The Call to Leadership

Almost every call to leadership constitutes a detour from the life-path we plan for ourselves. It is often an interjection, a rude disruption of well-scripted personal agendas. We hear God’s call as we hear a heckler, and respond to him as one: we just want Him to shut up and let us go on.

We insist on our way, only to run into the rushing river of God’s purpose.   Human nature demands that we build a bridge over the river so we can continue walking on the “sure” ground of our own plans, but “The Heckler” invites us to step in and be swept away.

Abraham stepped into it in the book of Genesis, and was carried to unfamiliar territory where God’s promise was fulfilled. Moses collided with it in the book of Exodus and became the deliverer of God’s people.    The encounter forced Gideon to choose “presumption” over “responsibility” in the book of Judges and connected him to God’s power so he could fulfill God’s purpose.

Why does God go through the trouble of calling us?  Surely He is capable of fulfilling His purpose without us?  The Scriptures tell us He can cause rocks to sing His praises and transform donkeys into prophets.  If that is the case, then why does He call us?

Whatever reasons great theological minds might proffer, the important thing is that He chooses to need us, and it should please us that He does.  Why?   Because of who He is, and given what He has done for us.  When we respond to His call, we are honoring His choice to need us.   What should surprise us is not that He calls us, but that He would even give us the right to choose whether we want to serve Him or not!

Consider Isaiah.  After his glorious encounter with God in Isaiah 6, the prophet heard God express His need:

“Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (Isaiah 6:8)

As far as Isaiah was concerned, there was only one way to respond. Surely God had not revealed Himself to Isaiah in a glorious way so He could send someone else.   Isaiah would not even make God wait for his answer while he consulted endlessly with friends and family.  He made his availability known immediately:

“Here am I; send me”.

Let me hasten to add that our availability must not depend on having a supernatural encounter with God.  David did not wait for a visitation from God before stepping forward to challenge Goliath.  To David, the taunts of the Philistine and his defiance of the armies of the living God were a call to leadership.  When His older brother Eliab tried to stop him, David responded:

“What have I now done?  Is there not a cause?” (1 Samuel 17:29)

David never heard a voice from God telling him to go against Goliath.   What he heard was the voice and call of the cause.  It was the same voice and call Phinehas heard in Numbers 25 when one of the men of Israel brought a Midianite woman into the camp and took her into his tent to lie with her. At that moment, the children of Israel were at the tabernacle seeking God’s forgiveness for committing whoredom with the daughters of Moab.  Phinehas was incensed.  He took a javelin, followed the man and the woman into the tent and killed them both.

God was very pleased with Phinehas for turning away His wrath from Israel, and rewarded him with His covenant of peace, “even the covenant of the everlasting priesthood”.

Phinehas heard the call of the cause and was rewarded by God for responding.

 Neither the call of God, nor the cause makes it easy for God’s people to remain in their comfort zones.  Men and women of God who respond to the call to Kingdom leadership must accept the “inconveniences” that come with it.   We cannot respond to the cries of the lost and the hopelessness of humanity when we charge past the wounded on our way to our Sunday morning fixes, to the entertaining theatrics of the hirelings in the pulpits and the minstrels on stage.     We cannot respond to the call if we find it beneath us to stoop to raise the weary and to commit precious time to the need that disrupts the program.  We cannot respond to the call of God if what is most important to us is the organizational efficiency in our churches that results from cutting out the “waste” of involvement, relationship, and practical compassion.

 The call to kingdom leadership is not a call to comfort.  It is a call to serve.

By Dr. Noah Manyika

Dealing With The Floods Of Adversity In Our Relationships

What do you do when you’re in over your head and the floods of adversity are sweeping you off your feet?

Do what Isaiah says (Isaiah 43:1-3), “God says, `Don’t be afraid. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.’”

That’s a great promise.  When you’re in over your head, when the floods come, the unexpected crises that batter the foundation of your relationships, your marriage, etc. you do three things:

1.  Relax in God’s plan. He says, “Don’t be afraid.” Don’t get uptight.  Don’t worry.  God has a plan for your life.  God’s plan for your life is always greater than the problems you’re going through.  God’s purpose for your life is always more significant and more powerful than the problems you’re facing. Yes, you’re having problems.  Yes, it’s a crisis.  But floods always diminish and you need to hang on.

