Building a War Chest: Tools for Effective Leadership

By Ryan Smith

What does leadership mean to you?

This is a complex question with many layers. You might say it's not a question that is as cut-and-dried as others. Explaining what leadership means to you can say a lot about how you interact with others and of the values that matter most to you. In this book, Ryan looks at leadership not as defined by the world, but from the vantage point of the leadership distinctives of the Bible.

Most leaders understand that leadership is defined as one person's influence upon another. Readers, prepare to be challenged to look deeper at the motivation behind that influence, the eventual outcome of that influence, and the principles to guide and sustain you in leadership. Whether you are a leader in a church, business, nonprofit organization, sports organization, classroom, or in your home, this book will inspire you to create a war chest full of resources.

Building a War Chest will give you the tools to become a person of character and competence. These tools will help you achieve all that God has intended for your life and influence people to achieve their God-given destiny as well. So before wasting any time, let's begin accomplishing something significant by putting the right tools in our war chest so we have the insight we need to translate our visions to reality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9798891124493

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: People Follow the Leader First

Chapter 2: Trust Is the Force That Connects

Chapter 3: Leadership Is Living to Inspire

Chapter 4: Adversity Management

Chapter 5: Relationship Management

Chapter 6: Success Is a Process

Chapter 7: Great Leaders Lead at Home

Chapter 8: Great Leaders Are Thinkers

Chapter 9: Great Leaders Value Communication

Chapter 10: Great Leaders Strive for Excellence

Chapter 11: Church Leadership

Chapter 12: Great Leaders Avoid Burnout

Author's Note

About the Author

cover.jpg

Building a War Chest

Tools for Effective Leadership

Ryan Smith

ISBN 979-8-89112-448-6 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89112-449-3 (Digital)

Copyright © 2024 Ryan Smith

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Foreword

Ryan Smith taps into his years of experience to help leaders become the best leaders they can be. Those who choose to lead dive in, take the risks, and sometimes get burned. But it doesn't have to be that way, according to Ryan. Too many books today are just about business principles wrapped in Bible verses. Ryan gives timeless principles to help pastors and leaders think about leadership according to the Bible's plan.

Building a War Chest is a must-read book for anyone needing tools and everyday principles to navigate their personal life, family, business, marriage, or ministry. With wisdom, wit, and biblical teaching, Ryan shares captivating stories of his life journey and unpacks crucial values that can transform leaders and their organizations.

If you are a father, a brother, a coach, a teacher, or someone in a position of influencing another human being, this is a must-read! In the past thirty -plus years of pastoring, I have read many books on leadership, but this is one book that you will want to keep close by at all times for any situation in life you may encounter. As you read, pray for the gift of wisdom to understand all that is presented on these pages so that you can apply them in your own lives!

Pastor Randy Cowart

City Church, Auburn, Alabama

Let me get right to the point: I love everything about Building a War Chest! While reading this latest work by Pastor Ryan Smith, I found myself growing personally and learning professionally with each tool for effective living and leading.

It is true that no matter how long you've been pursuing the things of God, you have faced, are facing, or will again face opposition. Everything about our lives has changed in recent years, and consequently, many of our go-to tools of yesteryear are not working. Of course, we know that prayer works and we know that Jesus is the answer, but we need the practical truths, strategies, and processes to keep us focused and spiritually sharp. The upcoming chapters will give you those tools!

Pastor Ryan Smith is writing from experience, which is our best teacher. This book isn't about hyping us for another temporary soon-to-fizzle-out spiritual vibe. Rather, it is answering our questions: What should I…?; Where will I…?; How can I…?

Let's take our time reading this one. Dig into this war chest and see what kind of blessed life God and you can build!

Darryl W. Hooper, Senior Pastor

The Church Covington, Covington, Georgia

Preface

A war chest is a metaphor for any collection of tools or money intended to be used in a challenging or dangerous situation. Historically, it is referred to as an actual chest located in the barracks of soldiers or military leadership, in which arms and armor are stored.

