“Take heed to yourselves, lest your example contradict your doctrine, and lest you lay such stumbling-blocks before the blind, as may be the occasion of their ruin; lest you unsay with your lives what you say with your tongues; and be the greatest hinderers of the success of your own labors…He that means as he speaks, will surely do as he speaks.” These words written by Richard Baxter in The Reformed Pastor in an article entitled “The Banner of Truth Trust” should be on the wall of every leader. The Biblical virtue of integrity points to a consistency between what is inside and what is outside, between belief and behavior, our words and our ways, our attitudes and our actions, our values and our practice. Read 1 Chronicles 29:16-20.

It is one thing to have a vision; it is quiet another for a leader to be able to communicate that vision to others to enable them to embrace and internalize it. Read 1 Chronicles 28:1-21.

When God provided David with a vision of the Jerusalem temple, he wanted to be personally instrumental in making that dream a reality. But the Lord told David that the job of building the temple would be given to his son and successor Solomon. David chose not to view himself as having been cut out of the action. Instead, he energetically undertook his new charge – that of communicating the vision for the temple in a manner that would infect Solomon and enlist his unwavering support.