Note: All quotes are from Phil Pringle’s book, ‘You The Leader’ (2005). This book is still promoted by him and are promoted in his colleges. His college library has shelves dedicated to his material. He still promotes ALL his books to this day. Some quotes will seem out of place or uninteresting.
I’d encourage you to compare them to his other quotes.
These quotes are for the purpose of critique and review.
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Endorsements Of ‘You The Leader’:
“I would like to recommend You The Leader by Dr. Phil Pringle. All true Christians are called to use their talents and gifts in a position of authority in the body of Christ. This book will help each Christian understand his or her role in the body.” – Dr. David Yonngi Cho, The Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul, South Korea.
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“Phil Pringle’s outstanding leadership skills have been proven over many years, and so he is well qualified to write this exceptional book on leadership.” – Pastor Brian Houston General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Australia / Senior Minister, Hillsong Church.
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“Phil Pringle is a true leader of leaders. He has a fresh, unique way to look at everything, and there is a strong anointing on his life and ministry. He writes from a wealth of knowledge and experience. This book is certainly deserving of our attention.” – Pastor Rick Shelton, Life Christian Center.
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“You The Leader is a “must-read” for any person who feels called to leadership.” – Joyce Meyer, Joyce Meyer Ministries, St. Louis, Missouri USA.
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“Phil Pringle has been at the forefront of radical church leadership for many years. At Christian City Church he has pioneered many different areas of ministry, gleaning insight and wisdom along the way.” – Pastor Colin Dye, Senior Minister, Kensington Temple, London, England.
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“Phil Pringle’s new book You The Leader is a must for all in leadership or aspiring to be a leader. Anything Pastor Phil writes is excellent because he practices what he preaches.” – Pastor Kevin J. Connor, Senior Minister, Waverly Christian Fellowship, Melbourne, Australia.
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“Phil Pringle is an apostolic leader par excellence. He is also one of the many few leaders who knows how to mentor others and to communicate what he knows. You The Leader is crammed full of extraordinary insights that will help you become the dynamic leader God wants you to be! I highly recommend it.” – C. Peter Wagner, Wagner Leadership Institute, Colorado Springs, Colorado USA.
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“I subsidized the purchase of one copy of You The Leader for each of the leaders in my church – this is a book that can be applied to practical leadership in the local church.” – Pastor Gordon Moore, Senior Minister, Christian City Church, Bridgeman Downs, Australia.
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“Inspiring, thought-provoking, challenging. I just had to buy a copy of You The Leader for all my readers.” – Russell Evans, Director, Planet Shakers, South Australia, Australia.
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“These are the types of leaders we need today, leaders who are passionate about leading and hungry for leadership. Leaders who rise above mediocrity while attaining excellence. Leaders who want to lead and who lead well.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 11.
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“We all know we need leaders. Without leadership, anarchy ensues. But we need more than just leaders. In fact, we even need more than just good leaders. We need great leaders.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 11.
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“In short, we need leaders because they see things that others don’t. When we follow great leaders, their vision becomes ours. We start to see what they see, and we begin to own a vision larger than ourselves.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 16.
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“Vision comes first. We need visionaries for leaders because they are creative problem solvers who get things done. These are the men and women who…” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 16.
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“Closely related to the idea of vision is the fact that leaders are creative people. As Philip Selznick said in his book Leadership and Adminstration, “The art of the creative leader is to… fashion an organism that embodies new and enduring values.”
For Moses, this created creative process meant creating a new culture of God-worshippers in the desert. For John, this creative process required creatin an environment of readiness for the Messiah.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 17.
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“Leaders are creators. They bring their visions to fruitition through the creative process.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 17.
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“Great leaders create and positively use their power to shape the future.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 18.
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“In his book Power, The Inner Experience, psychologist David McClelland states,
People are strengthened and uplifted by exposure to a charismatic leader… They feel more powerful rather than less powerful. The leader arouses confidence in his followers. They feel better able to accomplish whatever goals he and they share.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 19-20.
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“Spiritual leadership is most important and powerful kind of leadership. Spiritual leadership is a significant basis of influence because it directly affects our spiritual orientation- and consequently, the whole of our lives. For it is this orientation, our spiritual orientation, that directly determines our beliefs, values, attitudes, and motivations.
Once again, consider Moses.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 23.
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“God works through leaders, and He desires leaders who are sold out for Him, for it is these leaders who can positively change their world, impart vision, create new and recreate the old, mentor and empower those around them, and spiritually inspire those they lead.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 22.
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“Many people begin the race but don’t finish. Many plateau once they find a level they’re comfortable with. But true leaders are always pressing on further into the purposes of God.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 23.
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“The world changes from the top down, not the bottom up.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 25.
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“Moses stands out in history as one of the clearest examples of the principle that the world changes from the top down, not the bottom up. We already saw in chapter one how Moses delivered three million Hebrews from Egyptian oppression and then formed the great nation of Israel from the raw material of ex-slaves.
This God-appointed and anointed visionary leader took hold of the slaves and their families and led them out- out from the thumb of Pharaoh. Without his leadership, it wouldn’t have happened. It took one man leading from the top down- as he himself received orders from the ultimate Leader- to get it done.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 25.
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Title: “Moses, Man of God” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 26.
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“Aaron was not a leader- a spokesman, perhaps, but not a leader- because he was more a puppet of the people. Orders cam from the bottom up, and in this case, the results were disastrous.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 26.
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Title: “Leadership Lessons From Moses” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 27.
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“Just as Moses was a man of God, the kingdom leader needs to be a man or woman of God. The kingdom leader must have the strength of God in his or her soul. The example of Moses also shows us that, in the absence of a Godly leader, weak, corrupt leaders arise and lure people away from God. The presence or absence of leadership is not all that matters; the quality of leadership is crucial, too.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 27.
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“The absence of strong, upright leadership creates anarchy. As we discussed in the last chapter, nature abhors a vacuum, and anarchy is just a vacuum of moral governing leadership, which attracts bad leaders to fill the void.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 27.
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“Leaders don’t find their foundations for influence in themselves, but in God. Without God they forfeit their destiny and the destinies of those who follow them. David the ancient and great king of Israel, knew the secret. He loved God. He wanted god, so he sought Him…
There are numerous examples of this principle in action throughout history.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 29.
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“Seeking God and His will ensures His blessing over our enterprises. Seeking God is a principle that know no partiality for position; it applies to monarchs, pastors, and janitors alike. (See James 2:1-4) It works for anyone who chooses to be so engaged.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 30-31.
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“Asa built his leadership on the principle of seeking God because of a prophet’s words to him:
The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. (2 Chronicles 15:2)
The same holds true for us today. As long as we seek God, as long as we pray, our leadership will remain intact. As we supply righteous and courageous leadership, we will continue to enjoy victory, achieve our aims, and remain protected.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 32.
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“Leaders actually conceive realities within themselves before the events have happened.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 33.
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“Warren Bennis, as quoted in In Search of Excellence, calls the leader a “social architect.” When a leader is a God-person, a God-seeker, vision is planted deep inside. God often speaks in pictures to God-seekers, especially to leaders. Pictures are the visual language of the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s blueprints for what He wants to build.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 34.
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“The leader is a “can-do” person. He or she is a faith person. He or she is bold, confident, and almost reckless… Leaders, however, believe all things are possible. They laugh at impossibilities and hate negativity.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 34-35.
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“Vision is the gift of faith in action. We see this principle lived out in the realm of church leadership quite frequently. C. Peter Wagner concludes that among all the leaders of growing churches that were studied by what is now known as the Fuller Theological Seminary, there is at least one commonality- the gift of faith. He writes,
A study of the largest churches in America has led to the conviction that the faith of the pastors was one of the main contributing reasons for the church’s growth. The spiritual gift of faith was a common denominator found in the pastors of the largest churches.
George Barna also conducted extensive research on church life in the last decade. He states, “My work with churches has led me to the conclusion that the single most important element in having an effective and life-changing ministry is to capture God’s vision for your ministry.”” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 35.
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“No matter what the realm of leadership – the home, the workplace, the church, or the community – the vision is crucial. Leaders must funnel their faith into action so that life-changing results.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 35.
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“Leadership is clear vision. Without eyes, or without light to aid those eyes, we grope in the dark, unsure of our steps, cautious, afraid, and moving slowly. This is not a leader. A leader is bold and can see the future. “Seeing clearly” is imperative for the leader.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 35-36.
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“Faith is what God works through to effect the visions He has given us. He speaks to us, and then, with the faith we have, we believe what He says. Faith is the conception of what is possible before it is seen: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, for the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). By faith we believe in the impossible becoming possible.
This is what leadership is all about. Leaders see what no one else does. In Ephesians 3:20 NASB – “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think…” – the Greek word for “think” is noieo, which means “to exercise the mind or intellect in comprehending, heeding, considering, pondering, perceiving, thinking, understanding, observing, seeing, conceiving.” Leaders actually conceive a reality within themselves before the event happens. This is what a vision really is. It is not just a hope, a wish, or a desire. It is a knowledge that a certain thing is going to take place because of a number of factors:
• God has spoken a strategy that works.
• The strategy has been adopted.
• Realistic plans have been made.
• The team can see it happening.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 35-36.
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“When we meditate in the manner described in Scripture, we take our minds into the realm of conception and the place of perception of the purposes of God. Great leaders of the bible, such as Joshua and David, thought deeply and continuously about subjects that were invisible to them until they became realities perceived by their spirits. We read in Joshua 1:8 and throughout the Psalms that they meditated on the Word of God until it became a reality within them, not just a theology. They meditated upon visions of the future until they knew that what they were seeing was more than just imagination.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 36-37.
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“This same conceiving process is what God employs in church growth. We supernaturally see our churches growing; we sense the growth within our spirits. Growth is a reality we experience before we actually have it.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 37.
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“Good leaders hold positive, views of the future. We believe God fulfills our dreams, and our dreams are enlarged. Our desires exceed what we currently have and where we currently are.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 37.
