Day 68: Titus 1:7b

“He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,”



A while back we looked at the first part of this verse. Remember what this is; this is Paul telling Titus what makes a good elder, a leader in the church. If we were smart, and I’m hoping you are, then we would do well to look at this verse and measure ourselves by it.


Without trying to sound like a broken record, this whole verse is about a leader’s character. If you wanted to boil it down, we would probably hearken back to Luke 10 and say: “love your neighbor as yourself.”


Character is the backbone of a leader. It is the first part of a two part definition of leadership. Your leadership is dependent on your influence, and your influence is dependent on your character.


Notice the things that Paul lists here. Each of these bad character examples hurt other people to make life easier for you. Arrogance and quick-temperedness keep your feelings from getting hurt without understanding the point of view of others. You can’t think straight or minister when you’re haughty or angry.


Being a drunk may make your day easier to handle, but you tend not to do anything other than drink. No ministry gets done, and the people suffer.


Violence hurts other people for your own pleasure. A minister cannot be violent. It just doesn’t work.


Finally, a leader cannot be greedy for gain. Gain becomes your god, and you quickly concentrate on gain, rather than your Lord and Savior. Your relationships with people become a vehicle for your own gain, rather than you giving yourself away for them. Greed is the antithesis of Christ’s love.


Character matters. More than you know, it can sink you or sustain you. Paul warns us that a person with bad character cannot be allowed to lead in the church.


How is your character? Do you fit the mold that Paul sets forth in Titus as a leader? Character takes a lifetime to develop, but it is easily set back. Don’t get caught on the wrong side of Paul’s list.


Christian Leadership Principle: Godly Character is essential to leadership. Character turns into influence, which you have to have to lead.


Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Proverbs 4:10-19


Prayer: Father, guide my character. Mold me into a greater likeness of Your Son. Guard my ways, Lord, and help me to develop my character to better serve You. In Christ’s name I pray, amen.

Day 64: Ephesians 2:10

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”



The fact that Jesus was a carpenter is kind of amusing when you look at this scripture. In the book of Ephesians, Paul uses a lot of building metaphors to show his readers what God is doing with the church and each of us individually.


This, coupled with the fact that Jesus wielded a hammer to build, and then built His church with His blood, is amazing. Jesus has always been in the building business.


This set of verses from Ephesians 2 is one of my favorites. We, meaning you and me, are part of God’s workmanship. He is building us. This has enormous implications for every Christian, and especially you Christian leaders. God is putting you together, piece by piece, making you into what He wants you to be: Like Jesus.


If you can’t do everything you want to right now, or everything you think you should be able to do, don’t fret, and don’t get frustrated. God is building you, and he’s using everyday life to do it.


Now, if all that wasn’t enough, there’s more: We were created in Jesus for good works. We were created for good works (advancing the Kingdom of God) and are being built up by God. Notice that all this is God’s doing, and not ours? You should probably take note of that, just in case your pride has told you that you are somehow responsible for any of this.


All right, one last note on this verse, because I know we’re everywhere with this today: God prepared all of this beforehand, so that we can do them now. This is amazing. God isn’t just making this up as He goes, and He doesn’t have some recipe that He’s just following, hoping everything turns out okay.


God put all of this into motion before you were even created, and it’s just for you. He knows every hair on your head, and God has a personalized growth and good works plan just for you. He prepared it especially for you.


If that’s not encouraging, than I don’t know what is.


CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: God is in charge of our growth as Christians and as Christian leaders. He prepared all of this before we were created and tailored it just to us.


Here’s a set of verses for you to meditate on today: Psalms 139


Prayer: Father, thank you for wonderfully and fearfully creating me. Thank you that you didn’t leave me on my own, but are growing me and building me into what You want me to be. In Christ’s name, amen.

Day 55: Colossians 1:10

“so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”



So many of us try so hard to please God. Many of us have been trying from the beginning, not understanding that apart from Christ, we can’t be pleasing to Him. It’s not that just our sins are bad, but even our goodness is like “filthy rags” in front of God.


It shouldn’t come as a surprise. We have nothing to offer God that can put us in His good graces. Only by believing in the death, burial and resurrection of His Son can we be made right with God. Once we are right with God, we can begin to please Him.


