CHRISTIAN ENTREPRENUERSHIP: A NECESITY FOR THE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE CHURCH

 INTRODUCTION     

        A number of factors would determine whether the Church would survive in our time and the legacy of Restoration Movement bequeathed to future generations. These would include:

·        Doctrinal integrity (II John Vs. 9-11; John 8:31; I Tim. 4:16).

·        Faithfulness of Brethren to contend earnestly for the Faith (Jude v.3).

·        Financial empowerment of each individual Christian in our various local congregations.

This, precisely is where the issue of entrepreneurship comes in. entrepreneurship principally refers to financial independence of persons through skills acquisition, value-added service and products’ creations, leading to financial independence and economic stability of persons involved in one entrepreneurial activity or the other.

This presentation is a sensitization effort as the time allotted would not be enough to deliberate on the whole universe of entrepreneurship.  

        In the beginning was entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship was creativity and innovation; creativity was productivity and resourcefulness. There was nothing that was ever made or ventured into by humans that were accomplished without an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are goal-getters, achievers, and arrivers. No government or society can do or exist without entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship was, is and will continue to be.

Every society that is worth being mentioned in the committee of developed societies must be entrepreneurship-oriented. Entrepreneurs are change-agents, movers and shakers. By default, entrepreneurs are catalysts. Any developed economy is a testimony to the active participation of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are the livewire of societies. Remove entrepreneurs and societies would collapse.

This, perhaps, explains why Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister enthused, “I want Britain to be a nation of entrepreneurs, a nation where talent and ability flourish.” (Business: The Ultimate Resource, 2008: 1745). In the same vein, my desire for members of Church of Christ is to become entrepreneurial.

The growth of individual Christians is the growth of the Church. The well-being of Christians is the well-being of the Church and vice-versa (cf. Jer. 29:7). As Christians, individually, we are building blocks of the Church (I Pet. 2:5). When a congregation is said to be strong, it is because all the component parts are strong. If a congregation is said to be wealthy, it is because members of that congregation are wealthy. If a congregation is said to be educated, it is because individual Christians who make up that congregation are educated. As go individual members so goes the Church.

The growth, development, stability and otherwise of individual Christians will rob off positively or negatively on the Church. Consequently, to speak of enhancing the capacities of a local congregation tantamounts to the building the capacities of Christians who make up our local congregations.

Church of Christ all over the world is a Church with unique message, New Testament Christianity. Propagation of this life-changing, Kingdom-enlarging message is hampered by lack of resources. To a large extent, the Church of our Lord has become beggarly. We depend on American Brethren to support our preachers. Most of our congregations are indigent, so much so that to support any brother or sister in need we must write letters seeking for help from sister congregations. Funding our media outreaches has become Herculean. To say the least, the Church is poor!

To move to the next level, capacities of each congregation have to be enhanced. To do this would require increasing the capacity of individual Christians, which make up our various congregations. How can this be accomplished? The answer lies in entrepreneurship!

Most New Testament Christians were entrepreneurs, including Apostle Paul (Acts 18:1-3). Because Paul was entrepreneurial, he was able to support himself and those who were with him (Acts 20:33-35).

WHY ENTREPRENUERSHIP?

The moment we understand that no one owes us anything in life but that we are the people who ourselves whatever we desire, that same moment we will begin to take our destinies into our own hands to seek economic empowerment. We will switch from our economic dependency mode to economic independency mode.     

UNDERSTANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship is all about job and wealth creation. It deals principally with needs’  identification and taking steps to bridge existing gaps by providing  solutions to those identified needs (cf. Ezekiel 22:30).

At the center of entrepreneurship is the entrepreneur who is the vision-bearer, the idea-generator, who by default is a self-employed person. Relying solely on his/her abilities to generate ideas for products or services, an entrepreneur mobilizes factors of production such as resources, personnel, and materials towards transforming his/her ideas into tangible or intangible products or services.

In a society where jobs are not readily available, one must begin to think entrepreneurial. This, not only saves you the hassle and stress of job-hunting but also gives you the freedom to explore, exploit and maximize your human potentials; become your own boss and book an important place in the annals of movers and shakers.

