Three words commonly used to describe Christian leaders in the New Testament are “servant”, “minister” and “steward”. These words are interrelated and, when I look at their definitions in a Bible concordance and dictionary, one role (in our day) to which I can liken them is that of a housemaid. A housemaid is someone (female) employed to do general domestic work. In large homes, there may be several housemaids with a “chief” housemaid to oversee them. A Christian leader can be likened to a chief housemaid that leads other housemaids in the management of projects and property for the owner of the house – Christ. It is striking how the early apostles described themselves; for instance:
Romans 1:1 “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle”;
James 1:1 “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”;
2Peter 1:1 “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ”.
The repeated use of “servant” is not a coincidence! Do our leaders today truly see themselves as servants?
A chief housemaid does not own the house; she must follow her master’s (or mistress’) instructions to run effectively. Similarly, we must learn to obey God’s instructions to run His church and lead His people. We must never think or act like we “own” the ministry God has committed into our hands, because it truly does not belong to us. We must work out the implications of this ownership in every detail of our disposition even for “little things” – things like displaying our pictures on every corner of the physical buildings we use to represent the mission, something a servant or housemaid would not dare to do. We must always draw attention to Christ alone – the head of the church. We should have the same mind-set regarding the finances of the ministry. In the early years of Christ Lifeline, I used to worry a lot about how to get funds to execute “our” projects because we do not collect tithes and offerings, we only receive freewill donations from Partners. Then it dawned on me that Christ Lifeline is God’s project and He won’t let it suffer, more so, a housemaid doesn’t worry about funds. I started striving to take a cue from Apostle Paul where he said -“Our goal is to stay within the boundaries of God’s plan for us” (2 Cor. 10:13 NLT). We should only worry about funds if we leave the boundaries of our assignment.
When you have the God-given privilege to lead a project, you must account for every penny and person he commits to you. Some ministers of God, especially in small ministries, fund ministry activities with personal finances but the flip side is, when they are in dire personal need they also “partake” of the ministry funds. They do this fearlessly claiming that they have given their “all” to the ministry and things will all “balance out”. Does a servant dare spend his Master’s funds without approval? About 3 years ago, an accountant assisted us to prepare the Ministry’s financial statements for the year and he came to say when he was done that he could not account for about 2,000 Naira; he however told me not to worry about it because the amount was “not material”. I looked at him sternly and informed him that ministry is different from other companies. We don’t provide accounts on the basis of materiality; we are to account for every penny. I asked him to go do a proper reconciliation and look for that difference. I could see that he was stunned, but the standards are high in Christianity. Titus 1:7 says “for a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God”.
One of the most challenging aspects of accountability in the kingdom where I still struggle has to do with people. Hebrews 13:17 (GNB) says “Obey your leaders and follow their orders. They watch over your souls without resting, since they must give to God an account of their service.” Many count the number of followers or members we have, but do we also account for their lives? Some church pastors lobby to be posted to large branches, and the desire of every Christian leader I have met in life is to increase the number of people they influence. Do we understand the gravity / implication of being “in charge” of God’s flock, that it goes beyond just counting the numbers to accounting for the lives of our members? As the chief “housemaid”, can we truly say we have assisted all the housemaids to properly execute the mandate for their lives as well as our collective mandate of reconciling men to God? 1Corithians 4:1-2 (GNB) says “You should think of us as Christ’s servants, who have been put in charge of God’s secret truths. The one thing required of such servants is that they be faithful to their master.” Are we faithful Christ?
One other strategic area God will hold a Christian leader accountable, which is also one of the greatest tests of true leadership, is “reproduction”.
It may sound like a tough call, but that is the example we see with Jesus Christ. Jesus spent about 3 years with His 12 disciples when He was physically present on earth, and when He left, almost all of them could do what He did, some did even greater works. I like the way Apostle John described their experience with Jesus in 1 John 1:1 (GW). He said – “The Word of life existed from the beginning. We have heard it. We have seen it. We observed and touched it.” They went beyond just seeing Jesus’ works and hearing Him; they touched Him; they experienced Him; they observed His process and products. That is reproduction!