This is where today’s passage comes in. Once we are Christians, our life can begin to mean something for the Kingdom of God. Until we believed, we were still fighting for the other side, even if we didn’t know it. Scary, huh?


Once we are believers, our lives can begin to advance the Kingdom of God. What pleases God in these circumstances? Paul says there are two things, and we need to be very careful about both of them, because at the core of who and what we are, they show us what we are to be doing with our time and resources.


First, we are to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. In other words, do what you know is right according to the way God commands it. Walk in a way that Jesus would have. Do the things that Jesus would have. When you do this you will be fully pleasing to God and bear fruit in all of your good works.


Stay there for a minute. Bearing fruit in your good works is what happens when you walk in a manner worthy of Jesus. It is a direct result. God brings about those results.


Here’s the second thing. God wants us to increase in the knowledge of God. Knowledge of God comes from two places. Learning about Him through His word, and Learning about Him through experiencing Him in your life. And that leads back to walking in a manner worthy of the Lord.


So, if you want to please God, walk like Jesus walked, and learn soak up the experience of God like a sponge.


CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: A Christian leader will seek to please God by living like Jesus and learning about God all they can.


Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Proverbs 1


Prayer: Father, help me to walk in a way that is pleasing to you. Make me more like Jesus, and help me to stay in Your word. In Christ’s name, amen.

Day 36: 1 John 4:9

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him”



Notice a very interesting thing that John is saying about why Jesus came into the world and what it says about God.


John says that Jesus came into the world so that we could live through Him, and that shows the love of God. What does that mean?


First, lets tackle that part about living through Jesus. I believe there are two undertones on “life” here. First, when we believe in Jesus Christ, we have eternal life. This is truly living. We no longer face an eternity separated from our Creator and Redeemer. Through Jesus Christ and his sacrificial death on the cross, we live.


Second, though, is an even more interesting note with implications in this life. Our life in Christ is different. It is more fulfilling, because it’s lived in tune with how God made the world; and there is purpose, because through Christ’s death and resurrection we are now free to serve God. This is living as well. In fact, if you read Colossians 3 you find that your life is “hidden” with Christ; people should no longer see you, but Jesus. When Jesus is revealed, Paul says there in Colossians, then you will be revealed again as well.


What both Paul and John are saying is that as a Christian, our life is now lived through Jesus. We have a new filter that we should put everything we do through: Jesus.


The Christian leader should ask themselves what makes a leader worth following. I would answer that it is this very principle: That they live their lives through Christ, rather than through themselves. We already tried living through ourselves, and it didn’t work so well. We are worth following because we no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus, and He knows how to live life so much better than us.


When people look at us they should be seeing Jesus. Our actions, our speech, and our leadership should just ooze Jesus. That’s what it means to live through Christ. It’s no longer our life, it’s no longer our power, and it’s no longer our way. It’s Jesus.


CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: The Christian leader lives their life through Christ, rather than themselves. This makes them a leader worth following.


Here are some verses to Meditate on Today: Colossians 3:1-17


Prayer: Father, help me to live my life through Jesus Christ. I belong to Him. I don’t want to do things my own way anymore. Make me a leader worth following. In Christ’s name, amen

Day 33: Hebrews 2:17

“Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”



There is something very important about Jesus in these verses. Well, a couple of things. First, Jesus was just like us, except that He didn’t sin. That’s why He can relate to us, and we can relate to Him. He knows what we are going through, because He went through it. He faced every temptation we face. He faced every heartache that we face. He knew every joy that we know. But Jesus did it all without sin, which makes Him the perfect sacrificial lamb of God.


We can learn a lot from what Jesus did while He was on earth. One of the things that we as leaders need to learn is that we need to be of the people. There are many “leaders” who think that they don’t need to mingle with “the little people” who work for them or follow them. Nothing could be farther from the truth.


To become what Jesus needed to become, He lived with us. In fact, Jesus even lived homeless, relying on the goodness of people to take Him and His disciples in at night, or sleeping under the stars when it was required. The point is, Jesus didn’t insulate himself in some nice mansion and keep Himself apart from the people. He lived with them, among them, as one of them.


As leaders, especially a successful one, our tendency is to drag ourselves away from the people, to see ourselves as better than the people, and to think of them as not worth our time. We have to look to Jesus to be our example and model in how we deal with people. The truth is, we are no different than anybody else, God has just given us a leader’s stewardship for a time.