Becoming an entrepreneur provides for you senses of direction, belonging and fulfillment. Not only does thinking entrepreneurial and becoming an entrepreneur make you ‘feel important,’ in reality you are! You are important by every stroke of human imagination. Without entrepreneurs societies would not make any meaningful progress.

Look around you: your body and your environment, you would readily see that next to God’s idea of your personality, you are a product of entrepreneurs. From your haircut/hairstyle to the shoes or sandals you are wearing, entrepreneurs have really defined you. In other words, you are a by-product of two great ideas: God and entrepreneurs!

Three outstanding elements of entrepreneurship are NEEDS, OPPORTUNITIES and ACTION.

WHY BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR? 

Entrepreneurs as innovators make something new happen. While each new enterprise usually starts as a small business and often remains small, entrepreneuring, on a national scale is a very large and important business. One United States online entrepreneurship website reports that “in a typical year, small independent businesses create 2.6 million jobs, while large corporations eliminated 1.6 million jobs.”  Without entrepreneurs, national economies would decline.

People are motivated to become entrepreneurs because of their desire to:

·        Be their own bosses.

·        Become rich and famous.

·        Prove something to parents or to some other people.

·        Use their skills.

·        Enjoy a sense of achievement.

·        Earn a living when jobs are not available.

In one way or two we can all identify with one or all of the above points.

Entrepreneuring is potentially rewarding.  I want to encourage you to follow the path of entrepreneurship.  If you know how to reduce the risks involved you can increase the possible gains of entrepreneurship.

YOU CAN BECOME AN ENTERPRENEUR

Yes, you can become an entrepreneur if you find any of the following applying to you:

1.   You have an idea for a product or service and you want to build a new

     business.

2. You want to increase your success in responding to changing conditions.
3. You see an opportunity for a new venture in your community or place

     of residence.

4. You are unemployed and the prospects for a new job are not good.

5. You see a need and has an idea of what it takes to fill that need.

WHAT QUALIFIES FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

        University degrees do not equate entrepreneurial spirit. Rather, entrepreneurship thrives on ideas. Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Letcher (1999:13) affirm that “college (university) education is important for traditional professions, but not for how people found great wealth. They developed their businesses….” They went on to write that “many successful people had left school without a college degree, people such as Thomas Edison, founder of General Electric; Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motors Co., Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft; Ted Turner, founder of CNN; Steve Jobs, founder of Apple computers; Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers and Ralph Lauren, founder of Polo,” Mack Zukerberg, founder of FACEBOOK, etcetera.

        In Nigeria, household names like Coscharis Group, Ekene Dili Chukwu, Ifesinachi Nig. Ltd., Chisco, Ogbuawa, Louis Carter, Chikason Group, Peace Mass Transit, etcetera were not all university graduates.

What then qualifies for entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship is about using your potential at 100% capacity. It is about building yourself. Anyone who takes a challenge becomes an owner, a boss and a judge of his own life.

If you are risk-averse, entrepreneurship is not for you. If you have a weak heart, entrepreneurship is not for you. However, if you have an adrenalin-friendly heart, you are welcome to the world and practice of entrepreneurship.  

WHAT DOES ENTREPRENEURSHIP REQUIRES?

Entrepreneurship requires:

1.   New thinking.

2.   Ideas that are relevant to society’s needs.

3.   Ideas that are constructive and affective.

4.   Ideas that are proactive.

To generate entrepreneurial ideas a would-be entrepreneur must learn to come up with ideas for a product or service. To generate the needed ideas, he/she should learn to “think out of the box.” Thinking out of the box requires doing what people would rarely do. Sometimes entrepreneurial ideas could come from unlikely places, from unlikely people and from unlikely situations or circumstances. A good entrepreneur immediately recognizes these ideas and seizes them.

ADVANTAGES OF BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR

Every successful entrepreneur brings about benefits not only for himself/ herself but for the society, country and the world in general. The benefits that can be derived from entrepreneurial activities are as follows:

§  Enormous personal financial gain.

§  Self-employment, offering more job satisfaction and flexibility of work schedules.

§  Freedom from dependency on jobs offered by others.

§  Ability to have great accomplishments.

§  Reduction of the informal economy and emergence of vibrant Middle Class.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ENTREPRENEUR

        A number of traits characterize entrepreneurs. Principally, entrepreneurs have enthusiasm, vision, and the driving force for setting up enterprises. Other characteristics of entrepreneurs are:  

• Protest mentality.

