By Dan Reiland<\/p>\n
Encouragement provides the emotional fuel that enables people to hold longer, reach farther and dig deeper than previously believed possible.<\/p>\n
John Maxwell says that encouragement is 51% of leadership. That\u2019s so true.<\/p>\n
As a leader, a great part of your role is to give people hope, to build them up and help them believe in themselves in a greater measure than they have before. In short, to live a better life \u2013 through Christ.<\/p>\n
Do others see you as an encourager?<\/strong> Good leaders, who are strong leaders, understand that encouragement is a core element to sustained influence.<\/p>\n Essentially, sincere encouragement comes from a deep love and belief in people, and a desire to see them experience life in a better way.<\/p>\n Encouragers naturally draw people to them.<\/strong> Note: drawing people to you is not the goal; it\u2019s the result. People want to be around you because of your positive contribution to their life.<\/p>\n This is not about a charismatic personality. It doesn\u2019t matter if five people seek you out or fifty-five people seek you out. The point is that people will literally move to you, whether they see you in the church lobby or in the supermarket because you cause their life to be a little brighter.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not referring to people who want permission for something, an extension cord or keys to the storage area, but people who want to be around you!<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be honest, life is wonderful, but it can be difficult. True? Do you have any financial challenges? How\u2019s the health of everyone in your family or close friends? Are you married? Do you have kids? Life is good, but it has plenty of challenges.<\/p>\n Life is wonderful, but the pressures of life will press people down, so anyone who consistently and sincerely lifts people up gains the ability to influence\u2014meaning to lead!<\/p>\n If you are a leader in a local church and people don\u2019t migrate to you, there is a reason. You need to discover what it is. Ask someone you trust, who loves you, and will tell the truth. For now, start encouraging others. Do it sincerely and often.<\/p>\n Encouragers communicate with a positive bias.<\/strong> Don\u2019t be the leader who complains about how much work they have, how tired they are and all the problems they face. No one wants to follow that person.<\/p>\n As Christian leaders, it\u2019s important that we encourage spiritually. Continue to point people toward God, challenge their faith, and help them see that their trust in God is the best way to receive true, deep soul level encouragement. Even though as leaders we must encourage, this helps people learn to find encouragement in God on their own.<\/p>\n Encouragers invest generously in others.<\/strong> I was young and clueless in ministry, and Keith was pouring leadership into a group of us young guys. I didn\u2019t have any money and he knew there was a cool leadership conference I needed to attend. After our meeting, he handed me a book to read and stuffed it in my bag. When I later opened it, I found two one hundred dollar bills stapled inside with a note that said, essentially, \u201cI believe in you, and see you at the conference!!\u201d<\/p>\n I was blown away, that\u2019s a lot of money, but back then it was a ton of money! More than the money was Keith\u2019s investment of time and encouragement in me. The investment has dividends even to this day!<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just money we invest, it\u2019s our time, love, guidance, belief and care.<\/p>\n Encouragers are grateful for what they have.<\/strong> If you focus on what you don\u2019t have, people pick that up. That makes it difficult for you to encourage others toward who they are to become.<\/p>\n If you concentrate on what you don\u2019t have, you can\u2019t pour your energy into what others need because those people become part of the solution to get you what you want.<\/p>\n When you are grateful for what you have, you are naturally freer to encourage others.<\/p>\n Bottom line, you can\u2019t encourage if you are not an encouraged person yourself.<\/p>\n Take all this in knowing that leaders, even the best of the encouragers, occasionally have a bad day or a rough season. That\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n But a good and resilient leader will do whatever it takes to get through it, over it, and get back in the game.<\/p>\n That\u2019s my encouragement to you. You will have an occasional difficult day, but it\u2019s all worth it. Get some counsel from a friend, shake it off, remember your calling and keep on going.<\/p>\n Dan Reiland is the Executive Pastor at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2019 Dan Reiland<\/a> | The Pastor’s Coach \u2013 Developing Church Leaders<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Dan Reiland Encouragement provides the emotional fuel that enables people to hold longer, reach farther and dig deeper than previously believed possible. John Maxwell says that encouragement is 51% of leadership. That\u2019s so true. 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\nEncouragement isn\u2019t something that you do from a checklist of \u201cthings to do today.\u201d It\u2019s a way of life for a leader. Encouragement is not a soft expression from a weak leader.<\/p>\n
\nLet me raise the bar on the definition of encouragement. As a leader in a local church, if you are an encourager, people will naturally migrate to you. When they see you, they smile and instinctively walk toward you.<\/p>\n
\nJohn Maxwell is the most consistently positive person I know. He has high faith in people and sees life for its potential over its problems. He\u2019s not unrealistic. John knows that life can be difficult. He simply refuses to get stuck there. You just never hear John complain. That\u2019s the way it is with an encouraging leader, they communicate with a positive bias.<\/p>\n
\nI love telling this story about one of my mentors and encouragers \u2013 Keith Drury. Keith was a professor in the Ministry Department at Indiana Wesleyan University. They called him Coach D!\u00a0 When I was a young leader, Keith demonstrated such generosity that marked my life for good.<\/p>\n
\nGratitude is an essential attribute of leaders who are encouragers. By being genuinely grateful for what you have, your general disposition is brighter and it\u2019s in your nature to be able to encourage.<\/p>\n