EXORDIUM:
John chapter six is a very important passage of Christian Scripture and an index into the lives of many people and of the Church today. Human nature has not changed much for the better but has consistently grown worse (cf. II Timothy 3:13).
Without much controversy there are three outstanding categories of people found among the bands of those who profess faith in Christ. These are the people we want to talk about in this short discussion.
There are people who are pleasure-oriented (Foodship), entertainment-oriented (Funship) and Kingdom-oriented (Fellowship). I am afraid that this is going to get personal with us. We are not going to talk about somebody else but us as we ask, FUNSHIP, FOODSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP: WHERE DO I BELONG?
To do justice to this discussion we would have to go back to the text of John Chapter Six and ask, WHAT KIND OF DISCIPLE AM I? Am I a funship disciple, foodship disciple or fellowship disciple? These questions are rhetorical and mean to help me realize my true identity in the Kingdom of God. Again, it is important to ask, “Am I spoiling or spurring; self-centered or Christ centered?”
Undoubtedly, there are two classes of followers: Situational followers (fair weather, none committal Christians) and the unconditional followers. There are Christians (disciples) of convenience and Christians (disciples) of conviction. Ask yourself again, “Where in these do I belong?”
In John chapter six our Lord had sumptuously provided for the masses of His followers. Recognizing His power of provision the people planned to take Him by force and make Him King probably with the Chieftaincy title of the “Great Benefactor 1 of the Jews” (John 6:14 –15). But then Jesus left them because He did not come to make foodship disciples. The people pursued after Him and having found Him the following day heard the Lord telling them, “You seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you ate bread and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes but labor for the food which endures unto eternal life” (John 6:26-27).
Am I following the Lord because of the food He provides or because of Who He is and what He has done in my life and for me? Foodship discipleship is seen in many professing Christians today.
Some twenty first century Christians characterize the foodship discipleship mentality. Hear them when a call for burial is made as they ask, “ Would wine flow?”. See them at any given ceremony struggle and fight for food. Romans 12:15 enjoins us to “Mourn with those who mourn….” How justified are we then to demand for food and drinks from those whom we have come to share their sorrows?
If a preacher is a foodship disciple, his primary interest is not in the Spiritual well-being of the flock but on how to fatten himself and line his pockets (cf. Phil. 3:17-18; Ezek 34:1-10). No wonder many would down tools and leave the ministry should supports cease to flow.
OUTLINE OF DISCUSSION
FUNSHIP, FOODSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP: WHERE DO I BELONG?
Those who are funship and foodship disciples Warship, that is, they War and Ship to each other. This explains why there are many conflicts in our congregations. It is because of the presence of these categories of disciples. However, those who are fellowship disciples Worship, that is, they Word and Ship to each other. In the Kingdom of God here on earth, Funship and Foodship discipleship are more interested in “Serving tables” (Acts 6:2) while Fellowship discipleship basks in the WORD OF GOD (Acts 6:4).
Let us examine the character traits of each of these three groups in the church and see whether I as a Christian manifest any of these traits in my Christian life.
I. FOODSHIP (PLEASURE-ORIENTED) DISCPLESHIP:
(a) They are preoccupied with laboring for the things of temporal nature,
“The food which perishes” (John 6:26) and have been told not to (John
6:27). This is because the true nature of the kingdom of God is not
such (Romans 14:17).
(b) For the child of God, proper understanding should be gained
concerning the world and the things therein (Hebrews 13:14; I
Corinthians 7:29-31; I John 2:17).
(c) Foodship discipleship will come under great condemnation as the
objects of their interest will someday be destroyed (I Cor. 6:12-13).
(d) Such do not stand to gain anything but to loose (Matthew 16:26-27).
REMEMBER THAT JUDAS WAS A FOODSHIP DISCIPLE (John
12:4-6; Acts 1:16-20).
(e) If only in this life we have hope in Christ we are of all men most
miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19).
II FUNSHIP (ENTERTAINMENT-ORIENTED) DISCIPLESHIP:
(a) These are the self-centered and not God-centered people. Self is the
pivot of their existence (II Timothy 3:1-2,4). They go for what satisfies
their selfish and materialistic needs. To them self is all that matters.
(b) They are the fun-loving, easy-going and none-comitial Christians.
They go to church not to worship God but to be entertained by the
musicalities of preachers’ voices with no apparent interest in what
God’s Word says (Ezekiel 33:30-33).
(c) These are those who want their fancies to be tickled. Their motto is,
“TICKLE ME” (II Timothy. 4: 2-4; cf. Isaiah 30: 9-10).
(d) These are Spiritual pollutants, poisoning the atmosphere of sound
spirituality, attracting to themselves Divine condemnations (Jude vs.
11-13).
(e) Demas was a Funship disciple (II Timothy 4:10). What was he doing in
Thessalonica considering what the spiritual temperature was? (cf.
Acts. 17:11a).
III.FELLOWSHIP (KINGDOM-ORIENTED) DISCIPLESHIP:
(a) These are beautiful souls, God’s Vessels of Honor and Heaven’s
pride. These are God’s generals. When God’s roll call of who-is-who
is made their names are written in gold.
(b) Fellowship disciples are kingdom-oriented whose true objective is
to seek the Word and the Lord; the Word of the Lord and the Lord
of the Word. They are focused on Kingdom matters (John 6:66-69).
(c) “FELLOWSHIP” is from the Greek word, “KOINONIA.” Christian
fellowship is both vertical and horizontal and have three dimensions –
with Godhood: Father, Son and Holy Ghost (I John 1:3), with one
another (Act 2:42) and in the WORD.
(d) FELLOWSHIP WITH GODHOOD:
There must be an agreement (Amos 3:3) and this entails that we must
walk in the light (I John 1:7). To walk in light means that we must love
what they love and hate what they (Hebrews 1:9; Psalms 97:10).
(e). FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER:
This means that we feel the feelings of each other
(Romans12:15; I Corinthians 12:25-26), Sharpen each other and
(Proverbs 27:17; Isaiah 41:6-7), promote
sound spiritual well being (Romans 14: 19; Hebrews 10: 24-25)
and by sharing things in common (Acts4: 32, 34-35).
(f) FELLOWSHIP IN THE WORD:
This means that we must culture our selves in the Will
and ways of God; Studying to show ourselves approved
unto God. We must feast upon the Word daily and also
in endeavoring to internalize its precepts (Psalms 119: 9-11).
SUMMATION:
As were sharing on the subject of FUNSHIP, FOODSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP: WHERE I YOU BELONG? I had wondered within myself if in the course of this discussion you had recognized a negative familiar personal landmark (FUNSHIP or FOODSHIP) or a positive familiar landmark (FELLOWSHIP).
If you are a FUNSHIP or FOODSHIP disciple, I challenge you today to get out of the wrong boat and get into the right one. But if you are a Fellowship-Kingdom-oriented disciple, I encourage you to remain where you are. Keep paddling and committed!
Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah (Evangelist)
Minister, Township/Campus Church of Christ,
14,Agbugwu Lane, off University Market Road,
P.O. Box 351 (Personal Box), Nsukka -410002.
Enugu State, Nigeria.
PHONES: 08039596919; 08182820677.
E-mail: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com;
hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
PLIGHTS OF PREACHERS
TEXTS:
"But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry" (II TIMOTHY 4:5).
"Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, “Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen” (II KINGS 4:1)
INTRODUCTION
Standing before you today is an honour that I do not think I deserve. However, I consider it an opportunity to represent my constituency, the preaching profession.
Having served the Brotherhood in ministerial capacity for more than twenty years now, I think I have gained two or more experiences. I have served with rural (village) congregations and have also served urban (cosmopolitan) congregations. The experiences I have garnered over the years have been a mixed grill. I have enjoyed the fellowship of Brethren and have treasured relationships that I have cultivated. Women have been most supportive throughout the places I have served. Men on their own part have shown leadership skills and commitments to the growth of the Lord’s Church that have inspired and encouraged me. While ministering to these wonderful people, I have learnt from them much than they have learnt from me. To a large extent, it has been a reciprocal affair. I owe no man any apology to say without equivocation that I am happy and righteously proud to be a member of the Lord’s Church and a preacher of New Testament Christianity. We have a Great, Beautiful and Wonderful Brotherhood.
However, like Apostle Paul I have had reasons to despair, weep and be topsy-turved (counterbalanced) by a number of brethren. In spite of the joy that preachers derive from ministry, there are dangers inherent in the job. You would never understand and appreciate what preachers go through on a daily basis unless you are one. Most preachers do not know who to run to and on whose shoulders they can comfortably and confidently cry on. A preacher is every body’s resource but he lives a lone-ranger life. His life is like the proverbial, “Water, water everywhere but there is no water to drink.” He is surrounded by so many but he rarely has close confidante.
In this presentation, I shall try the much I can to x-ray a couple of the challenges (plights) of preachers. It is unfortunate that I would be the only preacher to speak on the plights of preachers because I am sure that I would not be able to point to all the subtle issues that have bothered and are still bothering preachers today. I am sure that a number of preachers present and those who would read these would have more to contribute than I can attempt to do in the course of this presentation.
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF PREACHERS
Preachers in Bible times, as prophets were God’s mouthpiece. The Will of God was made known to His people through the agency of prophets (Amos 3:7). Listening to and heeding prophetic declarations guaranteed the continued spiritual, physical, economic and social wellbeing of the people (II Chronicles 20:20). God’s grace has in every era of human existence ensured that proclaimers of His message were never lacking (II Chronicles 36:15-16).
Under New Testament era, messages were passed to congregations through preachers who were referred to as “angels of the Church.” This can be easily seen when we read through the first four chapters of the Book of Revelation. Future of God’s Heritage is anchored on sound teachings, preaching and preachers’ faithfulness to the Message. Else, God had promised there was going to be a famine of the Word (Amos 8:11-12). This prophetic declaration became the experience of the nation of Israel in what theological historians have dubbed, “The four hundred silent years” and “Between the Testaments.” Acts 13:40 warns that God’s people in our era must be careful not to allow prophetic utterances become their experiences.
Today, there are tale-tale signs that all are not well in our spiritual and theological milieus as ministry has become an all-comers’ affairs; a situation that has encouraged charlatans and opportunists who are bestriding our various landscapes with their falsehood, so much so that the Truth of God’s Word is gradually being lost. If adequate care is not taken, our generation might become the last frontier. Today, lie is gradually becoming truth while truth is gradually being lost to sham and phoney-religiosities of our times. The unfortunate thing is that these are taking their roots in the larger Brotherhood which a segment in the Brotherhood has already compromised and buckled up under the aegis of “Change Agents” and the “New Hermeneutics.”
Preachers keep their hands on the knob of spiritual and theological thermostats of the people. As preachers go, so go the people they minister to (I Timothy 4:16; cf. Matthew 15:14). They can shipwreck souls if they do not know their onions (I Timothy 1:18-20) or build souls if they do. Faithful and uncompromising preachers who have the rimmer of the Word are hedges against spiritual and theological suicides of a people. Nigerian Churches of Christ are blessed with faithful ministers whose interests are largely to serve the Lord and His Body.
The work of preachers, without controversy is a critical one. Like the Eldership, they keep watch over souls (Hebrews 13:17). Consequently, it would seem unlikely that a work of such eternal and spiritual significance can go without challenges. This is where preachers’ plights come in, and these plights are subtle, grave and many.
Brethren, preachers need help! Preachers need understanding, compassion and support. As men who are in the lines of fire, preachers are often wounded and bleeding. Many preachers are today carrying emotional, psychological and economic scars well beyond the phoney baloney façades of ads and fads fronts which they sometimes try to project. Beyond the very many, “It is well” mien, which some preachers endeavour to project lie deep pains, lack and insecurities.
PREACHING: PRINCE OF PROFESSIONS
Preaching is the prince of professions. Of all professions known to mankind, it is only the work of preachers that have spiritual and eternal significance (Romans 10:13-14; I Timothy 4:16). Other professions, no matter how highly placed they may seem begin and end here. Perhaps, this explains why when God sent His Son and thought of the work He was to do, the only work He considered princely enough was preaching. Jesus lived and died as a preacher. So, when we treat a preacher the way we do, we are invariably treating Jesus because He, not only is our Savior and Lord but our senior colleague (Matthew 10:40-42).
The works of preachers are of great significance: moulding characters and shaping destinies of those they preach to. Preachers are like medical doctors – always on call. They are like lawyers – always arguing cases, presenting the best sides to issues, negotiating and mediating between persons. In fact, preachers are conflict managers extraordinaire. The job descriptions of preachers are all–involving. Basically, preachers have their hands in all pies.
Preachers’ work is tasking and energy sapping, which explains why burnout remains one of the most prevalent sicknesses amongst preachers. Some Brethren are mistaken when they think that preachers are lazy and that their works are easy. They think that the only things preachers do are sleep, wake up, pray, read and study Bible; prepare lessons and stroll to few houses of brethren in name of visitations – then the day closes. These may define activities of a given preacher in a given geographical location. They are not representative of preachers’ daily activities. 90 per cent of preachers are more involved; their ministries are total: ministering to bodies, souls and spirits of those they minister to (I Thessalonians 5:23). In fact, the more cosmopolitan an area a preacher serves, the more complex his activities and demands placed on him become.
Preachers have been described as, “Wounded healers.” They, in spite of their personal challenges must provide hope to the “hopeless” and strength to the weak. They must be at the scene where a Christian Brother or Sister is hurt, someone dies, in hospitals, at police stations, at attorneys’, etcetera. In II Corinthians 11:27-29, Apostle Paul describes what an average preacher does in the course of carrying out his daily work:
In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not?
Preachers seek to build faith in people and to prepare them for life beyond this realm. It never fails to surprise me that while preachers seek to make people earthly and heavenly useful, some people actually want preachers to be earthly useless. In II Corinthians 6:10, Paul again describes some of the sterling contributions of Ministers in people’s lives: “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” Preachers have invested and are investing lots of resources in people through their teaching and preaching. Often great ideas emerge out of preachers’ teachings and preaching which the audiences apply to become great in societies. Preachers have to dig deeper to be able to make lessons applicable and achieve their intended meanings. As London and Wiseman (1993:21) observed, “Unfortunately, few people stop to think about how much difficulty, how much depression, and how many obstacles he faces to serve in this way.”
PLIGHTS OF PREACHERS
Let me ask each of us gathered here today, “Who wants to be a preacher?” Ministers and ministry are becoming endangered. It is becoming increasingly difficult to become a preacher and to continue in ministry. To ascertain the veracity of this claim, we need to ask ourselves, “How many men, young and old are willing to become preachers? How many parents are willing and at the same time encouraging their sons to take to preaching as a profession? Again, how many women would be so happy with shouts of ‘Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!!’ that their husbands have taken the noble decision to become preachers?” We do not find these common amongst us. Rather, those who are already there are looking for ways to get out. These days’ preaching as a profession is not attractive. It never was. If there was ever a time it attracted a large following, that era belonged to the past.
Materially speaking, preaching is not attractive. However, spiritually speaking, preaching/ministry is one of the most rewarding careers. When God chose what His Son would be, He chose for Him to be a preacher!
Among the teeming Plights of preachers are:
Welfare
Welfare is germane to issues bothering on preachers’ plights. Most preachers would happily contend with other forces against them if welfare issues are given considerable attention. I Corinthians 9:6-14 make a strong case for the welfare of preachers. Welfare is not just about salary. Welfare is holistic. It cuts across the present and the future. It bothers around wellbeing, being able to meet one’s daily personal as well as family obligations.
Preachers have families, not just their immediate (nuclear) families but as Africans, they have extended family members. Success, it is said has brothers, sisters and friends but failure does not. As far as some members of preachers’ families are concerned, preachers are failures. A situation where a man hardly meets up his responsibilities robs that man of his dignity as a man and reduces him to a mere figurehead in a family where he should be head and where he has the natural right to “rule with all authority.”
Many people have complained that some preachers’ children are wayward, turning around to accuse these men of God of irresponsibilities. We must stress the fact that the power to feed is the power to lead. A man who is able to “feed” his family is a man who has the moral right to control his family.
Most preachers because of welfare issues are living below the poverty line. How much do preachers in most congregations around Nigeria earn? Hearing the figures would send cold shivers down your spine. I have preached for more than twenty years. I hold a degree in Communications and pursuing a postgraduate in the same discipline. What then is my salary? To be candid, my entire monthly take home put together as I speak is in the neighbourhood of twenty thousand Naira (N20, 000. 00). This represents half of the salary a least paid civil servant in my congregation earns. For me, an average daily spending for my family is way above two thousand Naira (N2, 000. 00) daily “maintenance money.” My earning as far as it stands today does not guarantee any future for me and for my family. It implies that I would not be able to send my children to good schools. It also implies that I would never be able to execute any medium ticket project such as buying a piece of land and erecting a house of my own. My colleagues in the secular professions have strong assurances of better future than I do and can do much more than I can ever hope to do. Yet, in comparisons the work I do has more benefit than the ones they do.
Preachers in the Lord’s Church in Nigeria do not have pensions and gratuities as people in other professions do. Even our counterparts in denominations have pensions and gratuities. This implies that as a younger person, I would expend my energies in this work and when I grow old, I have nothing to fall back on. The only pensions and gratuities we have are our children, that is, if we are able to train, educate and empower them. How possible are these with the kind of salaries we earn?
People in other professions can afford to go on strike but preachers cannot. Ever heard of preachers going on strike over welfare? Unthink of. If it does, it would be considered sacrilegious. The only way to go on strike is to resign. Preachers these days are resigning their appointments in droves.
Preachers have the same needs as others. They buy from the same market and are subject to the same economic climates and conditions. The disparity between the earnings of a preacher and that of others in the same congregations is like comparing the poorest African country with the wealthiest Western economy.
Agreed, there are factors that are chiefly responsible for this low earning. These are non-centrality of funds which we can excuse on the platform of autonomy, size of individual congregations, locations, preachers’ educational qualifications, evangelistic fervour and economic standings of individual congregations informed by the financial prosperities of their members.
To aggravate the welfare situations of preachers, most congregations have “full-time preacher” policy. As welcome as this may be, it is pertinent to state that preachers who were hired under this policy are not enjoying full-time benefits. If our preachers are encouraged and allowed to tent-make like Apostle Paul had done (Acts 18:3; cf. Acts 20:33-35), they would be able to better their lots in life. If preachers are allowed to use their talents in holding jobs outside their ministerial callings, they would not cry too much about welfare that we have today. The disadvantage in holding jobs outside the ministerial work is that it would make preachers’ attentions to be divided with their attendant half-hearted commitments.
Because of inadequate remunerations, most preachers go cap in hand before Brethren in the congregations where they serve and also go to those outside the Church for financial assistance. This, to a large extent reduces a preacher’s sphere of influence and prestige. Most preachers’ families live on handouts. Many preachers live and die in penury and debt as was the case with widow of a prophet we read of in II Kings 4:1. I have personally heard preachers say in their privacies that they would not encourage their sons to take to ministry. Only few preachers would encourage their sons to take to preaching as a profession. Also, I have heard preachers’ children say to the hearing of others that if being preachers were what their fathers were doing, they would never become one.
One preacher’s wife made this comment: “Our challenge is to live within our income and still not embarrass the church with the kind of clothes we wear and the car we drive. I am not talking extravagant, just respectable.” Do you know that it is easier to identify a preacher and his family by the kind of articles of clothing they put on? In their book, Pastors’ At Risk, H. B. London and Neil B. Wiseman (1993:1) observed that “The church faces a perilous future when pastors (preachers) find it so tough to survive emotionally and economically.”
Brethren, those who sow spiritual seeds should expect to reap material benefits (I Corinthians 9:11). God stipulates that he or she who is taught the word should share with him who teaches him or her in all good things (Galatians 6:6). This means sharing with the men of God ministering in our midst is our responsibilities.
While a number of congregations have taken steps to remedy the situation of preachers’ welfare. I have heard of congregations’ efforts in this direction. The stories I hear are quite encouraging. I want to use this medium to request congregations to do more. I have heard of congregations that built houses for their preachers, bought cars, sent their preachers to tertiary institutions for further education, assist in the training of preachers’ children. These are all welcome developments but the situation is a still a far cry from what it should.
Unrealistic Expectations
These unrealistic expectations can be seen when congregations advertise for the positions of preachers. This is where you see a list of qualifications and requirements. Soon, I see it coming - congregations would be requiring preachers to have PhDs. One Protestant church recently posted an opening for a “Senior pastor's position,” boldly stating a long list of characteristics:
We want a Pastor who is well-organized, dynamic and youthful in outlook: one who is not afraid of innovative ideas or of risk-taking; one who takes strength from and is strong in preaching and teaching the Word; one who is open and inventive, able to find new and different ways to worship God. Our Pastor will look for ways to develop consensus . . .
Realizing, perhaps, that these characteristics sounded much like a description of Superman, the Pulpit Committee added a note at the bottom that reads, "The ability to walk on water would be nice, but is not required."