• A positive mental attitude.

• A strong sense of personal awareness.

• Willingness to take initiative.

• A strong sense of commitment.

• High energy level.

• Integrity and reliability.

• Patience.

• Ability to deal with failure.

Entrepreneurs brainstorms on a regular basis; they are ingeniousness and resourceful. They are opportunists, creative, and unsentimental.            

PRACTICAL STEPS TO TOWARDS BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR        If you have been thinking of becoming an entrepreneur but have little information on how to make the first step, then, you have to take the following into great consideration. 

1.   Scan the environment  to see

a.   What you can do; a bridge you can build.

b.   What is being done but is not being done well.

c.   What you can improve upon.

d.   Find a need and fill that need.

2.   Look  inside yourself to see

a.   What you have passion for.

b.   What ideas usually come to mind

3.   Seek counseling and information from people

Seek out people, especially those who are already in business who will be willing to share vital pieces of information with you.

4.   Understudy those who are already in that line of business   

     Take time to understudy those who are in the line of business of your

     interest. In addition, do feasibility studies on what you want to do.

5.   Start small, then grow

Do not start “big”; it is not a must that you must start “big.”  Often, it’s better to start small so that as your enterprise grows you will know how to effectively manage it.   

6.   Attend seminars/acquire training  

Entrepreneurship requires continuous stream of information. In fact you need to keep abreast of latest developments in your area of entrepreneurial activity.   

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND HOW TO MAKE MONEY      

        This is the secret of ages. There is no particular model. What works for one may not necessarily work for another. Succinctly stated, while money-making requires elements of financial intelligence, it principally has to do with commonsense. The hard aspect of commonsense is that it is not common. No one can be taught commonsense by attending Harvard University, Lagos Business School, etcetera. It is available to all of us in larger quantities. The key is possessing ability in identifying and utilizing commonsense.

        In money-making, commonsense teaches you to look where others overlook, to see worth in worthless things and places. In money-making, you must learn to respect Kobo for Naira to be able to honour your invitation to make your treasure box its abode. To make money, you must first of all:

1.   Identify a need.

2.   Identify source of meeting identified needs.

3.   Being the bridge between the need and the needy.

4.   Setting machineries in motions towards harnessing the opportunities available and your potentials as the go-getter.

DEVELOP AND MARKET YOUR SKILLS

Exercise your giftings – Fan your gift into flame (II Tim. 1:6-7). Tell the world who you are and what you can do with who you are (John 7:3-4). Although, this piece of advise given to Jesus in John 7:3-4 by some of His kinsmen was in bad faith, it obviously is one of the most PR and advertising counsels anyone would give or receive. It all boils down to this – tell the world who you are and what you can do. Nobody knows the stuff you are really made of until you say it by yourself. You are your own best PR and advertising agency. Dare anyone to dare you on that which is or are your unique selling points. A trial will go a long to convince anyone who is doubtful of your claims. 

SUGGESTED IDEA AREAS FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES   

        I want to suggest areas that prospective entrepreneurs should focus attention on. These are only suggestions, which should be improved upon.

1.   Services – provision of services of all types, car wash, auto repairs, and training; educational provisions for dropouts, adults, preparatory classes such as conducting lessons for people,  which may likely grow to become full blown educational institutions, etcetera.

2.   Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) - software design, engineering and development.