Unfortunately in our day, many followers just “see and hear”. That is why it is common to hear us start every “religious statement” with – “my mentor said” because we have not observed and experienced “what we see and hear”. Can followers today do 10% of what our leaders in the kingdom do, especially in the leader’s absence? Leaders in the Kingdom must consciously strive to develop better leaders. Many leaders in the world strive to ensure that their followers are not as knowledgeable or powerful as they are. In Christianity however, leaders ought to put structures in place to make their followers outperform them. The realm in which we operate is one where “a success” without many great successors is a failure and every leader must be committed to raising committed leaders.
Many leaders are like Herod, they want to make more followers; few leaders are like Moses, they want to identify more leaders; but great leaders are like Jesus, they pour themselves out in service to make more leaders that will perform like them, or even outperform them. This is the standard of accountability in Christian leadership and I trust God to assist you to operate at this level.
Please visit my blog, www.topealadenusi.com for more insightful messages on leadership.
Tope S. Aladenusi
Achieving a goal is essentially a promise kept. Setting a goal, be it financial or otherwise means committing to take the steps required to see it to its fulfilment. You break down your goal to action steps and follow through. You do what you said you will do. This is the stuff achieving goals and fulfilling dreams are made of. It speaks of integrity – oneness. Walking your talk, saying what you mean, and meaning what you said. The moment you give your word, it is as good as done. You can take it to the bank.
We often underestimate the importance of keeping promises. We often take promises lightly, to the point of not meaning what we say. Sometimes we make promises knowing full well we do not intend to keep it. In negotiations, this is referred to as “bad faith”. It happens often in negotiations between unions and management or government. After strike and negotiations, a deal is signed and sealed, but problem is the promise is not kept. Years later, the same issue that was signed and sealed gives birth to another strike, another season of promises and more damage inflicted on both sides.
We often think that we can break promises we make to others and keep the promises we make to ourselves. It does not work that way. A promise is a promise. When we make a promise and do not follow through, our sub conscious mind comes to the conclusion that we are not serious. When we then make a promise to ourselves – lose weight, save a certain amount a month etc, it believes we are not serious too. So what happens is that there is no unity within us. Our mind sets a goal, our sub conscious minds says you must be joking, our body is confused, like a driver taking directions from two bosses. The car goes in a zigzag fashion. That is the key reason we do not follow through. We exercise for two days, and return to status quo the third day. We save one month, and then spend what we saved the next. We take one step forward and then one step backward. We lack integrity – oneness. There is no unity within us. We are not promise keepers.
The magnet and a nail are both made of same stuff – carbon steel. Their physical and chemical (molecular) composition is identical. The difference lies in the arrangement of the molecular structure. In the magnet, all the north poles are pointed in one direction, resulting in a strong magnetic force field. In the nail, the north poles are aligned haphazardly, resulting in the magnetic forces cancelling out resulting in zero net magnetic force.
Another interesting phenomenon is that while the nail is attached to the magnet, it becomes a magnet itself, attracting every metal that comes within range of its new found magnetic force field. During this time, the magnetic field of the magnet forces the nails’ structure to line up properly, effectively becoming a magnet itself. Sadly, when the magnet is taken away, the magnetic force ebbs, and the nail returns to its disorderly existence.
That is what happens when we lack integrity. Like the nail, we are all over the place. We say one thing and do something else. We no longer trust ourselves. We begin to doubt ourselves. We don’t take ourselves seriously. It becomes a maybe. We set a goal, but we know deep down we may not follow through. We start but we do not finish. We litter the landscape with abandoned projects and unfinished businesses. This is the stuff New Year Resolutions are made of. A wish list – an empty annual ritual which has become the butt of jokes.
When we come to the realization that promises are made to be kept, we start to slow down on making promises, and step up on keeping promises. We under-promise and over-deliver. We think before we promise or commit. We are not afraid to say NO. When we start to value our words, when our word becomes our bond, we think through before we speak. We refrain from promising and actually do, than promise and not do.
It starts by making small promises and keeping them, then making slightly bigger promises and keeping them. Your body, soul and spirit become one and move in one direction. When you say yes, you mean it from bottom of your heart to the depths of your soul. As you start keeping promises, your confidence and self esteem begins to grow. Your words become powerful, because they surely come to pass. It is simply a matter of time. When you say you want to lose 10kg, it is a done deal. You give it your all, and never back off until you cross the finish line. When you say you will save N10,000 from your salary every month, you just do it, come rain and high water. When you say you will read a book on investment, you actually seek out the book, buy it and read it to the last page. When you get to this point, you are virtually unstoppable. You are a promise keeper. Your word carries power. When you promise, your word is good enough. People can depend on your word because you always follow through. You do not have to swear, or show proof. Your cheque does not have to clear first before the goods are released. Your word is good enough. It is good enough for others. It is good enough for you.
