The Biblical Leadership Show
Inspiration. Wisdom. Leadership from a Higher Perspective.
Welcome to The Biblical Leadership Show, your go-to resource for discovering timeless truths from Scripture that empower leaders to inspire, influence, and impact their world. Hosted by Tim Lansford and Dr. Dean Posey, this podcast takes a deep dive into the Bible’s profound lessons on leadership, bringing fresh perspectives to timeless principles that resonate in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing world.
Each episode is packed with:
- Powerful Biblical Insights: We explore the leadership styles of biblical figures like Moses, Esther, David, and Jesus, extracting practical strategies for overcoming challenges, building trust, and creating lasting impact.
- Real-World Applications: Learn how to integrate biblical leadership principles into your workplace, team, or organization while navigating the complexities of modern leadership.
- Inspiration for Growth: Whether you’re a seasoned leader or just stepping into a leadership role, our content is designed to motivate and equip you to lead with integrity, compassion, and vision.
- Stories and Wisdom: Hear personal stories and guest interviews that highlight how biblical leadership transforms lives and businesses.
Leadership isn’t just about titles or power—it’s about serving others, making wise decisions, and leaving a legacy of faith and purpose. Through relatable discussions, actionable takeaways, and encouragement rooted in Scripture, The Biblical Leadership Show provides the tools and insights you need to lead boldly and faithfully in every sphere of life.
Whether you’re leading in the boardroom, the church, your community, or your home, this podcast is for you. Together, we’ll navigate the intersection of faith and leadership, bridging ancient wisdom with modern relevance.
New episodes drop every Tuesday. Subscribe now and lead with purpose, faith, and courage!
The Biblical Leadership Show
Thanksgiving Tales: Leadership, Psalms, and Holiday Humor with Elisa
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, my daughter Elisa, Dr. Posey and I invite you to join us on a special holiday-themed episode of the Biblical Leadership Show. We share our excitement for the season by talking about our favorite holiday foods and even Dr. Posey's quirky Italian Thanksgiving menu with spaghetti and pumpkin pie. As we transition from dinner tables to scripture, we explore the historical and spiritual richness of the Psalms, offering newcomers a simple yet meaningful daily reading habit that involves a chapter from Matthew, a Psalm, and a Proverb. Whether it's your first encounter with the Bible or you're a seasoned reader, these insights promise to enrich your spiritual journey.
We then focus on leadership through the wisdom of Psalm 23, where we emphasize how effective leaders, like King David, are also great followers. Explore how listening, adaptability, and providing resources even in challenging environments can empower a team and enhance productivity. We share real-world stories of leaders who genuinely engage with their teams, the importance of work-life balance, and even a light-hearted tale of how rearranging office spaces at church lifted spirits and improved productivity. To top it all off, we sprinkle in some Thanksgiving humor with festive jokes about ducks and turkeys, aiming to leave you with a smile and new insights to foster a positive and effective work environment.
all right, welcome. Yeah, uh-huh, yeah, come on, come on. All right, welcome, welcome. Hey, hey, you gotta say it Welcome, welcome, welcome. Go ahead say it.
Speaker 2:Welcome, welcome, welcome.
Speaker 3:Welcome.
Speaker 2:welcome, welcome To another episode of the Biblical Leadership Show. We've got a special guest in the house with us today.
Speaker 3:We have what's your name? You know my name.
Speaker 2:Dad, oh, that's my daughter, elise. You're looking so grown up I didn't even know I'm literally wearing a black t-shirt with stars on it. You are wearing a black t-shirt with stars. So anyway, holiday week.
Speaker 1:Holiday week. Oh my gosh, Turkey Day is just like two days away, I know.
Speaker 3:In less than a week Wow. I know it is.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:You can already smell the turkey and the dressing.
Speaker 2:You know we've got some good ones and you know what are we talking about today. We're going to do this fast. Today we're sort of we're ready to go eat some turkey and dressing.
Speaker 1:right, we're ready. I can already smell the pumpkin pie. We were talking about the studio, so what's your favorite Thanksgiving food?
Speaker 2:Oh, thanksgiving food, I don't know. I sort of like the brown gravy and the dressing and all that, but I mean it's a combination. You have to have the dressing, the turkey, the mashed potatoes.
Speaker 1:I mean everything's got to sort of go together. It's got to come together, right? Yeah, yeah. So like a collage on your plate, right?
Speaker 2:So yeah, so I'm pretty excited about Thanksgiving. This is always a joyous time, you know, spending with family and everything you got.
