Friday, October 13, 2017 – Audio Recording If you’ve been keeping up in this series, you may be saying to yourself, “Hey, we have already talked about this. Let’s move on! To that quiet whisper in your head, I would respond: Repetition is the mother of all learning (ask a coach or teacher) What we are talking about in these opening verses of Nehemi…

Friday, September 29, 2017 – Audio Recording What’s the easiest way for this car to get out of the parking lot? Back up into empty space then turn left and you are out. However, sometimes it takes a few more turns than you might imagine in order to get out of the parking lot and into your driving lane. (Warning…for those on blood pressure medicine …

Friday, September 15, 2017 – Audio Recording In 1903 on the sands of the Outer Banks, Orville and Wilbur Wright took flight for the very first time. They didn’t have to pass through any security check points…they didn’t have to worry about any checked bags fees and there was no In-Flight beverage service. The entire flight lasted 59 seconds and tra…

Friday, September 1, 2017 – Audio Recording The stated purpose of Iron Leadership is “To act like men” by: equipping men to be better leaders in their own personal lives, their homes, their work, their churches and city for the sake of God’s Glory. This phrase: “Act like men” is lifted from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. This phrase comes at the…