2.  Recognize God’s presence. When you go through deep waters and great troubles, He says, “I will be with you.” You’re never alone when you’re going through a crisis.  You may think you are, but you’re not.  God is with you.  You need to tune into that, recognize it.  Open up your eyes and see, “God is here with me, I’m not in this alone.”  You recognize God’s presence when the flood comes along.

3.  Rely on God’s protection. “When you go through the rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.” That’s a promise. You can count on it.  You may get wet.  You may loose the house. But you’re not going to drown.  God is with you.  And He has a plan for your life.  You need to say, “Lord, we’re trusting You to see us through this.”  Notice the word “through”.  It doesn’t say when you go over the floods.  It doesn’t say when you go around the floods.  The only way to go through a crisis is through it.  When the crises of life come at your relationships your options are:  You can either walk through it together or you can walk away.  Those are your options.  You can walk through it together as a team — face it together — or you can walk out. The tragedy is because a lot of relationships aren’t built on the right foundation when the crisis floods come into their life, and they sweep them off their feet, they drift apart in the flood.

What is the key to coping with a relational crisis? The key is commitment. It is commitment that will carry you through the crisis. Commitment to a relationship, to a church, a Life Group, your marriage.

Commitment means being willing to be miserable for a while. Commitment means being willing to be unhappy while you work out the problems.  Instead of walking out you hang in there even though it stinks!  Even though you’ve very unhappy you hang in there until you work it out.  That’s commitment.  The willingness to forego happiness for the purpose that the relationship may ultimately find satisfaction.

When you face the floods of crisis that are going to come into your life stick with it.  Don’t give up.

The Role of Discipline in the Forming of Character

Be encouraged as you read this article by Dr. Malcolm Webber. Dr. Malcolm is a personal friend of mine, and one whom God is using to train leaders all over the world. You can learn more from him on his web site www.leadershipletters.com.

In the forming of character in the life of a leader, discipline is an essential element. In fact, discipline lies at the heart of character.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

Without the essential quality of discipline, all other leadership virtues remain as dwarfs: they cannot grow. J. Oswald Sanders wrote (Spiritual Leadership, p. 52):

Before we can conquer the world, we must first conquer the self. A leader is a person who has learned to obey a discipline imposed from without, and has then taken on a more rigorous discipline from within. Those who rebel against authority, and scorn self-discipline – who shirk the rigors and turn from the sacrifices – do not qualify to lead. Many who drop out of ministry are sufficiently gifted, but have large areas of life floating free from the Holy Spirit’s control. Lazy and disorganized people never rise to true leadership.

Thus, the progression of discipline in the life of a leader is as follows: First, he submits to discipline from without. By doing so, he develops discipline from within. When that is mature, he is then permitted by God to give discipline to others. He has become a leader.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, (1 Tim. 1:1)

Paul’s choice of the word “command” is significant. In this letter he commands Timothy to command the church and the false teachers to do certain things. Thus, he who gives commands is himself under command. Paul was not only under God’s command; he was also accountable to the church at Antioch (Acts 13:3; 14:26-28; 15:2-3, 35-40; 18:22-23) as well as to the leaders in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:2).

These three stages in the development of character are:

1.    The emerging leader submits to discipline from without.

2.    He establishes discipline within.

3.    He is permitted to establish discipline for others.

This is the order of character development: one submits to discipline first. Then, in that context, internal discipline is built. Once internal discipline is in place, God permits him – and man trusts him – to lead others. This order cannot be reversed. Internal discipline must be in place in the leader before he can effectively lead others, and his own external discipline must be in place before he can build true inward discipline. Thus, if one does not truly submit himself to another, he should never be trusted with true leadership responsibility.

Furthermore, please notice that there three stages are cumulative. They are not sequential in the sense of giving up one when moving to the next. They do not replace each other. The healthy leader maintains both his submission to others and his internal self-discipline while he leads others.

Here is another way of presenting these three stages using slightly different terms:

1.    The emerging leader submits to leadership.

2.    He establishes self-leadership.

3.    He expresses leadership.

Naturally, this process takes time.