If we follow Jesus’ example, we become better leaders. Why? Because we can lead, and others follow better, when our lives are intertwined with the lives of those we lead.


CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Like Jesus, we aren’t to separate ourselves from other people. We aren’t to think of ourselves more highly, or believe that spending time with others is beneath us. We are good leaders because we understand people and share in their lives.


Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: John 11:28-37


Prayer: Lord, help me be humble and to identify with others around me. Help me be a better leader by being like Your Son Jesus, who lived among and with other people. In Christ’s name, amen.

Day 32: Titus 1:7a

“For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach.”



Believe it or not, the Bible has a list of expectations when it comes to being a leader. You can find them in Titus, Timothy, and scattered throughout the New Testament.


One of those requirements for leadership is that a person who leads must be above reproach. What does that mean?


Many people think that it means that a leader must be perfect. If that were the case, there would be no leaders. No one is perfect except Jesus. Not even close.


So what does “above reproach” mean? Quite literally, it means, no one can accuse you, or that no one has any need to publicly get into your face about your screw-ups.


Notice what I’m saying. It’s not that you don’t screw up, it’s that you handle your screw-ups in a way that can’t be publicly scrutinized, or would hurt the reputation of Jesus Christ.


Let’s take a look at what that looks like.


First, when we make mistakes, being above reproach means we go public with a confession. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it also means that if you have already publicly confessed your sins, people can’t play “gotcha” with your sin life.


Second, being above reproach means that you deal with your sins in a direct and repentant way. You don’t hide behind excuses and try to justify your actions. You repent, and ask forgiveness from those that you hurt. You publicly proclaim why your actions were sinful and harmful, and ask forgiveness from those around you.


Third, it means being open about your shortcomings. This is very difficult, especially for leaders (who tend towards pride anyways), but essential for being above reproach. When people don’t expect you to be perfect, they won’t be surprised when you’re not. Many leaders think that having an air of invincibility about them is what they need to lead. I would disagree. I believe that an air of vulnerability is much better. It’s more human. And it’s realistic.


Remember that you’re not perfect, and no matter how hard you try, you won’t be this side of heaven. What separates you from other people is how you handle your sin. Are you above reproach, or are you one reveal away from downfall?


CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: A Christian leader deals with their sin in a public and humble way. They are above reproach because of the way they deal with sin.


Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: 2 Samuel 11


Prayer: Lord, help me to deal with my sin in a way that will bring greater glory to You. Help me not to hide it or cover it up. Make me above reproach. In Christ’s Name, amen.

Day 23: Ephesians 1:2

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”



Two things about this passage really strike me. If you’re familiar with the way Paul begins his letters, you’ll find this phrase or a very similar phrase. It’s very apparent that Paul wishes this for the people that are receiving the letter. In fact, if we had Paul here today I think that he’d confirm that he really wants that for all people.


Second, it’s not about him. He didn’t wish them peace from Paul, he wished them peace from God.


This tells me two things about being a leader:


First, we should be worried about the people who “follow us.” It’s not enough to simply lead them. In today’s world, you may be a leader at a business, where people probably work for you. If you are a leader on a sports team, then people play for you. If you are the leader of a church, it’s a little different, but those people are still paying your salary. If we’re not careful, leadership becomes about what people that we lead can do for us. This is not the right attitude to have. Remember that Jesus said that we were to serve others. We are to look out for them, want the best for them, and strive to give them everything that we have. It’s almost a parental role. If we are looking at those we serve and asking what they can do for us, then we’re coming at it all wrong.


Second, Paul realizes that it’s not about him. If we are a Christian leader, especially in a Christian setting, people shouldn’t be following us at all, they should be following Jesus. Now, I know that sounds kind of funny, and of course they “follow” us, but where do we point them. Paul’s leadership didn’t point back to Paul, it pointed to Jesus. Our leadership should point to Jesus. Remember the old hymn “Let Others See Jesus in You?” This is how our leadership should be. In fact, this is how our lives should be.


As we learn to be leaders, and as we lead, make sure that it’s not about you at all. It’s about others, and it’s about God. Kinda rolls back to the royal command, doesn’t it? Everything does.


CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Leadership isn’t about the leader. A leader should be taking care of those they lead, and they should be pointing them to Jesus.