Speaker 1:Big plans, family coming in, we've got family coming in, you know, and so it's going to be good. We'll just be us at our house and we're not doing turkey this year, even though one of my favorite meals this is crazy is cold sweet potatoes.
Speaker 2:Cold sweet potatoes. We'll talk about that later.
Speaker 1:They're really good. This year we're going to do something a little different. We're going to go like an Italian Thanksgiving. We're going to do spaghetti and pumpkin pie. Awesome, you know, I don't know, maybe spaghetti and pumpkin pie I like it. We've done spaghetti for Christmas before so maybe we'll have pumpkin pie, then spaghetti, then pumpkin pie. Yeah, maybe that's it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my wife had a traditional Italian feast one year and we had the whole spaghetti and meatballs and all that stuff for there and we've been talking about it. So maybe we'll fire it up for this Christmas as well. So yeah, never know, never know, never know. She's going.
Speaker 3:no, we're having turkey and dressing and pumpkin pie and all that stuff, and green stuff, and green stuff. For sure you better not have any spaghetti.
Speaker 2:Maybe not All right. So we're talking about Psalms today, right?
Speaker 1:Yes, we're talking about Psalms and it's got 150 Psalms in the book 150. We could talk about the book of Psalms and the leadership lessons that we get from those passages, for weeks.
Speaker 2:Now let's talk about what psalms are. Are they, you know, because we sing songs, right, you know? But I mean they're really just Well, they're hymns, they're poems.
Speaker 1:Many of the psalms were sung by the Jewish people for their special days. Maybe, as they were traveling from their home to Jerusalem, they would be singing these songs. And so, for our benefit, many, many hundreds of years ago, they were written down and recorded and there's a specific pattern of those Psalms, even though there's 150 of them, and it's good to just read them. And if somebody wants to get started in the Bible and they say I don't really want to start, you know, don't know where to start, I'd encourage them to start reading the book. You know, like, start with the book of Matthew in the New Testament, read one chapter, read one psalm and then read one proverb every day. And there's 150 psalms. So it's going to take you, you know, five months to get through the psalms, but you would read the proverbs every month, because there's 31 proverbs. So you can just and that's just a slow thing you could do that in 10 minutes a day.
Speaker 2:Now say them again. Say what we would do.
Speaker 1:So you'd start out reading the New Testament. If people start out with the Old Testament, they get through the book of Genesis, Exodus, but when they get to Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy it just kind of bogs them down.
Speaker 2:You don't want to know the whole history of David and I.
Speaker 1:It's a great story, but some people get bogged down. So I say, hey, if you've never read the Bible, first of all pick a Bible that is easy to read for you Because, like the King James Bible is a 12th grade reading level. I think the NIV is a 9th or 10th grade reading level. So you want to get a Bible that's easy to read. Okay, could be the Living Bible, could be, you know, whatever ESV version, whatever, but find something that's easy to read.
Speaker 1:You might have to go to the Bible bookstore or someplace like that and get a Bible, but start with the book of Matthew in the New Testament and just read one chapter. That's it. Don't try to read a bunch, just read one chapter. Then turn to the book of Psalms, which is right in the middle of the Bible. Read one Psalm, like Psalm 1. And turn to the book of Proverbs, which is right after Psalms, and then read one proverb. Three chapters a day. Just do that and over time you're going to read through the entire New Testament. You're going to read through that and I would just say just do that. And it's a great habit to get into, right To take 10 minutes a day at maximum to do that and you will begin to think, oh, I don't want to just feel like I have to do it. You're going to want to do it because the stories are so amazing. So that's just a good discipline.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Another place to get a Bible, too, is go to estate sales. I mean, you can pick them up for a dollar, you can, yeah, and it's got tons of it.
Speaker 1:So yeah, but just get one that's easy to read for you. Okay, pick it up, start reading someplace in the New Testament or at the beginning, and if it just has all these these and thous, it's hard. Just say no, that's not going to work for me, because if it's not easy to read, you're not going to read it okay, you might force yourself to read it, but it's not going to be enjoyable.
Speaker 1:And you want the Bible to be an enjoyable book to read. It is the number one selling book in the world of all history. That's awesome that should say something, and world of all history that should say something. And so just find something that you enjoy and read it. But so we could talk about a lot of these psalms as far as leadership, but today we're going to focus on one psalm. That's probably the most famous psalm.
Speaker 2:Maybe two, because, lisa, which psalm were you listening? Which one did you have to memorize, lisa Krupa?