-Usiere Uko is editor of www.financialfreedominspiration.com and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence – www.amazon.com/Practical-Steps-Financial-Freedom-Independence/dp/147006832X .
“Children”, the Bible tells us, are an heritage of the Lord (Psa 127:3) in other words they are God’s inheritance – his property, as parents, we have only been privileged to be their custodians, caretakers and managers.
Seldom times, leaders who appear to be excelling in their career, business and ministry fail in the area of child upbringing. This in the eyes of the Lord is failure. The Bible tells us one of God’s purposes for instituting marriage in Malachi 2:15
Didn’t the LORD make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are His. And what does He want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. (New Living Translation)
Didn’t God create you to become like one person with your wife? And why did he do this? It was so you would have children, and then lead them to become God’s people. Don’t ever be unfaithful to your wife. (Contemporary English Version)
The union of marriage is aimed at leading leaders to lead their children into becoming God’s people. In today’s world, even some pastors lose their children to societal vices and ungodly compromise. This was the case with scriptural examples like Eli (1 Samuel 3:13), Samuel (1 Samuel 8:1-6) and King David (2 Samuel 12ff).
The sins of Eli’s children included their acts of profanity and fornication with ladies who come to the ‘Church’ for worship. See 1 Samuel 2:22-25. Concerning 1 Samuel 3:13 Wesley wrote in his commentary – “They who can, and do not restrain others from sin, make themselves partakers of the guilt. Those in authority will have a great deal to answer for, if the sword they bear be not a terror to evil – doers.”
In the case of Prophet Samuel, his children (Joel and Abiah) made the elders of Israel to apply for a King (1 Samuel 8:1-5) because they were anxious for filthy wages, perverted justice and took bribes. It was obvious that God didn’t like their request for a king but had to approve it since the judges who were the children of the leader were a disappointment.
No matter how busy you are, you owe God, yourself and humanity the honour of raising godly children. To fail in this area will be to plan to destroy whatever legacy, prosperity and name you may be making for yourself.
Rise up, take responsibility and love, teach and train your children in the ways of the Lord so when they grow they will not depart from the righteous path – Proverbs 22. A few tips to managing your children:
– Start early: You can only bend a reed while it is tender and fresh
– Use the Word of God: Speak it into them, read it with them, teach it to them. Psalms 119:11
– Apply the rod: He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him quickly.. Pro 13:24
– Be firm: Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him. Pro 22:15 (NASB)
– Pray for and with them: Prayer changes things and people
– Love them: Don’t be harsh with them. Rather, treat them with love. Correct, but don’t bully them.
– Listen to them: Many kids just need some attention. Don’t get too busy that you have no time for them.
I trust the Lord to support you to manage your children for His glory.
– david sanda
www.davidsanda.org
How are leaders developed? Some argue that leaders are born while others assert that leaders are made. In my view, leaders are both born and made. Study a few kids in the playground and you will see that in-built in some of them are qualities of leadership. They just lead and others follow. This may be proof that leaders are born that way…. however this is not a doctrine. It is just a truth. And the Church today has the challenge of ensuring that we do not relegate our young children to the backstage but help them develop leadership skills.
In the same way, several people develop leadership qualities as a result of experiences of failures, war, other challenges and childhood events. However, the key to leadership development lies not in these experiences whether good or bad but in people’s responses to those experiences.
Today, it will be rewarding to study how God develops leadership qualities in His people. A Fuller Seminary Professor, Robert Clinton in “The Making of a Leader” enumerated six stages of leadership development from God’s methodology as revealed in scriptures. I kind of agree with his theory. In this study we will look at his theory and my personal meditations on leadership development.
The six foundations include: 1) Sovereign Foundations, 2) Inner Life Growth, 3) Ministry Maturing, 4) Life Maturing 5) Convergence and 6) Celebration or Afterglow.
The first phase of leadership development recognizes the sovereignty of God in our affairs. There is really not much any of us can do about where we were born, our nationality and the financial status of our parents. God in His awesome way sorts all these out Himself. This is very influential on the way we perceive and manifest leadership skills. Like the Psalmist said, “Yet You are He Who took me out of the womb; You made me hope {and} trust when I was on my mother’s breasts” Ps 22:9 Amp.