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“We ask God to hear our prayers. As we read, meditate, study, and speak the incredible promises of God (2 Peter 1:4), our faith grows. God speaks to us at our level of faith (Acts 14:9-10), and we find ourselves believing what He has said (Romans 10:17). His truth becomes a reality within us until we can see it (Hebrews 11:1). Our organization is larger. It has grown. We speak it because it is real. We are not pretending. We know something that did not come to our consciousness by way of the natural senses.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 37.
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“Another faculty has released this knowledge: our spirit. It is God’s Word in our spirit. It creates a reality that registers in our spirit. We live by this spiritual knowledge and walk in its light.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 38.
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“We have faith because we live by the laws of the kingdom.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 38.
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“When we are generous in attitude and action, “seed faith” is produced. Once a seed is planted, we have faith it will resurface from the ground as a plant. The very act of giving is the same: Giving releases faith that you will receive in return, just as you planted.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 38-39.
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“As leaders, we place God first in our choices, first in our priorities, and He is the first we acknowledge in any plan or result. We seek His counsel as we make plans, seek His provision as we plan resources, and give thanks and glory to Him when the results come through.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 39.
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“In fact, we give the firstfruits of the results to God Himself. This places us in a premium position for blessing, and our spirits know it. Confidence rests on these actions.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 NASB)
We have a general attitude of confidence, and we are encouraged because we continually remind ourselves of God’s promises to us. We surround ourselves with people of faith. We do not connect with negative people who discourage our faith.”” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 39.
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“Confidence is the climate in which God moves. Wishing and hoping that an organization will grow won’t make it happen. Knowing it will grow and having that attitude is what makes it happen.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 39-40.
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“Goal setting is another integral part of achieving any dream. It is what takes a supernatural vision into the material realm where we can see it being accomplished.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005pg 40.
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“Goal setting is another integral part of achieving any dream. It is what takes a supernatural vision into the material realm where we can see it being accomplished.
C. Peter Wagner has stated,
For reasons I do not fully understand, some power is released through setting positive goals that otherwise remain dormant. But although I cannot explain it as well as I wish it could, it is a biblical principle that God seems to honor. Goal setting is the modern biblical equivalent to faith, without which it is impossible to please Him (Heb. 11:6). Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Things hoped for are, of course, future. Putting substance on the future is what happens in a faith projection (goal-setting) exercise. ” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 40.
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“Dr. David Yonngi Cho, who pastors the world’s largest church, says of his church’s remarkable growth. “The number one requirement for having a real church growth- unlimited church growth- is to set goals.”” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 40.
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“Remember, Those who have the gift of faith are growth-oriented, goal-oriented, optimistic, and confident. – C. Peter Wagner.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 42.
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“It’s bewildering to me that some organizations- even churches- hire consultants to provide them with their own vision statement.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 42.
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“Vision could be just as well described as “vibration.” The leader feels the vision as a vibration. He or she then imparts the feeling to others, who accept the vision and run with their leader to make it happen. The leader has seen something that ignites fire in their souls.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 43.
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“A vision is something worth living for, and it is something worth dying for. In fact, if it is not worth dying for, it is not worth living for. Brave, godly martyrs throughout history have proven time and again that what we as Christians live for is worth dying for.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 43.
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“Sure, a mission statement is a good thing, but it has limitations. A mission statement is a reflector, not a creator. A mission statement encapsulates the goals and purpose of a group, but it cannot communicate the energy behind the words. A piece of paper cannot impart the spirit of the vision; only a leader can do that.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 43-44.
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“The leader feels the pulse of a burning passion and communicates that heat at every opportunity. He or she lives the dream, breathes the vision, sleeps the mission, and eats the goals every day. The leader shares those goals all the time with everyone. It is a vibration the entire organization can feel.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 44.
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“When you have to set down the rules all the time, you know people have not caught the dream. People who have caught the vision instinctively know what is appropriate and what is required. They don’t care what it takes; they live to make the dream reality. At the risk of sounding unrealistically romantic, I have to say that unless the hearts of the team members beat with the pulse of the leader’s dream, it’s never going to fly.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 44.
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“If the leader is not inspired about what the organization is doing, nobody else will be. Leaders are always meditating on the end result, pacing their emotions pacing their emotions through the experience. They can see themselves there at the end result. The organization is growing, and new buildings are being built. The bank accounts are full and overflowing. If it’s a church, new churches are starting, the Bible schools are packed, and families are being restored. If it’s a business, satellite offices are going up like crazy, business is booming, and sales are like never before. The place is buzzing.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 44.
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“The leader is the bell ringer, the trumpet blower, the drum beater, the vibration maker, and the vision caster… A great leader imparts the burden, inspires commitment, and sets the pace for achievement of God’s purpose.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 45.
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“My wife, Chris, and I regularly visited a little café on the banks of the river Avon in Christchurch, New Zealand, in the mid ‘70s. We were pasturing a church in a suburb of Christchurch at the time, but we had a call to birth another church in Australia. We would sit in that café, sipping coffee and drawing on the table napkins what the church in Sydney would look like. The dream needed to be on paper. When we finally opened our church building in Sydney, twenty years had passed from those days in the café. Our new building looked almost identical to the one we had sketched on the napkin all those years ago. I tell people to start dreaming early because dreams take to come true.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 45.
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“This contrasts the curse that often accompanies multi-talented individuals. The untapped potential in many of these people is prodigious. We all know the unemployed person with more degrees than a thermometer or the singer/songwriter/musician who is still without direction at midlife.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 48.
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“There will always be one main calling on each of our lives. God equips us with gifts for that calling, so we should focus on that one thing. It is necessary to sacrifice everything else to fulfill that call, to focus all our resources on that one goal.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 48-49.
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“The leader becomes a winner, privately and publicly, through the principles of the kingdom and not those of this world.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 51.
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[Continued] “People have a strong tendency to react negatively to dreamers. People with purpose contrast the bleak visionless state of many who spend their lives as onlookers. For instance, the jealous sons of Jacob plotted against their younger brother Joseph because of his grand sense of destiny: “They they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit!’” (Genesis 37:19-20).” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 51.
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[Continued] “The leader learns to handle the worst of circumstances that result from the very dream God has planted inside. The leader becomes a winner, privately and publicly, through the principles of the kingdom and not those of this world.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 51
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[Continued] Conquering Inner Space
A leader is essentially defined by the fact that others are following. If no one is following you, it’s doubtful you’re a leader. Take a look behind. If you are clearing a path, showing people the way, and they’re following, then you’re a leader.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 52
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“We cannot take people where we ourselves have not been. We won’t know the way or how to get there.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 52
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[Continued] “The leader faces the same trials as everyone else faces, but if the leader fails to master these, he or she holds little chance of ever becoming the person who can lead others into victorious, successful lives. Leaders are out in front,, showing the way, taking people to places they have been themselves. Leaders have both cleared the way and walked the path.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 52
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[Continued] “The leader understands what it takes to win and how to win. Firs, he or she overcomes the private wars raging inside and triumphs over internal struggles. The leader knows that this leads to winning on the outside.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 52
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[Continued] “A study of three hundred highly successful people – people like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Albert Schweitzer, Mahatma Gandhi, and Albert Einstein – reveals that one-quarter of them had serious handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs. Three-quarters had been born in poverty, had come from broken homes, or at least had been raised in excessively tense or disturbed situations. Yet each found what it took to win against the odds, to be an overcomer.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 52-3
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[Continued] “Raise the overcomer in abject poverty, and you have Abraham Lincoln.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 52-3
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“More than just talking about victory or success, people who have beaten some adversary have victory in their spirits and impart that very feeling of victory, that same spiritual life, to those they lead.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 54
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[Continued] “Check out David. He defeated the giant Goliath. Those who were close to him, those he disciplined, became giant slayers, too. (See 1 Chronicles 20:4-7; 2Samuel 21:16-17.) The nature of a giant slayer got inside of them. They received an impartation by just being around David. His victory became theirs.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 54
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[Continued] “Think about the implications of this for our own lives. As followers of Jesus, we have the opportunity to be the greatest Victor all the time. Christ slew more then just a giant. He conquered death! We become “more then conquerors” (Romans 8:37) by just being with Him. In turn, we can pass on that conquering spirit to those around us.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 54
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“If we are surprised when there is pressure on our lives, then we are badly prepared for the Christian life. If we have swallowed a gospel promising Disneyland Christianity, we’ll be severely disappointed.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 55.
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“We’re in danger of becoming neurotic or paranoid if we imagine God is controlling every tiny detail of our lives. It is neither biblical nor sensible to live with this perspective!” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 58.
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“Instead of complaining about the weather, we can take advantage of it. Instead of speaking about the storm, we speak to it. We take dominion in our world.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 58.
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“Now God has not changed, and neither has He subscribed to this sort of thinking. If we offend God, we will suffer until we get it right, Pain gets our attention more than anything else. Once we’ve dealt with the issue, His mercy flows in abundance, but mercy will have no meaning if we fail to see that God holds high and holy standards for our lives.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 61.
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“Please understand that the purpose of chastening is to bring us closer to the Lord, not to distance us from Him. In fact, even though this may be hard to hear, chastening is actually a signal of His love for us.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 61.
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“Satan’s first device in temptation was-and still is-to question the Word of God: “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). The Word is the final ground for truth. Compromised and diluted, it provides no platform for defense.
Eve’s mistake was in answering the Devil. We are told to renounce, rebuke, and resist the Devil, not to discuss the matter with him. (See Corinthians 4:2, Jude 1:9; James 4:7.) The most we are ever to do is speak the Word as a sword into the face of the Evil One, but we are not to converse with him, even about Scripture. He is the arch debater, and his talent is deception.
Trust is easily mocked by reason.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 70-71.
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“Satan then blasphemed the character of God: “God is holding out on you. He hasn’t told you the real reason you shouldn’t eat of the tree. ‘For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,” (v. 5.)