Here’s a set of verses for you to meditate on today: Mark 12:28-34


Prayer: Father, help me to lay less importance on myself and lead as you would have me to. Help me to care for those I lead. Help me to show You to them. Help me to become the last. In Christ’s Name, amen.

Day 20: 2 Corinthians 1:5-6

“For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.”


Paul was no stranger to suffering. I don’t think any New Testament character, outside of Jesus, suffered more. Paul was in prison more, thrown out of more towns, stoned and left for dead, persecuted at every turn, and worse, rejected by many of his own churches at one time or another, as his letters to the Corinthians show.

This should say something to the Christian leader. If you are doing your job, suffering isn’t an option, it’s part of the job description. God allows us to make much of Him through joy and suffering. You get both sides of it.

Suffering isn’t an idea that we relish. In this day and age of instant comfort and gratification, we aren’t use to suffering. We’re so not used to it that when we see it on the nightly news in some other country it’s all we can do to look at it. The idea that we will suffer doesn’t set well with us.

However, look at what Paul writes. He states very plainly that with the suffering that he suffers, Christ offers abundant comfort. That is a cause/effect statement. We have comfort in Christ because of our position in Christ.

Take that to heart. You will suffer as a leader. Long hours, persecution, hard work, rejection, and failure; all these and more are yours. But with this is the comfort that only Christ can bring. A “peace that passes all understanding.”

Look closer at what Paul is saying: Paul’s suffering benefited his followers. So did his comfort. Our suffering sometimes does the same thing for our followers. We often suffer for their benefit. That’s love. All we have to do is look to Jesus, whose suffering benefited us, as an example of this kind of love and suffering.

Don’t be surprised when you suffer. It’s part of the gig. But know that Christ brings comfort. Seek it from Him. Seek it only from Him.

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: A Christian leader will suffer in some manner. It’s part of the job; however, Christ offers comfort through the suffering.

Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Philippians 4:4-7

Prayer: Father, thank You for the promise that with suffering comes Your comfort. Thank you that I am worthy to suffer for Your sake and for that of the people that follow me. Help me to face suffering with dignity, patience, and perseverance. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Day 19: Philippians 1:3-5

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”


A leader has a very special mission from God. We have been allowed a stewardship of not only our own talent and gifting, but that of others as well. Let me unpack that a bit for you: we are given a certain amount of gifts and talents that God wants us to use for His kingdom. When you are a leader, and in charge of an organization or whatever, God is also giving you the talents and gifts of other people that you can direct and focus for His kingdom. That’s an amazing thing.

In Philippians 1, Paul is thanking the Philippian church for their participation in the gospel with him. He is probably referring to their support of him in his ministry, both monetarily and materially.

We need to be thankful for the people that follow us. They are people that have allowed us to lead them. These people aren’t a trophy on your shelf or a feather in your cap. They are people with gifts and talents, who, just like you, have been created for the purpose of bringing glory to God.

Don’t forget to treat those people who follow you as human beings. Leaders in the secular world are well known for treating their followers like resources: just another paper clip, computer, or cell phone that is theirs to use. That is not the MO of the Christian Leader. We understand that if we mistreat the people He has given us to lead, He can just as easily take them from us.

Like Paul, be thankful for those people that God has allowed you to lead. We are all in partnership with God in the gospel.

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: God allows us to lead people for His glory. Don’t treat them as things. Be thankful for them and be in prayer for them.

Here’s a verse to meditate on today: Luke 22:24-30

Prayer: Father, thank you for giving me a stewardship of leadership. Thank you for those people that have partnered with you in the gospel. Thank you for giving them to me to lead. Help me treat them with the same love and respect that you treat them. In Christ’s name, amen.

Day 18: Romans 10:9

“If You Confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”


Have you ever found yourself missing the big picture? You’ve probably heard the saying, “He can’t see the forest for the trees,” haven’t you?

Sometimes as Christian leaders we forget the big picture. We forget why God has made us, and why He uses us. We get so busy trying to be leaders that we forget why we lead.

Don’t ever forget that the gospel is preimminent in every thing we do. As the great commission explains, our purpose here on earth is redemptive. We literally exist to spread the gospel.

We often forget that. We’re too busy trying to save the world from a number of other disasters, or trying to consume for our own pleasure, or we’re so caught up in our daily lives that we just don’t realize it.