A preacher is expected to be a Know-it-all person. Because a preacher ministers to variegated classes of people, cutting across all professional divides, he is expected to personally minister to each of them. He is expected to speak with the finesse of a grammarian and with the erudition of a scholar. He is expected to be at home with history, economics, politics, law, current affairs, education, philosophy, theology, just name them. He is a kind of lecturer who is supposed to know at least little of everything and everything about Bible.
Aside these, he is expected to be a sound administrator, church growth expert, counselor, fundraiser, even as a benefactor to indigent brethren in congregation where he serves. Have you not heard of Brethren approaching their preachers to lend them money? I have been a victim of this and till date my life has been frustrated because those I stood on their behalf as sureties have landed me in scores of debts running into millions of Naira, which I am still paying.
Preachers are expected to be above boards with no visible signs of weakness. While this should be so, Brethren must and should know that preachers are humans with their own peculiar idiosyncrasies. Preachers are not “angels,” they are humans with flesh and blood. In my many years experiences as a preacher, I have noticed that some categories of persons in congregations seem to take delight in making preachers lose their cool, make them blow hot and exhibit one “nasty attitude” or another. The same persons would be quick to point accusing fingers at the preachers and recommend that a panel of inquiry be set to investigate the preachers’ attitudes, and possibly recommend their sack. This kind of attitude brings no small frustrations in preachers and also adds to his retinue of plights.
Controlling Preachers Outside-In
Agenda-Setting is a communication theory which journalists have to acquaint themselves with. Next to Agenda-Setting theory is Gate-Keeping theory. In Agenda-setting theory, the media of mass communications control what people think but under the Gate-Keeping theory, certain classes of editors stay at the gate and determine which story is to be published and which should not irrespective of their relevance to the newspapering business and society in general.
Agenda-Setting and Gate-Keeping have gradually found their way into the church and to a great extent, are defining how ministry is to be done and actually how ministry is being done.
Today, almost every brother and sister in church has one agenda or another for the preacher. By acts of omission or commission, they seek to keep preachers on the edges of their ministerial seats. It has become a recent practice in congregations for committees to be set up with the sole responsibility of monitoring preachers in guise of giving preachers job descriptions. While this practice has its own advantages, some people are actually using it to control the man who does the work of ministry.
Consciously and unconsciously they keep reminding him that if he does not measure up, he would be fired. By doing this, they put so much fear into the preacher that he keeps living a false life, works extra hard to meet the expectations of his “masters” and goes home each day feeling insecure and frustrated. Ministry under this atmosphere is no longer a “labour of love” but a compulsive one because if a preacher fails to measure up he stands to lose his job. Of course, anyone who does not like the face of the preacher can engineer his sack anytime and any day under any guise, real or imaginary.
Rather than seek to control preachers through Agenda-Setting and Gate-Keepings, let us cultivate the culture of affirming them. When we do this, we will be helping to build the morale and psyche of preachers and by so doing contribute towards building great congregations where growth in all indices is assured. Ministerial effectiveness is anchored on minister-motivation. The joy of a minister is the strength of the congregation. Let us not seek to pull preachers down but to encourage them. Let us pray for them because their well-being are ours (cf. Jeremiah 29:7).
Political Manipulations
Preachers are humans just like everyone else. In view of this, they are amenable to all manners of manipulations. Sometimes, some powerful interests in congregations who may become their preachers’ benefactors and benefactresses may capitalize on this to engage in subtle remote-controlling of preachers in their respective congregations. When some of these preachers do not want to play along or allow themselves to be swayed, the same powerful interests would scheme against preachers and have them either disgraced or ejected from their midst.
Brethren must appreciate the fact that when they support preachers from their personal resources, it is not the person that they are supporting per se but the work of God. Financial supports should not be means of any sort of manipulations. We cannot do anything against the truth but for the truth.
One of the preachers’ plights stems from the fact that when such brethren do what are wrong and the preachers sets out to rebuke or call them to order they would politicize and would seek to resist these moves with all manners of threats. Many congregations have gone down because a certain powerful brother or sister was a negative influence. Nothing frustrates a preacher than to have his hands and feet tied because of the political manipulations of powerful forces in congregations.
Preachers Doing Ministry at Families’ Risks
It is on record that ministry is hazardous to ministers’ marriages and family. In their book, Pastors’ At Risk, H. B. London and Neil B. Wiseman (1993:7, 11) observed,
All too often time spent in ministry equals time away from spouse and kids. If family stability isn’t attacked and eroded at one end of the scale, it seems it will be at the other! This is a serious and delicate situation. And caught in the middle of it all, trying (frantically, sometimes) to keep ends of the candle burning, is that person we know as a professional minister - a human being like the rest of us, who increasingly finds himself working against a legion of obstacle, unrealistic expectations, and stresses and strains unique to his position in the world…. Ministry hazards are choking hope out of pastors’ souls.
That preachers are ministering at their families’ risks can be established and justified by scores of Biblical accounts and contemporary examples. Eli lost his children because he was too busy with ministry’s demands (I Samuel 2:12). The same went for Samuel who equally lost his children to both spiritual and moral delinquencies because he was busy shuttling from one end of the spectrum to the other, preaching and saving others while losing his own at home (I Samuel 8:1-4).
Why were these so? “Why would it not be so? “A man would be able to attend to the needs of his children spiritually, morally, educationally, emotionally, etcetera only when he is around. Preachers are known to take care of other people’s needs while neglecting their families’ (Songs of Solomon 1:6). Indeed, preachers are caught in the middle of a multifaceted junction: the world, ministry, family needs and a host of others – striking the appropriate balance is one of their greatest headaches.
Let me say this and this also goes to pay much belated tributes to preachers’ wives wherever they are - it takes grace to marry a preacher. It also takes extra courage to remain married to one. Preachers’ wives are at the receiving ends of all that preachers go through. Often, their husbands heap on them their transferred aggressions.
London and Wiseman (1993:21) observed, “Family groups living in minister’ homes face all the pressures every contemporary family faces plus the unique demands pastoral ministry makes on them.”
Attempts At Making Preachers’ Errand Boys
This may not be the appropriate nomenclature, but that is the way I conceptualized it. In some congregations preachers have become errand boys. While appreciating the roles our “able Church Secretaries” play in running the affairs of congregations, we would also need to call some of them to order because some of them have of recent assumed the positions of boss while preachers have become errand boys.
Biblically speaking, there was no office known as “Church Secretary” but there is an office of a minister. Minister is not a position per se, it is a calling. The position of Church Secretary came to be because there were needs for it. When secretaries complement the efforts of preachers, preachers would perform optimally but when they become cogs in the wheels of progress they make things very difficult and often the very source of conflict between a congregation and her preacher.
Some Secretaries have become domineering having adopted Diotrephesic mentalities (III John v.9).This attitude is seen when correspondence are sent from congregations and signed by a certain “Secretary-In-Charge.” Some church secretaries are known to run their congregations while preachers are expected to take orders from them. In my years of experiences in ministry I have worked with scores of these people. One told me that I should know that he was the one who employed me and that I should know that preachers are like wives married to the church, even threatening to initiate my sack if I dared questioned his authority. When I requested for official files of the church, he was quick to tell me that I had no right to ask for any and that the best he would do was to give me World Bible School files of the church to follow-up on students. Except for the fact that I am a bit of an expert in teaching conflict management and conflict resolution and have written a book on that, I would have had it hot with this particular secretary. However, using sanctified common sense diplomacy I was able to relate with him until he left.
Some Church secretaries would not consult their preachers when mails arrive, they would assign responsibilities to brethren without preachers’ knowledge, call for meetings without consulting with preachers, etcetera. Most times, secretaries are the ones who draw roosters for the Church and determine who should preach or who should not.
Preachers are supposed to know the spiritual well-being of members and assign who should do what. Today, secretaries have taken the place and positions of preachers. Some secretaries now have special seats in congregations and woes betide a preacher if he is not in good terms with his church’s secretary.
If the church could be likened to a secular corporate organization, preachers would be likened to chief operating officers (COO) and no secretary of an organization in that capacity would relegate his COO to an errand boy’s position.
Stifling Preachers of Fund
Closely related to this errand boy status is the act of stifling preachers of funds in doing the work of ministry. Many preachers do not have an Imprest Account. Preachers going out to do the work of the Lord and of the Church would have to go cap-in-hand to virtually beg for funds. Sometimes he has to write applications and fill requisition forms just to obtain money. This puts psychological pressures on preachers and adds to their other plights.
There is no point consciously subjecting preachers to lower class status in congregations. If they feel demoralized they would not be able to function optimally and that would rob off negatively on the Church – her spiritual growth and numerical developments.
SUMMATION
“Overwork, low pay, and desperation take a terrible toll as ministers struggle to make sense of crammed calendars, hectic homes, splintered dreams, starved intimacy, and shriveled purpose. Some quit in utter hopeless to sell used cars, hawk Amyway or peddle water softeners. Others lapse into passivity like holy robots. And many of the remaining stouthearted hold on by their fingernails, hoping to find a hidden spring to refresh their weary spirits and scrambled thoughts. No aspect of pastors’ lives has been spared, neither personal nor professional” that is the way London and Wiseman (1993:11-12) describe an average preacher working with congregations.
Time would not permit me to x-ray others issues and plights of preachers. Suffice it to say, however, that what I have pointed out in this presentation would serve as basis for further investigations and discussions.
As I go down from this podium today, I want to thank you for organizing this seminar and for the topics you have selected to be discussed. These go to show that the church is becoming concerned about the plights of her preachers. I want to believe that there is a great future for preachers in this side of our world. This, indeed, is a step in the right direction. Thank you and God bless us all in Jesus’ name!
Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah,
Township/Campus Church of Christ,
14, Agbugwu Lane, off, university Market
Road, P. O. Box 351 (Personal Box),
Nsukka – 410002, Enugu State, Nigeria.
PHONES: 08039596919; 08182820677.
EMAIL: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com;
hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com.
REFERENCES
London, H. B., Jr. and Wiseman, N. B. (1993). Pastors At Risk. Wheaton,
Illinois: Victor Books.
"But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry" (II TIMOTHY 4:5).
"Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, “Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen” (II KINGS 4:1)
INTRODUCTION
Standing before you today is an honour that I do not think I deserve. However, I consider it an opportunity to represent my constituency, the preaching profession.
Having served the Brotherhood in ministerial capacity for more than twenty years now, I think I have gained two or more experiences. I have served with rural (village) congregations and have also served urban (cosmopolitan) congregations. The experiences I have garnered over the years have been a mixed grill. I have enjoyed the fellowship of Brethren and have treasured relationships that I have cultivated. Women have been most supportive throughout the places I have served. Men on their own part have shown leadership skills and commitments to the growth of the Lord’s Church that have inspired and encouraged me. While ministering to these wonderful people, I have learnt from them much than they have learnt from me. To a large extent, it has been a reciprocal affair. I owe no man any apology to say without equivocation that I am happy and righteously proud to be a member of the Lord’s Church and a preacher of New Testament Christianity. We have a Great, Beautiful and Wonderful Brotherhood.
However, like Apostle Paul I have had reasons to despair, weep and be topsy-turved (counterbalanced) by a number of brethren. In spite of the joy that preachers derive from ministry, there are dangers inherent in the job. You would never understand and appreciate what preachers go through on a daily basis unless you are one. Most preachers do not know who to run to and on whose shoulders they can comfortably and confidently cry on. A preacher is every body’s resource but he lives a lone-ranger life. His life is like the proverbial, “Water, water everywhere but there is no water to drink.” He is surrounded by so many but he rarely has close confidante.
In this presentation, I shall try the much I can to x-ray a couple of the challenges (plights) of preachers. It is unfortunate that I would be the only preacher to speak on the plights of preachers because I am sure that I would not be able to point to all the subtle issues that have bothered and are still bothering preachers today. I am sure that a number of preachers present and those who would read these would have more to contribute than I can attempt to do in the course of this presentation.
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF PREACHERS
Preachers in Bible times, as prophets were God’s mouthpiece. The Will of God was made known to His people through the agency of prophets (Amos 3:7). Listening to and heeding prophetic declarations guaranteed the continued spiritual, physical, economic and social wellbeing of the people (II Chronicles 20:20). God’s grace has in every era of human existence ensured that proclaimers of His message were never lacking (II Chronicles 36:15-16).
Under New Testament era, messages were passed to congregations through preachers who were referred to as “angels of the Church.” This can be easily seen when we read through the first four chapters of the Book of Revelation. Future of God’s Heritage is anchored on sound teachings, preaching and preachers’ faithfulness to the Message. Else, God had promised there was going to be a famine of the Word (Amos 8:11-12). This prophetic declaration became the experience of the nation of Israel in what theological historians have dubbed, “The four hundred silent years” and “Between the Testaments.” Acts 13:40 warns that God’s people in our era must be careful not to allow prophetic utterances become their experiences.
Today, there are tale-tale signs that all are not well in our spiritual and theological milieus as ministry has become an all-comers’ affairs; a situation that has encouraged charlatans and opportunists who are bestriding our various landscapes with their falsehood, so much so that the Truth of God’s Word is gradually being lost. If adequate care is not taken, our generation might become the last frontier. Today, lie is gradually becoming truth while truth is gradually being lost to sham and phoney-religiosities of our times. The unfortunate thing is that these are taking their roots in the larger Brotherhood which a segment in the Brotherhood has already compromised and buckled up under the aegis of “Change Agents” and the “New Hermeneutics.”
Preachers keep their hands on the knob of spiritual and theological thermostats of the people. As preachers go, so go the people they minister to (I Timothy 4:16; cf. Matthew 15:14). They can shipwreck souls if they do not know their onions (I Timothy 1:18-20) or build souls if they do. Faithful and uncompromising preachers who have the rimmer of the Word are hedges against spiritual and theological suicides of a people. Nigerian Churches of Christ are blessed with faithful ministers whose interests are largely to serve the Lord and His Body.
The work of preachers, without controversy is a critical one. Like the Eldership, they keep watch over souls (Hebrews 13:17). Consequently, it would seem unlikely that a work of such eternal and spiritual significance can go without challenges. This is where preachers’ plights come in, and these plights are subtle, grave and many.
Brethren, preachers need help! Preachers need understanding, compassion and support. As men who are in the lines of fire, preachers are often wounded and bleeding. Many preachers are today carrying emotional, psychological and economic scars well beyond the phoney baloney façades of ads and fads fronts which they sometimes try to project. Beyond the very many, “It is well” mien, which some preachers endeavour to project lie deep pains, lack and insecurities.
PREACHING: PRINCE OF PROFESSIONS
Preaching is the prince of professions. Of all professions known to mankind, it is only the work of preachers that have spiritual and eternal significance (Romans 10:13-14; I Timothy 4:16). Other professions, no matter how highly placed they may seem begin and end here. Perhaps, this explains why when God sent His Son and thought of the work He was to do, the only work He considered princely enough was preaching. Jesus lived and died as a preacher. So, when we treat a preacher the way we do, we are invariably treating Jesus because He, not only is our Savior and Lord but our senior colleague (Matthew 10:40-42).
The works of preachers are of great significance: moulding characters and shaping destinies of those they preach to. Preachers are like medical doctors – always on call. They are like lawyers – always arguing cases, presenting the best sides to issues, negotiating and mediating between persons. In fact, preachers are conflict managers extraordinaire. The job descriptions of preachers are all–involving. Basically, preachers have their hands in all pies.
Preachers’ work is tasking and energy sapping, which explains why burnout remains one of the most prevalent sicknesses amongst preachers. Some Brethren are mistaken when they think that preachers are lazy and that their works are easy. They think that the only things preachers do are sleep, wake up, pray, read and study Bible; prepare lessons and stroll to few houses of brethren in name of visitations – then the day closes. These may define activities of a given preacher in a given geographical location. They are not representative of preachers’ daily activities. 90 per cent of preachers are more involved; their ministries are total: ministering to bodies, souls and spirits of those they minister to (I Thessalonians 5:23). In fact, the more cosmopolitan an area a preacher serves, the more complex his activities and demands placed on him become.
Preachers have been described as, “Wounded healers.” They, in spite of their personal challenges must provide hope to the “hopeless” and strength to the weak. They must be at the scene where a Christian Brother or Sister is hurt, someone dies, in hospitals, at police stations, at attorneys’, etcetera. In II Corinthians 11:27-29, Apostle Paul describes what an average preacher does in the course of carrying out his daily work:
In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not?
Preachers seek to build faith in people and to prepare them for life beyond this realm. It never fails to surprise me that while preachers seek to make people earthly and heavenly useful, some people actually want preachers to be earthly useless. In II Corinthians 6:10, Paul again describes some of the sterling contributions of Ministers in people’s lives: “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” Preachers have invested and are investing lots of resources in people through their teaching and preaching. Often great ideas emerge out of preachers’ teachings and preaching which the audiences apply to become great in societies. Preachers have to dig deeper to be able to make lessons applicable and achieve their intended meanings. As London and Wiseman (1993:21) observed, “Unfortunately, few people stop to think about how much difficulty, how much depression, and how many obstacles he faces to serve in this way.”
PLIGHTS OF PREACHERS
Let me ask each of us gathered here today, “Who wants to be a preacher?” Ministers and ministry are becoming endangered. It is becoming increasingly difficult to become a preacher and to continue in ministry. To ascertain the veracity of this claim, we need to ask ourselves, “How many men, young and old are willing to become preachers? How many parents are willing and at the same time encouraging their sons to take to preaching as a profession? Again, how many women would be so happy with shouts of ‘Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!!’ that their husbands have taken the noble decision to become preachers?” We do not find these common amongst us. Rather, those who are already there are looking for ways to get out. These days’ preaching as a profession is not attractive. It never was. If there was ever a time it attracted a large following, that era belonged to the past.
Materially speaking, preaching is not attractive. However, spiritually speaking, preaching/ministry is one of the most rewarding careers. When God chose what His Son would be, He chose for Him to be a preacher!
Among the teeming Plights of preachers are:
Welfare
Welfare is germane to issues bothering on preachers’ plights. Most preachers would happily contend with other forces against them if welfare issues are given considerable attention. I Corinthians 9:6-14 make a strong case for the welfare of preachers. Welfare is not just about salary. Welfare is holistic. It cuts across the present and the future. It bothers around wellbeing, being able to meet one’s daily personal as well as family obligations.
Preachers have families, not just their immediate (nuclear) families but as Africans, they have extended family members. Success, it is said has brothers, sisters and friends but failure does not. As far as some members of preachers’ families are concerned, preachers are failures. A situation where a man hardly meets up his responsibilities robs that man of his dignity as a man and reduces him to a mere figurehead in a family where he should be head and where he has the natural right to “rule with all authority.”
Many people have complained that some preachers’ children are wayward, turning around to accuse these men of God of irresponsibilities. We must stress the fact that the power to feed is the power to lead. A man who is able to “feed” his family is a man who has the moral right to control his family.
Most preachers because of welfare issues are living below the poverty line. How much do preachers in most congregations around Nigeria earn? Hearing the figures would send cold shivers down your spine. I have preached for more than twenty years. I hold a degree in Communications and pursuing a postgraduate in the same discipline. What then is my salary? To be candid, my entire monthly take home put together as I speak is in the neighbourhood of twenty thousand Naira (N20, 000. 00). This represents half of the salary a least paid civil servant in my congregation earns. For me, an average daily spending for my family is way above two thousand Naira (N2, 000. 00) daily “maintenance money.” My earning as far as it stands today does not guarantee any future for me and for my family. It implies that I would not be able to send my children to good schools. It also implies that I would never be able to execute any medium ticket project such as buying a piece of land and erecting a house of my own. My colleagues in the secular professions have strong assurances of better future than I do and can do much more than I can ever hope to do. Yet, in comparisons the work I do has more benefit than the ones they do.
Preachers in the Lord’s Church in Nigeria do not have pensions and gratuities as people in other professions do. Even our counterparts in denominations have pensions and gratuities. This implies that as a younger person, I would expend my energies in this work and when I grow old, I have nothing to fall back on. The only pensions and gratuities we have are our children, that is, if we are able to train, educate and empower them. How possible are these with the kind of salaries we earn?
People in other professions can afford to go on strike but preachers cannot. Ever heard of preachers going on strike over welfare? Unthink of. If it does, it would be considered sacrilegious. The only way to go on strike is to resign. Preachers these days are resigning their appointments in droves.
Preachers have the same needs as others. They buy from the same market and are subject to the same economic climates and conditions. The disparity between the earnings of a preacher and that of others in the same congregations is like comparing the poorest African country with the wealthiest Western economy.
Agreed, there are factors that are chiefly responsible for this low earning. These are non-centrality of funds which we can excuse on the platform of autonomy, size of individual congregations, locations, preachers’ educational qualifications, evangelistic fervour and economic standings of individual congregations informed by the financial prosperities of their members.