Suddenly Eve had a new view of the tree, a view she hadn’t considered before. Focusing on the tree from a new angle.
[More information available if requested.]
“Finally the Lord said to me, “Do not fret because of evildoers” (Proverbs 24:19). My reply was, “But, Lord, they’re Christians!” He said, “They’re doing evil, aren’t they?” I had to agree. “So, they are evildoers,” He said. This amazed me. I also felt the Lord was showing me they were being motivated not only by their own attitudes, but also by demon forces, so I went to prayer and bound the Devil from over them. Almost immediately, their attitudes changed.
The “spirit of antichrist” (1John 4:3) doesn’t manifest just to oppose Jesus. That would be too obvious. The Devil is a subtle schemer. The way this spirit opposes Christ is to oppose all Christians who are in leadership. We must realize the spirit of antichrist opposes all of the manifestations of Jesus on the earth. The accusations and criticisms leveled by this spirit sound reasonable and plausible. However, the leader’s task is to ensure that this accusing spirit fails in its endeavor to undermine God-ordained movements.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 89.
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[Continued] “The destiny of anything ordained by God is inevitable and awesome victory, and we are called to be part of that victory, no matter what criticisms may come.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 89.
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“We need faith for what we cannot see; we need faith for what we cannot do. Doubt is part of the process of faith. When we encounter doubt, we have reached the boundaries of our faith. We lay hold of the promises of God, and faith grows.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 89.
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“Abraham lived in a day of no Bible, no Old or New Testament.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 93.
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[Continued] “There were no preachers, no church meetings, no Bible studies, no worship albums, no tape-of-the-month clubs, and no conferences to build his faith-just the revelation of the Lord coming to him in the stillness of the cool desert nights, the quiet knowing within his spirit. The voice of the Lord cut through all his emotions. He obeyed.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 93.
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“Our Weapons of Warfare
We don’t have many weapons for spiritual warfare because those weapons that we do have are extremely effective: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4)
The first great weapon we have is our own will. This is enormously important in the battle against evil forces. If our will is not against the devil, we will never gain victory.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 97.
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[Continued] “God has given each of us a will that is sovereign in our personal world. Heaven respects our choices, and God does not force us to do anything. That is why there is a Judgment Day. If we had no choices how could there be a Judgment Day? If we had no choices, what would God be judging us for?
The truth is that we always have a choice. We would like to be rid of the Devil and all the negatives, but we’re resistant to changing our heart attitudes and exercising our wills. The Devil leaves us when we have determined he has to leave, when we are resolute that we can no longer have any place in our world, when we have determinedly set our wills against him.
Therefore submit to God. resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
There’s little point in yelling yourself hoarse against the Devil if you really don’t want to lose the fruit of his presence. If you have not resolved to get riid of the Devil, it is unlikely that he’ll go.
As James 4:7 says, we must first surrender to God and then resist the Devil. This is the key to success in overcoming. Satan gains access through our rebellion against God. If we are disobedient to known revelation from the Father, we are vulnerable to the schemes of the Devil. When we choose to obey God, however, we dioscover thhe power that drives out demons easily.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 98.
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“As we saw saw earlier, Jesus didn’t fight the Devil without the Word of God. He didn’t resort to words not already used in scripture.
Even now in heaven, Jesus fights with it. In Revelation 1:16, He moves among the seven churches with the sword coming from His mouth. In the nineteenth chapter of Revelation, we read that Jesus will return to the earth, coming as the “Word of Godd” (v. 13), with the sword in His mouth (v. 15) to bring judgment on the nations. “And the armies of heaven… followed Him” (v. 14). All thhe armies of heaven backed up the Word of God. Why do we imagine we could be successful any other way? Pick up your sword! It has been lying on the ground too long. Speak the Word of God!” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 99.
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[Continued] “The power of the Word is discovered in two realms.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 99.
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[Continued] “The general promises of Scripture are powerful, but there are also the personal words that God gives us over the years, Bible passages that He quickens or makes alive in our spirits passages that pertain especially to us.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 99.
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[Continued] “These rhema words, or utterings from God, are like manna in the pot that never decays (Exodus 16:33). These rhema words are always effective for building our faith and defeating the Devil. This is the “two-edged sword” of Hebrews 4:12.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 99.
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[Continued] “The most effective weapon we have against Satan is the Word of God, We have a vast power in the Word. It lies untapped, though, until we pick it up. We need to continue to speak this Word of God against the Devil until we overcome.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 100.
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“We need to be careful, however, in how we treat the name of Jesus. It is not some magical formula we can use to get whatever we want. It is for spiritual warfare, and it is a name to be honored.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 100.
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[Continued] “Demons throughout the celestial spiritual regions are fully aware of the person of Jesus.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 100.
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[Continued] “They realize that He has thoroughly defeated and humiliated their leader, that Jesus has crushed Satan in the dust of hell.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 100.
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“Any leader setting out to accomplish something great will encounter opposition.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 101.
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[Continued] “Irrational catastrophes, evil thoughts, black emotions, terrible tragedies, and horrific conflicts are part of the war with the powers of darkness. We cannot afford to ignore this fact; otherwise, we will never properly deal with the Devil. Recognize his work, rise up against the insidious schemer, exercise your will, and engage the Word of God in bold declaration of the name of Jesus. Be dangerous! The Devil will flee.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 101.
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[Continued] “In 1989 I wrote a song called “Binding the Strongman.” The song was birthed out of a powerful spiritual experience.
Our Christian City Church International Conference was being held at Collaroy Conference Center on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. A great servant of New Zealand, Peter Morrow, was speaking on the power of the Word of God at one of the sessions. As he spoke, I became aware of a demon crouching in front of me.
I am not given to seeing demons. This had never happened to me before and has never happened since in all my years of following Christ. But unmistakably there in front of me was a devil. It was in a “ready to pounce” stance, looking muscular and powerful, like a strong man. It appeared completely devoted to me. Like a sheepdog, it was watching my every motion, and it moved to block whatever forward action I tried to take. It did not take its eyes off me.
Under my breath, I told it to get out, but nothing happened. I kept doing this without any effect. I was sitting in the front row, listening to Peter’s message, which happened, at that moment, to be about the power of the spoken Word. I realized there was a connection: I needed to speak the Word of God in this battle.
I asked myself what Scripture I should speak. The Lord quickened Romans 8:28 to my spirit: “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” I thought, “That doesn’t really sound like a great warfare Scripture.” It sounded too pious for a fight with the Devil, but I started to repeat this verse anyway.
The first time, the demon simply sneezed, wiped it’s nose, and stared right back at me, resuming it’s sentry stance. I tried again, still with the same results. I got more determined. I kept speaking the Scripture–as aggressively as I could in the meeting–under my breath into the teeth of this demon. After twenty minutes or so, it seemed nothing much had changed. The only thing I was more aware of was that this was a demon devoted to hindering our progress as a church. Its focus was completely on me, and it was a strong man.
For about seven years, we had attempted to get a large black of land rezoned. In the long battle with the local government and residents, we had been defeated in our applications three times. National television shows had depicted us as a big wealthy Pentecostal group developing an international headquarters and theme park similar to that of Jim Bakker in the U.S. The local paper had run negative stories on us, and there were many other kinds of opposition.
Morale in the church was pretty low at times during this season as well. Even though we have an unlisted home phone numbers, we had received several calls in the middle of the night from satanists telling us they were making sacrifices against us ever putting up our building. We would hear screaming and gurgling sounds over the phone. We realized we were in major warfare over that building. As I became aware that this demon was the strongman obstructing our progress, I became more determined to bind it.
Peter finished the meeting, and I closed the meeting. As soon as I could, I went to my room and continued praying. I immediately saw the demon again, but it was smaller, further away, and weaker. Its hands were hanging at its side. I prayed a little longer but didn’t actually feel the need to. The job was done. As I went back to prayer later in the day, again I saw the demon. This time it was completely bound with chains wrapped all around it. It couldn’t move in any way, even though it desperately struggled to. The Lord spoke to me right then. He said, “The Devil is bound. You have a clear run to the end.”
Within a few weeks, the attitude of our local government and surrounding residents completely changed toward us. After some more lobbying with lawyers and design changes with the architects, we resubmitted the plans. They went through, completely unopposed by anybody. Amazing! We have since submitted two further plans for more buildings to complete the project, and all are going through without a hitch.
The state government has also installed–and paid for–the traffic lights required of us at the intersection adjacent to our property. That amounts to around $250,000. This is unheard of by developers in the area! Muslim contractors laying the tiles carried out their work at cost, donating $65,000 to the project. All together, the entire project has cost around $11 million and is already almost all paid for. God’s Word is alive and well–and it works!
As the auditorium neared completion, I noticed the seating started about six feet from the stage. This concerned me. A lot of what we do in our church needs a larger than normal altar area. The Lord spoke to me, asking a question: “What are you building here?”
“A church building,” I replied.
“No you’re not. You’re meant to be building an altar.”
This awakened an entirely new perspective any many things to do with the buildings and land for churches. I realized God had given us this small piece of the planet, and we were now erecting a great altar for Him. Here, people by the thousands would be offering their lives to God, getting saved, worshipping, praying, giving finances, preparing for service in our ministry training schools, and serving God in a thousand other ways. I relate this story because it then became obvious to me why the Devil had so vehemently opposed the entire exercise.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 101-105.
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[Continued] “As we bind the strongman, we plunder his goods. Altars and sacrifices to God are powerful in transforming spiritual complexions and cultures in a city. The fire of God falls on sacrifices placed upon altars throughout Scripture.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 105.
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“Our battle is not with what we can see. Although we argue, fight, and struggle with our physical world, we are not just wrestling with this realm. Recognizing the Devil at work is the first step in defeating him.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 106.