Some Thoughts About Leaders Who Lasts

Matthew 9:17 – Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”   NIV

Things we must renew to go the distance.

1. Renew our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Keep your first love alive.  Never be too busy to seek God’s face.
2. Renew our mind.  Wash your mind daily with the water of the word.
3. Renewed strength.  The joy of the Lord is our strength.  Keep your joy alive.  Bless the Lord O my soul.  Wait upon the Lord to renew your strength.
4. Renewal of the anointing daily.  Get close to the source.  Yesterday’s manna will be spoiled for today.
5. Renewed vision and purpose.  We must be motivated by the vision and purpose of God.  It is the vision and the purpose that allows us to stand during adversity.

Joshua

Principles and choices that Joshua made to make him a leader who lasted.

1. 1. He chose service over success.  Joshua son of Nun servant of the Lord.  You must be a good follower to be a good leader.  Must first serve another man’s ministry before you can get your own ministry.  Numbers 32:11-12 – ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob– not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.’ NIV
2. He chose God’s presence over position.  Ex 33  The young man Joshua did not depart from the tabernacle.
3. He chose God’s plan over popular opinion.  Joshua and Caleb chose to follow the Word of God even when the majority was against them.
4. He chose destiny over doubt.  Joshua decided to obey God rather than question the direction his life was going.  Joshua knew that if God was with him he could not fail.
5. 5. He chose born sons over hired help.  Joshua 5:7  So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. NIV  Hebrews 3:4-6 – For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. NIV

REVIVAL — What is it? Can it happen today?

Ponderings and insights from studying the Korean Revival of 1907

I.   A LOOK AT THE PAST

A.   Welsh Revival—between 1900-1910

This is often considered the period of the great awakening-in Asia, Americas, and Europe.

Rev. Seth Joshua and Evan John Roberts were leaders in the revival.

Evan Roberts said that there are four main points to revival:

1. The past must be made clear by confession of every known sin to God, and every wrong unto man must be put right;
2. Every doubtful thing in the believer’s life must be put away;
3. Prompt and implicit obedience must be yielded to the Spirit of God;
4. Public confession of Christ must be made.

During the brief period of the Welsh revival, 100,000 people were converted.  In 1910, 60,000 of those who were converted during the six months of revival were still members of the Welsh churches.  In other words, there was a dramatic growth in the churches.  Christians became connected to the body.

B.   Other Noted Revivals influenced by the Welsh Revival

1. 1905 – India Revival began – The pattern of the revival here was the same as the sweeping revival that had occurred in Wales.  Throughout India prayer meetings, evangelistic campaigns, revivals in boys’ and girls’ schools, indicated that the Spirit of God was at work in the land.  (The awakening of 1905 in India was of an indigenous nature; that is, many of the evangelists were Indian preachers.)
2. 1906 – the Azusa Street Revival began in the USA (Pastor Smale, a Baptist Pastor,Pastor William Seymour, black Holiness Pastor)  April 9, 1906 the Holy Spirit was first poured out at the Azusa Mission. San Francisco earthquake happened April 18^th, 1906—It had a very close connection with the Pentecostal outpouring…This shook the whole state, as well as the nation.  Men began to fear God…Their conscience needed to be knocked at.  This paved the way for the revival.
3. 1907 – Pyungyan Revival (The origin of the revival may be traced to a prayer meeting of Methodist missionaries at Wonsan in 1903.  This was under the leadership of a medical doctor, R. A. Hardie. This particular move of God was local at that time, but it was the word of it that spread and would ultimately influence what climaxed in January 1907 under the leadership of Missionaries William Blair and Graham Lee.)  1910 — 1945 Japanese occupation of Korea occurred and intense persecution of the church began.

The pattern of revival was the same as the sweeping revival that had occurred in Wales.

C.   1907 Pyungyang Revival

The Great revival of 1907 in Pyungyang is of great significance, for through this movement of Korean Protestantism experienced the powerful gifts of the Holy Spirit for the first time.  The Christians who had entered the church with various motives now came to know what true repentance was and what it meant in Christian life.  They also came to feel the excitement of their faith.  The Great Revival of 1907 not only made the Korean church exuberant but it also energized the already existent Christian traditions and brought about the exceptional growth of the Korean Church.