Speaker 3:Psalms 100. Psalm 100.
Speaker 2:That's the one that you like, right? Yeah, I was just curious. Yeah, because we were just talking and she just recited the whole Psalm 100, the whole thing right before the thing.
Speaker 1:So you did really good yeah.
Speaker 2:But for the sake of it, we're going to talk about which Psalm today? Psalm 23. Psalm 23. So I'm just going to read that.
Speaker 1:So if you're not familiar, haven't heard that in a while. And then we will talk about the leadership principles we get from the psalm. So here it is. It's only six verses, but this is what we get from Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in passive righteousness for His namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff. They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Speaker 1:So six verses, but they are timeless and just. Phenomenal wisdom in that. So let's just start with verse one as far as leadership principles, and let's just here's the first verse the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Now, this was written by King David, and yet he's saying the Lord is my shepherd. In other words, I am the leader, but I have a leader, which to me translates as far as leadership principles, is that every good leader should also be a good follower, and if you're not able to be a good follower sometimes you lose your edge about being a good leader.
Speaker 1:And sometimes people in leadership for so long or in bureaucracy for so long, administration for so long that they forget what it's like to be in the trenches. And if we ever are in a leadership position but we forget what it's like to be in the trenches, then we've lost our edge on our leadership. And so I think that to me is a real important aspect of leadership that we don't ever lose the ability to be a good follower.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's, that's 100%, because I mean, um, there's all different levels of how people manage and lead, right, but I mean that's one of the biggest things I don't care if you're a dictatorship, right, you know where it's your way or the highway. At some point, if you want to get good and you want to become a good leader, you have to open yourself up, you have to listen to your people, you have to make sure that you're hearing more than just your way, because there's a lot of wealth of knowledge. You know, just because I've done it some same way for 25 years doesn't mean it's the right way, right?
Speaker 1:Or it doesn't mean. It's the only way.
Speaker 2:It's the only way, yeah, and so.
Speaker 1:So part of a good leadership is that. And so you know, having staff meetings, having maybe your executive staff listening to other people, and, as I said before on this podcast and I used to share with my staff, I want to hear what you have to say. I have 51 percent of the vote and but after listening to them, sometimes you know I would say, oh, you know what your idea is better, let's do your, let's do that. And so it's important for leaders to also be good listeners and followers, for leaders to also be good listeners and followers, and once we lose that edge, then we lose something in our leadership capability, right?
Speaker 2:So you know, and that's what they sort of talk about, you know is being a good leader. You know, and I think that's one of the biggest lessons is how do you lead? How can you get better at leader?
Speaker 1:Yes, and so let's just keep going down that particular path.
Speaker 2:Sorry, I'm doing 12 different things over here, that's okay, you got it, my friend, you got it.
Speaker 1:Okay. And so the next part of the passage and we read this is that he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the waters, he restores my soul. That he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the waters, he restores my soul. And so, basically, what David was saying about God is that God provides the resources for me, for my soul to be nourished. Okay, so the question as far as leadership is as a leader, are we providing the resources that our people need to do their job effectively? And that, to me, is good leadership.
Speaker 1:Now, sometimes you don't have the money. I mean, in church, a lot of times we didn't have the money. So the question is what do you provide? And for me sometimes it was affirmation or a thank you note or something just spending time with people. Because if you don't have the money to do like capital improvements or those kind of things, buy new equipment, then sometimes you think I can't do anything. No, you can still affect the person's heart and their mind and just tell them they're doing a good job, maybe spend time with them and let them know how valuable they are to the company.
Speaker 2:Right and I think this you know, one of this thing that you know he lays, he makes me lie down in green pastures is the. What we pitch in leadership is the balance and renewal. Right, you know? Do you have a work-life balance? Are you just? Are you not taking time to open up to your inner self and listen to the inner messages and stuff, and are you sitting out in a field and just listen to the wind blow and get that inner peace a lot so yeah.
Speaker 1:So Stephen Covey, you know his seven habits. Last one is sharpen the soft. So that would be like what are you doing to renew, like you said? What are you doing to renew yourself? What are you allowing your people to do?
Speaker 1:Are you giving them a day off or do you have staff days where you know, occasionally we would take the day and say, okay, we're going to go volunteer for Habitat for Humanity in the morning, or we're going to go and do this at Christmastime and this time of year, so many opportunities for the staff to volunteer, doing something you know wrapping Christmas presents somewhere, go helping at a food shelter, do something as a team to bond together, give them a sense of something outside of work, but they do it together and that just creates a unity, a bond between the employees. That and to me, not just the employees but also the leadership of the people working together. We had some contractors over at our house just last week, okay, yeah, and they were doing some brickwork, patio work, and what amazed me was the owner of the company was in there shoveling the dirt and laying the brick too.