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“In the matter of spiritual warfare, people have specific realms of responsibility. In a sense, we [leaders] have specific authority over specific territories. Moses held his rod to the sky, atop a mountain overlooking the battle below between Israel and the Amalekites. He grew tired. His helpers, Aaron and Hur, supported his arms–but they didn’t offer to hold the rod. For them, it was never a matter of taking turns since God had appointed Moses–not them–as the one with responsibility for the young Israelite nation. It was Moses’ anointed role, and he alone had the authority. Aaron and Hur simply supported him in exercising that authority.
As Moses held the rod high, Joshua led the army to victory. When Moses wearied and the rod dropped, the tide turned against the army below. Who would have thought that holding a rod in the air would make any difference? The truth is that the rod in anyone else’s hand actually wouldn’t have made a difference–but in Moses’ hand, it released the power of God.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 106-107.
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[Continued] “God anointed the man, and the man had a method–to use what was “in [his] hand… a rod” (Exodus 4:2). We must not be deluded into thinking God has anointed techniques. Authority is given to people, not methods; God anoints people, not techniques. Only in the hands of an anointed person will a technique become successful and fruitful.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 107.
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[Continued] “The kingdom leader knows how to beat the Devil. We must always remember that Satan can be beaten. Jesus has already done it, and now we share His victory.: “For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands” (Psalm 92:4). – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 107.
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“Paul told us that faith, hope, and love are the best attitudes we can nurture within ourselves: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love” (1 Corinthians 13:3 NIV). Certainly these are very powerful characteristics. Let me give you five others as well…
A POSITIVE ATTITUDE…
A WILLING ATTITUDE…
A THANKFUL ATTITUDE…
A JOYFUL ATTITUDE…
A MOTIVATED ATTITUDE…” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 109-114.
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“I remember a story Kenneth Hagin told of when he was called away from pasturing a church to become a traveling evangelist. He said that he had no money, and as he drove along, his tires were so bald that they were all singing. Because he obeyed God and launched out as an itinerant minister, he complained to the Lord that the promise of his eating “the good of the land” if he was “willing and obedient” (Isaiah 1:19) simply was not working. The Lord replied, “You’re obedient, but you’re not willing.” Hagin said he got willing to seconds flat!” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 110.
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“I love the “can-do” crowd. Success comes in a can- not a cannot! Working with willing people is a dream. No problem is so big that can’t be solved. No dream is impossible. Achievement often doesn’t have a lot to do with faith, education, or talent, but everything to do with the simple attitude of willingness.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 110.
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“The Bible tells us that the last days will be marked by unthankfulness (2 Timothy 3:2). Thankfulness anchors us so that we see everything from a positive, meaningful viewpoint. Thankful hearts please God and draw us close to Him.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 111.
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“Although I’ve said this before, it bears repeating: Proverbs 16:32 indicates that people who have their spirits (attitudes) under control have the capacity to “take a city.” This is because they have conquered the “city” within. We only accomplish outside what we’ve accomplished inside.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 111.
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[Continued] “Leaders have learned to rule their attitudes. They are not waiting to see how they feel. They know how they to want to feel and choose to “feel” that way. They do not live at the mercy of their emotions or moods. Their moods are the product of their choices, and they obey the command to “rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16)” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 111.
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“The New Testament has an abundance of commands relating directly to our attitudes. We choose to love, to be patient, to have faith, to be generous, and to forgive, even when our emotions want to do otherwise. We choose to lead ourselves. Thus, we become leaders–people who can take a city.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 111-112.
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“Even St. Francis of Assisi, the mystic invariably portrayed as a dour-faced devotee, saw the value of mirth: “When we who are servants of Christ stand in the center of the Devil’s cloud of doubt and accusation and, instead of breathing this choking dust, refresh ourselves in the water of God’s joy until it overflows even in holy laughter–then not a single demon can harm us in any way.”” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 114.
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“Motivation is an attitude–it’s a spirit of continual enthusiasm. Motivation is an attitude of going for it. “Let’s make things happen!” is how leaders think. Leaders don’t wait to see what will happen; they makes things happen.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 114-115.
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“Motivation comes at the beginning of an idea. A great idea is a powerful motivator. However, the initial idea is only the beginning of the journey. It’s only about ten percent of the entire process of bringing a dream to pass. Distractions, laziness, and discouragement are three serious enemies to continual motivation.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 115.
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[Continued] “Maintaining motivation is a daily commitment. We must understand what gets us going. What starts me? What keeps me going? What will keep the team energized? There are positive motivators and negative motivators. Both can be effective in keeping us moving. It takes time and energy–generally much more than we anticipated–to go the full course and fulfill the dream. Visions always take longer than we want. Different things motivate us at different times during the journey.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 115.
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[Continued] “The most powerful motivator of all is commitment. The will is amazingly strong. Once we’ve decided to do a thing, we release a power within that drives us on. Trying to accomplish something without really making the decision we’re going to do it blocks energy, creativity, and resources that combine to bring the dream to pass. Instead, we need to stick with our decision until we reach the goal.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 115-116.
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[Continued] “In order to keep ourselves in the “can-do” and “do-it-now” attitude, we have to continually fill our motivation tank with all the motivators we can lay our hands on. Surrounding ourselves with positive people who believe in what we’re doing and who encourage us fills the motivation tank.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 116.
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[Continued] “Listening to great communicators moves us. We have such an incredible opportunity these days with the books and tapes available to us. We can sit down with the greatest achievers and the greatest minds of history. We can have them speak to us in areas where they are experts, in a private one-on-one meeting. Through this material we motivate ourselves to achieve at ever higher levels.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 116.
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[Continued] “Music is a powerful motivator. I regularly listen to great music, especially praise and worship to God. This always lifts my spirit. Even if I am not in the mood, I get myself into a God-focused state by letting the power of great praise and worship do its work on my soul.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 116.
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[Continued] “I learn about the achievements of others in my own age bracket and those of a similar standing. This always gets me moving. When I see what others are doing, it stirs the possibilities within me. The mere feeling completion motivates me to higher levels.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 116.
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[Continued] “I personally have no problem with this, although some may. I believe in friendly competition with a great attitude and in playing by the rules. Certainly Paul employed this principle when he told the Jewish people all that God was doing among the Gentiles, hoping to motivate them with envy. (See Romans 11:14.)” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 116-117.
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“Being “tossed and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14) or blindly accepting every new idea that comes along reveals immaturity and a lack of discernment, especially for leaders. We can take hold of the new emphasis that God wants to impress on the church or on a community, but that doesn’t mean we abandon the basics. We stay with the big picture.
On the other hand, we shouldn’t go to the opposite extreme and become reactionaries, either. When a particular teaching comes forth, it is just as foolish to denounce it simply because it differs from what we have been accustomed to. When Kenneth Copeland began preaching on prosperity, it seemed out of balance to many. Maybe it was, but few prophetic messages come forth as balanced thoughts. God often has to push the pendulum to the opposite side to get us back in balance. However, for whatever reasons, a lot of preachers took up arms against Copeland and began preaching against his message.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, pg 140.
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“I have a simple philosophy of “rolling with the punches.” This takes the heat out of a lot of the punches we take. I simply rolled with what a lot of others thought was a threat to the local church. In fact we had Brother Copeland come twice and preach in our church. We’ve only been blessed by the message. If there are any extremes, we as leaders are able to address them and graciously bring whatever balance we feel is needed. However, we need to be careful that we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 141.
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“Or, as Socrates said, “The first key to greatness is to be in reality what we appear to be.”” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 142.
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“Karl Marx, the father of the Communist movement. The history of the twentieth century, and perhaps beyond, was significantly affected because one father let his values become distorted.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 144.
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“Image promises much but produces litte. Integrity, however, never disappoints. For me, integrity means living it myself before leading others to live it.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 144.
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“Effective leadership is not based on being clever.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 144.
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“TRUSTWORTHINESS
A wise leader must be trustworthy:
At the end of the day, integrity is the big one. If people trust you, then you can get where you want to. But if people don’t trust you, you have no chance.
– Don Argus, managing director, National Australian Bank” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 145.
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“We don’t have to shout out our integrity if we’re under attack. Truth always surfaces and is always vindicated.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 145.
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“Integrity is a victory, not a gift.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 142.
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“To earn trust, a leader has to be authentic.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 146.
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“Wise leaders are also individuals of upstanding character, for they realize that character is one of their greatest assets.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 146.
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“In biblical terms, integrity is the “fear of God.” This is important to note because, in many minds, integrity has simply become another route to success: “If I want to be successful, I’d better be true blue in my dealings with others.” Whether it means we’ll be successful or not, we must bind integrity to our whole way of life. In fact there will be times when honesty will seem to jeopardize success. Being committed to Christ means being committed to values no matter what the outcome.
The final estimate of men shows that history cares not an iota for the rank or title a man has borne, or the office he has held, but only the quality of his deeds and the character of his mind and heart.
– Samuel Brengel,
Salvation Army evangelist
Inn other words, let the chips fall where they may, but we cannot afford to compromise truth in the inward parts as we attempt to gain success. We are called to hold to integrity in private, regardless of whether the end result is high success or deep failure. Our calling is to do the right because we fear God. This awe of God, this love for Him, this jealousy for the honor of His name, and this high respect for His character will cause us to do the right thing for no other motive than our wish to please the Father and remain true to our commitment to Him.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 147.
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“Great leaders are truly great because they have private righteousness that’s consistent to their public lives.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 149.
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“As this verse reminds us [Psalm 15:1-5], the person who lives a life of integrity is able to dwell in the presence of the Lord, ascend the holy hill of God, and “never be moved.” The person without interior boundaries, however, will eventually be doomed. It is impossible not to be found out, for sin always surfaces.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 149.
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“RESPONSIBILITY
Wise leaders must be responsible leaders.
I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.
– John D. Rockefeller Jr.,
American industrialist and philanthropist” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 151.
