Discipline of a

Christian Leader

Discipline is a personal matter.When men get saved, then the disciple's work begins, and the great point about discipline is that you can never make a disciple unless you are one yourself.

Discipline means having the vision to see the long term picture and keep things in balance.

Two (2) Pains:

Pain of Discipline Pain of Regret

"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow."

“Regret can cost hundreds of hours, Discipline costs minutes.

An ounce of bite-my-tongue can outweigh a ton of “I-am-so-sorry”.”

“…a disciple is one who stays focused on what really matters, and is careful about letting

other less important issues or concerns get in the way.”

The Role of Discipline in the Forming of Character: In the forming of character in the life of a leader, discipline is an essential element. In fact, discipline lies at the heart of character.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

Strict training, rigorous training, maximum effort

Prize

Crown

Purpose

Gold Medal

Aim/Goal

“beat my body and make it my slave”

Not like a man running aimlessly

Not one fighting – beating the air

Why do we lack discipline?

Because . . . we dislike pain . . . and who doesn't?

Pain is bad. 

Pain hurts. 

Self-sacrifice hurts. 

Discipline hurts. But an athlete must rise above the pain

for the sake of his training.

“Without the essential quality of discipline, all other leadership virtues remain as dwarfs: they cannot grow.”

J. Oswald Sanders wrote:“Before we can conquer the world, we must first conquer the self. A leader is a person who has learned to obey a discipline imposed from without, and has then taken on a more rigorous discipline from within. Those who rebel against authority, and scorn self-discipline – who shirk the rigors and turn from the sacrifices – do not qualify to lead.”

“Many who drop out of ministry are sufficiently gifted, but have large areas of life floating free from the Holy Spirit’s control. Lazy and disorganized people never rise to true leadership.”

President Harry S. Truman of USA once said, "In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves ... self-discipline with all of them came first." 

Truman's quote captures an important thought about discipline. It is through personal discipline -- the actions that we take in life -- that we plant the roots to our commitments, beliefs, dreams and our personal sense of correctness. These values, however, depend upon our personal discipline to stay focused and committed. 

In our day-to-day lives, we are often pulled in conflicting directions. This at times can cause us to lose our perspective as to who we are and why we do what we do.

Discipline is a way to honor our sense of calling.

Godliness is a disciplined life in Christ.

Godliness does not come automatically, accidentally, or suddenly.

It is a process that comes from living in it.

Discipline on Daily DecisionsDiscipline starts with small trivial matters and lead to

important, critical steps.

5 Critical Choices for Disciplined Decisions

1. Your character choices.

2. Where you spend your time.

3. With whom you spend your time.

4. Your attitude.

5. Your level of discipline.

The good news is that because discipline is a choice,

it can be developed!