Speaker 1:And to me that spoke loud volumes of the value he has and his leadership ability to be with his people and be right there with them, do the work with them, Instead of standing in his truck or going off and bidding another job. I thought that was really a valuable lesson.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and my guest host here. Last week, I think you guys went and volunteered at Mission Arlington, didn't you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, we did, and then we got to go to a park and eat lunch and play.
Speaker 2:So what was the Mission Arlington? What all did you do there? How was that experience?
Speaker 3:It was good. Also a little bit painful because we had to like unload trucks of food. Oh yeah, and then after we'd unload them, like there's two trucks we had to unload, then we had to sort out all the food into categories Thanksgiving food, miscellaneous and non-Thanksgiving food.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 3:And then we had to load them all into these crates and carry them inside, and these were like heavy boxes.
Speaker 2:Heavy Were. You like two kids per box or just one?
Speaker 3:Sometimes when I was lifting a box, I had to have three people help. Whoa, that's pretty heavy Like two people help me and then sometimes I just give it off to somebody else like a boy who could lift it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, was it a fun experience though.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it hurt sometimes because I was in the sun.
Speaker 2:But it was fun. You got to bond with your people in the class and all that.
Speaker 3:That's awesome. There was a little bit of Miss Smith's class, yeah a little bit of everybody's class.
Speaker 1:That's awesome.
Speaker 1:That is so good, it was fun, it was great, and the amazing thing about that is teaching servanthood at a young age 100% 100%, and so the question as far as leadership going back to leadership is what a great example that the teachers of that school are teaching the children of all ages that it's not just about me. Part of my life here on earth is to be a blessing to other people. How can I do that? And that really comes from the top down, and so if the principal or the administration of her school did not think that was valuable, they wouldn't be doing it.
Speaker 1:But, they think that's part of character development and to me, by doing those things as a team, you know going volunteering somewhere, that's almost one of those intangibles that you build with your team that you just can't build in the office. It's just very difficult to do. But you go out and work on a habitat house, you work at a food and clothing shelter, you volunteer to do something. It really does make a bond of the team. That's hard to get in the office.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's awesome, we'll continue on. He leads me beside still waters and he restores my soul, sort of keeping on with the calmness theme, right To have clarity and calmness in your situation. Still waters reflects sort of that peace and that focus of a leader in a way.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, and so let's just tie that into verse 5, where it says you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. And so every business has challenges. Sometimes it's a supply issue, a challenge, sometimes it's a financial issue, sometimes it's a personnel issue either a person that's just not a team player, or you're lacking person, or you maybe have to trim something. You've got some challenges to go, and the question is how is the leader responding to that? Are they a calm presence in the midst of that? Are they the calm waters in the midst of the storm? Or is they creating a storm? Are they panicking?
Speaker 1:I'm not challenging people to be Pollyannish, I'm not saying that. But it's important to know that the attitude of the company really starts from the top down, and whatever the attitude is of the leader is going to eventually be reflected in the people. And so it's good to be honest, but it's also good to be truthful, and a negative attitude just it's just so has so many ramifications about it. Or saying something about an employee that's out in the public or in the hallways, that's just so damaging to morale the hallways, that's just so damaging to morale. And so it's important for the leader to set the tone for the morale, even in difficult times, and we'll all go through difficult times.
Speaker 1:You've gone through difficult times in your business, we've gone through difficult times at the church, but it's up to the leader to set the emotional tone of the organization, and so the question is is the leader emotionally stable?
Speaker 2:Not all leaders are emotionally stable. It doesn't mean that they're good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but that's important for a leader to set the tone, because a good you want your people to want to come to work, not just to feel like they have to come to work. Oh, I've got to come to work because I need the paycheck. Well, yes, but is that the only reason you're coming to work, or is it because you enjoy the people? You enjoy the work, you see the big picture. It's a pleasant environment. You enjoy the people you work with. There's so many things that really start with the leader of the organization.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's one, and in corporate we call that employee engagement, you know. Are you engaged as a leader? Are you the person that on the surface you're happy, but as soon as the recruiter calls you and offers you a dollar more an hour, then you're out the door. Or are you drinking the Kool-Aid of the company? Are you tied into? This is the best company. Recruiter calls you and goes no, I'm not going to worry for it. You need to send all your people over to my company and send them to me, because we got the best company in the world. Right, right, and that's what you want to give. That's what we strive for.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and sometimes you lose people, right? Sometimes things happen and people leave for whatever reason, and so it's up to the leader to guide the organization through those challenging times and bring calmness in the midst of those storms. And that is really a learned skill, but it's an important skill. Yes, but it's an important skill. Yes, and so the very last verse, because we've got to get some dad jokes in.
