1. Think Great Thoughts: As Ingram notes, God commands great thinking, and he encourages readers to take time to notice God’s beauty by listening to music and taking nature walks. Ingram also encourages readers to take a “media fast”—48 hours without TV or print media. I’ve never done that, but I do try to take time to explore God’s beauty in the world around me, and try to apply Philippians 4:8.
2. Read Great Books: Ingram points out that great books broaden your world, sharpen your mind, inflame your heart, develop your skills, and heal your soul. I couldn’t agree more, as I love to read—especially about leadership. My all-time favorites include:
- The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
- The 360o Leader and Leadership Gold by John Maxwell
- The Leadership Challenge & The Truth About Leadership by Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner
- The Leadership Code by Dave Ulrich, Smallwood, and Sweetman
- Quiet Strength and The Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy
- Helping People Win at Work by Ken Blanchard
- Beyond Race & Gender by Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.
- White Like Me by Tim Wise
3. Pursue Great People: Ingram encourages readers to identify their spiritual “Mount Rushmore”—the people you’ll always remember because they inspired you and taught you about life. Also, know that great people aren’t likely to come to you; instead, you need to go to them. I’ve definitely found that to be the case in my journey, from pursuing my first mentor as a newly-married man…until today as I’m reaching out to fill my “personal board of directors”, as I grow in my different leadership roles.
4. Dream Great Dreams: Ingram draws examples from the lives of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, and Paul to show that our biggest problem isn’t that our dreams are too big – it’s that they’re too small. What is your dream with regard to personal growth? Family? Career? I use a variety of mentors and sounding boards to discuss and shape my dreams and plans. How about you? Are you sharing your dreams with others?
5. Pray Great Prayers: Great Christian leaders are both bold yet humble in their prayer life. This is an area of life that I need constant reminders to make my prayer life a priority—especially making enough time to listen to God, instead of simply relaying my personal requests.
6. Take Great Risks: I’m not known as a big risk-taker, so Ingram’s challenge is tough for me to hear. He says, “Where there’s no risk, there’s no faith; where there’s no faith, there’s no power or joy or intimacy with God.” I know I need to take greater risks, which forces me to trust God and form a deeper reliance upon Him.
7. Make Great Sacrifices: Jesus modeled sacrifice throughout his time on earth, and there are many examples of Christians going above and beyond everything that’s required to express their commitment to Christ. Are you making great sacrifices in your life?
8. Enjoy Great Moments: Pastor and author John Ortberg encourages people to “ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” I know for me, busyness can get in the way of my relationship with Christ and my relationship with others. Simplifying life and my various commitments is important to enjoying the present. Most of my great moments are those simple times with family and friends, and I have to be intentional about giving those times the priority they need.
9. Empower Great People: Leadership is all about growing others. According to Ingram, good Christians “live the life” while great Christians “leave a legacy”. Who are you investing your time, mentoring, and energy in? If you had to write your own eulogy today, are you leaving the kind of legacy you want to leave?
10. Develop Great Habits: Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, “If you take all of your good habits and subtract your bad ones, the result is your contribution to society.” Are your habits helping you achieve your purpose and your mission in life? If not, it’s time to start thinking about adjustments…even before New Year’s resolution time…
I appreciate Chip Ingram’s reflections on the 10 practices that great Christians have in common. They provide good reminders for the types of things “Out of This World” leaders do…