3.   Agribusiness – poultry and poultry feed production; animal husbandry and cash crops production.

4.   NGOs - Floating NGOs that are targeted at solving different society’s problems.

5.   Communication – printing and publishing, consultancy, etcetera.

6.   Crafts – designs, weaving, carving, etcetera.

7.   Sales and marketing – providing services for manufacturers, manufacturers’ representatives, etcetera.

8.   From waste to wealth – refuse disposal, human waste disposal, scraps (metal and aluminum), etcetera.      

Writing on, The Lure of Entrepreneuring, Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase, one of the foremost promoters of entrepreneurship in Nigeria in his well published monthly magazine, Success Digest of February, 1998 edition, page 47 wrote this timely piece as he asks and challenges us: Have you ever been in the vicinity where human waste is being emptied from a septic tank? Right, you’ve got it: it’s not a nice place to be around! What with flies and the foul smelling odour that fill the air. The people providing the important service of emptying septic tanks have a nice slogan that puts the reward of their job in a sweet-smelling perspective. They say, ‘Owo igbe kii run,’ which means that ‘human waste money does not smell.’ And I agree with them absolutely, it doesn’t! But I have been thinking. Suppose there is a product in the market which can be poured into a septic tank and, a few hours later, dries up the excreta, wouldn’t it be nice? Imagine the septic tank being emptied without everyone in the neighbourhood feeling the discomfort of foul smell for as many hours as the exercise lasts. ‘That will be wonderful,’ did you say? Well, you have the opportunity of bringing that product to the marketplace. And all home owners in Nigeria, if not in ECOWAS, will be grateful to you for bringing a badly needed product within their reach. How can you go about it? Your first step is to find a chemist who can come up with the right formulation (or you could come up with the formulation if you know how to) that will accomplish the task described and, pronto, you are on your way to becoming a millionaire!

    “Of course, it is not as simple as I’ve put it. There is a lot of hard work and persistence before you can reach that promise land. But it is worth the effort.  Just remember, nothing good comes easy! So, get cracking, and I’ll see you at the top some day soon!”

CONCLUSION

    To empower yourself economically requires more hard work than goodluck. There are two types of luck - one is illusory but the other is real. Real luck is when opportunity meets preparation. Do not befriend mediocrity. Avoid the company of lazy people. Work hard and give no sleep to your eyes. Pray and seek the face of GOD (Job 8:5-7, 21).  Thank you and may God richly bless all of us in Jesus’ name! 

TODAY’S YOUTHS, TOMORROW’S LEADERS

          Leadership is the principal virtue of governance. Great nations are what they are because they have great and effective leaders. The reason Nigeria and the rest of Africa are where they are today is principally because of lack of effective and purposeful leadership. 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. Someone has described insanity as doing the same thing all of the time and expecting different results.  

          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 seminar is organized around the theme of leadership with quest to examine the place of today’s youths in the context of tomorrow’s leadership.

          Today is the end of yesterday and the beginning of tomorrow. In the same vein, youths are the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. The future belongs to today’s youths. If we fail to nurture them we have failed to protect our tomorrow. Raising today’s youths to become tomorrow’s leaders is imperative.

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.

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. Babylon was but a powerful testimony to Nimrod’s visionary and dynamic leadership.

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 leadership vacuum (cf. Ezekiel 22:30).

       Our 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).

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 family, congregation, community and nation 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).

BECOMING A LEADER (MATTHEW 24:45)

1.     You must Understudy a leader

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). You will never be an effective leader if you are not first a good follower. Being a follower affords you an opportunity to understudy a leader: know his strengths and weaknesses; his/her mistakes and Unique Selling Points. It stimulates the followership as it seeks to give the led senses of belonging, direction and fulfillment. Bible shows that Moses had his Joshua, Elijah had his Elisha and Elisha had his Gehazi; Jesus had His Apostles, Paul had his Timothy and Titus; Barnabas had his John Mark. Somebody was able to understudy somebody. It is imperative that those who want to become leaders must first pay their price. In the course of doing this, you will be used, misused and abused but these are what finally make you useful. This is because while you are being thrown to every corner, you will end up knowing those corners and equipping yourself for the future.   

2.     You must be a person of vision

Vision is clear direction. A visionary leader knows the past and the present so well that it can lead others well into the future (cf. Matthew13: 52). Lack of vision is dangerous for a people (Proverbs 29:18). Visionary leaders must be pregnant with the vision to add value to the lives of those they lead. 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). An effective leader knows the way, shows the way and leads the way.

3.     You must be a person of strong integrity (I Timothy 4:12, 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). You must be firm and fair. 

4.     You must be emotionally and psychologically mature (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. Leadership is not a child’s play; it is not for chicken-hearted. You must have lots of stamina to withstand pressures. You need lots of shock absorbers, too. You must understand that “No man is man enough until he is man enough to man his own mind.” Cool headedness is the word.

5.     You must be versatile in knowledge and dynamic (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 a leader must stand the test of time and make positive impacts he/she must be dynamic.

6.     You 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” are destructive. You must avoid Diotrophesic mentality and self-will (III John Vs.9-11; Titus 1:7b). You must avoid the temptation to politicize affairs that you are not comfortable with – employing “Divide and Rule” (cf. Acts 20:28-30). 

