We can have the best army in the world, but it can still be defeated without good leadership. Likewise, even with competent leadership, it can still be defeated without a well-trained and disciplined army. We need both. However, we will first focus on the leadership because any great organization or force will only perform according to its potential if it is led well. This is why leadership should always be the highest priority when we begin an endeavor, and it was the highest priority with the Lord when He began to build His army on the earth, the church.

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One of the most remarkable transformations of a large organization in history may be what has taken place in the U.S. military over the last two decades. This is not just a matter of modernization, but to develop a culture that is so creative and open to innovation, new ideas, and strategies, as well as developing and implementing them into operation. The U.S. Military has developed this remarkable culture while honoring the great traditions and necessary disciplines required to manage such a large organization. What the military has done culturally is hard for a small church to do that is...

There are many ways that the church’s nature is going to change, and one of the most basic is that we will be taking on a military demeanor. We are called to be an army, and we will see the church become one of the most powerful, disciplined, and effective forces the world has ever known before the end of this age. As we have also covered, there are basic ways that we will be different from any human army because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. We were sent to save lives, not take them—to set...

We have been blessed by a core leadership team and staff that has been together many years. As a result, we have been through many battles together. I don’t think anyone enjoys conflict, but they nevertheless thrive on it. They come alive with focus and resolve when there are attacks. Even so, we have some that I have watched recoil with every new attack. Their first tendency is to draw back and retreat, but when they fortify themselves in the Lord, they tend to be the ones who stand with great endurance. On the other hand, the ones whose first...

After speaking at an NFL team chapel, I was invited to join the team for dinner before the game. I ended up sitting with a group that included a winner of the Heisman Trophy, the award given to the best college player in the country. The other players at the table were also some of the best at their positions. I asked all of them how they achieved what they did, and each one related how they started out very young with a devotion to be a professional football player. Then they became focused on a single position. They...