The Two Most Frequently Asked Leadership Questions I Get
The two most frequently asked leadership questions I get are first, what is the best leadership book (other than the Bible) you have ever read and second, who is your favorite leadership speaker? Interestingly, my favorite leadership speaker is Dr. Crawford Loritts and my favorite leadership book just happens to be written by him, Leadership as an Identity: The Four Traits of Those Who Wield Lasting Influence.
The following are just some of the items which make this great man such an effective communicator of biblical leadership principles:
- Crawford uses the Bible as the foundation for all his thoughts.
- Crawford has an innate ability to communicate complex ideas in a concise and compelling manner. See the quotes below to illustrate my point.
- Crawford is the real deal. He served as my pastor for over a decade. For five of these years, I had the privilege of serving on the Elder Board with him.
- Crawford has a moral authority and presence about him unlike anyone I have ever met.
- Crawford and his lovely wife Karen have been married for 50 years!!!
It is a privilege to call him a friend.
3 Decisions Everyone Must Make To Leave A Godly Legacy
Tonight, he was speaking at a church in the area on the subject of leaving a Godly legacy. Because he is now retired, I never miss an opportunity to hear him speak. He did not disappoint.
The following are 43 Leadership Quotes and Lessons From Dr. Crawford Loritts On Leaving A Godly Legacy From I Kings 2:1-4 along with the three decisions in points #13-15:
- “Marriage is about mission. It is not about now. It is the conduit to which Christ is passed down from one generation to the next.”
- “Next to Jesus Christ, my father has had the greatest impact on my life… My dad had impeccable integrity.”
- “When you’re born you look like your parents. When you die you look like your decisions.”
- “Sooner or later our decisions will dominate our resume.”
- “I’m too old to do recreational preaching.”
- “It is the accumulation of the decisions which will form your identity and legacy.”
- “The cycle of life has to do with preserving the image of God from one generation to the next.”
- “The fact that you’re living and breathing you will leave a legacy… The question is what kind?”
- “Those decisions are not just contained…. Those decisions impact the people who know you and love you.”
- “If you want to leave footprints in the sands of time, you have to wear your work boots.”
- “Manhood in the Bible is huge. We are the gatekeepers of the future. We have one eye on this generation and one eye fixed on a time we cannot see.”
- “We are to give the noble enduring essence of the things which will not fade.”
- “You need to decide to live courageously.”
- “You need to decide to live obediently.”
- “You need to decide to live faithfully.”
- “They (younger generation) live with open options and this endless experimentation. I fear they are painting themselves into a corner with the seeds of permanent superficiality. You have to stick to stick.”
- “Even though you don’t feel courageous, you need to decide to be courageous. Manhood is not a series of feelings. It is a series of affirmative right decisions. You don’t feel yourself into your identity. You behave yourself into your identity.”
- “You need to become what the position requires.”
- “It’s not about what you want. It’s about the commitment you made.”
- “There’s a certain amount of toughness in leadership.”
- “You’re 25 or 26 years old now, when are you going to decide to be man?”
- “You have to decide live obediently. You can’t do what you please and expect the blessing of God.”
- “There’s no such thing as an independent leader.”
- “Don’t ever follow anybody that’s not following somebody.”
- “There’s a Book. God has spoken. If you obey what He said you will experience His favor.”
- “Obey God. Be very careful adopting a hijacked view of grace that says grace means permission. You have to obey God.”
- “You can choose your sin but you can’t choose your consequences.”
- “To live in a state of unrepetent sin is to live in a state of temporary insanity.” – Chuck Swindoll
- “One of the problems we have as men is compartmentalization. Don’t get into a habit of managing your sin and pass that off as repentance.”
- “A passion of holiness will bring the favor of God in your moment in history.”
- “Decide to live faithfully.”
- “Faithfulness is a long obedience in the same direction.” – Eugene Peterson
- “The secret to success is to choose quietly behind closed doors to do the next right thing.”
- “Gifts, talents, and abilities are overrated. Do you know how many gifted people I know have crashed and burned?”
- “Faithfulness is tragically, tragically, tragically underrated. If you give gifted people a platform who do not have inside in them the consistency of character… the gifts and talents you have will cause you to topple.”
- “Faithfulness brings the smile of God.”
- “It is who you are substantively that brings the favor and blessing of God. It’s your ability to do the next right thing when no one is looking… to be a man of your word who shows up.”
- “I am the great grandson of a slave named Peter Loritts.”
- “Peter loved Jesus. As a result, he forged generations of Godly men.”
- “Faithfulness always pays the tuition.”
- “Your life Crawford may be about the prayers of a faithful slave who sat on the front porch and prayed for a time he could not see.”
- “He (Jesus) has the power to sustain the right choices and decisions we make.”
- “Nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody ever sins privately. There’s no such thing as private sin. God serves his meals on clean plates and He will cleanse us.”
Which quote above had the biggest impact on you and what actions are you now taking in your life because of it?
The Top 60 Leadership Quotes From 2021 Part 1 is my latest ebook. For many entering a post-pandemic environment, leadership looks completely different than the pre-pandemic world. People are more broken now. They are more uncertain. Fear and anxiousness are unwelcome constant companions. Cultures are more unhealthy. Relationships are more dysfunctional. Hope seems to be in short supply. Every day seems to bring a new hacking, natural disaster, or unexpected calamity.
Therefore, the fundamentals of leadership are more important than ever. The quotes in this book deal with the basics of leadership. If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, click HERE or on the image provided to download this FREE resource. The lessons learned from last year, if applied, will sustain you for years to come.