One of my favorite lazy Saturday activities is watching College football. I am watching The Oregon Ducks play Nebraska and Albama play Ole Miss at the same time, the power of a remote channel changer. There is lots to enjoy  watching the games if you like football, but one of my favorite parts is watching the coaches as they yell, persuade, call plays, and frown. With modern photography you can see a lot and even hear a lot if you can read lips. One of the “sayings” that I have heard and read from several sources over the years is “Everything Rises and Falls on leadership”. That saying has become one of the major ones in my life and leadership role as a pastor and father and grandfather. Football teams both college and pro are known as much by their coaches as they are about their good players. Teams are always looking for good coaches to make a difference in their programs, and firing their existing ones if they don’t win. “Everything rises and falls on leadership” is also a major principle in business, organizations, churches, and families. Good Leadership is influence by a person over others in a group that promotes and encourages unity in that group, increases effort and willingness to sacrifice for the common goal, overcomes discouragement, and is a major factor in the general joy or fun level in the group. Good leaders don’t need position, title, or power to influence, they use “Leadership Principles”. The use of these principles is a skill that anyone can learn if they really want to and work at it. I want to grow in this skill and am always reading books, going to seminars and listening to recordings of successful leaders in order to learn and grow. Tonight I begin teaching my annual “Leadership Class” at Jefferson Baptist Church” which is a weekly class that lasts for 9 months. Over the last 40 years of pastoring at JBC this has been the most rewarding part of my ministry and I believe the most effective in bringing about major, positive change in the lives of people. Everything rises and falls on leadership.