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“As Philip Baker wrote in his book, Secrets of Super Achievers, “Those who excel in life usually have a strong faith in God, commitment to family, and a sense of values that causes them to live by conviction rather than preference.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 151.
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“Chuck Colson was the famous “hatchet man” in the Watergate affair involving President Nixon in Washington, D.C., in the 1970s. After being involved in a number of nefarious exercises, certainly immoral for a leader, he served a prison sentence for his crimes. Chuck became a Christian during that time and has since learned what it is to be a privately “true” person. At a recent prayer breakfast I attended, he stated…” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 152.
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“Specifically, courage in a leader is the nerve that inspires followers to give the extraordinary. Some outstanding examples include David laughing and running toward the towering Goliath, fearless with an unswerving confidence in the Almighty; Churchill on the rooftops of government buildings during the Nazi bombings of London; El Cid, the legendary Spanish warrior of the eleventh century, leading the charge against the Mongols and inspiring his army on to victory, although it was only his dead corpse propped up in the saddle. Even perceived courage has the ability to inspire.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 153.
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[Continued] “Courage is that quality in a person that is reckless of life, defying of death, and uncaring of reputation, comfort, and privelege. It leads a man or woman to take action for what is right, no matter what the cost. People rally to this blood, sweat, and tears kind of leadership because it touches the spiritual and the noble call of life deep within our souls.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 153.
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“Bravery is the quality that takes risks that have been shaped in God. The safe route has never yielded great victories.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 153.
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[Continued] “Stepping out of the boat is what Jesus calls us to do.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 153.
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“One of history’s most courageous leaders, Winston Churchill, had some amazing insights…” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 154.
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“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities… because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 154.
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“Courage grows and is contagious. David’s confidence was so secure that he convinced Saul, the king of Israel and the tallest man in the nation, that he could kill the giant Goliath. This was a feat in itself… It was courage alone that clothed him.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 154.
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“We may feel as if the problems we face are larger than what we deserve, given our current level of responsibility, yet we are in a training program, readying for the days ahead when we will meet our Goliaths.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 155.
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“Abraham was definitely one of the greatest figures of leadership in the history of the world, even though his influence began late in life.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 155.
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“Influence comes when we step out with a vision of the invisible.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 156.
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“It is standing for something that is right even though it is unpopular. Great leaders are not fearful of the opinions of others. They live in the wisdom that fears God more.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 156.
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“If leaders are strong, then their teams will be strong as well. And if the team is strong, then the people they lead will be strong.
“Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,” says the LORD; “and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,” says the LORD, “and work; for I am with you,” says the LORD of hosts.
(Haggai 2:4)
Strength is a powerful factor in the growth of an organization. The level of strength in leadership determines the maximum limit of the organization, be it a church, a small business, a ministry, or a corporation.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 159.
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“It takes strong people to handle the varied stresses. Once leaders have reached their limits, unless they grow personally, their organizations will cease to grow and will remain in a more manageable state for the leader.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 159.
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“The purpose of God demands that we remain strong–physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. A commonly accepted observation called the Peter Principle is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition as the theory that an employee within an organization will advance to his or her level of incompetence and then remain there–hence, the need to grow beyond our limitations. Every leader needs to rise to higher levels to fulfill his or her calling.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 160.
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“Strength comes from God Himself.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 160.
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“When we compromise our devotion to the Lord through the seduction of the world, we dilute our strength, following Samson’s sorry example..” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 161.
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“If our spiritual lives are not equal to the amount of work and responsibility we have, sooner or later our attitudes will be sour, and we will be overcome. When the conditioning influence of prayer and the Word is not happening, the power to forgive those who offend is absent, and so people will be scattered. The power to resist temptation and compromise is weakened. The ability to believe and stay in faith under pressure is disarmed. Our fight against Satan is diluted. Our perspective is distorted as we view things naturally instead of from heavenly perspective. All these factors limit growth as the ceiling is reached again.
This is why, when it comes to church leadership, revival is so essential to the life of the church and the pastor. I make sure we have a series of revival meetings at least twice a year in our church so that our people and our leaders, including myself, are all revived with fresh, supernatural encounters with God. We cannot afford to let the fire go out. Everything we do for God in the church depends on the level of fire burning within us for God and His purpose. This needs regular refueling in all of us.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 161-162.
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[Continued] “There are a lot of things called revival today, but it seems that few ever actually achieve that purpose. Revival is not revival if people don’t recover or increase their prayer life, their consecration to God, their service to the Lord, or if they don’t reach out to the unchurched. If meetings stir up a lot of emotion and phenomena but people are basically the same afterward, then these meetings cannot be called revivals. They might be called “healing services” or “evangelism crusades”. However, real revival stirs the flames of believers to fresh devotion to Christ.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 162.
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“The strength of the leader governs his or her level of achievement.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 162.
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“In the realm of church of leadership, many ministers relate to “Monday-itis” when low feelings seem to discolor all the positives of the Sunday just past. This is simply an emotional low. The tank needs to be refilled. This is easily accomplished by simply spending time in quiet and letting ourselves revive. When we’re emotionally drained, depression and anger come easily.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 164-165.
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“Mental strength is extremely important. We must be able to put troublesome people out of our minds. They should not be able to distract our focus. This relates to casting our cares on the Lord (1 Peter 5:7).” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 165.
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“The mistake we sometimes make is to position someone with exceptional talent in an area of oversight, thinking that he or she will be able to lead people. This is not the case, especially with artistic people.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 168.
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“Today’s great leaders have great people skills. They excel in relating to other people, whether the relationship is minor and brief or deep and lifelong.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 171.
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[Continued] “Without a doubt, I have no hesitation in saying that the highest proportion of our success in accomplishing God’s purpose depends on the success of our relationships. Great leaders understand that their authority is not based on their titles, their positions, or their seniority, but on their relationships with the people they lead. Followers must feel they are people, not just numbers, statistics, resources, or the means to achieving the goals of the organization.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 171.
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“The secret of great pastors is that they love their people. The secret of great employers, military commanders, or leaders of any kind is love for those they are leading or influencing.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 172.
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“Consistently at the top of needs charts is not, as many might expect, success, youth, good looks, or any of those enviable assets. The clear winner is relationships, close ones, followed by happy marriages.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 172.
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“The Bible contains many key principles that help us relate successfully to others. Here are a few: MAKE EVERYONE YOUR TEACHER… BECOME HUMBLE… LISTEN AND LET OTHERS DO THE TALKING… COMMUNICATE WITH RESPECT… SHOW INTEREST IN PEOPLE… REMEMBER NAMES…INTRODUCE PEOPLE TO OTHERS… MAKE EVERYONE YOU MEET FEEL SIGNIFICANT… VALUE PEOPLE… BE EXTRAVAGANT IN YOUR PRAISE… RESPECT EVERYONE… DON’T SLANDER OR SPREAD GOSSIP… SMILE… PRESENT YOURSELF WELL… BE PATIENT… REPAIR BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS… – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 174-196.
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“Another time, Dr. Robert Schuller was preaching in our church. Out in the back room before the service, he asked me what I thought about particular things that were happening in the church around the world. I was still only a young pastor at the time, yet this world-renowned figure was asking for my opinion.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 175.
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“When He was about to die, He washed His disciples feet. He was able to do these humbling things because He knew where He had come from, where He was going, and that all things were placed in His hands (John 13:3). From that position of security, he could humble Himself without fear.
When we provide a secure environment of acceptance, people can become unassuming more easily than if we are attempting to put them in their place. This involves valuing others more highly than we do ourselves.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 176.
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“It is said if an organization listens to the complaint of a customer and the problem is fixed, the customer remains a loyal customer and tells approximately seven others about the experience. Conversely, if a person is ignored and the problem not fixed, that customer will not deal with that organization anymore and will tell approximately twenty other people about the negative experience.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 179.
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“We can be artists with people’s lives. We find the value in what they do, whether they are wealthy, aged investors or poor, young apprentices.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 182.
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“When I was just a young youth leader in a church, a pastor by the name of Peter Garret asked me to preach at his church family camp. This was a great honor because I was just a youth leader. Here I was teaching the adults, grown-ups! It was a wonderful privelege. At the end of the camp, he handed me an honorarium of about $600. This was in 1972.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 185.
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“BE EXTRAVAGANT IN YOUR PRAISE
If we tell a person that he or she is “somewhat interesting” or “doing all right,” it is more like a slap in the face than a compliment. The very nature of praise is that it ignores faults and amplifies good points. Praise often needs to be overstated in order for it to cut through all the negatives and reach the person’s heart.
Whenever you have the opportunity to speak in a public setting, no matter how small, mention other people by name, and call attention to their achievements.
Praise a mother’s children. Tell her positive things about her children, such as that they are well dressed, well behaved, and looking healthy. A mother’s life is invested in her children. If they are failing, she feels it reflects on her.
There is always something positive about every child. Find it. You may have to think hard, dig deep, and search.
However, a rebellious kid can be “independent,” a noisy kid can be “spirited.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 186-187.
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“Geoff Fenholt, who played the part of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway, sang in our church one Sunday.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 187.
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“Abraham Lincoln was clearly one of the greatest leaders in history, galvanizing the United States to come together when the nation was under enormous threat of division.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 188.
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“If followers learn that their leader is firm, resolute, and committed in the daily performances of his duties, respect can be gained and trust will soon follow.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 191.
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“Leaders who allow their agenda to be set by those to do so (their critics) have allowed the purpose God has for them to be hijacked toward oblivion” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 191.
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“Great leaders are uplifting. We laugh with people and greet them with genuine smiles. There’s something inspirational about memorable about meeting true leaders. Others should feel better spending time with us.
There’s no limit to when we should smile:
• We smile when we meet people.
• We smile when we answer the phone.
• We smile when we stand on stage.
• We smile when we write a letter.
• We smile at mistakes.
We must rid ourselves of the frown. A frown is the reflection of a condemning attitude, and it attracts no one at all, except the devil.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 192.