ARE LEADERS BORN OR ARE THEY MADE?

In a way, leaders are born and are also made. Matthew 19:11-12 points out that some people are born to fulfill certain functions while others are made by persons. In some cases, people actually work their way into certain positions. History is replete with leaders who were born, others who were made and some who made themselves. Effective leaders are not determined by being born one, made one or by making oneself one. It is all about personal orientations and one’s personal attributes.   

Certain elements are present to determine whether one is born a leader or made a leader. These are Identification, Association, Initiation, Consultation, Delegation and Coordination.

     By Identification, a leader whether born or made is able to identify a need, a vacuum or a responsibility. The quality of identification already marks the individual out as a leader. Rising to the occasion to fill the need, vacuum or responsibility sets the stage for leadership.

By Initiation, person who initiates an idea or a movement has naturally set himself apart as a leader. Deborah was a classical case in point here (Judges 4:4-10). By Associating themselves with those who have paid their dues in effective leadership, prospective leaders who have flair for effective leadership are ennobled to discover both real and felt needs of their people and then initiates programs of action to meet those needs. By Consultations leaders feel the pulse of the people, feel their feelings and work hard at carrying everyone along in decision-making processes. An ability to Delegate responsibilities is a sure indication that one possesses leadership qualities. The same also applies to abilities to Coordinate various activities among people and within an organization or a group.

Everyone can identify with one or two of the signposts to leadership. That is to say that every prospective leader must fill a need of and in the society. Effective Leaders have uncanny abilities to know how to use human instruments to meet given needs at given times.

CONCLUSION

          There are various genres of leadership: Transactional, Transformational and Translucent leaders.

          A Transactional leader is one is a businessman/woman. To him/her leadership is business as usual. Their philosophy is, “Rub my back and I will rub your back.”

          A Transformational leader is one who believes in making a difference. He/she has passion for development. He/she transforms everywhere he/she goes and is.

          A Translucent leader is one who is transparent with a “See through me” attitude. He/she is hardworking, transformational and translucent. He/she is altruistic and exemplary.

          What kind of a leader do you desire to be? As we think through these, may we remain eternally blessed in Jesus’ name!

          Thank you!!

 

SATANIC DOCTRINES IN THE CHURCH

When Jesus made promise to build His Church in Matthew 16:13-18, He made reference to the fact that Satan would be waging countless battles against her (Matthew 16:19). These battles would sometimes come from outside and at other times it would come from within (Acts 20:29-32). Satan has been planting his messengers and secretly delegating them to infiltrate the rank and file of Christians and to corrupt their message (Galatians 2:4-5). As early Christians did not allow them any breathing space, so we will not allow them.

Writing to Church of Christ in Pergamon, our Lord Jesus rebuked her for condoning Doctrines of Balaam and Nicolaitians (Revelations 2:14-15). He minced no words in telling the Church that He ‘hated’ their espousing of such doctrines. This means that certain doctrines please our Lord while certain doctrines do not please Him. This can be understood going by the displeasure He displayed when people decided to practice what He had not commanded them. Nadab and Abihu can tell better (Leviticus 10:1-3) as well as Uzzah and David (II Samuel 6:1-9; cf. I Chronicles 15:13).

It is no gainsaying that God stands ready to remove whatever Himself has not planted (Matthew 15:13). Because doctrine is the livewire of New Testament Church and a major determinant of whether one is a disciple of Jesus or not (John 8:31;cf. John 14:15), we are sternly warned to “Take heed unto ourselves and unto the  Doctrine….” (I Timothy 4:16).

Whenever Satan succeeds in hijacking the doctrine, he would succeed in shipwrecking our faiths. We are what we are because of the doctrines we espouse and are encourage to “Mark those” who teach and practice the contrary (Romans 16:17). When we compromise the doctrines, we will only be going through the motions not knowing that we have lost sync with God.   

There are three major doctrines that we find in Bible:

1.   Doctrines of men, which make worship vain (Matthew 15:8-9).

2.   Doctrines of demons (I Timothy 4:1).

3.   Doctrines of Jesus Christ (II John versus 9-11).

It is the “Doctrines of Christ” that determine whether one is acceptable to God or not. Doctrines of Satan are practices that are not commanded by God but are smuggled in by men and women through satanic influences arising from human reasonings.  