To aggravate the welfare situations of preachers, most congregations have “full-time preacher” policy. As welcome as this may be, it is pertinent to state that preachers who were hired under this policy are not enjoying full-time benefits. If our preachers are encouraged and allowed to tent-make like Apostle Paul had done (Acts 18:3; cf. Acts 20:33-35), they would be able to better their lots in life. If preachers are allowed to use their talents in holding jobs outside their ministerial callings, they would not cry too much about welfare that we have today. The disadvantage in holding jobs outside the ministerial work is that it would make preachers’ attentions to be divided with their attendant half-hearted commitments.
Because of inadequate remunerations, most preachers go cap in hand before Brethren in the congregations where they serve and also go to those outside the Church for financial assistance. This, to a large extent reduces a preacher’s sphere of influence and prestige. Most preachers’ families live on handouts. Many preachers live and die in penury and debt as was the case with widow of a prophet we read of in II Kings 4:1. I have personally heard preachers say in their privacies that they would not encourage their sons to take to ministry. Only few preachers would encourage their sons to take to preaching as a profession. Also, I have heard preachers’ children say to the hearing of others that if being preachers were what their fathers were doing, they would never become one.
One preacher’s wife made this comment: “Our challenge is to live within our income and still not embarrass the church with the kind of clothes we wear and the car we drive. I am not talking extravagant, just respectable.” Do you know that it is easier to identify a preacher and his family by the kind of articles of clothing they put on? In their book, Pastors’ At Risk, H. B. London and Neil B. Wiseman (1993:1) observed that “The church faces a perilous future when pastors (preachers) find it so tough to survive emotionally and economically.”
Brethren, those who sow spiritual seeds should expect to reap material benefits (I Corinthians 9:11). God stipulates that he or she who is taught the word should share with him who teaches him or her in all good things (Galatians 6:6). This means sharing with the men of God ministering in our midst is our responsibilities.
While a number of congregations have taken steps to remedy the situation of preachers’ welfare. I have heard of congregations’ efforts in this direction. The stories I hear are quite encouraging. I want to use this medium to request congregations to do more. I have heard of congregations that built houses for their preachers, bought cars, sent their preachers to tertiary institutions for further education, assist in the training of preachers’ children. These are all welcome developments but the situation is a still a far cry from what it should.
Unrealistic Expectations
These unrealistic expectations can be seen when congregations advertise for the positions of preachers. This is where you see a list of qualifications and requirements. Soon, I see it coming - congregations would be requiring preachers to have PhDs. One Protestant church recently posted an opening for a “Senior pastor's position,” boldly stating a long list of characteristics:
We want a Pastor who is well-organized, dynamic and youthful in outlook: one who is not afraid of innovative ideas or of risk-taking; one who takes strength from and is strong in preaching and teaching the Word; one who is open and inventive, able to find new and different ways to worship God. Our Pastor will look for ways to develop consensus . . .
Realizing, perhaps, that these characteristics sounded much like a description of Superman, the Pulpit Committee added a note at the bottom that reads, "The ability to walk on water would be nice, but is not required."
A preacher is expected to be a Know-it-all person. Because a preacher ministers to variegated classes of people, cutting across all professional divides, he is expected to personally minister to each of them. He is expected to speak with the finesse of a grammarian and with the erudition of a scholar. He is expected to be at home with history, economics, politics, law, current affairs, education, philosophy, theology, just name them. He is a kind of lecturer who is supposed to know at least little of everything and everything about Bible.
Aside these, he is expected to be a sound administrator, church growth expert, counselor, fundraiser, even as a benefactor to indigent brethren in congregation where he serves. Have you not heard of Brethren approaching their preachers to lend them money? I have been a victim of this and till date my life has been frustrated because those I stood on their behalf as sureties have landed me in scores of debts running into millions of Naira, which I am still paying.
Preachers are expected to be above boards with no visible signs of weakness. While this should be so, Brethren must and should know that preachers are humans with their own peculiar idiosyncrasies. Preachers are not “angels,” they are humans with flesh and blood. In my many years experiences as a preacher, I have noticed that some categories of persons in congregations seem to take delight in making preachers lose their cool, make them blow hot and exhibit one “nasty attitude” or another. The same persons would be quick to point accusing fingers at the preachers and recommend that a panel of inquiry be set to investigate the preachers’ attitudes, and possibly recommend their sack. This kind of attitude brings no small frustrations in preachers and also adds to his retinue of plights.
Controlling Preachers Outside-In
Agenda-Setting is a communication theory which journalists have to acquaint themselves with. Next to Agenda-Setting theory is Gate-Keeping theory. In Agenda-setting theory, the media of mass communications control what people think but under the Gate-Keeping theory, certain classes of editors stay at the gate and determine which story is to be published and which should not irrespective of their relevance to the newspapering business and society in general.
Agenda-Setting and Gate-Keeping have gradually found their way into the church and to a great extent, are defining how ministry is to be done and actually how ministry is being done.
Today, almost every brother and sister in church has one agenda or another for the preacher. By acts of omission or commission, they seek to keep preachers on the edges of their ministerial seats. It has become a recent practice in congregations for committees to be set up with the sole responsibility of monitoring preachers in guise of giving preachers job descriptions. While this practice has its own advantages, some people are actually using it to control the man who does the work of ministry.
Consciously and unconsciously they keep reminding him that if he does not measure up, he would be fired. By doing this, they put so much fear into the preacher that he keeps living a false life, works extra hard to meet the expectations of his “masters” and goes home each day feeling insecure and frustrated. Ministry under this atmosphere is no longer a “labour of love” but a compulsive one because if a preacher fails to measure up he stands to lose his job. Of course, anyone who does not like the face of the preacher can engineer his sack anytime and any day under any guise, real or imaginary.
Rather than seek to control preachers through Agenda-Setting and Gate-Keepings, let us cultivate the culture of affirming them. When we do this, we will be helping to build the morale and psyche of preachers and by so doing contribute towards building great congregations where growth in all indices is assured. Ministerial effectiveness is anchored on minister-motivation. The joy of a minister is the strength of the congregation. Let us not seek to pull preachers down but to encourage them. Let us pray for them because their well-being are ours (cf. Jeremiah 29:7).
Political Manipulations
Preachers are humans just like everyone else. In view of this, they are amenable to all manners of manipulations. Sometimes, some powerful interests in congregations who may become their preachers’ benefactors and benefactresses may capitalize on this to engage in subtle remote-controlling of preachers in their respective congregations. When some of these preachers do not want to play along or allow themselves to be swayed, the same powerful interests would scheme against preachers and have them either disgraced or ejected from their midst.
Brethren must appreciate the fact that when they support preachers from their personal resources, it is not the person that they are supporting per se but the work of God. Financial supports should not be means of any sort of manipulations. We cannot do anything against the truth but for the truth.
One of the preachers’ plights stems from the fact that when such brethren do what are wrong and the preachers sets out to rebuke or call them to order they would politicize and would seek to resist these moves with all manners of threats. Many congregations have gone down because a certain powerful brother or sister was a negative influence. Nothing frustrates a preacher than to have his hands and feet tied because of the political manipulations of powerful forces in congregations.
Preachers Doing Ministry at Families’ Risks
It is on record that ministry is hazardous to ministers’ marriages and family. In their book, Pastors’ At Risk, H. B. London and Neil B. Wiseman (1993:7, 11) observed,
All too often time spent in ministry equals time away from spouse and kids. If family stability isn’t attacked and eroded at one end of the scale, it seems it will be at the other! This is a serious and delicate situation. And caught in the middle of it all, trying (frantically, sometimes) to keep ends of the candle burning, is that person we know as a professional minister - a human being like the rest of us, who increasingly finds himself working against a legion of obstacle, unrealistic expectations, and stresses and strains unique to his position in the world…. Ministry hazards are choking hope out of pastors’ souls.
That preachers are ministering at their families’ risks can be established and justified by scores of Biblical accounts and contemporary examples. Eli lost his children because he was too busy with ministry’s demands (I Samuel 2:12). The same went for Samuel who equally lost his children to both spiritual and moral delinquencies because he was busy shuttling from one end of the spectrum to the other, preaching and saving others while losing his own at home (I Samuel 8:1-4).
Why were these so? “Why would it not be so? “A man would be able to attend to the needs of his children spiritually, morally, educationally, emotionally, etcetera only when he is around. Preachers are known to take care of other people’s needs while neglecting their families’ (Songs of Solomon 1:6). Indeed, preachers are caught in the middle of a multifaceted junction: the world, ministry, family needs and a host of others – striking the appropriate balance is one of their greatest headaches.
Let me say this and this also goes to pay much belated tributes to preachers’ wives wherever they are - it takes grace to marry a preacher. It also takes extra courage to remain married to one. Preachers’ wives are at the receiving ends of all that preachers go through. Often, their husbands heap on them their transferred aggressions.
London and Wiseman (1993:21) observed, “Family groups living in minister’ homes face all the pressures every contemporary family faces plus the unique demands pastoral ministry makes on them.”
Attempts At Making Preachers’ Errand Boys
This may not be the appropriate nomenclature, but that is the way I conceptualized it. In some congregations preachers have become errand boys. While appreciating the roles our “able Church Secretaries” play in running the affairs of congregations, we would also need to call some of them to order because some of them have of recent assumed the positions of boss while preachers have become errand boys.
Biblically speaking, there was no office known as “Church Secretary” but there is an office of a minister. Minister is not a position per se, it is a calling. The position of Church Secretary came to be because there were needs for it. When secretaries complement the efforts of preachers, preachers would perform optimally but when they become cogs in the wheels of progress they make things very difficult and often the very source of conflict between a congregation and her preacher.
Some Secretaries have become domineering having adopted Diotrephesic mentalities (III John v.9).This attitude is seen when correspondence are sent from congregations and signed by a certain “Secretary-In-Charge.” Some church secretaries are known to run their congregations while preachers are expected to take orders from them. In my years of experiences in ministry I have worked with scores of these people. One told me that I should know that he was the one who employed me and that I should know that preachers are like wives married to the church, even threatening to initiate my sack if I dared questioned his authority. When I requested for official files of the church, he was quick to tell me that I had no right to ask for any and that the best he would do was to give me World Bible School files of the church to follow-up on students. Except for the fact that I am a bit of an expert in teaching conflict management and conflict resolution and have written a book on that, I would have had it hot with this particular secretary. However, using sanctified common sense diplomacy I was able to relate with him until he left.
Some Church secretaries would not consult their preachers when mails arrive, they would assign responsibilities to brethren without preachers’ knowledge, call for meetings without consulting with preachers, etcetera. Most times, secretaries are the ones who draw roosters for the Church and determine who should preach or who should not.
Preachers are supposed to know the spiritual well-being of members and assign who should do what. Today, secretaries have taken the place and positions of preachers. Some secretaries now have special seats in congregations and woes betide a preacher if he is not in good terms with his church’s secretary.
If the church could be likened to a secular corporate organization, preachers would be likened to chief operating officers (COO) and no secretary of an organization in that capacity would relegate his COO to an errand boy’s position.
Stifling Preachers of Fund
Closely related to this errand boy status is the act of stifling preachers of funds in doing the work of ministry. Many preachers do not have an Imprest Account. Preachers going out to do the work of the Lord and of the Church would have to go cap-in-hand to virtually beg for funds. Sometimes he has to write applications and fill requisition forms just to obtain money. This puts psychological pressures on preachers and adds to their other plights.
There is no point consciously subjecting preachers to lower class status in congregations. If they feel demoralized they would not be able to function optimally and that would rob off negatively on the Church – her spiritual growth and numerical developments.
SUMMATION
“Overwork, low pay, and desperation take a terrible toll as ministers struggle to make sense of crammed calendars, hectic homes, splintered dreams, starved intimacy, and shriveled purpose. Some quit in utter hopeless to sell used cars, hawk Amyway or peddle water softeners. Others lapse into passivity like holy robots. And many of the remaining stouthearted hold on by their fingernails, hoping to find a hidden spring to refresh their weary spirits and scrambled thoughts. No aspect of pastors’ lives has been spared, neither personal nor professional” that is the way London and Wiseman (1993:11-12) describe an average preacher working with congregations.
Time would not permit me to x-ray others issues and plights of preachers. Suffice it to say, however, that what I have pointed out in this presentation would serve as basis for further investigations and discussions.
As I go down from this podium today, I want to thank you for organizing this seminar and for the topics you have selected to be discussed. These go to show that the church is becoming concerned about the plights of her preachers. I want to believe that there is a great future for preachers in this side of our world. This, indeed, is a step in the right direction. Thank you and God bless us all in Jesus’ name!
Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah,
Township/Campus Church of Christ,
14, Agbugwu Lane, off, university Market
Road, P. O. Box 351 (Personal Box),
Nsukka – 410002, Enugu State, Nigeria.
PHONES: 08039596919; 08182820677.
EMAIL: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com;
hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com.
REFERENCES
London, H. B., Jr. and Wiseman, N. B. (1993). Pastors At Risk. Wheaton,
Illinois: Victor Books.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
BEING USEFUL TO GOD IN YOUR BUSINESS
EXORDIUM
“Whatever you do in word or in deed do that to the glory of God the Father” (Col. 3:17). “Whatever” is whatever. The businesses we do falls within the category of “whatever.”
Whatever we do we must give glory to God through it. In other words, they must be a source of service to God; they must reflect the knowledge of the God we serve.
Bible recommends that we must serve God with our bodies (Rom. 12:1-2), with our time (Eph. 5:14-16), with our talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and with our treasures or resources. To add to these we must serve God through our businesses or through the work we do. If we do not do so, then we are not useful to God in it and if we are not useful to God in it, then God is not glorified through it.
Christianity is not just coming to Church and going through the motions of “seven items of worship” but allowing the knowledge of God that we have to reflect in all that we do and where we are.
To me, one of the reasons Christianity of toady is gradually loosing its power is that rather than Christians taking Bible, Jesus Christ, God and the Christian Faith into the world, we are busy bringing the world into our sacred lives so much so that we can no longer be distinguished from the rest of the people. What they do are what we do. But if we are different from the way we carry out our businesses, our work and the rest; show seriousness and commitment just like Daniel in Daniel 6:5 that we do not play with our relationship with our God, then they will become curious and their curiosity will lead them to seek truth and then finally be saved.
In this presentation, we shall focus attention on three areas, namely:
1. Taking our businesses serious by treating our customers well;
2. Creating time in our businesses to serve God.
3. using our businesses as our pulpits.
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
I. TAKING OUR BUSINESSES SERIOUS
Everyone of us are taking our businesses serious because it involves our monies. For all that I know, no one in his or her right mind ever plays with his or her money. We can do anything to protect our monies. While endeavouring to protect our monies, we sometimes forget to play by the rules of honesty, excellent services delivery and to live by our words to the people we serve through our various businesses and the people we do business with generally.
If we do not reflect the highest senses of seriousness, reliability and professionalism, we may not just start losing our sense of purpose of why we are in business in the first place but our customers, business relationships and ultimately our monies.
In taking our businesses serious, I want to suggest that we do the following:
1. Take every business relationship (buying and selling; attending to
Customers/clients needs’ religiously) – Ecclessiastes 9:10.
2. Let diligence and excellence be your watch-word - Proverbs 22:29.
a. It was Martin Luther who once counseled, “If you are sweeper, sweep like no one else can; sweep like Michelangelo painted pictures.”
b. Another person advised, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will build a path to your door.”
c. In whatever you do and in whatever business you are engaged in, do what you do excellently. Let quality be your signature.
3. Let honesty and faithfulness be the hallmark of your client/customer relationships and in all your business transactions with your supplier or those you supply goods. Let honesty be your business policy. Show your Christianity in all you do – Luke 16:10-12.
4. Show integrity when it comes to money matters because money matters matter – II Kings 12: 15; 22:4-7.
5. Deal on original and quality stuffs so much so that if people are looking for or ask for original items in your line of trade people will be directed to your shop or office – Philippians 4: 8.
By doing these people will be curious to know the church you attend and may be compelled to attend with you leading to possible conversion (cf. Zech. 8:23) but if you do not, the tendency is that the name of the God you serve and the name of Lord’s Church will be maligned (Romans 2:17 – 24).
II. CREATING TIME IN OUR BUSINESSES TO SERVE GOD
One of the most powerful statements made in the entire Bible was made by Jesus in Luke 2:49 “.... Do you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” What this statement implies is that on a daily basis, our private activities are subsumed in our Creator’s ultimate business, doing His eternal Will.
When my personal business activities becloud my sense of Christian duties, then something is wrong with my priorities in life. A person who plays or neglects his/her Christian duties ultimately trifles with his/her earthly business as well.
As Christians we need to be reminded that as far as this earthly life is concerned, every arrangement is temporary. There is no permanent arrangement here. The only constant is doing God’s Will.
We came into this world empty handed and we will leave it without any of the materials things we have acquired or desire to acquire (1 Tim. 6:7). In view of this, Jesus our Lord Counsels us in John 6:27: “Labour not for the food that perish but for that which do not perish”. In John 4:34, our Lord said, My food is to do the Will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” In John 9:4 He reiterates the urgency and importance of this when He states, “I must work the work of Him who sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” We ask, “What is this day and what is this night?” Day is when you are alive and night is when you are gone from this life. We are also reminded that the ultimate duty of man is service to God (Eccl. 12:13).
If we succeed in our personal businesses but fail in God’s business, we are grand definitions of failure. Our businesses should complement God’s business. Ask yourself, “In what ways have my business complimented God’s work?” Again, “In what way or ways have my business activities enhanced or interfered with God’s work?”
Sometimes, we allow our business activities to interfere with our Christian duties of Bible studies, Prayer Meetings, Visitations, Evangelism, etcetera. Often our businesses have made us more of Sunday, Sunday Christians (Daraprin Christianity) because we only seem to do our Christian duties on Sundays.
“Do not forsake the assembling of the saints as is the manner of some is. . . .” (Heb. 10:25) is spoken to those of us who are allowing our earthly duties to negate our Christian/Spiritual duties.
What then are we supposed to do to become useful to God in our businesses in this respect? Create time for your Spiritual duties and stick to it. Some people think that when they attend every church activity that their businesses will suffer. Far from it! The reverse is often the case. When we neglect God’s work God will in turn neglect ours but when we labour for Him, He in turn labours for us (Prov. 11:25). We are asked to, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, every other thing shall be added to us (Matt. 6:33). The question is, “If we do not take God’s work serious, how would we expect God to take our own businesses serious?”
If we can play with our Christian duties, we can as well play with the well-being of our businesses. When people know us to be serious with our Christian obligations then they can be sure that we cannot be relied upon in serious matters regarding our business relationships. I find it more convenient to relate with a deeply religious person than to deal with one who is not. Therefore, be useful to God in your business by creating time for your own business and that of God’s business. Set aside certain amount of money from your business proceeds to sponsor evangelisms and related projects. Be committed towards enlarging God’s Kingdom where you are!
III. USING OUR BUSINESSES AS OUR PULPITS
“Go into the word and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15-16). We can reach out to many people where we are on a daily basis. We may not realize that every of our client, customer or business partner (supplier or buyer) is a potential convert. What we look for in Sokoto are actually in our shokoto.
Yes, we can use our businesses as our pulpits, How? You might ask. I suggest that we do the following:
1. For everyone you go to his or her shop or for everyone who comes to
yours, initiate Bible discussions on topical issues. When the person shows enough interest, schedule out time for an in-depth study. If you do not know enough, invite a Brother or Sister who knows more than you do to lead in the study.
2. Keep tracts that are stamped ready and hand them over to your
customers or business partners. Sow the seeds of the Gospel through the printed page and scatter that knowledge as far as you can. The song,
“BUT YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME” is important here. We might do ourselves a little favour by taking a look at the lyrics of the song.
3. Invite your customers and business partners to church and to church
programs. Speak beautifully of the Church, her uniqueness and simplicity to your customers and business partners that their curiosities should be aroused. Never speak evil of the Church to anyone.
4. Tell them about the various media programs sponsored by churches of
Christ such as Television and radio programs, encouraging them to tune to them.
CONCLUSION:
By “Being useful to God through my Business” I will be helping to spread the knowledge of God, enlarging the borders of God’s Kingdom in hearts and communities of men.
May we work hard at becoming more useful to God in our various businesses either as self-employed artisans, employed under a person or an organization or simply engaged in buying and selling.
Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah (Evangelist)
(Minister) Township/Campus Church of Christ
14 Agbugwu Lane, off, University/Market Road.
P.O.Box 351, Nsukka. Enugu State, Nigeria.
E-MAILS: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com
hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com
PHONE: 234-08039596919
“Whatever you do in word or in deed do that to the glory of God the Father” (Col. 3:17). “Whatever” is whatever. The businesses we do falls within the category of “whatever.”
Whatever we do we must give glory to God through it. In other words, they must be a source of service to God; they must reflect the knowledge of the God we serve.