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“An ancient Chinese proverb says, “Man without smiling face must not open shop.”” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 193.
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“Dress in a way that shows respect for the people you are meeting. Dress well foor your spouse, for your work, for whatever the occasion. If in doubt, dress one level up, not down.
People opposed to this thinking sometimes say that God doesn’t judge us by our clothes but rather by the heart. While this is true, He is the only one who does! What else do we have to measure people by when we first meet them except their appearance and the way they present themselves? We don’t make all our judgments on this, but there is no doubt that the way we present ourselves conveys our approach to life.
If I’m feeling good about myself and I have a decent amount of self-respect, it is evident in the way I present myself, My sense of self-respect is readily apparent when I meet you, look you in the eye, and we both feel good with a firm handshake, It only takes six seconds to form the first impression, and then we’ve both got opinions about each other. We don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. We treat each other like children of the Most High God because that’s what we know we are on the inside.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 195.
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“The heart of the problem is a problem of the heart. Deep inside, my heart must enjoy being me. I take me with me everywhere I go. This is obviously unavoidable. If I catch a plane to Greece, go to a party, become a millionaire, try to be someone else somewhere else, I only find that I am there, too. I will be coming along with me everywhere I go. I have got to start enjoying being this person God has made, and it shows in the way I walk and the way I talk and the way I present myself in this world.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 195.
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“We cover for others: “Love covers over all wrongs” (Proverbs 10:12 NIV). We don’t remind them of sins or mistakes.“ – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 195.
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“In 1981, after assuming the reigns of the mammoth company General Electric, Jack Welch took the company from assets valued at $20 billion to $272 billion in just twenty years.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 196.
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“If we fail to forgive others, we live blocked off from the forgiveness of God and become open to torment (Matthew 18:34-35).” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 198.
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“The successful leader is always a great speaker. Those with difficulty in speaking have become better communicators if they are to lead effectively. Leadership relies heavily on the ability to articulate the vision. Thee vision must be communicated so that those who hear it are motivated to action, loyalty, [sic] and sacrifice.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 203.
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“A leader always has one major message, and this weaves into everything he or she does. It remains the primary focus. A leader is to some degree a prophet, a person with a message. Great leader [sic] see things that others don’t. They preach it until others can see it as well. Their message supports the mission. A leader is a preacher, a person who communicates the fire of the mission. Not all preachers are leaders, but all great leaders will be preachers of one sort or another.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 204.
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“Even if you’re not a pastor or minister, you must be a preacher in the sense that you proclaim you message boldly. Here are a few tips for being a successful communicator/preacher.
1. DEVELOP A CAPTIVATING SPEAKING STYLE…
2. STOP SHOUTING!…
3. FIT THE MESSAGE TO THE AUDIENCE…
4. STAY FOCUSED ON THE MESSAGE…
5. IMPART PASSION…” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 204-6.
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“We order our thoughts according to the mental architecture of our listeners. As a pastor, virtually every time I’m preparing a message , I try to think through the mind-set of different people who will be listening.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 205.
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[Continued] “We don’t mob our listeners with every thought that crosses our minds. A quick mind has ample opportunity to travel down any number of side streets emerging from the deep morass of gray matter. We remain disciplined in thought and undistracted from our target. We phrase each sentence so that it is like an arrow from the bow of a great archer.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 205.
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“We impart the feeling of what we’re communicating. Information is not enough.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 206.
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[Continued] “There must be passion and pathos in a leader. Leadership is not just about facts and data-it’s about a dream born in the heart, about the communication of fire.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 206.
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[Continued] “However, we don’t rely on emotional expressions to describe what we are saying. We think in terms and speak with words that leave the listener with emotion. As a pastor, for instance, I don’t put my vocabulary on the shelf and attempt to express myself with, “God is so-o-o-o amazing.” Instead, I describe why He is amazing with facts, testimonies, and experiences that leave people with no recourse but to exclaim, “God is amazing!” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 206.
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[Continued] “In communicating, we must be aware that people remember stories. Stories move people because they stir emotions. If you want to be an effective leader, learn to tell stories.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 206.
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[Continued] “In today’s television and movie world, we have no choice but to accept the mission, “Give ‘em pictures.” Pictures are something people hang their emotions on. The listener’s imagination is our greatest tool. Master this art. Practice, practice, practice.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 206-7.
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“If we truly believe that the primary purpose presented in the Gospels is to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), then we will resist the temptation to impress others with our ability to derive esoteric meanings from obscure verses.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 212.
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[Continued] “We don’t allow ourselves to be drawn into preaching on matters with no relevance to our listeners. If our sermons can’t be taken home and lived out, then they are of no value to anyone.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 213.
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[Continued] “The Word is not a proof text for a belief system external to its own pages.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 213.
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[Continued] “Never preach out of petty hurts, personal causes, or personal opinions. Preach in the Holy Spirit, and always “preach the word!” (2 Timothy 4:2)” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 213.
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[Continued] “A number of years ago, in the pursuit of understanding management, I familiarized myself with a great variety of available business management materials and a lot of the positive mental attitude books that go along with them. Some of the material found its way into my preaching and teaching. I felt a growing discomfort in my spirit, without really understanding what it was.
One day, as I was reading a Deuteronomy 22:9, “You shall not sow your vineyard with different kind of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled,” I realized I could not afford to have a bag of mixed seed. I felt convicted to purify my message so that the material would only reinforce what the Word already says.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 213.
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[Continued] “The danger here is that if we find ourselves trying to find Scriptures to validate pet theories we are attracted to, we may compromise the power of the Gospel. The Word is not a proof text for a belief system external to its own pages. This approach to Scripture is dangerous. It is a bag of mixed seed.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 213.
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[Continued] “We cannot afford to meddle with the Word of God. Peter said that people who “twist” the Scriptures, do so “to their own destruction” (2Peter 3:16).” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 214.
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“W cannot afford to dilute the Word of God, the awesome supernatural force He has given us.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 214.
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[Continued] “There seem to be a thousand different concepts of what Christian counseling is. Some link together a tenuous structure of Scriptures, attempting to give credence to a concept. Both the concepts of “positive mental attitude” and “counseling” are good in themselves. However, if we did find ourselves preaching a concept of the world’s thinking and then forcing the meaning of Scripture to suit that theory in order to give it credence, we’ve mixed our seed and rendered the Word of God minimally effective.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 214.
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[Continued] “The Word is truth. The Word of God is enough of a message all on its own. The Word is the food God has given us to minister to the believer. It has a power within it to save souls. We cannot afford to dilute this awesome supernatural force God has placed in our hands.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 214.
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[Continued] “The Word of God reveals the blood of Christ to deal with sin through repentance. It reveals that faith in God obtains results, and when this is not the way, then faith supplies us with the ability to make it through whatever we face.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 215.
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[Continued] “The Word of God reveals that sometimes pain and suffering are actually beneficial to the believer, no matter how much positive mental attitude we attempt and no matter how many different kinds of counseling we seek. God uses the pain of circumstances to change us into the image of Christ. The plans, methods, and desired results of the Word of God are vastly different from those of the world.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 215.
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[Continued] “As Christians, we are building an eternal kingdom that will never go out of date. We are not attempting to make our message relevant by changing the basic truths or attempting to get the same results through other means. A spiritual kingdom is built with spiritual tools. The kingdom of God is built with the tools Jesus has given us.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 215.
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[Continued] “There’s no other way. The Word feeds the spirits of Christians. The church becomes strong and bears fruit because of the Word of God. “Preach the word!” (2 Timothy 4:2)” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 215.
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[Continued “Keep it simple. We don’t use language or words not understood by our listeners. We need to be careful not to use concepts, philosophies, or phrases that impress no one else. Our task is not to impress but to deal with the souls of men and women.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 215.
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“What we preach is what we get.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 215.
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“What we preach is what we get. We are farmers sowing seed. If we are unhappy with the harvest we’re reaping, we should sow different seed. If we want different results, we preach different messages.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 215.
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“Organization is all about systems.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 217.
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“David Yonggi Cho leads the largest church in the world, yet he makes sure he’s always early for appointments. I’ve heard him say he tries to be fifteen minutes early for any appointment. If anyone has an excuse for lateness, he does. This reveals one of the reasons why this man has developed enough trust for such a large church and team to grow up around him.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 220.
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“Don Argus, managing director of the National Australian Bank, believes that time management is critical to effective leadership.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 221.
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“Organized people are able to move at a fast pace through life. They have fluidity and motion in their lives. They are able to keep a hundred things going at once. The sheer energy and dynamism of all the things happening simultaneously creates an updraft of energy and excitement for everyone around them.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 221.
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“Many Christians still imagine that success is something that falls out of the sky. We imagine that trucks will back up to the houses and pour out all the furniture we need. We think it is coming in the mail–our big lucky break from God, of course. But winning does not come like that.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 225.
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“The timeless story of David and Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17) reveals at least nine principles of winning.
1. Be fearless…
2. Stay faithful…
3. Focus…
4. Rely on experience…
5. Be yourself…
6. Prophesy…
7. Do it for God…
8. Don’t hesitate…
9. Complete the task…” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 226-230.
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“You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.” 1Sam 17:45-47
Given my age and the current lifespan projections, I have another 35 years or so on this earth–that’s 12,740 days. One-third of that time I’ll be sleeping. At least another third I’ll be doing things ancillary to the main purposes of my daily life. That leaves me with about 4000 days to give myself to my priorities. It is seriously important that I don’t waste this time I have. Time is a gift of God, more precious than gold.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 230.
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“I don’t approach Sundays with an attitude of, “What message shall I preach?” but rather, “What do we want to achieve in our church at this time?” That desired end result determines what and how I preach. Then, within the particular message, I ask myself, “What am I trying to achieve here? What one thing am I attempting to say? What do I want these people to have or do at the end of this time?’
Then I follow the plan.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, pg. 234.
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“Don’t follow your emotions; live by principles, plans, priorities, and purpose.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 236.