Whether you are a leader in a church, business, nonprofit, sports team, classroom, or home, I hope you'll be encouraged to be a better leader by establishing a war chest packed full of tools and ammunition. You will also learn some necessary leadership principles for advancing in your life. So before wasting any time, let's begin accomplishing something significant by putting the right tools in our war chest!

The most persistent question is, what is leadership? It's a subtle art and sometimes a confusing mixture of so many things. If you ask ten different people what leadership is, you'll probably get ten different answers.

Yet these are some of my favorite definitions from people who have walked the journey and know what they're talking about: Oswald Sanders believes leadership is influence. Whereas Alan Keith remarks, Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen.

I agree with both of these definitions, and over the years, I have found them helpful in various situations. They remind me of my responsibility whenever I find myself in a leadership role.

The War Chest is a collection of years of learning the key skills and character traits necessary to succeed.

Acknowledgments

I dedicate this book to my wife, Marsha. You have been the love of my life for more than three decades. Your encouragement, prayers, and belief in me have kept me going more than anyone knows. The tenderness and pure kindness that you share from your heart are everything. You have sacrificed more than anyone knows, as you have allowed me to travel the world to proclaim His Word. You have modeled the nature of Christ as a wife, mother, and first lady of the church. I have no idea what I did to deserve you, but I am so very grateful God had a plan to place you in my life. I am indebted to you! Love you forever!

To our boys, Tyler and Logan. As I look back, I am so thankful as I watch you grow into great men of the faith. I have witnessed you steward your callings, your marriages, your ministries, and your kids with grace and love. You have become more than my children to me. You are my greatest supporters and prayer and ministry partners. You both are my pride and joy, my friends who hold me close. I thank God for you daily.

To my favorites: AmberLee, Jessica, Emmett, and Kennedy. The grace and care I witness among you is so refreshing. I have watched you adapt to being in a ministry family by rolling up your sleeves and serving alongside your husbands. You have become more than my sons' wives; you are heaven's gift to us.

Emmett and Kennedy, I watch as God puts His hand upon your lives. There is a generational anointing upon you both to seize your moments. You both are a force of light, and I watch with anticipation as you will go places I have never gone, do things I have never done, and see things I have never seen. Walk boldly!

To my church family, as with any seed, I have reaped more than I ever sown. Your faithfulness, love, and encouragement continue to steady me in my shakiest moments. Thank you for embracing me!

Chapter 1

People Follow the Leader First

As a young man playing sports, I was always labeled a leader by my coaches. I was unclear on how to define that term or even how to enhance it until I began a journey that has been consumed with leadership failures and successes. My appetite for leadership knowledge could only be satisfied by reading works from great authors and learning from leaders' experiences. I soon discovered that reading someone else's story of development is not enough to learn everything, but lifelong experiences are necessary.

My leadership story began after I graduated from ministry school. Instead of attending our commencement ceremony with our fellow graduates, Marsha and I loaded up the limited belongings we had as a recently married couple and moved to establish a church. The vision was burning within my heart, and the drive to succeed was within me, yet I lacked the basics of leadership to succeed. I was beginning a journey that was marked with many failures.

Although the move wasn't far away, it was a significant transition in our young lives. I soon discovered the struggle to balance the pressures of being a husband and provider as I stepped into the most challenging season of leadership development by fire. At this time, I had become a senior pastor. It has been said that true leaders can see the present the way it appears while also seeing a future that will follow the present, and I had to do that.

Those first ten months of starting the church were all about my personal development. For those first ten months, only a few people attended the church. We would get ready on Sunday and arrive at the building we had rented, praying that God would send some people. I recall praying, crying, and sometimes getting into an argument with God over the difficulty of the season. I did not lack vision, but I did lack the necessary tools of leadership that would be required.

I soon discovered that leaders