Bible recommends that we must serve God with our bodies (Rom. 12:1-2), with our time (Eph. 5:14-16), with our talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and with our treasures or resources. To add to these we must serve God through our businesses or through the work we do. If we do not do so, then we are not useful to God in it and if we are not useful to God in it, then God is not glorified through it.
Christianity is not just coming to Church and going through the motions of “seven items of worship” but allowing the knowledge of God that we have to reflect in all that we do and where we are.
To me, one of the reasons Christianity of toady is gradually loosing its power is that rather than Christians taking Bible, Jesus Christ, God and the Christian Faith into the world, we are busy bringing the world into our sacred lives so much so that we can no longer be distinguished from the rest of the people. What they do are what we do. But if we are different from the way we carry out our businesses, our work and the rest; show seriousness and commitment just like Daniel in Daniel 6:5 that we do not play with our relationship with our God, then they will become curious and their curiosity will lead them to seek truth and then finally be saved.
In this presentation, we shall focus attention on three areas, namely:
1. Taking our businesses serious by treating our customers well;
2. Creating time in our businesses to serve God.
3. using our businesses as our pulpits.
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
I. TAKING OUR BUSINESSES SERIOUS
Everyone of us are taking our businesses serious because it involves our monies. For all that I know, no one in his or her right mind ever plays with his or her money. We can do anything to protect our monies. While endeavouring to protect our monies, we sometimes forget to play by the rules of honesty, excellent services delivery and to live by our words to the people we serve through our various businesses and the people we do business with generally.
If we do not reflect the highest senses of seriousness, reliability and professionalism, we may not just start losing our sense of purpose of why we are in business in the first place but our customers, business relationships and ultimately our monies.
In taking our businesses serious, I want to suggest that we do the following:
1. Take every business relationship (buying and selling; attending to
Customers/clients needs’ religiously) – Ecclessiastes 9:10.
2. Let diligence and excellence be your watch-word - Proverbs 22:29.
a. It was Martin Luther who once counseled, “If you are sweeper, sweep like no one else can; sweep like Michelangelo painted pictures.”
b. Another person advised, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will build a path to your door.”
c. In whatever you do and in whatever business you are engaged in, do what you do excellently. Let quality be your signature.
3. Let honesty and faithfulness be the hallmark of your client/customer relationships and in all your business transactions with your supplier or those you supply goods. Let honesty be your business policy. Show your Christianity in all you do – Luke 16:10-12.
4. Show integrity when it comes to money matters because money matters matter – II Kings 12: 15; 22:4-7.
5. Deal on original and quality stuffs so much so that if people are looking for or ask for original items in your line of trade people will be directed to your shop or office – Philippians 4: 8.
By doing these people will be curious to know the church you attend and may be compelled to attend with you leading to possible conversion (cf. Zech. 8:23) but if you do not, the tendency is that the name of the God you serve and the name of Lord’s Church will be maligned (Romans 2:17 – 24).
II. CREATING TIME IN OUR BUSINESSES TO SERVE GOD
One of the most powerful statements made in the entire Bible was made by Jesus in Luke 2:49 “.... Do you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” What this statement implies is that on a daily basis, our private activities are subsumed in our Creator’s ultimate business, doing His eternal Will.
When my personal business activities becloud my sense of Christian duties, then something is wrong with my priorities in life. A person who plays or neglects his/her Christian duties ultimately trifles with his/her earthly business as well.
As Christians we need to be reminded that as far as this earthly life is concerned, every arrangement is temporary. There is no permanent arrangement here. The only constant is doing God’s Will.
We came into this world empty handed and we will leave it without any of the materials things we have acquired or desire to acquire (1 Tim. 6:7). In view of this, Jesus our Lord Counsels us in John 6:27: “Labour not for the food that perish but for that which do not perish”. In John 4:34, our Lord said, My food is to do the Will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” In John 9:4 He reiterates the urgency and importance of this when He states, “I must work the work of Him who sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” We ask, “What is this day and what is this night?” Day is when you are alive and night is when you are gone from this life. We are also reminded that the ultimate duty of man is service to God (Eccl. 12:13).
If we succeed in our personal businesses but fail in God’s business, we are grand definitions of failure. Our businesses should complement God’s business. Ask yourself, “In what ways have my business complimented God’s work?” Again, “In what way or ways have my business activities enhanced or interfered with God’s work?”
Sometimes, we allow our business activities to interfere with our Christian duties of Bible studies, Prayer Meetings, Visitations, Evangelism, etcetera. Often our businesses have made us more of Sunday, Sunday Christians (Daraprin Christianity) because we only seem to do our Christian duties on Sundays.
“Do not forsake the assembling of the saints as is the manner of some is. . . .” (Heb. 10:25) is spoken to those of us who are allowing our earthly duties to negate our Christian/Spiritual duties.
What then are we supposed to do to become useful to God in our businesses in this respect? Create time for your Spiritual duties and stick to it. Some people think that when they attend every church activity that their businesses will suffer. Far from it! The reverse is often the case. When we neglect God’s work God will in turn neglect ours but when we labour for Him, He in turn labours for us (Prov. 11:25). We are asked to, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, every other thing shall be added to us (Matt. 6:33). The question is, “If we do not take God’s work serious, how would we expect God to take our own businesses serious?”
If we can play with our Christian duties, we can as well play with the well-being of our businesses. When people know us to be serious with our Christian obligations then they can be sure that we cannot be relied upon in serious matters regarding our business relationships. I find it more convenient to relate with a deeply religious person than to deal with one who is not. Therefore, be useful to God in your business by creating time for your own business and that of God’s business. Set aside certain amount of money from your business proceeds to sponsor evangelisms and related projects. Be committed towards enlarging God’s Kingdom where you are!
III. USING OUR BUSINESSES AS OUR PULPITS
“Go into the word and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15-16). We can reach out to many people where we are on a daily basis. We may not realize that every of our client, customer or business partner (supplier or buyer) is a potential convert. What we look for in Sokoto are actually in our shokoto.
Yes, we can use our businesses as our pulpits, How? You might ask. I suggest that we do the following:
1. For everyone you go to his or her shop or for everyone who comes to
yours, initiate Bible discussions on topical issues. When the person shows enough interest, schedule out time for an in-depth study. If you do not know enough, invite a Brother or Sister who knows more than you do to lead in the study.
2. Keep tracts that are stamped ready and hand them over to your
customers or business partners. Sow the seeds of the Gospel through the printed page and scatter that knowledge as far as you can. The song,
“BUT YOU NEVER MENTIONED HIM TO ME” is important here. We might do ourselves a little favour by taking a look at the lyrics of the song.
3. Invite your customers and business partners to church and to church
programs. Speak beautifully of the Church, her uniqueness and simplicity to your customers and business partners that their curiosities should be aroused. Never speak evil of the Church to anyone.
4. Tell them about the various media programs sponsored by churches of
Christ such as Television and radio programs, encouraging them to tune to them.
CONCLUSION:
By “Being useful to God through my Business” I will be helping to spread the knowledge of God, enlarging the borders of God’s Kingdom in hearts and communities of men.
May we work hard at becoming more useful to God in our various businesses either as self-employed artisans, employed under a person or an organization or simply engaged in buying and selling.
Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah (Evangelist)
(Minister) Township/Campus Church of Christ
14 Agbugwu Lane, off, University/Market Road.
P.O.Box 351, Nsukka. Enugu State, Nigeria.
E-MAILS: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com
hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com
PHONE: 234-08039596919
THEREFORE, I ENDURE ALL THINGS FOR THE ELECT’S SAKE.
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
There are two words and two phrases which are very important to be defined, namely:
“THEREFORE”,
“ENDURE”,
“ALL THINGS”, and
“ELECT’S SAKE.”
A. THEREFORE: - is a word in the verse which introduces the result of what Apostle Paul had previously mentioned about being a “good soldier of the Cross,” just as Jesus Christ showed us a perfect example of suffering and endurance, and for all Christians to share in Christ’s suffering, using three analogies of Soldiers, Athletes and Farmers’ dispositions.
B. ENDURE: - actually, this is to experience and deal with such painful or unpleasant dispositions associated with the three jobs mentioned above without any complaint. This is having the ability to continue doing painful or unpleasant works for the benefits of others; enduring physical, emotional, mental or spiritual pains, such as insults or molestations and mockery; suffering loss of wealth joyfully, sharing with others or overlooking other people’s wrongs against you (Luke 9:23; Acts 2:44-46; 4:32, 34-36; Phil.2:17; I Thess.2:8; I John 3:16).
In other words, endurance is synonymous with the terrains in the
Narrow Way (Matt.7:13, 14).
C. ALL THINGS: - are words which point to the fact that Christians have many things to suffer loss of or over look, both materially and emotionally and also some physical trauma in order to bear, edify and carry other Christians along in faith and love, as the trial which believers are called upon to endure. All the facets of temptations, trials, loses and what have you, to be compared with Apostle Paul’s aspects of sufferings and perils (I Cor.4:10-13; 2 Cor.11:23).
D. ELECT’S SAKE: - are words which represent the members of the Church whom God has called, chosen, sanctified and justified for salvation with eternal glory (Rom. 8:28-30) enduring sufferings on behalf of the Church as Christ did (John 15:13; Phil.2:17; I Thess.2: 8; I John 3:16).
PREAMBLE
This theme is very interesting because it affects Christian women mostly, in that we are known for endurance of pains right from the Garden of Eden as regards birth pangs or labour (Gen.3:16; John 16:21, 22) which thereafter brings joy because of life that is brought into existence. This process compares favourably with spiritual birth in Galatians 4:19. Christian women have the Marks of Christ by having the power of God as the Israel of God and in sharing the sufferings of Christ in our bodies (Isaiah 44:5; 2 Cor.1:5-7; 11:23-ff; Gal. 6:16, 17).
Endurance is another figurative theme for salt which has the qualities of preservation. Long potency, purification and healing. Basically, the theme is a focus on our sacrifices and services for other people’s spiritual and material benefits, demonstrating love which is not self-seeking nor keeping records of wrongs, taking genuine interests that will build people’s minds.
Medically, endurance is a psychological therapy and the antidote remedial to sufferings and worries which cause many incurable diseases and undermine health. Spiritually, endurance is a godly and leadership virtue which is divinely acceptable and goes a long way to bring to fruition the divine promise of comfort, especially, the work of the Holy Spirit (Matt.5:4; John 14:16, 26).
Factually speaking, if there is no pain, there will be no gain. So, it is God’s Will for all Christians to suffer for Christ, for righteousness sake and for the Church. We incur sufferings through our services to God and so, it is part of Christians’ obligations. The endurance of sufferings is a discipline and means “Going to Christ” (Luke 9:23).
WHAT TO ENDURE FOR THE CHURCH
Endurance is an embodiment which consists of patience, longsuffering, tolerance, forbearance, overlooking faults with love, perseverance and temperance. It is the spiritual virtue of a good leader (Prov.16:32; 17:27). Faithful Christian women endure Reviling, Affliction, Injustice, Poverty, Grief, Harm, Hardship, Tribulation, Humiliation, Hatred, Loss of Life, Renunciation of Worldly Treasures, Loss of Reputation, Imprisonment, Emotional Pangs and Loss of Material Riches; Scruples, Flaws or Qualms of the weak and persecution (throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs).
As Servants of God and Soldiers of the Cross, Christian women are to share in the sufferings of Christ who died for the Church that we may be saved (Eph.5:25; Phil.3; 2Tim.1:8; 2:3, 9; Heb.12:2). We are to display sacrificial love as the bond of perfection (Rom. 5:6, 7; Col.3:14). Christians are vulnerable to the reviling and mockery of unbelievers because of their beliefs. They are unjustly and spitefully treated because they are not of the world, but they bear all patiently.
Every Christian woman owes the Church the labour of fervent prayers for divine interventions (Col. 4:12; Note – 2 Cor.11:28).
REASONS FOR ENDURING SUFFERING FOR THE CHURCH
The reasons why Christian women are to endure all things for the Elect’s sake are:
a. It is the Will of God, commendable or acceptable to Divinity (I Pet. 2:15, 20; 3:17; 4:19). To all faithful Christians, endurance is the solution to suffering as “all who must live godly must suffer persecution” (II Timothy 3:12).
b. Christians are identified as belonging to Christ because they patiently bear their sufferings without complaint or giving up. They bear the marks of Christ in their bodies (2 Cor12:7; Gal.6:7; 2 Tim.3:10-12). Christians face persecutions in the world where majority of the people are evil and are ruled by Satan (John 7:7; II Corinth. 4:4).
c. Christians are severely persecuted because they are not of this world. They bear these persecutions with joy because through them, they lay treasures in heaven (John 15:18, 19; 17:14; Matt.6:19).
d. They endure sufferings so that weak and new converts may be encouraged and learn from it (2 Tim.3:10-12). So, it is a Christian virtue which is attractive to the weak as the model of emulation (Col.1:10, 11; Jas.5:7-10; I Pet.2:21-23, 3:18). We are commanded to “Bear one another’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal.6:2).
e. Endurance sharpens and sharpens Christians’ faith and trains us spiritually to grow and attain maturity; and for others to obtain salvation in Christ with eternal glory (2 Tim.2:10; Heb. 2:9, 10; 5:7-9, 14).
f. We must endure the loss of many things we posses in order to work out our salvation with godly fear and trembling because, without pains, there will be no gains (Phil. 2:12; 3:7-9, 13-15; Acts 2:44; 4:34-36 cf. Matt.19:21-23).
Sisters in the Lord, there are many great rewards awaiting all Christians who persevere and bear pains patiently. We endure suffering for God’s grace to abound.
THE ATTITUDINAL DEVELOPMENT OF ENDURANCE IN CHRISTIANS
There is a developmental process of endurance in a Christian’s life. It is gradual and attainable by spiritual knowledge, prayer and by the Holy Spirit (Col.1:10, 11; 2 Tim.1:8. 2:7). Christians are instructed to rejoice always (Phil.4:4). We are:
a. To rejoice in tribulation or to glory in tribulation (Rom.5:3; Jas.1:2-4).
b. To rejoice in hope. Patient in tribulation and continuing instantly in prayer (Rom.12:12). That is spiritual joy and hope in Christ.
c. To spend and be spent on others’ behalf as Apostle Paul had affirmed (2 Cor.12:15; Heb.10:32-36). These are the way of serving others with our Time, Energy, Money, Properties and Intellects (Gal.5:13) et cetera.
d. We owe the Church the duty of self-sacrifice and the services of caring for her growth and developments in knowledge, edification, benevolence, prayers, visitations, evangelism, fastings, taking advantage of all life’s opportunities to see that these are accomplished (Luke 19:13) and in helping to transform the lives of members (Rom. 12:2); in giving cheerfully as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (Acts 20:35; I Pet.4:9, 10).
e. We have duty to the weak to tolerate their flaws and scruples, even to treat them nicely with knowledge, not minding their inabilities (Rom.12:10; 14:1, 21-23; 15:1, 2). Soldiers do not leave their wounded comrades behind when running away; they carry them along, dead or alive.
f. We have the duty of sympathetic and unselfish living towards all members of the Church for edification (I Cor.10:24, 33; 13:5).
g. We have the duty of being charitable, constancy and perseverance (Phil.2:4, 21). This also shows onwardness (a military term). So, the attitudinal process in Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4 and I Peter1:6,7 is to rejoice in our sufferings of any kind, knowing that they produce “perseverance or patience; perseverance produces character or experience; character produces hope and hope does not disappoint because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given to us.” The character or experience is that we become “Fools for Christ,” in order to make others wise; we are to be weak for others to be strong, et cetera (I Cor.4:10 -13 Read on).
ADVANTAGES OF PATIENT ENDURANCE
The advantage of patient endurance implies:
i. Enduring sufferings tend to multiply divine grace. God’s grace abound to those who suffer, which in turn is a blessing and Fellowship with the LORD (Phil. 3:10).
ii. When we endure sufferings, it will produce a harvest of peace and righteousness (Heb.12:11; Jas.3:17, 18; Isa.32:17-20). This is purely the personal advantage one derives.
iii. Enduring sufferings means waiting for the coming of the LORD with His great rewards (Rev.22:11, 12; Jas.5:7, 8).
iv. When we endure sufferings, we are blessed abundantly in due season (Matt.5:10-12). We are blessed presently in this life and in the world to come (Mark10:29-30; I Tim.4:8).
v. Our endurance for the Elect makes them to obtain salvation with eternal glory (2 Tim.2:10) because by it Saints will learn to persevere and remain faithful.
vi. Endurance is a discipline whereby we exercise ourselves in godliness as we patiently bear pains, discomfort and the unpleasant things in this parting life and for the fact that God shall wipe away our tears (Rev. 21:4). God is aware of our sufferings and plights. He cares and provides for us. So, we learn to be humble, obedient and dedicated to God. In view of the hope, glory and joy (bliss) set for us in heaven, we endure all things.
GOOD EXAMPLES OF GREAT ENDURANCE
“Going to Christ” means to bear the disgrace or reproach which Jesus Christ bore for salvation (Luke 9:23; Heb.11:26; 13:13, 14).
a. Our Lord Jesus Christ endured the pains of the Cross and death for us, so we have to share in it (Phil.2:8, 9; 3:10; Heb.2:9; 12:2).
b. Job, in the Bible, endured material loses and physical trauma but did not give up (Job 1:21, 22; 2:10; 42:10, 12-17; Jas.5:11). His patience and perseverance brought greater blessings at the end.
c. Apostle John suffered and endured deprivations on the Island of Patmos because of God’s Word and for the Testimony of Jesus Christ. He suffered and bore the pains of banishment and material destitutions with all fortitude and boldness (Rev.1:9). The immutable promises of the divine are that John’s reward is reserved in heaven.
d. Pregnant women in labour pain at birth endure the pangs and rejoices when she gives birth (John 16:21-22). There is always a happy end to our endurance. A life is reproduced.
e. Farmers, Soldiers and Athletes toil and labour patiently (I Cor.9:7, 24; 2 Tim.2:3-7; Jas.5:7-11). Farmers, especially, smile at the time of harvest after waiting patiently for the former and later rains.
f. Apostle Paul suffered and endured many afflictions, tribulations, persecutions, ship wreck, et cetera. All for the Saints to keep up their faith in Christ and grow through sufferings to maturity (Acts 9:15, 16; 20:23; 21:11; 2 Cor.6:4-10; 11:23-27; 2 Tim.3:10, 11).
BEING CLINICAL, INDIFFERENCE OR NEGLIGENCE OF THE ELECT’S
Some Christian women may be indifferent to other Christians’ plight while God asked that we should be our brothers’ keepers. One can be religiously indifferent in spirit (Matt.18:28-33; 22:5; Matt.24:12, 48-51). Also, one can religiously indifferent in service to other Christians (Acts 28:2-10; Luke 9:51-56; 3 John 9:10).
To be clinical or indifferent is to feel unconcerned and to be uncaring for the welfare of the Church, and this uncouth attitudes may result to opposition, criticism, backsliding, cold-war, in-fightings or schisms in the absence of brotherly love (Gal.5:15; I Cor.12:25, 26; Rom.12:10).
In this lesson and through this lesson we are soliciting seriously for all hands to be on desk to lift the Church to higher levels. We should endeavour at all time to shun selfishness.
CONCLUSION
According to 2 Cor.6:4-10, all Christian women are to commend themselves as Servants of God in every way - in great endurance, in troubles or affliction, et cetera.
In response, recipients of help should reciprocate these virtues so as not to defraud and demoralize others. The Church is a “support group” and the sacrifices and services are the altar of good offerings to help broken members, imperfect members, dependent saints, teachable members, forgetful members, troubled members and even lost members. We are sent to lead. We are to show the world how to live as lights, et cetera.
As we meditate upon these words and are determined to be led by God’s Word, may He in His infinite mercy give us the grace to be more practical than theoretical in Jesus name!
Thank you and remain blessed!
Script by:
Evangelist Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah
(Minister) Township/Campus Church of Christ
14 Agbugwu Lane, off, University/Market Road.
P.O.Box 351, Nsukka. Enugu State, Nigeria.
E-MAILS: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com
hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com
PHONE: 234-08039596919
There are two words and two phrases which are very important to be defined, namely:
“THEREFORE”,
“ENDURE”,
“ALL THINGS”, and
“ELECT’S SAKE.”
A. THEREFORE: - is a word in the verse which introduces the result of what Apostle Paul had previously mentioned about being a “good soldier of the Cross,” just as Jesus Christ showed us a perfect example of suffering and endurance, and for all Christians to share in Christ’s suffering, using three analogies of Soldiers, Athletes and Farmers’ dispositions.
B. ENDURE: - actually, this is to experience and deal with such painful or unpleasant dispositions associated with the three jobs mentioned above without any complaint. This is having the ability to continue doing painful or unpleasant works for the benefits of others; enduring physical, emotional, mental or spiritual pains, such as insults or molestations and mockery; suffering loss of wealth joyfully, sharing with others or overlooking other people’s wrongs against you (Luke 9:23; Acts 2:44-46; 4:32, 34-36; Phil.2:17; I Thess.2:8; I John 3:16).