Today, there are calls to reform the Church by those who do not understand what New Testament Christianity is all about. Among these are those who consider feelings or emotions as more authoritative than reasoning and plain teachings of God’s Word. Throughout Scripture and history, feelings have never been a good guide in religious affairs, rather, hey have always led people away from God and into destruction. We are warned not to allow our thinking become our guide (Proverbs 14:12; cf. Proverbs 3:5). We must have a “Thus saith the Lord” attitude (Isaiah 8:20; cf. Romans 3:4).

Brethren, Pentecostalism has entered the Church! Some of our preachers and Congregations have begun to exalt feelings above reasoning. This was how most our Congregations in America in recent years have abandoned the Faith, introduced terrible things into the Church and finally lost their identities as “Church of Christ.” If there is anything Church of Christ about some of them, it is only in name. However, there are still many faithful Congregations that are still standing in for the Lord. The “Change agents” started with feelings and have today graduated to wholesale apostasy.  

CHRISTIANITY AND EMOTIONALISM

Christianity is a taught and teaching religion. It is not a mere emotional subjectivism. Emotions can sometimes be complimentary but most times, Christianity and emotion do not mix, especially when the later wants to take the place of the former.

Is New Testament Christianity unemotional? Is emotion completely wrong? Not all! People can respond to God’s Word in an emotion-ladden fashion. The first fruits of Christian preaching responded with deep emotions, “When they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts and said…’men and brethren what shall we do?’ ” (Acts 2:37).

I Corinthians 14:15 says, “I will pray with the spirit and I will also pray with understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, I will sing with understanding also.” The “spirit” here has to do with our hearts, our emotions. However, these emotions must be within the context of understanding. They must be guided by truth.

It is not wrong to cry, laugh and express other forms of emotions if need be, but it is wrong to make it a commonplace thing, our standard, thereby cheapening God’s Assembly and making God’s Heritage a laughingstock (cf. I Corinthians 14:23-26).

EXCESSIVE EMOTIONS (EMOTIONALISM) IN WORSHIP

Christianity is not solely an emotional experience; it is a “reasoned” experience (I Peter 3:15). One does not need to feel it, all you need is to know it (I John 5:13). Unfortunately, Pentecostalism has elevated feelings above reason, a practice which is fraught with dangers.

        A careful study of our denominational neighbours would reveal that the situation has moved from bad to worse. Some of their gatherings, to a large extent are characterized by “Toronto effects” so much so, crying, shouting, jumping, shivering, etcetera have become order of the day. NO. This is not what our assembling should be. God’s Will is that His assembly should be so organized to such a fine line as “Decently and in order” (Let all things be done decently and in order, I Corinthians 14:40). 

DO EMOTIONS SHOW THAT GOD IS PRESENT?

         It should be stated that when people are devoid of Truth, they resort to emotionalism. Truth excites and rejoices the heart. Emotions are only temporary, that is why people have to be pumped up more often because they get deflated.

        When people express emotions (shout, jump up, smack their palms, etcetera) does it show that God is with them? It necessarily does not.

        Some people think that worship is muttering (Isaiah 8:19), gyration (II Kings 5:11-12), noise-making (I Kings 18:26-29) firebrand and earth-shaking experiences (I Kings 19:11-13). When these had died down and God was not in any of them, then came “a still small voice.” Is it not ironical that God was not in any of these earth-shaking experiences? One thing is sure: noise does not attract God, it rather repels Him (cf. Habakkuk 2:20). Have we forgotten so soon that Holy Spirit is a “Gentleman” (Galatians 5:22b). 

        Some people think that when we do not employ tear-jerking and heart-pulling methods of prayer spiced with high voices, our prayers are not heard. They classify prayers as “Powerful” and “Special” only when they shout, shake heads, cry and the like. What makes prayers powerful is praying with understanding and in accordance with God’s Word and in faithfulness (I Corinthians 14:15; I John 5:14; James 5:16f).

Brethren, the basis of our Christian faith is TRUTH, not feelings. Feelings are one of man’s greatest enemies. It was feelings that misled Eve to disobey God in Garden (Genesis 3; cf. II Corinthians 11:1-3). Over the years, emotionalism has never been in lack. As emotions increase, truth decreases. The more we emphasize emotions, the more we lose grip of truth because when emotions take the centre-stage, truth jumps through the window.