Building Male Disciples

Restoring the Masculine Spirit

I.  Men Need Vision

“Without a vision, the people perish…”  Men are reluctant to surrender to God because they don’t know what He is doing in the world, and they have no idea how they might get in on it.

Jesus had a vision.  He called it the Kingdom of God.  It was huge.  It involved nothing less than a re-creation of the world, one person at a time.  And we are His partners in this task:  “This vision was the focus of his entire life.  Everything about his life was tied up in this vision.  This vision was what kept him focused on his mission.  It was the reason he lived and died.”

If men don’t have a vision of what God is doing in a church (on the earth), they will not invest themselves.  They will see it as a club, not a cause.  Christianity becomes either an exercise in moral improvement or pointless busyness.

Where does vision come from?  God! God is calling each believer, each church, to accomplish something great, but few are listening.

II.  Men Need Purpose

Two women will go out to lunch without an agenda, but two men won’t.  Men won’t do anything unless they know the purpose.  The problem is, most guys don’t know what the purpose of church is.  Guys don’t know what church is about! That’s because most churches have not agreed on what their purpose is.

If you clearly state a unique purpose for your church/ministry (and restate it often), the men will be encouraged.

What can you do?

• Make the your mission statements short and specific.
• Once you have your mission or purpose, repeat it frequently to the body.
• Always stress the purpose when announcing events.
• When starting small groups for men, be sure they have a purpose to focus on.
• Cancel purposeless meetings. “Churches waste so much time in stupid meetings.

Five Key Areas of Ministry

Christ appeared three times in John to His disciples after His resurrection.  On those three occasions, He gave them the five most important things in the ministry.

I.  First area:  A revelation of the cross (John 20:20)

A.  “He showed them His hands and His side.” Each person who is a pastor for the Lord must have a revelation of the wounds of the cross and what they represent.

B.  The five wounds represent healing (stripes), forgive-ness (nails in hands), victory (nails in feet), prosperity (thorns), and inner healing (wound in the side).

C.  The cross is our primary message, keeping us broken and pure.

II.  Second area:  A revelation of authority (John 20:21)

A.  Christ said, “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.” We are deputized with His authority.  We are acting as ambassadors of heaven, and the church is His embassy.

B.  An ambassador cannot become disconnected from the authority that sent him.  He is not independent, but only a representative with delegated authority.  Jesus said, “Without Me, you can do nothing.”

C.  Every leader must have a revelation of spiritual authority and learn to submit to it and move under it.

III.  Third area:  A relationship with the Holy Spirit (John 20:22)

A.  Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” He was telling them that without Him their ministry would be ineffective.

B.  We must learn to totally rely on the person of the Holy Spirit.  We must pray in the Spirit before every mini-stry opportunity.  We must learn to fast to become sensitive to Him.  We must listen to His still small voice in guidance and decisions.

IV.  Fourth area:  A revelation of faith (John 20:27)

A.  Thomas did not believe that Christ had risen.  He operated by sight and not faith.  Christ told him that he must be a man of faith, or he would never do anything great for God.

B.  Joshua, Moses, Gideon, David, and all the great men of God were men of faith.  We must “launch out into the deep and let down our nets.”  We cannot “see to believe,” but must “believe to see.”

V.  Fifth area:  A revelation of pastoring (John 21:15)

A.  Christ asked Peter, “Do you love Me?  Feed My sheep.” A great leader must have compassion for the sheep.  This is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY OF A LEADER.

B.  Loving the sheep is what Jesus instructed Peter to do three times.  Without a love for the sheep, we are not following the example of the Great Shepherd of the sheep.

Five Misconceptions of Discipleship

1.  Discipleship takes place when people attend church programs.

In fact, much good teaching can take place during church, but it is often too general and not targeted to the special needs of a new Believer.

2.  Discipleship just happens.

In fact, we must go counter cultural and instruct others personally and lovingly about the ways of Christ. We need to ask the hard questions and get involved in the process of why they do things.

3.  Discipleship is only for new Christians.

In fact, discipleship is a process that should be occurring all through our lives. A disciple always follows his master’s life. Once a disciple, always a disciple.