Speaker 2:I know We've got to get some dad jokes in, so Lisa's jonesing for dad jokes over here, you know. Okay, well, here we go. Right here I got the box.
Speaker 1:Okay, so the very last verse, psalm 23,. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Just thinking about the working environment, I remember at one church, you know, I walked in there. The staff was pretty much set. And so after I'd been there for a while, they said you do mind if we change up the offices or trade places. And I just said well, I don't have a problem, do what you feel is due so you can get the most work done. And so here, within like a week, boy, they had the whole thing rearranged.
Speaker 1:Love it but they were so much happier because it just flowed different. We changed the location of the workroom. There was so many other things that they had been thinking of. They just didn't feel they had permission to ask. And so they did that and it just calmed people down. So it's like, yeah, that's. I could have said, no, let's just keep what we got. But they had the willingness to say something and I was agreeing and said, yeah just do it and it worked.
Speaker 2:It was great yeah, absolutely, absolutely okay, so we got some dad jokes we got some dad jokes, yeah, we got some dad jokes yes, okay here's one.
Speaker 1:I know it's not a turkey, I know Turkey Day is coming up, but this is a joke about a duck.
Speaker 2:A duck. What are we going to do with duck?
Speaker 1:turkey jokes. Why was the duck so serious? Why was the duck so serious?
Speaker 2:Why was the duck so serious?
Speaker 1:Why was the duck so serious?
Speaker 2:You got any ideas there? Elisa no.
Speaker 1:Because she didn't want to be mistaken for a silly goose.
Speaker 2:Do you have any there, Elisa, that you want to talk into?
Speaker 3:I have like like a couple.
Speaker 2:Okay, say one.
Speaker 3:Why do turkeys always go gobble gobble?
Speaker 1:Why do turkeys go gobble gobble? Because they can't say I don't know what.
Speaker 2:Why do turkeys go gobble gobble?
Speaker 3:Because they never learned good table manners.
Speaker 1:That's a good one. Yeah, so she's got some good, uh, turkey ones. What do you got? One more, turkey one.
Speaker 3:Okay, one more what's a turkey's favorite kind of music?
Speaker 2:favorite kind of music I don't know I've heard this one different. I'm like where in a? Band does a turkey play. That's the one I've heard, but go ahead, let's repeat yours. What's a turkey's favorite kind of music?
Speaker 3:What's a turkey's favorite kind of music?
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:Anything with drumsticks in it yeah, there we go what's the favorite, you know musical instrument that a turkey turkey plays yeah, drumstick, yeah, someone else's drumstick right somebody else's drumstick, all right. What do you got there? Dr p B Well.
Speaker 1:I just got you know one other crazy one. Let's just see, I've got so many here. Let me just see.
Speaker 2:Okay, all right.
Speaker 1:Okay, who did the frog call when his car broke down?
Speaker 3:I don't know.
Speaker 1:Who did the frog call A toad truck?
Speaker 2:Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. What kind of key can't open doors? I don't know. You know this one.
Speaker 1:What kind of key cannot open doors?
Speaker 2:Yes, elisa knows this one. I bet you what kind of key can't open doors A turkey? Elisa knows this one, I bet you. What kind of key can't open doors a turkey? I knew it alright. Well, let's wrap up. Let's do a holiday special in and out of the studio today so we can get on. We've got to get on the road and do some stuff. I know you got family coming in, so, hey, we appreciate you listening. Guys. Have a happy, happy, happy Thanksgiving. Be sure, and check us out BiblicalLeadershipShowcom. Send us any dad jokes or any prayer requests that you might have.
Speaker 1:Please send us dad jokes, yeah please.
Speaker 2:We got some good turkey jokes today, so they gave us a little one. So anything else. Elisa, do you want to say anything to the fine people? Tell them happy Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3:I hope you guys have a happy Thanksgiving and that your family can see you guys, and we'll see you guys later, absolutely and we'll talk to you next week and we're going to get out of the studio.
Speaker 2:Dr P, take us out make it a great day bye.
