Some more helpful principles on Leadership from Conviction to Lead by Albert Mohler

1. Leaders are Speakers

All great leaders in history have been great communicators. One can think of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, or Winston Churchill's speeches during World War II. Likewise, great pastors are great speakers. According to Aristotle, effective communication is broken down into three elements: ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos refers to the character of the speaker, while pathos refers to the arguments used to persuade the emotions of the listeners, and logos refers to the actual content of the message. I should be training myself to preach and teach regularly in front of public audiences. I am also helped by fellow Christian brothers who point out both my strength and weaknesses in preaching. I need to refine my grammar, subject-verb agreements, use illustrations, and speak with great conviction.

2. Leaders are Stewards

Simply put, God owns us. This means that I lived on borrowed time. I will give an account before God on how I used my time. This means that my body belongs to the Lord and my wife. This means "my" money is actually God's money. This means that I am to pass on truth that has been deposited to me to the next generation.

3. Leaders are Decision Makers

Leaders make decisions. In indecisive leader is a weak leader. I had to make a decision to marry my wife. I had to make a decision to go to school. I had to make a decision to commit to serving Christ. For Christians, the decisions we make must be rooted from the Word of God. To make effective decisions, we must present the problem, identify alternatives, analyze the problem, pause for reflection, and make the decision by faith grounded in biblical convictions. Leaders may fail and make bad decisions, but great leaders learn from their mistakes and make better decisions in the future.

4. Leaders are Virtuous

Character is a key ingredient for any effective leader. Paul lays out these characteristics in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 for pastors. According to Mohler, great virtues include: honesty, dependability, loyalty, determination, humility, and humor. A leader must always tell the truth, be a dependable person, and demonstrate loyalty to the organization he leads. He is also determined to get the tasks done. Moreover, he is a humble servant imitating the Greatest Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ.

5. Leaders Understand the Media

Mohler gave some practical wisdom on if you are interviewed from a newspaper or television report. If this is the case, then a leader must know what he is going to say. He must be respectful to the host. He must not be monotone. He must be presentable. If the leader seems uninteresting on radio or television, the listener or viewer will simply change the station or the channel.

6. Leaders are Writers.

Written communication is more important than ever as our technology become full of tweets, emails, and blogs. Leaders know how to write. To be a better writer, you need to read a lot! Leaders will also try to find the best words to communicate his thoughts. To get better experience in writing, simply write! I need to blog more and be thankful for my writing assignments in seminary.

7. Leaders Understand Digital Media

A leader will understand the avenues of social communication: blogs, websites, facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. Websites must be regularly updated and have good content if you want your viewers to come back. Often, many Christians who do not belong to a local church find places of worship from websites! I am grateful for my wife, who knows how to design a great website (www.cfbcwestcovina.org, www.ahthatslove.blogspot.com)! I am also grateful for my IPad and Kindle that carries multiple books on my eReader and podcasts of great Preachers.

8. Leaders Know How to Use their Time Wisely

Although digital media has provided great benefits to society, it can also be great time wasters. You can't buy back time. For Christians, we live for eternity. What we do on this earth has an eternal impact.

9. Leaders are Faithful

I was reminded to stay in the same place for a very long time. I want to celebrate with my wife our 100th anniversary. I want to be faithful to my local church just as my beloved Pastor Ed has served the church for over 25 years. I want to endure.

10.Leaders Understand Death

Everyone will die. It is a reality of life. However, great leaders will pass on their convictions, especially biblical convictions, to the next generation. Moreover, the leader will pass on his convictions to the organizations he serves (in my case the local church).

11. Leaders Leave a Legacy

Leaders will find a successor to lead the organization. The Lord Jesus passed on his authority to his twelve disciples. Paul passed on his ministry to Timothy. Timothy passed on his ministry to faithful men (2 Tim. 2:2). John Piper has passed on his ministry to Jason Meyer. Great leaders leave successors.