4.  Discipleship is a program.

In fact, discipleship is a lifestyle. We are Christ’s disciples and this Christian life calls us to learn and live like Him. This will require significant changes in the way we think and live.

5.  Discipleship is only for certain parts of our lives.

In fact, Christ wants to teach us in each aspect of our lives from our parenting skills to handling finances. This differs from some cults which will actually make your decisions for you! Mentoring is a term that describes the training of a person in one or more specific areas.

True discipleship must take all of Christ’s teaching and implement them into our lives in such a way that we live like Christ did. We must not be content with only the passing on of knowledge and tradition and assume conviction and belief just come. Instead, we are to live out the life before those we instruct, just as Christ did. There is a great difference between the modern student and a disciple.

Pray for Disciples!

A young, energetic, prospective missionary received some very encouraging news. One of the most successful missionaries he had ever heard about was going to speak at his church. With the hope of learning how he could be most effective on the mission field, the prospective missionary prepared questions to ask the veteran ambassador.

His first question was: “As you look back on a successful ministry, what brings you the most joy?” The wise missionary did not hesitate to answer. “As I look back, it is not the huge crowds that I spoke to or the large churches that I started that bring me the most joy. It is the young boy I led to Christ along the road who is now a powerful preacher. It is the woman I led to Christ in the village who is now training her children to be strong believers. It is the individuals whom I have been able to disciple that bring me my greatest joy and fulfillment!”

“BE One – MAKE One”

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations … “ (Matthew 28:19)

 Oswald Chambers wrote, “Jesus Christ did not say, ‘Go and save souls’ (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but He said, ‘Go … make disciples of all the nations … ‘ Yet, you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. The believer’s great essential is remaining true to the call of God, and realizing that his one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus.  If I follow any other method, I depart altogether from the methods prescribed by our Lord— “All authority has been given to Me … Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20)

 Everywhere I go, there appears to be a lack of consensus regarding the Biblical definition, understanding, and application of discipleship as it appears in the Gospels and the Epistles.  The Great Commission has three participles: “go,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” — and one imperative verb, a command: “make disciples.” The main idea is to make disciples. The participles tell us how to do that — We make disciples by going, baptizing, and teaching.  So the goal of discipleship is to make disciples, teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded.

 Making disciples according to Jesus is accomplished by going out right where I am today (first participle), initiating people into the life of discipleship by ‘baptizing’ (second participle), and achieved by ‘teaching’ (third participle).  Teaching is the continuous obligation of the church in the life of a new convert as they develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Teaching is the process of getting the person to know Jesus in a life-long, deeper, and more intimate way – teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded.  Scripture is an absolute essential element in the process of Holy Spirit-inspired transformation of knowledge, conduct, and character.  Discipleship is the corporate responsibility of the church and the personal privilege of every believer as they are gifted.  Discipleship is a life-long process, beginning at the point of salvation.  It requires our participation in the process, and there will be contributions made by a variety of believers throughout the life of the disciple.

 Discipleship is a commitment to Jesus Christ – a call to be with, know and enjoy Him as Savior AND Lord.  It is lived out in the context of our everyday, getting up, eating, and going-to-work life.  It is a relationship with God (vertical) and others (horizontal).

A “disciple of Christ” is someone who has been called first to know Christ, then to follow him, and then who makes disciples.  Discipleship involves being with, being like, and following Jesus (formed, conformed, and transformed).  Mark best summarizes a disciple in his gospel: “And He went up to the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed the twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out demons” (Mark 3:13-15).

Being a disciple and making disciples is a direct command from our Lord Jesus and the primary responsibility of the church and every born-again believer. Everything we do in church or ministry should have discipleship as the ultimate core goal.  Our going, baptizing, and teaching needs to be discipleship-centered.  What we do each time we gather, whether church services, Christian Ed. classes, children’s ministry, women’s ministry, men’s ministry, VBS, outreach, etc., all need to focus on making disciples.

We are all privileged to be a part of the fulfillment of the Great Commission.  Let’s not miss another precious moment.  Let’s each determine that we will be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, and that we will be obedient to go and make disciples.  The call to discipleship is not some arduous task, but it is a blessed privilege.