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“I’ve known men and women whom God has called to do the same in other teams, but they have failed to do so. Their ambitions have clouded their ability to perceive an honest opinion of their calling and abilities. They are not prepared to serve another, failing to realize that all leadership is based on servanthood. If we cannot love and serve a person we see, how can we love and serve God whom we cannot see? (See 1John 4:20.) Some just have to have their own thing and be “the boss.” I grieve for the people who have become kings of their own tiny fiefdoms when they could have been princes in vast kingdoms.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 244.
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“Great leaders never create politicking or intrigue among people and departments. They don’t slander or libel others. They unite the organization rather than divide it. They support the whole.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 245.
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“No matter what the goal is about, relational skills are at a premium in maximizing the potential of the team’s achievement of that goal. This is especially so in the church, where we rely on volunteers more than anyone or anything else for the work we do.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 250-251.
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“Why will people work for nothing to fulfill the mission? Why will they do an excellent job? Why will they go the extra mile, give more time, and invest greater personal resources? Because their leaders understand relationships and the needs of individuals, as well as their prime motivators and reasons for being. Team leaders in churches understand what the primary call of Christ upon His church is, and they direct the workers to fulfill that call. The truth that the church is seeking to achieve God’s desires will resonate in the spirit of every believer. If we as leaders have fires burning within to serve the Lord the team will be drawn to the highest level of devotion for the task at hand.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 251.
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“Listening to wise counsel brings God’s presence in our lives. The reverse is also true. When we refuse wise counsel, God will not be with us.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 260.
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[Continued] “Moses had every reason not to listen. The man had split the Red Sea. He had destroyed the economy, agriculture, and health of one of the most powerful nations in the world. He had destroyed the entire Egyptian army. All this he had done single-handedly…”– Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 260.
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“From day one, our people should be given tasks. People who sit, sour. People who work, grow.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 260.
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“If we ask, “Who’s the pastor around here?” we generally mean, “Who’s the boss?”… The leader of a church need not necessarily be the pastor. Many of those so called to lead churches today attempt to be pastors when, in fact, that is not their primary calling.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 260-1.
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“The first church Chris and I pastured was in Lyttelton, New Zealand. It’s a small church in a very small town. In the three years there, the church grew astronomically from 15 people to 35!” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 262.
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“The team members we choose need to be able to fight for us and for our vision. The people we choose must have the ability to fight and win. They need to have proven themselves in spiritual battles, and they need to have triumphed. They need to be overcomers. They need to display consistently positive attitudes. These people do not just attend, support, or watch, but they must fight-for us! They shouldn’t fight only for their own victories. They need to fight for the church. They need to defend the pastor when he’s criticized and fight for the church’s reputation, spiritual health, and finances. They need to be genuine soldiers for God.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 265.
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[Continued] “We have a program in our church called “Harvest Now.” Within this program are eight initiatives that are designed to reach the unchurched for Christ. One of those initiatives is contacting people who were previously members of our church and have slipped away. I so admire the people involved in this outreach because they hear all the worst criticisms about the pastor, about the church and about what we do, yet they keep reaching out to these people and eventually win them back to the Lord.
These people have to be soldiers. They can’t be involved in the conversation, listening to all the gripes of these people, (which often sound very plausible), and get swung over to the negative side. There is a war in which misperceptions are deposited in people’s minds by the devil. Those involved in dismantling them must be tough enough to “fight for us.”
When we’re in the trenches getting fired at, I don’t want soldiers at my side wondering why their leader is being fired upon. People like this can eventually turn their guns on their leader. They imagine the Enemy must have good reason for shooting at their leader, and so they begin firing also.
Once we’ve been in the trenches a few times, we realize who can be trusted under fire. Even if the leader does make a mistake, that is still no reason for those around him or her to attack. I want to know that my team will be loyal to me when the attacks are unjustified, and when they are justified.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 265-266.
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[Continued] “I don’t expect to live my life without making a few mistakes. I want them to help me get through whatever the mistake is, so we can get to the end of this calling together. The church for too long has shot its wounded. We’ve got to heal fallen soldiers. I have learned that if I give mercy, my people will return it when I need it. I’ve seen pastors who are hard and merciless on their people. Then when they make mistakes-which is inevitable-mercy simply isn’t there for them because they have never modeled it themselvesIt’s not a part of the culture.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 266-267.
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“All the ministries in our churches, from youth leaders to music directors and associate pastors are best “home-grown”. Abraham trained those who were born “in his own house” (Genesis 14:14) to be an extremely effective band of soldiers. Those people God gives us are rarely trained when they come. This is so that we can place our particular anointing and environmental culture into their lives. They come unprepared, so that we can go to work at making them ready.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 267.
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“People can become anything under the right conditions.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 267.
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“If a person has a right attitude, everything is possible, and nothing is impossible. Our problem, in not having the right kind of people, is within us. We will only fail to develop people within our own ranks if we fail to believe that those we have are up to the task.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 267.
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“Peter Wagner notes that men who have not had formal training but have been developed in “apprenticeship” situations lead all the fastest growing and largest churches of South America. They have been in harness with another man of God; doing the business, not just learning about it.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 268.
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“Abraham’s method is far preferable to getting someone from elsewhere. If people do come from outside, give them time to be “baptised” into the church, so they “own” the vision like everybody else. To become true sons and daughters of the church they need to drink the milk (accept the teaching), imbibe the spirit (accept the attitude of the church), and accept the name (be proud of belonging to your congregation).” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 269.
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“People must have certain character traits before they are commissioned.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 269.
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“Without delegation, churches cannot grow.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 269.
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“We also have problems with the concept of others doing what we have been doing. Often, we simply fail to impart the mantle that will equip the person with supernatural abilities for the job.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 269.
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“It is not just about leadership skills. It’s about anointing.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 271.
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“He [Jesus] calls those who are considered disciples, people living by principle and not just emotion, those who are ready to go all the way with the Lord, those who are friends of God.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 273-4.
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“Jacob used the laying on have hands to impart blessing on his children (Genesis 48:14). The apostles employed the laying on of hands in the early church (Acts 6:6), as did Paul in praying for Timothy (1Timothy 4:14 and 5:22).” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 275.
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[Continued] “The interesting point here is that after Jesus had given them this power, the Scripture says, “Now, the names of the twelve apostles are…” (Matthew 10:2). They came as disciples and were empowered. They left as apostles. These men turned the world upside down.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 275.
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[Continued] “… As we welcome men and women who have been called of God to work with us, we are able to impart to them power for serving God in the same manner as ourselves. Some of us have attempted to impart this power for the ministry work to others, but have found our attempts ineffective. Our capacity to impart the anointing rests in the fact that we want impartation to happen and in our determination to impart to others. If we are fearful of others having what we have, we will never really impart that same power and anointing God has placed on us.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 275.
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“Jacob used the laying on have hands to impart blessing on his children (Genesis 48:14). The apostles employed the laying on of hands in the early church (Acts 6:6), as did Paul in praying for Timothy (1Timothy 4:14 and 5:22).” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 275.
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“In the first five chapters of the book of Acts, it is obvious that the early church enjoyed amazing success. People were being added to the church daily. In an atmosphere of enormous joy, powerful prayers and amazing miracles were taking place every day.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 275-6.
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“The church, in a progressive revelation of its identity, steadily increased in its understanding of who its members were as followers of Jesus, going from “souls” to “believers” to “disciples.”” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 276.
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[Continued] “Our capacity to impart the anointing rests in the fact that we want impartation to happen.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 276.
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[Continued] “This corresponded to progressively increasing growth rate in the church. At first when the new Christians were referred to as “souls” and the church as “them,” we are told that people were “added” to their number (Acts 2:41). However, as they grew in the knowledge of who they were individually, and as the Christians were referred to as “believers” and “the church,” they were “increasingly added” to the kingdom (Acts 5:14). Yet as they entered into a lifestyle of discipleship and were referred to as “disciples,” we are told that they began to “multiply” (Acts 6:1). Any of us with even the slightest knowledge of mathematics can understand that multiplying increases numbers a lot faster than simply adding.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 276.
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“The apostles were not uncaring, though; they told the church to select “seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3). Once these men were chosen, the apostles laid hands on them, and these men not only sorted out the problem, but were also powerfully used by God to bring about revival in the early church.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 277.
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“The funny thing about only settling for the best is that you will usually get it.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, pg 280.
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“Do not act out of selfish ambition or conceit, but with humility think of others as being better than yourselves. Do not be concerned about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others. Have the same attitude among yourselves that was also in Christ Jesus: In God’s own form existed he, And shared with God equality, Deemed nothing needed grasping.” Phi 2:3-6
[Continued] “God equips people with abilities beyond their training if their hearts are right towards Him.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 280.
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“MAKING THE RIGHT SELECTION
What follows are key qualities that you should look for in potential team members. Remember, a team is only as good as its members, and members are only as good as their character. Make sure you make the right selection by picking quality team members.
FAITHFULNESS
Faithfulness encompasses three primary character qualities:
Regularity. People must be predictable and regular. “Thereness” is essential. People with unstable living patterns can’t be relied upon to be available when you need them.
Trueness of spirit. They must be privately honorable, not just publicly upright. Authenticity rings clear in their expressions.
Loyalty to the leadership and the church. Loyalty is under challenge when opportunities for criticism are high. Loyalty is not only expressed in passive non-criticism or in “support” of the church and it’s leadership; rather, those people who are part of the team must fight for the church and its leaders. Their concern manifests itself in practical, self-sacrificing ways.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 280.
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“Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrihteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches (Luke 16:22)
Faithfulness with money proves a person can handle spiritual riches. I find it easy to think this is the wrong way around. Surely if a person is first spiritually faithful, God will then entrust him or her with finances. Not so! God watches the way we pay our bills, spend our money, arrange priorities, and how we generate and handle money. He figures whether or not we are faithful on this basis.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 282.