In other words, endurance is synonymous with the terrains in the
Narrow Way (Matt.7:13, 14).
C. ALL THINGS: - are words which point to the fact that Christians have many things to suffer loss of or over look, both materially and emotionally and also some physical trauma in order to bear, edify and carry other Christians along in faith and love, as the trial which believers are called upon to endure. All the facets of temptations, trials, loses and what have you, to be compared with Apostle Paul’s aspects of sufferings and perils (I Cor.4:10-13; 2 Cor.11:23).
D. ELECT’S SAKE: - are words which represent the members of the Church whom God has called, chosen, sanctified and justified for salvation with eternal glory (Rom. 8:28-30) enduring sufferings on behalf of the Church as Christ did (John 15:13; Phil.2:17; I Thess.2: 8; I John 3:16).
PREAMBLE
This theme is very interesting because it affects Christian women mostly, in that we are known for endurance of pains right from the Garden of Eden as regards birth pangs or labour (Gen.3:16; John 16:21, 22) which thereafter brings joy because of life that is brought into existence. This process compares favourably with spiritual birth in Galatians 4:19. Christian women have the Marks of Christ by having the power of God as the Israel of God and in sharing the sufferings of Christ in our bodies (Isaiah 44:5; 2 Cor.1:5-7; 11:23-ff; Gal. 6:16, 17).
Endurance is another figurative theme for salt which has the qualities of preservation. Long potency, purification and healing. Basically, the theme is a focus on our sacrifices and services for other people’s spiritual and material benefits, demonstrating love which is not self-seeking nor keeping records of wrongs, taking genuine interests that will build people’s minds.
Medically, endurance is a psychological therapy and the antidote remedial to sufferings and worries which cause many incurable diseases and undermine health. Spiritually, endurance is a godly and leadership virtue which is divinely acceptable and goes a long way to bring to fruition the divine promise of comfort, especially, the work of the Holy Spirit (Matt.5:4; John 14:16, 26).
Factually speaking, if there is no pain, there will be no gain. So, it is God’s Will for all Christians to suffer for Christ, for righteousness sake and for the Church. We incur sufferings through our services to God and so, it is part of Christians’ obligations. The endurance of sufferings is a discipline and means “Going to Christ” (Luke 9:23).
WHAT TO ENDURE FOR THE CHURCH
Endurance is an embodiment which consists of patience, longsuffering, tolerance, forbearance, overlooking faults with love, perseverance and temperance. It is the spiritual virtue of a good leader (Prov.16:32; 17:27). Faithful Christian women endure Reviling, Affliction, Injustice, Poverty, Grief, Harm, Hardship, Tribulation, Humiliation, Hatred, Loss of Life, Renunciation of Worldly Treasures, Loss of Reputation, Imprisonment, Emotional Pangs and Loss of Material Riches; Scruples, Flaws or Qualms of the weak and persecution (throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs).
As Servants of God and Soldiers of the Cross, Christian women are to share in the sufferings of Christ who died for the Church that we may be saved (Eph.5:25; Phil.3; 2Tim.1:8; 2:3, 9; Heb.12:2). We are to display sacrificial love as the bond of perfection (Rom. 5:6, 7; Col.3:14). Christians are vulnerable to the reviling and mockery of unbelievers because of their beliefs. They are unjustly and spitefully treated because they are not of the world, but they bear all patiently.
Every Christian woman owes the Church the labour of fervent prayers for divine interventions (Col. 4:12; Note – 2 Cor.11:28).
REASONS FOR ENDURING SUFFERING FOR THE CHURCH
The reasons why Christian women are to endure all things for the Elect’s sake are:
a. It is the Will of God, commendable or acceptable to Divinity (I Pet. 2:15, 20; 3:17; 4:19). To all faithful Christians, endurance is the solution to suffering as “all who must live godly must suffer persecution” (II Timothy 3:12).
b. Christians are identified as belonging to Christ because they patiently bear their sufferings without complaint or giving up. They bear the marks of Christ in their bodies (2 Cor12:7; Gal.6:7; 2 Tim.3:10-12). Christians face persecutions in the world where majority of the people are evil and are ruled by Satan (John 7:7; II Corinth. 4:4).
c. Christians are severely persecuted because they are not of this world. They bear these persecutions with joy because through them, they lay treasures in heaven (John 15:18, 19; 17:14; Matt.6:19).
d. They endure sufferings so that weak and new converts may be encouraged and learn from it (2 Tim.3:10-12). So, it is a Christian virtue which is attractive to the weak as the model of emulation (Col.1:10, 11; Jas.5:7-10; I Pet.2:21-23, 3:18). We are commanded to “Bear one another’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal.6:2).
e. Endurance sharpens and sharpens Christians’ faith and trains us spiritually to grow and attain maturity; and for others to obtain salvation in Christ with eternal glory (2 Tim.2:10; Heb. 2:9, 10; 5:7-9, 14).
f. We must endure the loss of many things we posses in order to work out our salvation with godly fear and trembling because, without pains, there will be no gains (Phil. 2:12; 3:7-9, 13-15; Acts 2:44; 4:34-36 cf. Matt.19:21-23).
Sisters in the Lord, there are many great rewards awaiting all Christians who persevere and bear pains patiently. We endure suffering for God’s grace to abound.
THE ATTITUDINAL DEVELOPMENT OF ENDURANCE IN CHRISTIANS
There is a developmental process of endurance in a Christian’s life. It is gradual and attainable by spiritual knowledge, prayer and by the Holy Spirit (Col.1:10, 11; 2 Tim.1:8. 2:7). Christians are instructed to rejoice always (Phil.4:4). We are:
a. To rejoice in tribulation or to glory in tribulation (Rom.5:3; Jas.1:2-4).
b. To rejoice in hope. Patient in tribulation and continuing instantly in prayer (Rom.12:12). That is spiritual joy and hope in Christ.
c. To spend and be spent on others’ behalf as Apostle Paul had affirmed (2 Cor.12:15; Heb.10:32-36). These are the way of serving others with our Time, Energy, Money, Properties and Intellects (Gal.5:13) et cetera.
d. We owe the Church the duty of self-sacrifice and the services of caring for her growth and developments in knowledge, edification, benevolence, prayers, visitations, evangelism, fastings, taking advantage of all life’s opportunities to see that these are accomplished (Luke 19:13) and in helping to transform the lives of members (Rom. 12:2); in giving cheerfully as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (Acts 20:35; I Pet.4:9, 10).
e. We have duty to the weak to tolerate their flaws and scruples, even to treat them nicely with knowledge, not minding their inabilities (Rom.12:10; 14:1, 21-23; 15:1, 2). Soldiers do not leave their wounded comrades behind when running away; they carry them along, dead or alive.
f. We have the duty of sympathetic and unselfish living towards all members of the Church for edification (I Cor.10:24, 33; 13:5).
g. We have the duty of being charitable, constancy and perseverance (Phil.2:4, 21). This also shows onwardness (a military term). So, the attitudinal process in Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4 and I Peter1:6,7 is to rejoice in our sufferings of any kind, knowing that they produce “perseverance or patience; perseverance produces character or experience; character produces hope and hope does not disappoint because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given to us.” The character or experience is that we become “Fools for Christ,” in order to make others wise; we are to be weak for others to be strong, et cetera (I Cor.4:10 -13 Read on).
ADVANTAGES OF PATIENT ENDURANCE
The advantage of patient endurance implies:
i. Enduring sufferings tend to multiply divine grace. God’s grace abound to those who suffer, which in turn is a blessing and Fellowship with the LORD (Phil. 3:10).
ii. When we endure sufferings, it will produce a harvest of peace and righteousness (Heb.12:11; Jas.3:17, 18; Isa.32:17-20). This is purely the personal advantage one derives.
iii. Enduring sufferings means waiting for the coming of the LORD with His great rewards (Rev.22:11, 12; Jas.5:7, 8).
iv. When we endure sufferings, we are blessed abundantly in due season (Matt.5:10-12). We are blessed presently in this life and in the world to come (Mark10:29-30; I Tim.4:8).
v. Our endurance for the Elect makes them to obtain salvation with eternal glory (2 Tim.2:10) because by it Saints will learn to persevere and remain faithful.
vi. Endurance is a discipline whereby we exercise ourselves in godliness as we patiently bear pains, discomfort and the unpleasant things in this parting life and for the fact that God shall wipe away our tears (Rev. 21:4). God is aware of our sufferings and plights. He cares and provides for us. So, we learn to be humble, obedient and dedicated to God. In view of the hope, glory and joy (bliss) set for us in heaven, we endure all things.
GOOD EXAMPLES OF GREAT ENDURANCE
“Going to Christ” means to bear the disgrace or reproach which Jesus Christ bore for salvation (Luke 9:23; Heb.11:26; 13:13, 14).
a. Our Lord Jesus Christ endured the pains of the Cross and death for us, so we have to share in it (Phil.2:8, 9; 3:10; Heb.2:9; 12:2).
b. Job, in the Bible, endured material loses and physical trauma but did not give up (Job 1:21, 22; 2:10; 42:10, 12-17; Jas.5:11). His patience and perseverance brought greater blessings at the end.
c. Apostle John suffered and endured deprivations on the Island of Patmos because of God’s Word and for the Testimony of Jesus Christ. He suffered and bore the pains of banishment and material destitutions with all fortitude and boldness (Rev.1:9). The immutable promises of the divine are that John’s reward is reserved in heaven.
d. Pregnant women in labour pain at birth endure the pangs and rejoices when she gives birth (John 16:21-22). There is always a happy end to our endurance. A life is reproduced.
e. Farmers, Soldiers and Athletes toil and labour patiently (I Cor.9:7, 24; 2 Tim.2:3-7; Jas.5:7-11). Farmers, especially, smile at the time of harvest after waiting patiently for the former and later rains.
f. Apostle Paul suffered and endured many afflictions, tribulations, persecutions, ship wreck, et cetera. All for the Saints to keep up their faith in Christ and grow through sufferings to maturity (Acts 9:15, 16; 20:23; 21:11; 2 Cor.6:4-10; 11:23-27; 2 Tim.3:10, 11).
BEING CLINICAL, INDIFFERENCE OR NEGLIGENCE OF THE ELECT’S
Some Christian women may be indifferent to other Christians’ plight while God asked that we should be our brothers’ keepers. One can be religiously indifferent in spirit (Matt.18:28-33; 22:5; Matt.24:12, 48-51). Also, one can religiously indifferent in service to other Christians (Acts 28:2-10; Luke 9:51-56; 3 John 9:10).
To be clinical or indifferent is to feel unconcerned and to be uncaring for the welfare of the Church, and this uncouth attitudes may result to opposition, criticism, backsliding, cold-war, in-fightings or schisms in the absence of brotherly love (Gal.5:15; I Cor.12:25, 26; Rom.12:10).
In this lesson and through this lesson we are soliciting seriously for all hands to be on desk to lift the Church to higher levels. We should endeavour at all time to shun selfishness.
CONCLUSION
According to 2 Cor.6:4-10, all Christian women are to commend themselves as Servants of God in every way - in great endurance, in troubles or affliction, et cetera.
In response, recipients of help should reciprocate these virtues so as not to defraud and demoralize others. The Church is a “support group” and the sacrifices and services are the altar of good offerings to help broken members, imperfect members, dependent saints, teachable members, forgetful members, troubled members and even lost members. We are sent to lead. We are to show the world how to live as lights, et cetera.
As we meditate upon these words and are determined to be led by God’s Word, may He in His infinite mercy give us the grace to be more practical than theoretical in Jesus name!
Thank you and remain blessed!
Script by:
Evangelist Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah
(Minister) Township/Campus Church of Christ
14 Agbugwu Lane, off, University/Market Road.
P.O.Box 351, Nsukka. Enugu State, Nigeria.
E-MAILS: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com
hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com
PHONE: 234-08039596919
JESUS MODEL OF LEADERSHIP
PREAMBLE:
To say that I am happy to be invited to share my thoughts on the subject of “Jesus’ Model of Leadership” with you on this auspicious occasion is to say the least: I feel greatly honoured. Thank you for this opportunity.
At Church of Christ, Nsukka, Enugu State where I serve the Body of Christ, we have for the past three months plus focused our study lens on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Like Apostle Paul, our desire is to “Know Jesus and the power of His resurrection,” to share in the fellowship of His suffering so that we can be conformed to His own image (Philippians 3:10). Consequently, it becomes very interesting that Jesus is considered the focus of study on leadership. Jesus is a perfect study on leadership. He presents to us and cuts for us a perfect image of a purposeful leader. He is our perfect model.
With no wish to sound wordy, we can say without fear of contradiction that Jesus came to do much more than become our Vicarious Sacrifice: He came to become our model – to show us how to live, lead and become effective followers. When leaders lead well, followers will follow well (cf. Judges 5:2).
The role of leadership in any organization cannot be overemphasized. If this is so, then the place of effective leadership becomes unarguably an essential one. There is a widespread abuse of leadership in most organizations and societies. This is the case where there are corrupt and incompetent leaderships. The scourge of incompetent and ineffective leadership has eaten deep into the fabrics of our communities. I am afraid that the trend has gradually found their way into the Body of Christ.
I am not here as an authority but as a concerned Nigerian and Christian to proffer solutions towards effective leadership in the Body of Christ and in the wider Nigerian society; leaderships that are people-oriented, purposeful, dynamic and visionary.
Leadership is the principal virtue of governance. Great nations are what they are because they have great and effective leaderships. The reason Nigeria and the rest of Africa are where they are today is principally because of lack of effective and purposeful leaderships. Purposeful leadership is goal-oriented, altruistic and possesses character. The moment Nigeria and indeed Africa are able to address their leadership needs they will take quantum leap into their destinies. As far as the leadership burden remains unaddressed, we will keep going round and round; taking one step forward and three steps backward.
Youths are our hope and future. They are bridge between past and future. Because youths are the future of any nation, it has become most appropriate that this youth’s program is being organized around the theme of leadership with quest to examine the leadership model of the world’s greatest leader – Jesus Christ.
CONCEPTUALIZING LEADERSHIP
It was Cicero, a Roman sage who posited that any subject should be properly conceptualized so that everyone would come to understand the subject of enquiry. In view of this, it would be most appropriate that we venture into the universe of definitions of the chief concept: leadership.
Bernard Montgomery, a British Field Marshal conceives leadership as the, “Capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character that inspires them.”
Eagle 8 (2008:10) states that a “Leader is anyone who occupies a position of authority and is responsible for managing people in order to achieve the goals of the unit, department or organization. Today, leadership is desperately in great demand. Families, businesses, churches, countries and global associations are in need of effective leaders. An effective leader manages, but not every manager is a leader. The more managers an organization can convert to leaders, the more successful it will be.”
Manfred de Vries, an INSEAD Professor of Leadership opined: “Your business can have all the advantages in the world – strong financial resources, enviable market position and state-of-the-art technology but if leadership fails, all of these advantages melt away.”
From the foregoing, it can be easily seen that leadership is the principal thing. It is the glue that holds everything together. The moment it fails, the center cannot hold again. Leadership is a catalyst. An anonymous writer had opined that leadership is enabling a group to engage together in the process of developing, sharing and moving into vision, and then living it out.
Collins English Dictionary (1998) defines leadership as the ability to lead. Peter Drucker of the Drucker Foundations affirmed that the only definition of a leader is someone who has followers and that to gain followers require influence. John Maxwell in His 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership states that “Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less.”
Warren Bennies is of the opinion that leadership is a function of knowing oneself, having a vision that is well communicated to one’s followers, building trust amongst colleagues, and taking effective action to realize one’s own leadership potentials. An anonymous writer stated that leadership is the process of influencing the behaviour of other people toward group goals in a way that fully respects their freedom.
The consensus of leadership literature suggests that leaders have vision, are individuals who attract followers, are people who share their visions with their followers, and enable the group together to achieve their common goals.
Key terms in definitions of leadership include but not limited to exertion of influence, motivating and inspiring people; helping others to realize and maximize their potentials; leading by example, selflessness and making a difference.
UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP
Without sound leadership, chaos results (Judges 21:25). Leadership keeps guard over the led (Hebrews 13:17). There are religious leaders (John 3:1; Ephesians 4:11-15; Galatians 2: 9; I Timothy 3) as well as political leaders (Judges 11:6, 9; Romans 13:1-3).
Leadership could arise out of personal desire or as a result of invitation. One can offer himself for a leadership position (I Timothy 3:1ff) and can also be invited by others to lead them (cf. John 6:15). In each of these, one has to weight his motives in the balances.
It should be stated that absence of good people offering themselves for service is the bane of our societies. Also, good leaders being rejected on the basis of their inabilities to flex awesome financial muscles or on the basis of tribal affiliations and educational attainments are another. Good leaders can come from any where and may not brandish higher educational qualifications. Great leaders across recorded history were not necessarily men and women from wealthy backgrounds; they were not necessarily people who were overly educated; not overly endowed with oratory: they were not people who spoke with the finesse of grammarians and erudition of scholars. However, they were people of integrity, visions and altruism.
We must appreciate the fact that evil thrives when good men and women do nothing. Because nature abhors vacuum, when good leaders do not offer themselves for service, bad ones would. Roy Roper observes that when those who are supposed to be where they are supposed to be are not there, then those who are not supposed to be there will be there.
BRIEF BIBLICAL HISTORY OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership is as old as man himself. When God created the first pair, He made one to be head and the other to be subservient (cf. Genesis 3:16; I Corinthians 11: 3). Man as a social and political animal likes a well-organized systems of things and so he began to organize (Genesis 11:1-5).
In the evolution of leadership, the nature of man made the strong to rule over the weak (Mark 10:42-45). Halley’s Bible Handbook (1965:82) noted that, “Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord (Genesis 10:8-9) was historically reputed as the first community leader. His leadership started as a hunter to protect his people from the menace of wild animals. He was also said to have headed the ill-fated “Tower of Babel’s” enterprise. Nimrod also built Babylon as the capital of his leadership. Babylon was for a long time regarded as the “Land of Nimrod.” This city was the first civilized people and nation. This was but a powerful testimony to Nimrod’s visionary and dynamic leadership.
CHURCH LEADERSHIP
Church leadership, although, a form of corporate leadership is not entirely like every other corporate leadership. In secular corporate world where staff and management have stakes with the result that the success or failure of such corporate bodies have direct bearing on their take-homes and investments, everyone injects enough efforts to make things work out.
Because corporate management is profit-oriented, staff have timetables, deadlines and the philosophy of an “Honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay” prevail. In view of the fact that management has every right to “hire and to fire,” every member of staff is expected to perform. Failure to do so earns the recalcitrant staff or member of management a sack. Every member of staff is expected to be fraternally cohesive. Their cohesion or lack of it would tell on the corporate image and goal of the particular establishment. Wrangling and rancour among players in any corporate institution or organization are detested and frowned at.
In secular corporate organizations and management, things are prescribed and everyone is expected to perform to the letter. To sustain this, the management is expected to be tough, merciless and hard drivers. Corporate chiefs are scions of Machiavelli. However, in the Church it is not so (Mark 10:42-43).
Church leadership/management can only thrive in an atmosphere of commitments on the part of the leadership as well as the followership. The principle by which Church leadership thrives is persuasion and not coercion. Because most members do not have much at stake materially but spiritually and eternally, their levels of commitments cannot be counted at all times. This, however, is where the problems of Church leaderships lie.
JESUS MODEL OF LEADERSHIP
Jesus was a Visionary Leader, Master Strategist, Excellent Team Leader, Servant Leader, Shepherd, Trainer and Encourager. Jesus chose a team of twelve men with varying degrees of strengths and weaknesses and bonded them together into a fraternally cohesive team. He influenced many diverse people during His earthy ministry but forced no one to follow Him. His charisma, simplicity, vision, integrity, teachings and compassion were His leadership secrets.
Jesus’ model of leadership can be summarized in the following terms: Servant Leadership, Transference of Vision (Mentoring), Humility, Compassion, Accountability, and Creation of Emotional Bank.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP (MATTHEW 20:20-28)
Jesus’ model of leadership came to the fore when His disciples were bickering over who would be the greatest when His reign would commence. Matthew 20:20-28 tells us about this. They had thought that a leader was one who would be served but Jesus showed them that a true leader is actually one who serves, using Himself as a case study.
J. L. May in his excellent treatise on Jesus’ Leadership Style had these to say:
Jesus was good at turning things right-side-up. The disciples’ perceptions of a great leader came from the business and government models that were popular in their culture. Even in modern cultures, these are still the most prevalent models of greatness and success, but that perception is upside-down to the way God has ordained leadership…Great leaders… are not measured by how many serve them, but by how many they serve.
