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| | Selecting those with whom you will make alliances. « Thread StartedToday at 6:27am » | | Do you have a criterion for selecting those with whom you will make alliances? (211-4)
Written by Barry Werner on June 11th, 2012.
Knowing which alliances to make and which to stay away from will have a tremendous impact on a leader’s success. Read John 7:14-32.
Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the religious feasts held each year to commemorate a great work of God. As Jesus was teaching in the temple the religious leaders were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?”
Jesus’ answer indicated He received His knowledge from God and that set off a firestorm that ended with people trying to seize Him and arrest Him.
Jesus knew which alliances to build and which to oppose. He consistently gathered around Him sinners whose hearts were ready to change and consistently stood against the legalistic practices of the religious leaders.
In my personal experience, as a young leader, I found myself a little too eager to form alliances without fully understanding the impact of that alliance. Too often the short-term gain was the driving force; when more mature as a leader, the long-term impact tended to outweigh the short-term gain.
The ethical standards and core truths of those who were considered for a mutually beneficial alliance became more important than the name on the door or the quick fixes a group could provide. Effective leaders know not only with whom to build alliances but also whom to oppose.
Would alliances be beneficial to help broaden the reach or influence of your product or service? Do you have a criterion for selecting those with whom you will make alliances?
Jesus chose not to make alliances with the existing religious leaders because they had had demonstrated they were corrupt, legalistic, without compassion, and refused to accept Him as Messiah even though they had all the evidence.
He chose instead to make alliances with individuals who were teachable, whose hearts were soft toward God and who fully accepted the core truths He embraced. Effective God-honoring leaders will learn from His example. | |
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