God loves us so much that Jesus died in our place. We are recipients of that love, and if we truly are, then we will share it with others. As you are in school, at work, with your friends, or wherever you spend your time, remember what you’re here for: to be an image-bearer of God and display His grace and love for the world to see.

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Don’t forget what you’re here for. Leadership is a calling that God has given you to work for the Kingdom of God, and that means that the Gospel is central to that calling.

Here’s a verse to meditate on today: John 3:16

Prayer: Father, help me keep my priorities straight. Help me to share Your gospel in word and deed with the whole world. In Christ’s name I pray, amen.

Introduction to Next in Line 365

Hello! Welcome to Next in Line 365. I want to thank you. Why? Because first of all, if you’re reading this, you stopped by one of our booths and talked with some of the great people from Next In Line. We’re very excited about your future and the unbelievable things that God is going to do through you. That’s kinda why we wrote Next in Line 365. Secondly, I’m thanking you because if you’re reading this, you’ve seen leadership and wisdom as important enough to investigate. That tells me that you are already a leader in some way, and I’m thankful for it.


You may not know it, but you stand at a crossroads in your life. Today, tomorrow, the next day and the days to come are so important to all of humanity. That statement might seem like a little much, but believe me, it’s true. What you do with your life on this day and in the days to come will have unbelievable consequences, good and bad, for the whole world. How do I know that? Well, I know my God, and He is a God of unbelievable power. He created the universe. He created you. He provided salvation through His Son, Jesus. And that same God wants to work through you to advance His cause throughout the entire world. See? Important.

At this crossroads, God is inviting you to step out on faith and rely on Him to guide you in becoming what He intends. The world is also tempting you. It tempts you into power, money, and sex. What road will you take? The world may seem like the best choice, but it will always leave you empty, broken, and wanting something more. God’s way may seem difficult, and sometimes it is. But the great news is you just have to be faithful and let God work through you. And with God’s way, you’ll get to see the miraculous happen. Can’t say that about the world, can you?

What does this have to do with me?

At this point, you might be saying “dude, what does this have to do with me? I’m not gonna be some pastor or something, I just want to be a (fill in the Blank).” Well, that’s a good question. God doesn’t just call pastors to change the world. Or missionaries, or music leaders, or youth pastors (thankfully). God uses everyday people in everyday walks of life to lead other people and change the world. And since you’re reading this, my guess is you are one of these “everyday” people. Or maybe you want to go into the ministry. Either way, you’re gonna get something out of this devotional. So this has everything to do with you.

What is Next in Line 365?

Wow, another good question. Next in Line 365 is a devotional for young leaders. I know it’s tough to get into God’s word and just soak stuff up. So we’ve helped you a bit. We’ve taken some key verses out of places like Proverbs and we’ve suggested some ways that the verse could apply to the life of a leader. We hope that by reading these devotions you grow closer to God and learn what the Bible says about leadership and how to practice it in our lives and ministries. And this is just the beginning. We want you to make Next in Line 365 a habit, so we’ve made it available as a podcast on our website, and in written form on their too. More than anything, we just want you studying the Bible and getting everything out of it that you can.

What is Wisdom?

Anyone? Anyone? Is it something old people get as they get older? Nope. Wisdom can be expressed like an equation (no, this isn’t a math lesson). Wisdom=Knowledge+application for a specific situation. That’s it. Not too hard, is it? Knowledge in itself is kinda useless. So is application if you don’t have anything to apply. Knowledge and how to apply it to our life is something else though. It’s useful, it’s good. It’s wisdom.

Let’s get an example. The Bible says to love your neighbor. Simple enough, right? That’s knowledge. Says it right there in the book of Luke. Okay, so far so good. Got the knowledge part down. Now, let me ask you another question. What does “love your neighbor” look like? How do you love your neighbor? Who is your neighbor? The answer to these questions is application. So knowing that you are supposed to love your neighbor, and applying it by knowing who your neighbor is, and how to love them equals wisdom. Simple! Well, Kinda.

All right, I think we’re ready to get started. Are you ready? Do you want God to show you the way to becoming the person He wants you to be? Are you ready to commit yourself to learning God’s way of leadership?

Then get ready to step into the rest of your life. You’ve chosen your road. The right road.