Servant leadership is at the heart of leadership. No wonder when late Nigerian President, His Excellency Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was sworn in as President in 2007 he had pledged to be a Servant Leader, and of course this endeared him to so many people within and outside the shores of Nigeria.
Servant Leadership is different from servant hood. All Christians, not just leaders, are called to be servants, serving each other (Galatians 5: 13).
Servant Leadership means serving to lead and leading to serve. It is an altruistic and community-oriented kind of leadership. This will require setting aside personal gains, making sacrifices by considering the needs of others above the direction we may prefer for ourselves (Philippians 2:3-5).
Servant Leadership is principally not a particular style of leadership, rather, it relates to the motivation behind a leader’s thoughts, words and actions. He means what he says and says what he means.
Some people may suggest that servant leaders are weak. Far from it: servant leaders are not weak, rather, their strengths are demonstrated in their willingness to consider the needs of others first. Their strengths are channeled into service. They are fair, firm and friendly. They are humble. Humility is defined as strength under control. In the real sense of the word, ‘dictators” are weaklings who camouflage their weaknesses, fears and insecurities by their aggressions, bossy attitudes and greed.
A servant leader says “Yes” to God and to the yearnings of the people and “No” to himself when personal desires conflicts with communal needs and interests. He places community’s interests above personal interests.
LEADERSHIP AND TRANSFERENCE OF VISION (I CORINTHIANS
11:1; II TIMOTHY 2:1-2)
Transference of vision is otherwise referred to as ‘Mentoring’ in the corporate world. He transferred His vision by mentoring His disciples (also known as His Apostles). Jesus’ model of leadership was to groom three (Matthew 17:1; Galatians 2:9), then twelve, seventy, one hundred and twenty and then the multitude
Leadership is all about transference of vision and the capacity to translate vision into reality. Real leaders are ordinary people with extra ordinary determinations about visions and goals they want to reach.
Jesus vision was to reach the world with the Gospel message (Matthew 28: 18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:8). He called men to Himself and transferred that vision to them and today they have done much more than He had done (John 14: 12).
An anonymous writer had written that Jesus did not try to reach all the masses with the Gospel. Even if He had wanted to, the task would be too big. Rather, He concentrated on a few selected ordinary men who were with Him and to who He gave both verbal instructions and constant examples, preparing them through their time with Him to do the same.
Through mentoring (Transference of vision), Jesus sought to replicate Himself in His disciples (Matthew 10:24-25). In time, His own disciples spoke the way He did and those who knew them could see Jesus in them and through them (Matthew 7:29; Acts 4:13).
HUMILITY (JOHN 13:1-17)
As a model leader, Jesus was humility personified. He re-defined leadership through His humble dispositions. His humility is both challenging and humbling, not to talk of inspiring. He never asserted Himself. He was not bossy and did not engage in psychological demeaning of the personalities of His own followers.
Philippians 2:5-11 x-rays for us His humble dispositions. He never dressed better than His follower and no one could distinguish between leaders and followers (Matthew 26:47-9).
John 13 is a classic exhibition of Jesus’ model of leadership. Humility is the ability of keeping one’s social and leadership positions under him and not allowing same to get over him by getting into his head, thereby making him look down on others, especially those he is leading.
CREATED EMOTIONAL BANK (JOHN 6: 66-60)
Creating an emotional bank and depositing huge resources therein was Jesus another excellent model of leadership. He gave His disciples strong senses of belonging, direction and fulfillment. His Emotional Bank Account (EBA) with each of the 12 Apostles was so much that in an event of challenge and crisis, they had no other option than to pitch tent with Him.
Leaders would do well to emulate Jesus’ model of leadership by creating emotional bank accounts with those they are leading. This they would do by constantly affirming, encouraging, supporting, and showing care and concern. I assure you that when these are done, enough goodwill will follow the leader.
COMPASSION (MATTHEW 9:36; 15:32)
Compassion is rendered, “Come share my passion.” Compassion is putting oneself in the shoes of others, especially those that he is providing leadership for. It is creating leadership with a human face. You can never be a good leader if you are not constantly putting yourself in the situation of others. Mix with them, visit with them, listen to them, watch them at work and at play. If you do these, you would become a compassionate leader.
ACCOUNTABILITY (JOHN 17:1-17)
Accountability was the watch-word of Jesus’ leadership model. He knew where He came from, His mission and the fact that after His work was accomplished that He would go back to where He came from. He was passionate about providing leadership and accomplishing the purpose for which He was sent, so much so that towards the end of His sojourn gave one-on-one account of His stewardship to God.
Good leaders are accountable to God and to the people they are called upon to lead and not to themselves, their families and cronies.
Christian leaders must as a matter of fact make accountability their watchword (II Corinthians 8: 20 - 21), especially in relation to finance. Money matter matters. Faithfulness in handling money matters is a must virtue (II Kings 22:7; cf. II Kings 12:10-15). If you get that right every other issue will fall in place!
JESUS’ MODEL OF LEADERSHIP: MAKING APPLICATIONS
Since we have noted a couple of Jesus’ model of leadership, it would be appropriate for us to use them as springboards to measure our own leadership skills and principles, vis-à-vis how the Body of Christ should be led and how we can make a difference in the wider human society when called upon to lead. We begin with the Church: her leaders.
MINISTERS, ELDERS/DEACONS, CHURCH AND EFFECTIVE
LEADERSHIP
Ministry is the work that the Lord has entrusted into the care of the
Church because the Church is His Divine Orientation Agency (Ephesians 3:10). The impression that has been created in the minds of many for a long time now is that the work of Ministry is that of the exclusive preserve of the preacher and the eldership. This is totally wrong. The Scripture reveals that the work of the preacher is that of “Technical Adviser” (Ephesians 4:11) while the actual work of the Ministry is left into the hands of the “Saints” (Ephesians 4:12).
Ministry thrives when God’s people are adequately oriented, encouraged and equipped for the work of service coupled with the willingness of every member of the Body of Christ to volunteer himself/herself (Psalms 110:3;Psalms 68:11). What the Minister and the Eldership should do to ensure effective leadership in their given localities is to employ Samsonic principle of setting his instruments on fire to set the community afire (Judges 15:5). Effective leadership in the Ministry revolves around five keys: Association, Initiation, Consultation, Delegation and Coordination.
By Associating themselves with members of the Church, leaders who have flair for effective leadership is/are ennobled to discover both real and felt needs of the Church and Ministry and then Initiates programs of action to meet those needs either for spiritual or numerical growth and edification or Kingdom enlargement. He/they then Consults with the Body (There is need for the leader(s) to carry everyone along in decision-making processes) after which people are Delegated to points of needs while the leadership Coordinates the various activities of the Church. In the Church, everyone is a “minister.” That is to say that everyone must fill a need of and in the ministry. Effective Leadership for effective Ministry, therefore, is located in one’s ability as a leader to know how to use human instruments to meet given needs at given times.
QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP (MATTHEW 24:45)
Qualities of effective leaders are scattered on the pages of the Holy Writ. Each leader, however, must have been a time-tested Follower (I Timothy 3:10; Acts 16:1-2). It stimulates the followership as it seeks to give the led senses of belonging, direction and fulfillment.
Effective leadership provides among other things:
1.“VISION”: Vision is clear direction.
A visionary leadership knows the past and the present so well that
it can lead the Church well into the future (cf. Matthew13: 52). Lack
of vision is dangerous for a people (Proverbs 29:18).
Visionary leadership must be pregnant with the vision to accomplish
the mission of the great commission. Insight and foresight should
be the hallmark of a visionary leadership (Ecclesiastes 2:14d). Lack
of vision is the bane of ineffective leadership (Isaiah 9:16;
Matthew 15:14). Effective leadership knows the way, shows the way and
leads the way.
2. PROVIDE SPIRITUAL STABILITY:
This is done by providing balanced proper spiritual diets (Hebrews 13:
9; Matthew 24: 45). The power to feed is the power to lead (Ezekiel
34:1-4). This can also be done by providing conductive spiritual, learning
and worship environments. When this is done, the result would be
breathtaking! The congregation so spoken of and where there is
an effective leadership would have “ACTS 9:31 EXPERIENCE”:
1. “Enjoy peace”
2. “Strengthened within” (cf. Ephesians 3:16)”
3. “Progressing in the fear of the Lord”
4. “In encouragement of the Holy Spirit”
3. PEOPLE OF MORAL AND DOCTRINAL INTEGRITY (I Timothy
4:16).
Jesus Christ our Lord left us a legacy in these areas (Acts 1:1). The morality of leaders should never be questioned (I Timothy 3:7). Doctrinally, leaders must be men who have the rimer of the Word; sound in the faith, holding the mystery of the Faith with pure conscience (I Timothy 3:9).
4. SHOULD BE MATURED PERSONS (I Timothy 3:4a; Proverbs 16:32).
Leaders must be emotionally matured (Titus 1:7c). They must also be spiritually matured (I Timothy 3:6; Hebrews 5:14). Man management is not business management. On the other hand, “No man is man enough until he is man enough to man his own mind.” Cool headedness is the word.
5. ABILITY TO MANAGE INTERNAL CONFLICTS (II Corinthians 7:5).
Interpersonal and church/preacher squabbles have their hindering effects. Although, conflicts, sometimes are necessary (I Corinthians 11:19) but when it degenerates into open brawls, accusations and counter-accusations; cold-warism and et cetera, it becomes counter-productive and does more harm than good. When members of the church fight among themselves and often precipitated by “Crusades of calumny” before none-members, the result would be poor image promotion and no sane person would want to identify himself or herself with “Saber–Rattlers!”
WAYS OUT OF SABBER – RATTLING:
1. Learn the art of conflict management (Genesis 13:7-11; Proverbs 17:14).
2. Foster interpersonal sharpening (Hebrews 10: 24; Proverbs 27:17; Isaiah 41:6f).
3. Be your Brother’s keeper (Genesis 4:9b).
4. Strike a spiritual chord in each other (Romans 14:19).
5. Cultivate the culture of “Worship” (Wording and shipping to each other) and not “Warship” (Warring and shipping to each other).
6. MUST BE VERSATILE IN KNOWLEDGE AND DYNAMIC IN THEIR
WORK, TEACHINGS AND PROGRAMS (Matthews 13: 52).
“Versatility”- Those who do not know their history are condemned
to repeat it (I Corinthians 10:6-12). “Dynamism”- Variety is said to be the spice of life. This is very true of leadership. If leadership must stand the test of time and make the necessary positive impacts it must make, it must be dynamic.
7. MUST POSSESS THE ATTITUDE OF “GIVE AND TAKE”;
SPIRIT OF SPORTSMANSHIP; ALTRUISM. (John 3:30;Philippians 4:2;
2:3-4).
The attitude of, “If I do not rule I will ruin”; “If I am not at the helm of affairs, I will be at the heels”; “If my opinion is not accepted, none else will hold any water” is a destructive. Must avoid Diotrophesic mentality and self-will (III John Vs.9-11; Titus 1:7b). Must avoid the temptation to politicize the affairs of the Church - taking members to oneself and pitching tents against others (cf. Acts 20:28-30).
WHAT THE LED ARE EXPECTED TO DO TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
It should be noted that leadership is partnership: It is the marriage of the minds of both leaders and followers. There can be no good leaders if there are bad followers and vice-versa. Therefore, if you want to see changes in the leadership of your congregation, be involved, lend a hand, make inputs and encourage the involved.
The led should realize first and foremost that leaders are humans and not
angels. They can be vulnerable and are in their persons not fallible. They have flaws; they can make mistakes. Do not expect a perfect human beings and leaders (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
Do not accuse a leader in a way unbecoming (I Timothy 5:19). Be investigative. Do not accept allegations against a leader line, hook and sinker Acts 17:11; cf. Acts 18:24-26). Give them support and encouragement (Galatians 6:4-7). Give them recognition as well (I Timothy 5:19; I Thessalonians 5:12-13). Sow the seeds of encouragement in your leaders and you will get it back in torrents of good leadership (Prov.11: 25).
CHRISTIAN YOUTHS AND FUTURE LEADERSHIP
This generation of Christian youths is the future leaders of the Church. Without the active participation of the youths in most Congregational activities and decisions the Church of tomorrow will definitely lack leaders.
Leaders are both born and made (cf. Matt.19:12). Naturally, a leader-to-be must express his desire to be involved in leadership (cf. I Timothy 3:1). He then begins to see himself as such and then works towards acceptance (I Timothy 3:10). The Lord is seriously looking for committed persons to fill the
vacuum (cf. Ezekiel 22:30).
The Lord, however, cannot commit Himself, His business and His people into the hands of just any person (John 2:24) but persons who are considered faithful (II Timothy 2:2).
A future leader must be a person of sound morality (II Timothy 2:22a). Our Lord is looking for young persons of sound moral and spiritual integrity (II Timothy 2:19-21). Would you become that future leader?
The things expected from future leaders are:
(i). Being committed to the things of God (Luke 2:49; John 2:13-17).
(ii). Not allowing rooms for a let down (I Timothy 4:12).
(iii). Joseph, as a youthful leader demonstrated sound moral
integrity (Genesis 39:9), Daniel, Meshach, Shedrach and
Abednego demonstrated both moral and doctrinal integrity (Daniel
1:8) while Timothy demonstrated willingness (Acts 16:1-2).
SUMMATION
There are so many issues involved leadership. So far, we have considered the leadership models of Jesus and saw that He everything a leader should be. We equally made applications. It is my earnest hope that the time we have spent in the course of this discourse is well invested and that we would do well to employ them to better our lots and that of the leadership of our various congregations, families, communities and nation will be greatly improved.
Thank you and remain eternally blessed in Jesus’ name!
Script by:
Evangelist Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah
(Minister) Township/Campus Church of Christ
14 Agbugwu Lane, off, University/Market Road.
P.O.Box 351, Nsukka. Enugu State, Nigeria.
E-MAILS: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com
hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com
PHONE: 234-08039596919
REFERENCES
Collins’ English Dictionary. USA: Collins’ Publishers.
Eagle 8 (2008). “Essence of Leadership.” Lagos: The Guardian
Newspapers Ltd., March 3, Page 10.
Halley, H. H. (1965). Halley’s’ Bible Handbook. Michigan, USA:
Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Vries, Manfred (2008). ). “Essence of Leadership.” Lagos: The Guardian
Newspapers Ltd., March 3, Page 10
To say that I am happy to be invited to share my thoughts on the subject of “Jesus’ Model of Leadership” with you on this auspicious occasion is to say the least: I feel greatly honoured. Thank you for this opportunity.
At Church of Christ, Nsukka, Enugu State where I serve the Body of Christ, we have for the past three months plus focused our study lens on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Like Apostle Paul, our desire is to “Know Jesus and the power of His resurrection,” to share in the fellowship of His suffering so that we can be conformed to His own image (Philippians 3:10). Consequently, it becomes very interesting that Jesus is considered the focus of study on leadership. Jesus is a perfect study on leadership. He presents to us and cuts for us a perfect image of a purposeful leader. He is our perfect model.
With no wish to sound wordy, we can say without fear of contradiction that Jesus came to do much more than become our Vicarious Sacrifice: He came to become our model – to show us how to live, lead and become effective followers. When leaders lead well, followers will follow well (cf. Judges 5:2).
The role of leadership in any organization cannot be overemphasized. If this is so, then the place of effective leadership becomes unarguably an essential one. There is a widespread abuse of leadership in most organizations and societies. This is the case where there are corrupt and incompetent leaderships. The scourge of incompetent and ineffective leadership has eaten deep into the fabrics of our communities. I am afraid that the trend has gradually found their way into the Body of Christ.
I am not here as an authority but as a concerned Nigerian and Christian to proffer solutions towards effective leadership in the Body of Christ and in the wider Nigerian society; leaderships that are people-oriented, purposeful, dynamic and visionary.
Leadership is the principal virtue of governance. Great nations are what they are because they have great and effective leaderships. The reason Nigeria and the rest of Africa are where they are today is principally because of lack of effective and purposeful leaderships. Purposeful leadership is goal-oriented, altruistic and possesses character. The moment Nigeria and indeed Africa are able to address their leadership needs they will take quantum leap into their destinies. As far as the leadership burden remains unaddressed, we will keep going round and round; taking one step forward and three steps backward.
Youths are our hope and future. They are bridge between past and future. Because youths are the future of any nation, it has become most appropriate that this youth’s program is being organized around the theme of leadership with quest to examine the leadership model of the world’s greatest leader – Jesus Christ.
CONCEPTUALIZING LEADERSHIP
It was Cicero, a Roman sage who posited that any subject should be properly conceptualized so that everyone would come to understand the subject of enquiry. In view of this, it would be most appropriate that we venture into the universe of definitions of the chief concept: leadership.
Bernard Montgomery, a British Field Marshal conceives leadership as the, “Capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character that inspires them.”
Eagle 8 (2008:10) states that a “Leader is anyone who occupies a position of authority and is responsible for managing people in order to achieve the goals of the unit, department or organization. Today, leadership is desperately in great demand. Families, businesses, churches, countries and global associations are in need of effective leaders. An effective leader manages, but not every manager is a leader. The more managers an organization can convert to leaders, the more successful it will be.”
Manfred de Vries, an INSEAD Professor of Leadership opined: “Your business can have all the advantages in the world – strong financial resources, enviable market position and state-of-the-art technology but if leadership fails, all of these advantages melt away.”
From the foregoing, it can be easily seen that leadership is the principal thing. It is the glue that holds everything together. The moment it fails, the center cannot hold again. Leadership is a catalyst. An anonymous writer had opined that leadership is enabling a group to engage together in the process of developing, sharing and moving into vision, and then living it out.
Collins English Dictionary (1998) defines leadership as the ability to lead. Peter Drucker of the Drucker Foundations affirmed that the only definition of a leader is someone who has followers and that to gain followers require influence. John Maxwell in His 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership states that “Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less.”
Warren Bennies is of the opinion that leadership is a function of knowing oneself, having a vision that is well communicated to one’s followers, building trust amongst colleagues, and taking effective action to realize one’s own leadership potentials. An anonymous writer stated that leadership is the process of influencing the behaviour of other people toward group goals in a way that fully respects their freedom.
The consensus of leadership literature suggests that leaders have vision, are individuals who attract followers, are people who share their visions with their followers, and enable the group together to achieve their common goals.
Key terms in definitions of leadership include but not limited to exertion of influence, motivating and inspiring people; helping others to realize and maximize their potentials; leading by example, selflessness and making a difference.
UNDERSTANDING LEADERSHIP
Without sound leadership, chaos results (Judges 21:25). Leadership keeps guard over the led (Hebrews 13:17). There are religious leaders (John 3:1; Ephesians 4:11-15; Galatians 2: 9; I Timothy 3) as well as political leaders (Judges 11:6, 9; Romans 13:1-3).
Leadership could arise out of personal desire or as a result of invitation. One can offer himself for a leadership position (I Timothy 3:1ff) and can also be invited by others to lead them (cf. John 6:15). In each of these, one has to weight his motives in the balances.
It should be stated that absence of good people offering themselves for service is the bane of our societies. Also, good leaders being rejected on the basis of their inabilities to flex awesome financial muscles or on the basis of tribal affiliations and educational attainments are another. Good leaders can come from any where and may not brandish higher educational qualifications. Great leaders across recorded history were not necessarily men and women from wealthy backgrounds; they were not necessarily people who were overly educated; not overly endowed with oratory: they were not people who spoke with the finesse of grammarians and erudition of scholars. However, they were people of integrity, visions and altruism.
We must appreciate the fact that evil thrives when good men and women do nothing. Because nature abhors vacuum, when good leaders do not offer themselves for service, bad ones would. Roy Roper observes that when those who are supposed to be where they are supposed to be are not there, then those who are not supposed to be there will be there.
BRIEF BIBLICAL HISTORY OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership is as old as man himself. When God created the first pair, He made one to be head and the other to be subservient (cf. Genesis 3:16; I Corinthians 11: 3). Man as a social and political animal likes a well-organized systems of things and so he began to organize (Genesis 11:1-5).
In the evolution of leadership, the nature of man made the strong to rule over the weak (Mark 10:42-45). Halley’s Bible Handbook (1965:82) noted that, “Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord (Genesis 10:8-9) was historically reputed as the first community leader. His leadership started as a hunter to protect his people from the menace of wild animals. He was also said to have headed the ill-fated “Tower of Babel’s” enterprise. Nimrod also built Babylon as the capital of his leadership. Babylon was for a long time regarded as the “Land of Nimrod.” This city was the first civilized people and nation. This was but a powerful testimony to Nimrod’s visionary and dynamic leadership.
CHURCH LEADERSHIP
Church leadership, although, a form of corporate leadership is not entirely like every other corporate leadership. In secular corporate world where staff and management have stakes with the result that the success or failure of such corporate bodies have direct bearing on their take-homes and investments, everyone injects enough efforts to make things work out.