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“Much of this practice comes out of a poverty mentality. Because many Christians think it is pious to be poor, they are left with having to expect some kind of charity to come their way to make up for their lack.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 283.
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[Continued] “Faithfulness with money proves a person can handle spiritual riches.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 283.
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[Continued] “The fact of the matter is that people end up serving money more out of the lack of it than out of the abundance of it.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 283.
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“People who work hard to fulfill the dreams of another find their own dreams come to pass. Joseph spent his life interpreting dreams of others. He interpreted the baker’s dream and the butler’s dream. He then interpreted the king’s dream. Because he did this, his own dream came to pass. The overwhelming purpose of the servant of God is to interpret the dream of the Father in heaven: “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10, KJV). Faithfulness is gauged by the way we handle the dreams and visions of our pastors, our families, our children, our spouses, our friends and our churches.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 284.
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[Continued] “Potential team members must sacrifice their lives to God. This is displayed in their devotion to the local church. Jesus loves His church. Anyone wanting to serve Him in His house must love the church as well.
Consecration to God is revealed by the fact that they keep their lives clean and undefiled from the world. These people are separated to God and whatever He wants them to do.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 284.
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[Continued] “If we are failing to produce at least some people like this under our ministry, something is wrong, because these are the qualities of normal discipleship.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 284.
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“People who work hard to fulfill the dreams of another find their own dreams come to pass.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 285.
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“If people are unable to be taught, to receive teaching, or to implement counsel in their lives, they are basically useless for the work of God. Until this quality is in our lives, we have no capacity to grow and change. Without teachable spirits, we are unable to acquire the skills God gives for His work.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 285.
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“ “Tested.” This means that we have given people small jobs, and they have executed them well enough to be trusted with somthing larger. They have proven themselves.
It also means that they have overcome temptations and emerged victorious from difficult times in their personal world. This is the most general meaning of the word “tested” in Scripture.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 286.
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[Continued] “If people are unable to be taught, they are basically useless for the work of God.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 286.
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[Continued] “They have the basics pf the Christian life well under control. Attending church is a number one priority for these people. They have a passion for the house of God. They have the disciplines of daily prayer and Bible reading. Their family life is in good order. Their morals, ethics, and attitudes are unquestionable.
Don’t settle for less. Talent is no substitute for the qualities of a committed Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 286.
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[Continued] “Proven people have submissive, teachable, cooperative, non-critical attitudes. Without these qualities, people disqualify themselves from being chosen for effective service. Once people have developed these traits, they become effective for God.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 286.
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[Continued] “Character, integrity, and ethics are intact and unquestionable in a true leader. This is what the church is built on–not on talent, style, personality, or skill, which all take second place to the godliness of a person’s life.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 286.
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“We look for the anointing on a person in the area that we’re considering them for. David, Moses, and Joshua were all anointed to lead the nation. The prophets throughout the Scripture were anointed to bring forth the Word of the Lord and to display signs and wonders that confirmed the Word… We are called to specific tasks and not others.
As leaders, we recognize what our people are anointed for. Some are anointed to lead prayer. When they pray, everyone else is stirred and prays along… We recognize, appoint, organize, develop, and deploy people into the specific tasks that they are anointed for.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 287.
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“Jesus spent the entire night in prayer before He chose his disciples, empowered them, defined their job description, and deployed them (Luke 6:12-13).” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 288.
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“Prayer brings the anointing that is essential for ministers to fulfill their calling. Prayer brings blessing upon our efforts for the Lord.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 289.
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“The people we choose must display real unity with and affinity for the vision of the senior minister and the church. In the process of selecting people for roles in the church, we ask their opinion of the leadership, the rest of the team, and the church in general. We are not looking for yes-man, but if a person has problems with the senior minister and the church, then obviously he or she will cause problems on the team and in the church.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 289.
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“Whoever buys into the vision God has for the congregation develops an affinity for all that is going on.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 289.
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“It is an affinity of sprit that we need, not sameness of style.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 291.
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“Teams thrive on attention from the top. Leaders are feeders.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 291.
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“Team building is not just about training and instruction, but also about giving hope, encouragement, recognition, and appreciation. Giving the members these four elements of reinforcement feeds the soul of the team. Team building comes from giving regular, positive attention to the team.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 291.
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“The leader needs to keep emphasizing the dream and the faith that “we can do it,” as well as the strategies to achieve the goal, so that every member of the team is on board and feels that the entire team is in it together.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 291.
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“The leader must constantly reinforce and restate the vision.
Though the team may have heard it many times before, restating the vision keeps everyone focused on the right things. Whatever the leader speaks on, the vision is woven into the topic so that every subject is viewed with the philosophy and priorities of the ministry in mind.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 292.
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“The leader must be able to teach in the following areas:
• Kingdom Principles
• People Skills
• Success
• Relationships
• Expectations
A good leader should warn of things that can damage a good team. Clear direction comes regularly from the top.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 293.
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“The leader admits his mistakes.
Confessions of failings and admissions of mistakes, when handled in the right way, win respect from our team members. If they feel we are being vulnerable with them in revealing our shortcomings, they will trust and support us.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 294.
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“The leader has personal integrity.
Personal integrity is what the team builds on more than anything else. Success is imperative for the morale of the team… When team members admire their leader, they are more than happy to give allegiance to that person.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 294.
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“Someone has to make decisions. That person is the leader. It’s not just about making decisions; it’s all about being decisive… People who second-guess themselves, who hesitate, or who indulge in “buyer’s remorse” forfeit the role of leading others because they have become unstable. James, the brother of Jesus Christ and leader of the great Jerusalem church, wrote, [excerpt of James 1:6-8] – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 298.
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“Leaders cannot afford to look like they’re changing their minds or second-guessing themselves. Hold to the course.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 300.
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[Continued] “I also know that all kinds of evil lurk in a vacuum. Any decision is better than no decision. A decision gets things moving. Once we’re moving, God can guide us. He doesn’t guide stationary Christians in the same way we don’t steer parked cars.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 300.
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“Things get sorted out as the team members travel the path together. The person out front is the one who takes the responsibility and makes the decision. That person is you, the leader.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 300.
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“In writing to the Corinth church, the apostle Paul outlined an important leadership principle when he instructed the saints of Corinth to “follow my example, the way I follow the example of Christ” (1Corinthians 11:1 NIV).” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 301.
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“In the end, Jesus is our ultimate example of leadership. We are to walk as He walked and act as He acted, mirroring His style.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 302.
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[Continued] “Servant leadership, as exemplified by Jesus, is what every Christian leader is called to. This ultimate leadership style is one of humility and sacrifice. Paul discussed this when he wrote about the mind set and heart attitudes we, as leaders, need to develop… [Quotes Philippians 2:5-8] – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 302.
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“To become a great leader, each of us must first become humble enough to serve others without any thought of self.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 303.
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“Great leaders follow great leaders. As leaders and potentially great leaders, we are to follow Christ by trading our desires, our dreams, our plans, and our titles for the cross He gives us to carry and the destiny he has designed for us.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 303.
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“I will build my church. –Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus has a vision. He has a job to be done. He has determined to build His church. He calls men and women to work with Him to accomplish this dream. In the army of people He has enlisted are a creed called leaders.
Jesus raises up people as servants to Himself and as leaders of His people in order to fulfill His dream. He raises this army to lead His flock. He raises leaders to carry the plan of salvation to the world.
God has lofty reasons for raising leaders. Jesus has declared that He will build His church…” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 304.
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[Continued] “The rock of manifest revelation is what Jesus builds His church upon.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 305.
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[Continued] “Manifest revelation is the flash of light from heaven that pierces the souls of men and women. This is light, the life of God Himself. It is like a piece of God to us. It is food for our spirits. It is what faith is because it is clear knowing-not just thinking or hoping. It is a deep inner knowledge from heaven above.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 305.
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[Continued] “God’s great leaders lead by revelation. Leaders must receive revelation from the Lord and take their people in that direction. It is vital that we understand what we are to preach, what we are to do, and what kind of organization we are to build through revelation from the Lord.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 305.
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[Continued] “We must be motivated by the spiritual passion Jesus places within us. We need to build on the revelation God has given us, on our strengths, on who we are in Christ.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 305.
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[Continued] “Good ideas are not good enough. They need to be God ideas. Just because someone else’s methods work does not mean they will work for us. God plants a unique set of gifts within each of us as leaders, enabling us to do a particular work for Him in a particular way. If we deny those, opting for something else that appeals to us, we forsake the means by which God wants to give us success (1Timothy 4:14).” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 305.
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[Continued] “God builds His kingdom with people-not programs or methods, but people-godly men and women. Christ builds on the revelation of His truth living inside His people.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 305.
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[Continued] “God’s principles remain unchanged. He builds His great church upon living people. Jesus is building His church upon the living apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and people of God. These are the men and women whose spiritual influence and gifts are pulsing through the body today.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 305-6.
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“Leadership is the great, mysterious, wonderful gift that God is delivering to the army of men and women who are rising to lead our world to a brighter future in Him. As we pray and yield everything to the God of heaven, He equips us for this great calling on our lives.” – Phil Pringle, You The Leader, 2005, pg 306.
“The power of God, the Holy Ghost, is the Spirit of Dominion. It makes one a god.” – John G. Lake, John G. Lake, His Life, His Sermons, His Boldness of Faith, 1995, pg. 13.
“In a Vision, I Saw a “Spiritual Sonogram” of a Very Pregnant Church!
“There are many levels of prophetic revelation… The beginning levels include prophetic “impressions”. These are genuine revelations. They can be extraordinary specific and accurate when interpreted by those who are experienced and sensitive to them. However, it is on this level that our “revelations” can be affected by our own feelings, prejudices, and doctrines. I have therefore resolved not to use such expressions as “thus saith the Lord” with any revelations on this level. …” – Rick Joyner, The Final Quest, pg 9.
Preacher Said What? 