This is a stage we can do nothing about. But it is great to know that the Lord has plans for us to do us good. His thoughts are always of good and not evil to give us a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11.
Keep trust in Him. He will make you the leader worth emulating.
– david sanda
http://www.davidsanda.org/cyberword/
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” – John 3:16
The Master Leadership Expert is God Himself. If we take time out to study His principles and methods in which He operates and relates with His subordinates we could receive a great deal of wealth in knowledge and wisdom in areas of leadership management.
The Bible tells of How God handled satan’s rebellion in heaven and how also He related with Adam and Eve when they fell. There is so much to learn in leadership and people management from the Lord Himself. He has very unique leadership styles that mark Him out as the Lord of the Universe.
Today as we look at leadership through the eyes of the creator, let us consider His exemplary leadership style. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son… Before He ever asked us to give our lives to Him, He gave us His son. Before He asked Abraham for the sacrifice of his son Isaac, he gave Him a vast possession of land and the promise of fathering an innumerable generation of children. He never asks until He has first given to us. He is the greatest leader.
As a leader, it is expedient that we place foremost the needs of our subordinates and explore avenues to meet those needs. Only then can we generate the best potentials in them to give birth to our dream goals. A leader who is poor in relationships is on his way downwards. Today, several leaders are becoming dictators and their followers wish they just get changed as soon as possible. This is not a good disposition. If you can make the people happy, they will make you laugh.
John Maxwell said, “people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care”, how true. The God example throughout scriptures for all generations is in this light. Have you noticed how that God only demands a little of what He gave you? Your offerings are a function of what you have been blessed by Him with…. nothing more.
If you want people to believe in you and to enthusiastically and passionately pursue your dreams and visions, reach out first to them. Meet their needs and you wouldn’t need to ask them… they will naturally meet yours. Let us follow the example of the Master. Put people first.
– david sanda
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me” Psalm 23:5
Who is a leader? There truly is no perfect definition of the word in my view. However, certain traits can be observed in the life of a good leader. These have been rightly categorised by John Maxwell (an expert on effective leadership) as what gives shape to any establishment – the SHAPE of the leader.
The SHAPE of the leader implies his or her
People will often follow a leader because they are attracted to some of these traits the leader possesses. However, every good leader needs to respond to them by use of the rod and staff of leadership. The Psalmist in the twenty-third Psalm tells us what makes him laugh in the face of danger: He gets comfort from his Shepherd (The Lord God) whose leadership was with a rod and a staff.
Shepherds use the rod to hit the sheep and get them moving. As an effective leader, it is indispensable that you ensure firmness and discipline amongst your followers. This must be lovingly done with a desire to see the goal of the organisation realised. People appreciate a leader with a strong voice. They just often wouldn’t tell you they do.
Next, shepherds use their staff to give the sheep direction as they advance to the front of the line. The best you can give to your folks as a leader is a sense of direction. You must know where you are heading. Sometimes you may not fully know how to get there but you must know where ‘there’ is. Only fools follow an aimless leader.
How pleasant it will be to hear your folks say of you ‘your rod and staff give us comfort’.
– david sanda |
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” – Psalms 90:12
In every nation of the world the most identifiable factor remains her currency. In America it is the Dollar, in Europe it is the Euro and in Nigeria it is the Naira; however, the currency we spend in life generally is ‘time’. Every leader that seeks relevance, significance and excellence in his sphere of influence must master the art of ‘Time Management’.
If we follow the medical counsel to sleep 8 hours a day in order to stay healthy and we follow it through for 60 years, we would have slept for 20 years at the 60th birthday. This is because 8 hours a day means a third of the day since a day has 24 of those hours.
Customarily, time is never enough for all of us. There is always so much more to be done and our best bet is to prioritize our events and activities. Concentrate on the most result and goal oriented items and leave the rest till time permits.
A wise man once said, “I have so much to do today that I cannot afford not to pray”. How about that! Trust God for wisdom and guidance in your decision making and be the best at your chosen priority. Teach us to number our days, Oh Lord!
Never waste your currency for earth’s course. Use it wisely, use your time well by applying your heart to wisdom.
– Rev. David Sanda