Because corporate management is profit-oriented, staff have timetables, deadlines and the philosophy of an “Honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay” prevail. In view of the fact that management has every right to “hire and to fire,” every member of staff is expected to perform. Failure to do so earns the recalcitrant staff or member of management a sack. Every member of staff is expected to be fraternally cohesive. Their cohesion or lack of it would tell on the corporate image and goal of the particular establishment. Wrangling and rancour among players in any corporate institution or organization are detested and frowned at.
In secular corporate organizations and management, things are prescribed and everyone is expected to perform to the letter. To sustain this, the management is expected to be tough, merciless and hard drivers. Corporate chiefs are scions of Machiavelli. However, in the Church it is not so (Mark 10:42-43).
Church leadership/management can only thrive in an atmosphere of commitments on the part of the leadership as well as the followership. The principle by which Church leadership thrives is persuasion and not coercion. Because most members do not have much at stake materially but spiritually and eternally, their levels of commitments cannot be counted at all times. This, however, is where the problems of Church leaderships lie.
JESUS MODEL OF LEADERSHIP
Jesus was a Visionary Leader, Master Strategist, Excellent Team Leader, Servant Leader, Shepherd, Trainer and Encourager. Jesus chose a team of twelve men with varying degrees of strengths and weaknesses and bonded them together into a fraternally cohesive team. He influenced many diverse people during His earthy ministry but forced no one to follow Him. His charisma, simplicity, vision, integrity, teachings and compassion were His leadership secrets.
Jesus’ model of leadership can be summarized in the following terms: Servant Leadership, Transference of Vision (Mentoring), Humility, Compassion, Accountability, and Creation of Emotional Bank.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP (MATTHEW 20:20-28)
Jesus’ model of leadership came to the fore when His disciples were bickering over who would be the greatest when His reign would commence. Matthew 20:20-28 tells us about this. They had thought that a leader was one who would be served but Jesus showed them that a true leader is actually one who serves, using Himself as a case study.
J. L. May in his excellent treatise on Jesus’ Leadership Style had these to say:
Jesus was good at turning things right-side-up. The disciples’ perceptions of a great leader came from the business and government models that were popular in their culture. Even in modern cultures, these are still the most prevalent models of greatness and success, but that perception is upside-down to the way God has ordained leadership…Great leaders… are not measured by how many serve them, but by how many they serve.
Servant leadership is at the heart of leadership. No wonder when late Nigerian President, His Excellency Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was sworn in as President in 2007 he had pledged to be a Servant Leader, and of course this endeared him to so many people within and outside the shores of Nigeria.
Servant Leadership is different from servant hood. All Christians, not just leaders, are called to be servants, serving each other (Galatians 5: 13).
Servant Leadership means serving to lead and leading to serve. It is an altruistic and community-oriented kind of leadership. This will require setting aside personal gains, making sacrifices by considering the needs of others above the direction we may prefer for ourselves (Philippians 2:3-5).
Servant Leadership is principally not a particular style of leadership, rather, it relates to the motivation behind a leader’s thoughts, words and actions. He means what he says and says what he means.
Some people may suggest that servant leaders are weak. Far from it: servant leaders are not weak, rather, their strengths are demonstrated in their willingness to consider the needs of others first. Their strengths are channeled into service. They are fair, firm and friendly. They are humble. Humility is defined as strength under control. In the real sense of the word, ‘dictators” are weaklings who camouflage their weaknesses, fears and insecurities by their aggressions, bossy attitudes and greed.
A servant leader says “Yes” to God and to the yearnings of the people and “No” to himself when personal desires conflicts with communal needs and interests. He places community’s interests above personal interests.
LEADERSHIP AND TRANSFERENCE OF VISION (I CORINTHIANS
11:1; II TIMOTHY 2:1-2)
Transference of vision is otherwise referred to as ‘Mentoring’ in the corporate world. He transferred His vision by mentoring His disciples (also known as His Apostles). Jesus’ model of leadership was to groom three (Matthew 17:1; Galatians 2:9), then twelve, seventy, one hundred and twenty and then the multitude
Leadership is all about transference of vision and the capacity to translate vision into reality. Real leaders are ordinary people with extra ordinary determinations about visions and goals they want to reach.
Jesus vision was to reach the world with the Gospel message (Matthew 28: 18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:8). He called men to Himself and transferred that vision to them and today they have done much more than He had done (John 14: 12).
An anonymous writer had written that Jesus did not try to reach all the masses with the Gospel. Even if He had wanted to, the task would be too big. Rather, He concentrated on a few selected ordinary men who were with Him and to who He gave both verbal instructions and constant examples, preparing them through their time with Him to do the same.
Through mentoring (Transference of vision), Jesus sought to replicate Himself in His disciples (Matthew 10:24-25). In time, His own disciples spoke the way He did and those who knew them could see Jesus in them and through them (Matthew 7:29; Acts 4:13).
HUMILITY (JOHN 13:1-17)
As a model leader, Jesus was humility personified. He re-defined leadership through His humble dispositions. His humility is both challenging and humbling, not to talk of inspiring. He never asserted Himself. He was not bossy and did not engage in psychological demeaning of the personalities of His own followers.
Philippians 2:5-11 x-rays for us His humble dispositions. He never dressed better than His follower and no one could distinguish between leaders and followers (Matthew 26:47-9).
John 13 is a classic exhibition of Jesus’ model of leadership. Humility is the ability of keeping one’s social and leadership positions under him and not allowing same to get over him by getting into his head, thereby making him look down on others, especially those he is leading.
CREATED EMOTIONAL BANK (JOHN 6: 66-60)
Creating an emotional bank and depositing huge resources therein was Jesus another excellent model of leadership. He gave His disciples strong senses of belonging, direction and fulfillment. His Emotional Bank Account (EBA) with each of the 12 Apostles was so much that in an event of challenge and crisis, they had no other option than to pitch tent with Him.
Leaders would do well to emulate Jesus’ model of leadership by creating emotional bank accounts with those they are leading. This they would do by constantly affirming, encouraging, supporting, and showing care and concern. I assure you that when these are done, enough goodwill will follow the leader.
COMPASSION (MATTHEW 9:36; 15:32)
Compassion is rendered, “Come share my passion.” Compassion is putting oneself in the shoes of others, especially those that he is providing leadership for. It is creating leadership with a human face. You can never be a good leader if you are not constantly putting yourself in the situation of others. Mix with them, visit with them, listen to them, watch them at work and at play. If you do these, you would become a compassionate leader.
ACCOUNTABILITY (JOHN 17:1-17)
Accountability was the watch-word of Jesus’ leadership model. He knew where He came from, His mission and the fact that after His work was accomplished that He would go back to where He came from. He was passionate about providing leadership and accomplishing the purpose for which He was sent, so much so that towards the end of His sojourn gave one-on-one account of His stewardship to God.
Good leaders are accountable to God and to the people they are called upon to lead and not to themselves, their families and cronies.
Christian leaders must as a matter of fact make accountability their watchword (II Corinthians 8: 20 - 21), especially in relation to finance. Money matter matters. Faithfulness in handling money matters is a must virtue (II Kings 22:7; cf. II Kings 12:10-15). If you get that right every other issue will fall in place!
JESUS’ MODEL OF LEADERSHIP: MAKING APPLICATIONS
Since we have noted a couple of Jesus’ model of leadership, it would be appropriate for us to use them as springboards to measure our own leadership skills and principles, vis-à-vis how the Body of Christ should be led and how we can make a difference in the wider human society when called upon to lead. We begin with the Church: her leaders.
MINISTERS, ELDERS/DEACONS, CHURCH AND EFFECTIVE
LEADERSHIP
Ministry is the work that the Lord has entrusted into the care of the
Church because the Church is His Divine Orientation Agency (Ephesians 3:10). The impression that has been created in the minds of many for a long time now is that the work of Ministry is that of the exclusive preserve of the preacher and the eldership. This is totally wrong. The Scripture reveals that the work of the preacher is that of “Technical Adviser” (Ephesians 4:11) while the actual work of the Ministry is left into the hands of the “Saints” (Ephesians 4:12).
Ministry thrives when God’s people are adequately oriented, encouraged and equipped for the work of service coupled with the willingness of every member of the Body of Christ to volunteer himself/herself (Psalms 110:3;Psalms 68:11). What the Minister and the Eldership should do to ensure effective leadership in their given localities is to employ Samsonic principle of setting his instruments on fire to set the community afire (Judges 15:5). Effective leadership in the Ministry revolves around five keys: Association, Initiation, Consultation, Delegation and Coordination.
By Associating themselves with members of the Church, leaders who have flair for effective leadership is/are ennobled to discover both real and felt needs of the Church and Ministry and then Initiates programs of action to meet those needs either for spiritual or numerical growth and edification or Kingdom enlargement. He/they then Consults with the Body (There is need for the leader(s) to carry everyone along in decision-making processes) after which people are Delegated to points of needs while the leadership Coordinates the various activities of the Church. In the Church, everyone is a “minister.” That is to say that everyone must fill a need of and in the ministry. Effective Leadership for effective Ministry, therefore, is located in one’s ability as a leader to know how to use human instruments to meet given needs at given times.
QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP (MATTHEW 24:45)
Qualities of effective leaders are scattered on the pages of the Holy Writ. Each leader, however, must have been a time-tested Follower (I Timothy 3:10; Acts 16:1-2). It stimulates the followership as it seeks to give the led senses of belonging, direction and fulfillment.
Effective leadership provides among other things:
1.“VISION”: Vision is clear direction.
A visionary leadership knows the past and the present so well that
it can lead the Church well into the future (cf. Matthew13: 52). Lack
of vision is dangerous for a people (Proverbs 29:18).
Visionary leadership must be pregnant with the vision to accomplish
the mission of the great commission. Insight and foresight should
be the hallmark of a visionary leadership (Ecclesiastes 2:14d). Lack
of vision is the bane of ineffective leadership (Isaiah 9:16;
Matthew 15:14). Effective leadership knows the way, shows the way and
leads the way.
2. PROVIDE SPIRITUAL STABILITY:
This is done by providing balanced proper spiritual diets (Hebrews 13:
9; Matthew 24: 45). The power to feed is the power to lead (Ezekiel
34:1-4). This can also be done by providing conductive spiritual, learning
and worship environments. When this is done, the result would be
breathtaking! The congregation so spoken of and where there is
an effective leadership would have “ACTS 9:31 EXPERIENCE”:
1. “Enjoy peace”
2. “Strengthened within” (cf. Ephesians 3:16)”
3. “Progressing in the fear of the Lord”
4. “In encouragement of the Holy Spirit”
3. PEOPLE OF MORAL AND DOCTRINAL INTEGRITY (I Timothy
4:16).
Jesus Christ our Lord left us a legacy in these areas (Acts 1:1). The morality of leaders should never be questioned (I Timothy 3:7). Doctrinally, leaders must be men who have the rimer of the Word; sound in the faith, holding the mystery of the Faith with pure conscience (I Timothy 3:9).
4. SHOULD BE MATURED PERSONS (I Timothy 3:4a; Proverbs 16:32).
Leaders must be emotionally matured (Titus 1:7c). They must also be spiritually matured (I Timothy 3:6; Hebrews 5:14). Man management is not business management. On the other hand, “No man is man enough until he is man enough to man his own mind.” Cool headedness is the word.
5. ABILITY TO MANAGE INTERNAL CONFLICTS (II Corinthians 7:5).
Interpersonal and church/preacher squabbles have their hindering effects. Although, conflicts, sometimes are necessary (I Corinthians 11:19) but when it degenerates into open brawls, accusations and counter-accusations; cold-warism and et cetera, it becomes counter-productive and does more harm than good. When members of the church fight among themselves and often precipitated by “Crusades of calumny” before none-members, the result would be poor image promotion and no sane person would want to identify himself or herself with “Saber–Rattlers!”
WAYS OUT OF SABBER – RATTLING:
1. Learn the art of conflict management (Genesis 13:7-11; Proverbs 17:14).
2. Foster interpersonal sharpening (Hebrews 10: 24; Proverbs 27:17; Isaiah 41:6f).
3. Be your Brother’s keeper (Genesis 4:9b).
4. Strike a spiritual chord in each other (Romans 14:19).
5. Cultivate the culture of “Worship” (Wording and shipping to each other) and not “Warship” (Warring and shipping to each other).
6. MUST BE VERSATILE IN KNOWLEDGE AND DYNAMIC IN THEIR
WORK, TEACHINGS AND PROGRAMS (Matthews 13: 52).
“Versatility”- Those who do not know their history are condemned
to repeat it (I Corinthians 10:6-12). “Dynamism”- Variety is said to be the spice of life. This is very true of leadership. If leadership must stand the test of time and make the necessary positive impacts it must make, it must be dynamic.
7. MUST POSSESS THE ATTITUDE OF “GIVE AND TAKE”;
SPIRIT OF SPORTSMANSHIP; ALTRUISM. (John 3:30;Philippians 4:2;
2:3-4).
The attitude of, “If I do not rule I will ruin”; “If I am not at the helm of affairs, I will be at the heels”; “If my opinion is not accepted, none else will hold any water” is a destructive. Must avoid Diotrophesic mentality and self-will (III John Vs.9-11; Titus 1:7b). Must avoid the temptation to politicize the affairs of the Church - taking members to oneself and pitching tents against others (cf. Acts 20:28-30).
WHAT THE LED ARE EXPECTED TO DO TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
It should be noted that leadership is partnership: It is the marriage of the minds of both leaders and followers. There can be no good leaders if there are bad followers and vice-versa. Therefore, if you want to see changes in the leadership of your congregation, be involved, lend a hand, make inputs and encourage the involved.
The led should realize first and foremost that leaders are humans and not
angels. They can be vulnerable and are in their persons not fallible. They have flaws; they can make mistakes. Do not expect a perfect human beings and leaders (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
Do not accuse a leader in a way unbecoming (I Timothy 5:19). Be investigative. Do not accept allegations against a leader line, hook and sinker Acts 17:11; cf. Acts 18:24-26). Give them support and encouragement (Galatians 6:4-7). Give them recognition as well (I Timothy 5:19; I Thessalonians 5:12-13). Sow the seeds of encouragement in your leaders and you will get it back in torrents of good leadership (Prov.11: 25).
CHRISTIAN YOUTHS AND FUTURE LEADERSHIP
This generation of Christian youths is the future leaders of the Church. Without the active participation of the youths in most Congregational activities and decisions the Church of tomorrow will definitely lack leaders.
Leaders are both born and made (cf. Matt.19:12). Naturally, a leader-to-be must express his desire to be involved in leadership (cf. I Timothy 3:1). He then begins to see himself as such and then works towards acceptance (I Timothy 3:10). The Lord is seriously looking for committed persons to fill the
vacuum (cf. Ezekiel 22:30).
The Lord, however, cannot commit Himself, His business and His people into the hands of just any person (John 2:24) but persons who are considered faithful (II Timothy 2:2).
A future leader must be a person of sound morality (II Timothy 2:22a). Our Lord is looking for young persons of sound moral and spiritual integrity (II Timothy 2:19-21). Would you become that future leader?
The things expected from future leaders are:
(i). Being committed to the things of God (Luke 2:49; John 2:13-17).
(ii). Not allowing rooms for a let down (I Timothy 4:12).
(iii). Joseph, as a youthful leader demonstrated sound moral
integrity (Genesis 39:9), Daniel, Meshach, Shedrach and
Abednego demonstrated both moral and doctrinal integrity (Daniel
1:8) while Timothy demonstrated willingness (Acts 16:1-2).
SUMMATION
There are so many issues involved leadership. So far, we have considered the leadership models of Jesus and saw that He everything a leader should be. We equally made applications. It is my earnest hope that the time we have spent in the course of this discourse is well invested and that we would do well to employ them to better our lots and that of the leadership of our various congregations, families, communities and nation will be greatly improved.
Thank you and remain eternally blessed in Jesus’ name!
Script by:
Evangelist Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah
(Minister) Township/Campus Church of Christ
14 Agbugwu Lane, off, University/Market Road.
P.O.Box 351, Nsukka. Enugu State, Nigeria.
E-MAILS: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com
hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com
PHONE: 234-08039596919
REFERENCES
Collins’ English Dictionary. USA: Collins’ Publishers.
Eagle 8 (2008). “Essence of Leadership.” Lagos: The Guardian
Newspapers Ltd., March 3, Page 10.
Halley, H. H. (1965). Halley’s’ Bible Handbook. Michigan, USA:
Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Vries, Manfred (2008). ). “Essence of Leadership.” Lagos: The Guardian
Newspapers Ltd., March 3, Page 10
LET THE MIND OF CHRIST BE IN YOU - PHILIPPIANS 2:1-5
EXORDIUM:
Some of Apostle Paul’s remarkable statements are found in New Testament’s book of Philippians. One of them is Philippians 3:10 where he stated what could well be regarded as Christian’s Mission Statement, to wit, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…”
In Philippians chapter 2, we come face-to-face with Apostolic Appeals and exhortations by one of the most practical Christians through the instrumentality of God’s Holy Spirit, to wit,
Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy; fulfill my joy y being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus….
What an awesome reminder of what we are called to be and to do: BE LIKE CHRIST and to POSSESS HIS MINDSET!
“…Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” Here, Holy Spirit of God enjoins us to have the Attitude and the Mindset of Christ Jesus. Attitude determines Altitude in the spiritual enterprise we are all involved in and Mindset is the foundation of Character. When we sow the Mind of Christ into our beings we reap the Character of Jesus in our lifestyles.
Someone might ask, “Which attitude or mindset are we talking about here?” As we page through the Word of God, we will encounter some of these attitudes and mindsets of Jesus Christ. However, one of the most outstanding mindsets of Jesus Christ was His positive and conquering attitude; the attitude of possessing one’s possessions. Jesus had the mindset of conquering His world (cf. John 16: 33; Matt. 28:18; cf. Psalms 2:7-8; Phil. 2:9-11). We would also do well to conquer the worlds of our situations and circumstances; favourable and unfavourable. We are called to be victors and not victims of life.
Welcome to this exciting study on, “Let The Mind of Christ Be in You.”
OUTLINE OF STUDY
1. Jesus Had the Mindset of Service and Sacrifice (Matt.20:28).
a). We are called upon to be like Him (I John 3:16-17).
2. Jesus Had the Mindset of Victory Over the World (John 16:33).
a). Faith is our victory (I John 5:4).
b). We must have victory over every difficulty of life (Rom. 8:37).
c). It is only in winning that we can be crowned (Rev. 3:21).
3. Jesus had the mindset of obedience (Heb.10:4-7).
a). We are Christians only when we obey (John 14:15).
b). God values obedience more than sacrifice (I Sam. 15:22).
c). The Lord is the epitome of obedience, setting for us examples
(Heb. 5:8-9).
4. Jesus Had the Mindset of Being consumed by the Needs of God’s House (John 2:14-17).
a). Paul had this same attitude (II Corinthians 11:28).
b). Those who have this kind of mindset seek for the good of God’s
house (Psalms 122:9).
5. Jesus Had the Mindset to Become the Light (John 8:12; John1: 4; 12:35-36; John 9:5).
a). We must remain as lights (Matt. 5:14, 16; Phil.2:15).
b). As Jesus was, so we are to be (I John 4:17; cf. I John 2:6).
6. Jesus Had the Mindset of Doing the Work of God (John 4:34).
a). There is a kind of food that perishes and one that does not
(John 6:27).
b). The work ethics of Jesus is the best that the world has ever
known (John 9:4).
c). We, therefore, must work the works of Him who created us.
7. Jesus Had the Mindset of Putting Into Practice What He Taught (Acts 1:1; I Tim. 4:16).
a). We need to emulate our Lord Jesus by calling on others to follow
our examples even as we follow His (I Corinthians 11:1).
8. The Lord Jesus Was Full of Grace and Truth - That Was A Mindset (John 1:14, 16).
NOTE: Grace empowers (I Corinthians 15:10).
I. Two things characterized Jesus’ life - Grace and Truth.
1. Grace - what is it? (Rom. 4:4-5). It is receiving the good that one does not deserve (cf. Rom. 12:20).
a). Possessing grace should make a difference (Titus 2:11-12).
b). The grace of God makes it possible so that God does not deal
with us as our sins deserve (Psalms 103:12-13).
c). The grace of God made it possible that we should have access
into the presence of God (Heb. 4:15-16; Romans 5:1-2).
d). As recipients of grace we should be dispensers of same.
II. There are many faces of Truth (Proverbs 23:23).
i). Truth as God’s Word (John 17:17).
ii). Truth as a Way of Life (I Peter 2:21-22; Colossians 3:9).
iii). Truth as an Act of Worship (John 4:22).
9. Jesus Had the Mindset of Mental Empowerment (Luke 2:52).
1. a). Get wisdom (Proverbs 4:7, Prov.18:15, Prov.3:13-22).
b). There are two types of wisdom: wisdom of God and of the
world (2 Tim 3:15, James 3:13-17).
c). Wisdom comes trough study and prayer (II Tim. 2:5; 1 Tim.
