The Leader’s Psalm
by Bill Lawrence, President of Leader Formation International
The Twenty-third Psalm is The Leader’s Psalm, David’s psalm, one he may have created as a shepherd, that he sang over and over again throughout his leadership as the King and when he was a warrior. It must have been a vital verse for him. For that reason I offer it to you as a word for all who lead in these seasons of injustice as Jesus walks beside you in your season of darkness.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
For our brothers and sisters in Ukraine under
the attack of the evil one from one who walks with you
Today I speak to you as a pastor to pastors.
Published on Monday, March 14, 2022 @ 8:24 AM CDT
Short Cuts over Long Ways
by Bill Lawrence, President of Leader Formation International
Short cuts along zigzag lines over wilderness wanderings to Christ’s will
Jesus, the Leader, was real. Radically, totally, absolutely real. This means He was fully God and fully man in the same person.
However, He emptied Himself of His divine prerogatives and was absolutely free, not of His deity, but of His rights as God, His self-reliance and His own will. He limited Himself and accepted human limitations and human needs, yet without sin. He was fully man with no sin. He was Genesis 1 without Genesis 3.
Published on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 @ 3:05 AM CDT
Reproducing Leaders Over-and-Over Again
by Bill Lawrence, President of Leader Formation International
Matthew 28:18-20 Again and Again
All authority has been to Me in heaven and on earth,
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . .
Jesus commands us to be leaders who obey Him by reproducing His kind of leaders over-and-over again. In fact, our lives are all about doing what He tells us to do by using our opportunities to accomplish what He directs us to pursue. So, if you are a business leader or an educator or a politician or a pastor or an athlete or a coach or an artist or a draftsman or a factory worker or a husband or a wife or whatever your role in life is, you are most of all a disciple-maker, His kind of leader. In other words, you give yourself to the Lord to be used by Him to be His instrument to make those you influence His reproducers for Him. This is your constant purpose in all that you are doing with your life. You see, your task in life is to form everyone you influence to be His instrument wherever He puts you. This means it is our task to do what He wants done with His life in us: to make that man or woman we influence His kind of disciple-maker as a result of His life through us.
Published on Thursday, September 9, 2021 @ 10:32 PM CDT
Fear Not
by Bill Lawrence, President of Leader Formation International
Fear not, the prophet says to the leader.
Even when everything goes well, fear dominates so many leaders and they are afraid.
In seasons of prosperity, we worry that financial security will go away unexpectedly. In times of health, we constantly seek to avoid illness. We tend to think that good times will fail suddenly, and bad times will last forever. In moments of safety, we anticipate accidents. When things go badly, we expect them to stay bad.
Published on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 @ 11:28 PM CDT
Working to Make Disciples the Jesus Way
Matthew 28:18-20 Again and Again
by Bill Lawrence, President of Leader Formation International
Jesus commanded us to be leaders who obey Him by reproducing leaders over and over again. In fact, our lives are all about doing what He told us to do by using our opportunities in life to accomplish what He directs us to do. So, if you are a business leader or an educator or a political leader or a pastor or an athlete or an artist or a draft man or a factory worker or whatever your task is, you are most of all a discipler and a disciple maker. In other words, you give yourself to the Lord to be used by Him to be His instrument to make those you influence His reproducers for Him as well. This is your constant purpose in life, all that you are doing with your life in all that you do.
Published on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 @ 4:46 AM CDT


It was the spring of the year when leaders took their troops out to defend their territory and protect their country. But this spring David, Israel’s leader, did not take his troops into battle. He had spent seventeen years on the run for his life from King Saul when he lived in caves in the wilderness though he was no risk to Saul. He had opportunities to take Saul’s life, but he would not touch God’s leader.
Now he was king and established in Jerusalem with a new and beautiful house, a gift from a very dear friend, and seemed to have no desire to live the hard life of a military general any more. Besides he had a trustworthy commander and experienced troops he could rely on, so there was no need for him to live on rough ground in primitive shelters when he could enjoy the pleasure of his new home.
So David did not go into battle with his troops that spring. Instead he lived at ease in his new home overlooking Jerusalem, the capital of his kingdom.
Late one afternoon David went up to the rooftop of his home and looked down on his city. Unexpectedly he saw a beautiful woman bathing herself on the roof of her home, where she was purifying herself according to the Lord’s direction in order to obey God. Suddenly attracted, David discovered she was Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, one of his soldiers. He sent for her and slept with her. Not too long after that she sent word to him saying, “I am pregnant.” Hardly good news for the king. He ordered Uriah to come to Jerusalem, obtained a battle report from him, and sent him home to his wife. Uriah, however, would not go home as long as the ark and his fellow soldiers lived in tents on the battlefield. So David sent him back to war with a death warrant in his hand—directions for his general, Joab, to put Uriah in the most violent part of the battle where he was certain to die. And Uriah died.
When leaders stop leading they displease the Lord. When success becomes a leader’s greatest desire, when the comfort of accomplishment becomes a leader’s greatest drive, when a leader’s self-image is defined by his greatest achievements, he is facing his greatest danger. David had committed the two worst crimes he could, adultery and murder, both subject to death by God. God spared his life, but David never had another spring when he could stay home. From this point on he was threatened by enemies and forced to fight battles he never wanted to face. No leader can become caught up in his success and remain successful—the leader who is caught up in success will crash in failure.
What dominates your thoughts—your success or God’s purpose? The leader who thinks about his success rather than God’s purpose is like David—staying home rather than leading in battle. And the leader who does this faces greater battles than he ever thought possible.
If you are a successful leader, as David was and if you are caught up in your comfort rather God’s demands, as David became, or if you are enjoying your achievements rather than God’s call in your life, as David did, you are taking the greatest risk of your life, the risk of God’s discipline for as long as you live.
Rejoice in the blessing of God’s success through you, but when the next springtime comes, be prepared to lead in God’s battles for you lest you are forced to face God’s discipline in your life.
Published on Dec 13 @ 8:39 AM CDT