Sermon Thought: "Twelve Laws of the Harvest"

(Scripture text from II Corinthians 9:8)

  1. You Must Plant Your Seed - John 12:24 - Without seedtime, it is impossible to have a harvest time. Planted seed always bring forth fruit.
  2. You Must Render Your Seed Useless - Many people give in such a way to receive personal benefit. But a planted seed must fall into the ground and die.
  3. You Must Plant What You Expect To Harvest - Every seed produces a harvest after its own kind. (Remind people to "name " their seed. What is it that they want their seed to produce.)
  4. You Establish Your Harvest Size When You Sow Your Seed - II Corinthians 9:6.
  5. You Must Plant Your Seed In Good Ground - Matthew 13:8 - Only seed sown in good ground brings maximum harvest. Your local church that teaches the full truth of God is always good ground.
  6. You Must Always Wait A Period Of Time Between Planting and Harvesting - Impatience will cancel your harvest. So will negative words.
  7. You Must Maintain Your Crops For A Proper Harvest - Maintain a Godly lifestyle, avoid deception and evangelize.
  8. You Must Always Sow To Your Harvest Size, Not From Your Harvest Size - You must not give from your shortage, but instead sow to your future harvest size.
  9. Your Expense Is Always Highest At Harvest Time - A farmer must hire laborers to bring in the harvest. So, in God's harvest, give a special release offering at the time of harvest.
  10. A Part Of Your Harvest Is For Sowing Again - A farmer always saves some seed for the next harvest.
  11. A Part Of Your Harvest Is For You To Keep - II Corinthians 9:7-8 - Some Christians do not want you to enjoy your increase.
  12. Your Harvest Is A Miracle - I Corinthians 3:6 - There is a hidden miracle that lies inside every seed. But God has to give the increase.

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Leadership Principles

Sister Tenney recently shared these requirements for leaders at a District Board Leadership workshop. They are an excellent summary of the principles for leaders.

A leader must:

  1. Love the people he is working with. A leader shouldn't get too distant from the people and he must love them.
  2. Believe in what he does. You can't lead with conviction and confidence if you don't believe it yourself.
  3. Possess a passion. People know when a leader is consumed with a passion. They also know when he is not.
  4. Ignite excitement. Although hype and excitement can be overplayed, there should be a level of "its happening here" in a leader.
  5. Be able to cast vision. A vision should be simple but obvious and shared. Without it, people perish.
  6. Be able to see the big picture. Leaders are the ones who look at the whole picture instead of becoming bogged down in the minutia and pettiness.
  7. Make plans. Leaders also provide the "how to" to achieve the vision. Although they are big picture people, they know how to get to the goal.
  8. Assemble the team. Leaders know how to motivate and assemble the team to reach the goals of the group.
  9. Possess the commitment to see things through. Leaders don't quit. Everyone will face obstacles and setbacks. Leaders continue despite them.
  10. Mentor others and know when to let them go. Leaders reproduce themselves through others and let them grow.

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The Healthy Pastoral Leader

Healthy Habits of Effective Leaders:

In his research of leaders, both historical and contemporary, author Robert Clinton found that few leaders actually finish the race well. His two books, The Making of a Leader (NavPress) and The Mentor Handbook (Barnabas), explain that finishing well could be defined as a life that until its end is increasingly more in love with Christ, more committed to His service and more devoted to godly leadership.

What causes a leader to continue to grow, to stay on track and to finish well in life and ministry?

Five Habits of effectiveness. Effective leaders learn to become intentional about their character growth and formation. In this development of a leader we can make three general observations:

  1. God develops a leader over a lifetime;
  2. God uses people, circumstances and ministry assignments to shape the life of a leader; and
  3. Leadership plateau is often indicative of a growth issue within a leader's life.

To help us become more intentional about our health as leaders, let's explore five insights from leaders who have finished well.

  1. Healthy leaders are lifelong learners. Leaders pursue three types of training: personal training, (personal growth, projects, personal research); informal training (workshops, seminars, conferences); and formal training (continuing education, degree programs).
  2. Healthy leaders are committed to serve and develop others. Be alert to potential leaders in your sphere of influence (II Cor. 1:3-4; II Tim. 2:2).
  3. Healthy leaders have a dynamic view of life and ministry. There are three key elements to a personal mission statement - biblical purpose, values and vision.
  4. Healthy leaders experience repeated times of renewal. Effective, godly leaders develop intimacy with God, which in turn overflows into all areas of their ministry. The essential ingredient of leadership is the powerful presence of God in a leader's life and ministry. Leaders incorporate the spiritual disciplines into their walk.
  5. Healthy leaders have a life perspective. God brings along many destiny experiences to shape a leader's ministry. Leaders manifest a growing awareness of their sense of destiny.

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The Seven Habits of the Highly Ineffective Pastor

What would an ineffective pastor look like? Here are seven habits of highly ineffective pastors and how you can avoid them.
  1. Be reactive. Effective people are proactive. They take responsibility for their lives and aren't swayed by their physical or social environments. Being proactive means responding by choices and values, not by emotions or circumstances.
  2. Focus only on short-term results. A good habit says, "Begin with the end in mind." This attitude will help you keep a heavenly perspective throughout your day-to-day work.
  3. Do the least important thing first. An effective pastor will look at all the things in his or her life and prioritize them. The people or items at the top of that list will receive the pastor's first and best attention.
  4. Think win/lose. Truly effective pastors will look for win/win solutions. They find agreements that benefit and satisfy everyone involved. This principle is especially valuable with staff and volunteers.
  5. Seek first to be understood, then to understand. The best way to help people and run ministry effectively is by listening - actively, empathetically, and completely - before rushing to find a solution.
  6. Keep working until your saw is so dull it couldn't cut butter. To be an effective pastor and person, you need to keep a balance between the physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your life. Stopping occasionally to "sharpen your saw" will allow you to work more quickly and efficiently without wearing you down.
  7. You only need to change one area of your life. Effective people know that all of these ideas work in balance together to create a synergized life.