4:13; James 1:5).
d). Intellectual development is an important aspect of life.
2. Favour with God and Man (Luke. 2: 52b).
Jesus had favour with God and Man.
a. He was not alone, Samuel did (1 Samuel 2:26).
b. This meant that both lived right before God and Men (cf. II Cor. 8:21; Rom 12:17).
c. The growth of the early Church was tied strongly to members enjoying Divine and Human favour (Acts 2:47).
d. Favour is a cultivated art. How then can one generate these favours?
i). By marrying kindness and truth (Proverbs 3:3-4).
* Kindness is an important trait in one’s life (Prov. 19:22).
* What you make happen for others in kindness, God will
make happen for you in return (Proverbs 11:24-25; Luke
6:38).
ii). Obedience to the Word of God (Wisdom Proverbs 8:34-35).
10. Jesus Had the Mindset of Dispensing Goodness (Acts 10:38).
a). As Christians, we are recreated in Christ to do good works
(Ephesians 2: 10).
i). The word, “Recreate” points to the fact that we are “New
creature” only in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). Having put off the
“Old man” (Colossians 3:10).
ii). In Christ we find “Re-mission” (Acts 2:38 KJV).
*After creation, humans became marred (cf. Jeremiah 18:1-6; II
Samuel 14:14) but Christ came to give back to humans what
we lost through sin. To accomplish this, man has to be
Recreated in Him (Christ).
*The purpose of this re-creative work of Christ is that we
should be as He was (cf. Titus 2:14; I John 4:17).
(b) Jesus went about doing good (Acts 10:38).
i). In the same vein, we have to manifest the knowledge of
Christ to people wherever we go (II Corinthians 2:14-17).
(A kind of MTN…. Yhello! Wherever You Go!)
ii). Jesus did “great works” but we are called to do “greater
works” (John 14:12).
iii). What does “good work” accomplish?
i. They bring glory to God (Matt 5:16; Col.1:10).
ii. Enriches our lives and testimonies (I Tim. 6:18).
iii. Sets us out for emulation (Titus 2:7; 3:8).
iv. Muzzles the mouth of evil speakers (I Pet. 2:13).
11. Jesus Had the Mindset of Compassion (Matt. 9:35-36).
a). Compassion, by my own definition is, “Come, share my passion.” Compassion is the feeling of pity backed with the willingness to help. It is a spiritual economic law of Effective Demand, which is defined as “Willingness backed up with the ability to pay.” Spiritually, this law say that Opportunity plus Ability equals to Responsibility and Accountability (Galatians 6:9-10). Therefore, if I have an opportunity to do and the ability to do it, then it translates to responsibility on my part and I will stand to give account of it to God.
Compassion is feeling another’s person’s feeling. Compassion characterized of Jesus’ life (Matt.14:14; 15: 32; Mk. 8:2-3).
b). The compassion of our Lord spread to all and sundry (Matt.
20:34). His compassion caused Him to reach out to people in difficult situations (Luke 7:11-16; John 11:32-35).
c). Human beings of godly extraction irrespective of race, social, political, economic and spiritual leanings have demonstrated compassion to others.
i). Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:6).
ii). Israelite leaders (II Chronicles 28:15).
iii). Job (Job 29:13).
iv). Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33-34).
v). Unbelievers on others (Acts 28:2).
d). Christians are encouraged to become people of compassionate dispositions (Philippians 2:1-2;I Pet. 3:8).
12. Jesus Had the Mindset of Counting Time (John 7:6).
a) The problem of mankind is the lack of appreciation of the need to know their time (Ps 90:12).
b) Knowledge of how brief our times on earth are would determine how well we live in the present (I Cor.7: 29-31).
c) So, how much time do we still have left? (Eccl.9:12; Eccl.8:5-7).
d) Jesus knew the time that was left for Him and what He ought to do.
13. Mindset of Fulfilling All Righteousness (Matt. 3:15)
a) To “Fulfill” is to make complete (cf. I Thess. 3:10; cf. Matt.5:18).
b) If Jesus had not been baptized He would have been incomplete before God, but He had to be baptized in other to be complete before God. Rejecting baptism is rejecting God’s purpose for one’s life (cf. Luke 7:29-30). If you have not been baptized into Christ, avail yourself of this opportunity. Baptism for non Christians is not to “Fulfill all righteousness” but for the remission of one’s sins (Acts 2:37-39; Acts 22:16; I Peter 3:21).
c) It is the will of God that all of us be complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:4) WHY?
i. Because there are people whose works, lives and obedience are not complete before God. (Revelations 3:2).
ii. There are lacks in people, which they must complete or make-up (Mark10: 21).
iii. What is the one thing that you lack or the things that are lacking in you? God wants to perfect it (I Thessalonians 3:10).
d) Some people think that perfection is not possible, but it is God’s Will and expectations for and from all of us (I Thessalonians 5:23-24; Matthew 5:48).
e) God is at work in us to bring about the doing of His Good Will (Philippians 1: 6; 2:13).
f) What then are we to do? Purge ourselves “from all defilements of body and spirit to be able to perfect holiness in the fear of God” (II Corinthians 7:1)
14. Jesus Had the Mind-Set of Non-retaliation (Matt. 26: 51-52).
a) Retaliation is pleasurable because it appeals to the base and weak sides of man.
b) One of Victor Ulojiofor’s novel published in Macmillan’s Pacesetters Series was titled, “The Sweet Revenge.” Fact is, there is nothing sweet about revenge. It is beastial and foolish to retaliate. It was late Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi who stated, “If we return eye for an eye, the world would soon go blind.”
c) By the very nature of Jesus, we are taught to let go and let God (I Peter 2:21-23; Hebrews 12:3).
i). Our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated that the best response to
wrong is goodness (Luke 22: 50–51).
ii). This principle of non-retaliation was graphically demonstrated by
Prophet Elisha through the King of Israel (II Kings 6:21-23).
iii). Sometimes, the people we respond to with love to their wrong
doings against us do not appreciate our large heartedness
(cf. John 18:10, 26) but this should not deter us (Rom. 12:21).
d). By our calling as followers of Jesus Christ, we are not called to
employ “Fire for fire” (I Peter 3:9). Praying “Holy Ghost Fire”
against “our enemies” is Unchristian (Luke 9:51-56).
i). When we do not engage in revenge we demonstrate our godly
characters while those who engage in attacks on our persons
show that they are evil (cf. I Sam. 24:1-19; vs.12-19).
e). The Lord forbids His people from rejoicing over their known
enemies misfortune (Prov. 24: 17–20).
15. Jesus Possessed the Mindset of Treading Softly In Other
Peoples’ Affairs (LK. 12:13–4).
a) The man is the text seemed to have made a good request from Jesus to come and settle a family misunderstanding. But a closer look at the text reveals that the man was trying to rope Jesus into what was not good. His words, “…Ask my brother to DIVIDE…“makes it clear that he was wrong and wanted to bring Jesus into wrong.
b) The Word of God is clear regarding how a dead man’s property should be shared among his children. (Deuteronomy 21:15–17).
c) It is evident that this man wanted to make Jesus break the law of God and endanger his relationship with others. But He was wise enough not to, but made the man to understand that He would not meddle into what did not concern Him (Luke 12:14).
d) Jesus possessed wisdom (Luke 2:52; Matthew 11:18). We are called to posses same to avoid unnecessary conflicts with others in life (Matthew 10:16).
e) There are people who get involved in what they cannot fully explain why they are involved (Acts 19:32-33, 40; cf. vs.23-41).
f) We are counseled to, “Mind our own businesses” (I Thess. 4:11).
g) This means not to get involved in matters do not bear directly on us (Proverbs 3:30).
h) Not to do this is to court trouble (Proverbs 26:17). Jesus knew this and avoided it. May we know it and avoid it, too.
CONCLUSION:
Do you have the mind of Christ? Do you strive to have the Mind of Christ? A review of the above discussion points and personal examinations of our hearts would determine if we do have the Mind of Christ or not.
May the Lord enable us to have the Mind of Christ and be like Him in all things.
SCRIPT BY:
Evangelist Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah.
Township/Campus Church of Christ,
14, Agbugwu Lane Lane, Off,
University Market Road, P.O.Box 351, Nsukka-410002, Enugu State, Nigeria. West Africa.
E-MAIL: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com
Hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com
PHONE: 234-08039596919; 08182820677
Some of Apostle Paul’s remarkable statements are found in New Testament’s book of Philippians. One of them is Philippians 3:10 where he stated what could well be regarded as Christian’s Mission Statement, to wit, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…”
In Philippians chapter 2, we come face-to-face with Apostolic Appeals and exhortations by one of the most practical Christians through the instrumentality of God’s Holy Spirit, to wit,
Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy; fulfill my joy y being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus….
What an awesome reminder of what we are called to be and to do: BE LIKE CHRIST and to POSSESS HIS MINDSET!
“…Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” Here, Holy Spirit of God enjoins us to have the Attitude and the Mindset of Christ Jesus. Attitude determines Altitude in the spiritual enterprise we are all involved in and Mindset is the foundation of Character. When we sow the Mind of Christ into our beings we reap the Character of Jesus in our lifestyles.
Someone might ask, “Which attitude or mindset are we talking about here?” As we page through the Word of God, we will encounter some of these attitudes and mindsets of Jesus Christ. However, one of the most outstanding mindsets of Jesus Christ was His positive and conquering attitude; the attitude of possessing one’s possessions. Jesus had the mindset of conquering His world (cf. John 16: 33; Matt. 28:18; cf. Psalms 2:7-8; Phil. 2:9-11). We would also do well to conquer the worlds of our situations and circumstances; favourable and unfavourable. We are called to be victors and not victims of life.
Welcome to this exciting study on, “Let The Mind of Christ Be in You.”
OUTLINE OF STUDY
1. Jesus Had the Mindset of Service and Sacrifice (Matt.20:28).
a). We are called upon to be like Him (I John 3:16-17).
2. Jesus Had the Mindset of Victory Over the World (John 16:33).
a). Faith is our victory (I John 5:4).
b). We must have victory over every difficulty of life (Rom. 8:37).
c). It is only in winning that we can be crowned (Rev. 3:21).
3. Jesus had the mindset of obedience (Heb.10:4-7).
a). We are Christians only when we obey (John 14:15).
b). God values obedience more than sacrifice (I Sam. 15:22).
c). The Lord is the epitome of obedience, setting for us examples
(Heb. 5:8-9).
4. Jesus Had the Mindset of Being consumed by the Needs of God’s House (John 2:14-17).
a). Paul had this same attitude (II Corinthians 11:28).
b). Those who have this kind of mindset seek for the good of God’s
house (Psalms 122:9).
5. Jesus Had the Mindset to Become the Light (John 8:12; John1: 4; 12:35-36; John 9:5).
a). We must remain as lights (Matt. 5:14, 16; Phil.2:15).
b). As Jesus was, so we are to be (I John 4:17; cf. I John 2:6).
6. Jesus Had the Mindset of Doing the Work of God (John 4:34).
a). There is a kind of food that perishes and one that does not
(John 6:27).
b). The work ethics of Jesus is the best that the world has ever
known (John 9:4).
c). We, therefore, must work the works of Him who created us.
7. Jesus Had the Mindset of Putting Into Practice What He Taught (Acts 1:1; I Tim. 4:16).
a). We need to emulate our Lord Jesus by calling on others to follow
our examples even as we follow His (I Corinthians 11:1).
8. The Lord Jesus Was Full of Grace and Truth - That Was A Mindset (John 1:14, 16).
NOTE: Grace empowers (I Corinthians 15:10).
I. Two things characterized Jesus’ life - Grace and Truth.
1. Grace - what is it? (Rom. 4:4-5). It is receiving the good that one does not deserve (cf. Rom. 12:20).
a). Possessing grace should make a difference (Titus 2:11-12).
b). The grace of God makes it possible so that God does not deal
with us as our sins deserve (Psalms 103:12-13).
c). The grace of God made it possible that we should have access
into the presence of God (Heb. 4:15-16; Romans 5:1-2).
d). As recipients of grace we should be dispensers of same.
II. There are many faces of Truth (Proverbs 23:23).
i). Truth as God’s Word (John 17:17).
ii). Truth as a Way of Life (I Peter 2:21-22; Colossians 3:9).
iii). Truth as an Act of Worship (John 4:22).
9. Jesus Had the Mindset of Mental Empowerment (Luke 2:52).
1. a). Get wisdom (Proverbs 4:7, Prov.18:15, Prov.3:13-22).
b). There are two types of wisdom: wisdom of God and of the
world (2 Tim 3:15, James 3:13-17).
c). Wisdom comes trough study and prayer (II Tim. 2:5; 1 Tim.
4:13; James 1:5).
d). Intellectual development is an important aspect of life.
2. Favour with God and Man (Luke. 2: 52b).
Jesus had favour with God and Man.
a. He was not alone, Samuel did (1 Samuel 2:26).
b. This meant that both lived right before God and Men (cf. II Cor. 8:21; Rom 12:17).
c. The growth of the early Church was tied strongly to members enjoying Divine and Human favour (Acts 2:47).
d. Favour is a cultivated art. How then can one generate these favours?
i). By marrying kindness and truth (Proverbs 3:3-4).
* Kindness is an important trait in one’s life (Prov. 19:22).
* What you make happen for others in kindness, God will
make happen for you in return (Proverbs 11:24-25; Luke
6:38).
ii). Obedience to the Word of God (Wisdom Proverbs 8:34-35).
10. Jesus Had the Mindset of Dispensing Goodness (Acts 10:38).
a). As Christians, we are recreated in Christ to do good works
(Ephesians 2: 10).
i). The word, “Recreate” points to the fact that we are “New
creature” only in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). Having put off the
“Old man” (Colossians 3:10).
ii). In Christ we find “Re-mission” (Acts 2:38 KJV).
*After creation, humans became marred (cf. Jeremiah 18:1-6; II
Samuel 14:14) but Christ came to give back to humans what
we lost through sin. To accomplish this, man has to be
Recreated in Him (Christ).
*The purpose of this re-creative work of Christ is that we
should be as He was (cf. Titus 2:14; I John 4:17).
(b) Jesus went about doing good (Acts 10:38).
i). In the same vein, we have to manifest the knowledge of
Christ to people wherever we go (II Corinthians 2:14-17).
(A kind of MTN…. Yhello! Wherever You Go!)
ii). Jesus did “great works” but we are called to do “greater
works” (John 14:12).
iii). What does “good work” accomplish?
i. They bring glory to God (Matt 5:16; Col.1:10).
ii. Enriches our lives and testimonies (I Tim. 6:18).
iii. Sets us out for emulation (Titus 2:7; 3:8).
iv. Muzzles the mouth of evil speakers (I Pet. 2:13).
11. Jesus Had the Mindset of Compassion (Matt. 9:35-36).
a). Compassion, by my own definition is, “Come, share my passion.” Compassion is the feeling of pity backed with the willingness to help. It is a spiritual economic law of Effective Demand, which is defined as “Willingness backed up with the ability to pay.” Spiritually, this law say that Opportunity plus Ability equals to Responsibility and Accountability (Galatians 6:9-10). Therefore, if I have an opportunity to do and the ability to do it, then it translates to responsibility on my part and I will stand to give account of it to God.
Compassion is feeling another’s person’s feeling. Compassion characterized of Jesus’ life (Matt.14:14; 15: 32; Mk. 8:2-3).
b). The compassion of our Lord spread to all and sundry (Matt.
20:34). His compassion caused Him to reach out to people in difficult situations (Luke 7:11-16; John 11:32-35).
c). Human beings of godly extraction irrespective of race, social, political, economic and spiritual leanings have demonstrated compassion to others.
i). Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:6).
ii). Israelite leaders (II Chronicles 28:15).
iii). Job (Job 29:13).
iv). Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33-34).
v). Unbelievers on others (Acts 28:2).
d). Christians are encouraged to become people of compassionate dispositions (Philippians 2:1-2;I Pet. 3:8).
12. Jesus Had the Mindset of Counting Time (John 7:6).
a) The problem of mankind is the lack of appreciation of the need to know their time (Ps 90:12).
b) Knowledge of how brief our times on earth are would determine how well we live in the present (I Cor.7: 29-31).
c) So, how much time do we still have left? (Eccl.9:12; Eccl.8:5-7).
d) Jesus knew the time that was left for Him and what He ought to do.
13. Mindset of Fulfilling All Righteousness (Matt. 3:15)
a) To “Fulfill” is to make complete (cf. I Thess. 3:10; cf. Matt.5:18).
b) If Jesus had not been baptized He would have been incomplete before God, but He had to be baptized in other to be complete before God. Rejecting baptism is rejecting God’s purpose for one’s life (cf. Luke 7:29-30). If you have not been baptized into Christ, avail yourself of this opportunity. Baptism for non Christians is not to “Fulfill all righteousness” but for the remission of one’s sins (Acts 2:37-39; Acts 22:16; I Peter 3:21).
c) It is the will of God that all of us be complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:4) WHY?
i. Because there are people whose works, lives and obedience are not complete before God. (Revelations 3:2).
ii. There are lacks in people, which they must complete or make-up (Mark10: 21).
iii. What is the one thing that you lack or the things that are lacking in you? God wants to perfect it (I Thessalonians 3:10).
d) Some people think that perfection is not possible, but it is God’s Will and expectations for and from all of us (I Thessalonians 5:23-24; Matthew 5:48).
e) God is at work in us to bring about the doing of His Good Will (Philippians 1: 6; 2:13).
f) What then are we to do? Purge ourselves “from all defilements of body and spirit to be able to perfect holiness in the fear of God” (II Corinthians 7:1)
14. Jesus Had the Mind-Set of Non-retaliation (Matt. 26: 51-52).
a) Retaliation is pleasurable because it appeals to the base and weak sides of man.
b) One of Victor Ulojiofor’s novel published in Macmillan’s Pacesetters Series was titled, “The Sweet Revenge.” Fact is, there is nothing sweet about revenge. It is beastial and foolish to retaliate. It was late Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi who stated, “If we return eye for an eye, the world would soon go blind.”
c) By the very nature of Jesus, we are taught to let go and let God (I Peter 2:21-23; Hebrews 12:3).
i). Our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated that the best response to
wrong is goodness (Luke 22: 50–51).
ii). This principle of non-retaliation was graphically demonstrated by
Prophet Elisha through the King of Israel (II Kings 6:21-23).
iii). Sometimes, the people we respond to with love to their wrong
doings against us do not appreciate our large heartedness
(cf. John 18:10, 26) but this should not deter us (Rom. 12:21).
d). By our calling as followers of Jesus Christ, we are not called to
employ “Fire for fire” (I Peter 3:9). Praying “Holy Ghost Fire”
against “our enemies” is Unchristian (Luke 9:51-56).
i). When we do not engage in revenge we demonstrate our godly
characters while those who engage in attacks on our persons
show that they are evil (cf. I Sam. 24:1-19; vs.12-19).
e). The Lord forbids His people from rejoicing over their known
enemies misfortune (Prov. 24: 17–20).
15. Jesus Possessed the Mindset of Treading Softly In Other
Peoples’ Affairs (LK. 12:13–4).
a) The man is the text seemed to have made a good request from Jesus to come and settle a family misunderstanding. But a closer look at the text reveals that the man was trying to rope Jesus into what was not good. His words, “…Ask my brother to DIVIDE…“makes it clear that he was wrong and wanted to bring Jesus into wrong.
b) The Word of God is clear regarding how a dead man’s property should be shared among his children. (Deuteronomy 21:15–17).
c) It is evident that this man wanted to make Jesus break the law of God and endanger his relationship with others. But He was wise enough not to, but made the man to understand that He would not meddle into what did not concern Him (Luke 12:14).
d) Jesus possessed wisdom (Luke 2:52; Matthew 11:18). We are called to posses same to avoid unnecessary conflicts with others in life (Matthew 10:16).
e) There are people who get involved in what they cannot fully explain why they are involved (Acts 19:32-33, 40; cf. vs.23-41).
f) We are counseled to, “Mind our own businesses” (I Thess. 4:11).
g) This means not to get involved in matters do not bear directly on us (Proverbs 3:30).
h) Not to do this is to court trouble (Proverbs 26:17). Jesus knew this and avoided it. May we know it and avoid it, too.
CONCLUSION:
Do you have the mind of Christ? Do you strive to have the Mind of Christ? A review of the above discussion points and personal examinations of our hearts would determine if we do have the Mind of Christ or not.
May the Lord enable us to have the Mind of Christ and be like Him in all things.
SCRIPT BY:
Evangelist Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah.
Township/Campus Church of Christ,
14, Agbugwu Lane Lane, Off,
University Market Road, P.O.Box 351, Nsukka-410002, Enugu State, Nigeria. West Africa.
E-MAIL: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com
Hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com
PHONE: 234-08039596919; 08182820677
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