Thinking
All actions begin with a thought.
“We all live at the mercy of our ideas.
Dallas Willard In Search of Guidance
I have stood in front of a casket with a feeling of indifference. No tears. Just standing there stoically and respectfully. What was I thinking? “I do not know this person.”
I have stood in front of a casket weeping uncontrollably. What was I thinking? “Mom, how can I live without you?”
The difference was my thinking. Our thoughts influence our emotions and our actions. What we think makes a difference in the life we will experience.
The quality of our thoughts determines the quality of our life.
The same is true with patterns of thinking established in our lives over time. Like gathering germs off the street, our mindsets are formed through our experiences and how we respond to them.
Personal reflection
I grew up in an environment where the pattern of thinking was “You have worth when you are productive.” Consequently, throughout my life, my self-worth came from accomplishment. That thinking pattern led to a life of drivenness contributing to my success as a leader.
Upon reflection, I now realize there were other patterns of thinking available to me. I could have chosen to think differently and avoid much of the carnage I experienced, and maybe had even greater success. My response to a variety of situations would have been different if my pattern of thinking had been altered.
The quality of our thoughts determines our leadership service. How a leader thinks affects the way they influence.
If the person in authority desires personal advancement, personal gain, or personal recognition, they will lead differently than if they lead with a kingdom service mindset.
We have all experienced serving with someone in charge who thinks they are the smartest person in the room. Put a name or face to it. Now contrast that with someone who thinks they are in a position of leadership to bring out the best in others so the team can reach new heights of accomplishment. Again, put a name or face to it. I will let you complete this comparison in your own mind.
Douglas McGregor’s classic Theory X Theory Y management theory (The Human Side of Enterprise. McGraw-Hill. 1960.) is an example of the impact of the thinking of a person in charge. Theory X thinking is that people have little ambition, avoid responsibility, are inherently lazy, and full of self interest. Theory Y thinking is that people are internally motivated, take responsibility, enjoy their work, and desire self improvement. Theory X thinking will use rewards and punishments as motivators and a very hands-on approach to management. Theory Y thinking treats the people as valuable assets in the organization, gives them freedom to make decisions, and does not supervise them closely. How a leader thinks about the people in their care influences how they treat them. Which kind of leader would you like to serve with?
Our response
How we respond to a situation or a person in charge is more important than the situation itself. We have choices. We can think as a victim or as an overcomer. We can have a scarcity mindset or an abundance mindset, a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. We can allow negativity or positivity to consume us. We can let fear or opportunity motivate us. What goes on in our head makes a difference in what we do. We cannot control what happens, but we can control how we respond.
Leadership service activity begins with a thought. Our thinking determines how we lead. Our thinking also determines the experience we have with the person assigned to the leadership role. Our thought patterns are formed through our experiences. BUT, we are not helpless or hopeless.
Choose your thoughts
Spiritual leaders who walk in His steps (following/belonging) and allow Him to walk in our shoes (discipleship/apprenticeship) want the mindset φρονέω (phroneō) of Jesus. (Philippians 2:5) Sacrifice, humility, and service are the characteristics of the mindset of Jesus. Foregoing personal advancement, personal gain, and personal recognition are the marks of a person with the mindset of Jesus. (You can read more about mindset here.)
But Paul does not leave us hanging by only describing the mindset. Remember, we live at the mercy of our ideas. So how we think sets in motion our experiencing the mindset of Jesus.
Near the end of his letter to the people of God in Philippi, he instructs them how to think.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8).
Instead of instructing us to have a mindset φρονέω (phroneō), he switches terms and asks us to deliberately reflect and evaluate what we are thinking. He uses the word λογίζομαι (logizomai), an accounting term of that day. Like an accountant with a spreadsheet of numbers, analyzing and calculating the outcomes, we are to λογίζομαι (logizomai) – to reckon, consider, reason, calculate, and dwell on that which is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Choose to focus your thinking on these things.
What and how we think is a choice. Leading with a kingdom service mindset begins with a thought. Right thinking leads to right living. Admirable thinking leads to admirable leading.
Psychiatrist Aaron Beck, the father of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), describes three areas of thought that shape our emotions and behavior. (Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders. Penguin Books, New York. 1979.) Beck’s Cognitive Triad is what we think about self, the world, and the future. I would add a fourth, what we think about God.
How we think about God, ourselves, people, situations, and even leadership shapes our mindset and how we influence those in our care. It begins with a thought.
“We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.”
Earl Nightingale The Strangest Secret
What and how we think makes a difference in how we follow.
What and how we think makes a difference in how we lead.
What we dwell on λογίζομαι (logizomai) shapes our mindset φρονέω (phroneō).
But there is more.
Our minds need renewing. Walking in His steps and allowing Him to walk in our shoes requires a thinking change.
Same man writing to a different group of the people living in a city at the center of civilization and government of that time, says this:
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2 NLT)
The people receiving this letter had a Jewish mindset. A decade earlier they had been expelled by Emperor Claudius only to return after his death. They were now living in a peaceful and prosperous time in the center of Roman culture.
A historic Jewish mindset living at the center of Roman culture following Jesus. Paul recognized the attraction and pull of the culture on these followers of Jesus and the affect it had on their thinking. His concern was that their minds were being formed by the Roman culture.
A change in thinking was his antidote. Interestingly, Paul uses the term for intellect and intelligence νοῦς (nous) instead of mindset φρονέω (phroneō). The intellect needed to be transformed. And the transformation happens by changing the way they think.
Our mindsets are a collection of our experiences and thoughts. Our intellect, our intelligence can easily be shaped by the thinking of society around us. Paul wants our minds to be transformed by having our intellect new in character and quality.
Think on what is true and excellent. ➡️ Have the mindset of Jesus. ➡️ Experience a renewed mind.
Lest we think this is a formula for following and discipleship, it must be said that having the mind of Jesus is not an opinion, or even something that we fully understand. It is a journey. A journey of walking in His steps and He walking in our shoes. A journey of trust, adventure, and mystery. A journey of transformation. (Next week’s post)
Think about it
“We all live at the mercy of our ideas.” Where have you seen this expression lived out in life and leadership?
Several contrasting ways of thinking are mentioned. Which contrast do you believe has the greatest impact on leadership, and why?
What cultural influences today most challenge leaders who want to lead with a kingdom service mindset?
Think on what is true and excellent → Have the mindset of Jesus → Experience a renewed mind. How do you see these three relate to each other? How might these influence the way a leader serves others?
Getting personal
What recurring thoughts most influence the way you lead and serve others? How do those thoughts affect your leadership.
When you encounter difficult people or challenging circumstances, what is your default way of thinking? How might intentionally practicing λογίζομαι (logizomai)—dwelling on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable—change your response?
What experiences or messages from your past have most shaped your thinking about God, yourself, people, and leadership?
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