OTHER SATANIC DOCTRINES IN THE CHURCH

        When God’s good intentions are corrupted by men and women, they cease to be godly and end up becoming demonic. Some of these doctrines are abuses of Church autonomy, teaching that Congregations should not use her money to bury her dead, etcetera:

        Congregational Autonomy

Local churches were the only medium through which early Christians carried on their religious work, whether in missions (Acts 13:1-3; 14:25-28), charity (Acts 11:28-30), or education (Hebrews 10:24-25). Each community of believers was sufficient to do its work. No larger organizations, such as characterize Christendom today were put in place in apostolic times when there were problems affecting more than one congregation, representatives of one church went to the church whence the problem arose to discuss the matter (Acts 15:1-2).

This independence by the local church is often called “congregational autonomy,” that is, self-governing congregations. In regard to faith and practice the church is a monarchy as she is subject to her Lord. But in matters of opinion, expediency, and human judgment each church is an independent, self-governing unit. Autonomy is an appropriate word.

In his book, WHY I AM A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, Leroy Brownlow wrote,

Autonomy is defined as “right of self-government; a self-governing state; an independent body.” In the first century each congregation was independent of every other congregation. The church in Rome or Jerusalem had no authority over the churches in other communities. Men outside the congregation had no right to exercise authority and power within the congregation. The elders and deacons in one congregation had no authority to exercise any other kind of rule over the elders and deacons in another congregation. Each church was free and independent, under the teaching of Christ and the apostles, to govern itself, carry on its own work, and manage its own affairs. There was no system of church government larger or smaller than the local congregation. All congregations had the same head, foundation, and mission; preached the same gospel; constituted the one body. But each was independent to direct its own work!

The wisdom of God is seem in such an arrangement for his churches. If one became corrupted in doctrine or affected by evil practices, other churches would not be so affect. If dissension arose in one, it would not spread to the others; if one perished, the others would not be dragged down. If a window is made of one large pane, a break injures the entire pane; but if it be made of several panes, it is not so bad to break one. The independence of the churches is a protection for each one.

But autonomy is not isolation. The early churches practiced a fullness of fellowship, cooperation, mutual assistance, and communication. There was a sense of being one body under one Lord (Ephesians 4:4-5). There were to be no dividing barriers between believers, whether racial (Ephesians 2) or cultural (Romans 14-15). Examples of local churches cooperating together are seen in Acts 11:28-30; Romans 15:25-26 and 2 Corinthians 8:1-5. Such mutual cooperating is evident throughout the pages of the New Testament, but this was done without creating an organization higher than local churches.

   It is satanic to hide under autonomy to teach and practice what are not in line with plain teachings of the Bible. It is also satanic to hide under autonomy to deny other congregations our cooperation towards enlarging the borders of God’s Kingdom in hearts and communities of men through evangelism, edification and in times of material need.

Burial of the Dead

        It is no gainsaying that the Church we read of in the Bible buried her own dead (Acts 8:1-2; cf. Acts 5:5-6, 10). The same Bible enjoins us to rejoice with those who are rejoicing and to mourn with those who are mourning (Romans 12:15).

        Church’s money is made up of collections by individual Christian who make up the Church (I Corinthians 16:1-2; II Corinthians 8:12-14). The question then is, if a Christian brother or sister had contributed to his/her local congregation’s treasury and it was not a sin, how come it has become a sin when the same brother or sister is in need or has died and the same church decides to dip her hand into her treasury to help meet the needs at hand? If it is a sin for a congregation to help out through her treasury, then it is a sin to have accepted contributions from such a Christian brother or sister.

If the argument is against using congregational resources to help or bury an unbeliever, then such is understandable as the needs of Brethren must take precedence over those outside the Faith (Galatians 6:10). It would be wrong to take the food meant for children of the family and give it to those outside the family while children of the family are hungry (cf. Matthew 15:25-27).

EFFECTS OF SATANIC DOCTRINES

Effects of satanic doctrines include but not limited to:

1.   Falling away from the faith (I Timothy 4:1).

2.   Shipwrecking of individual Christians’ faiths (I Timothy 1:19; II Timothy 2:16-18).

3.   Confusion (I Corinthians 14:33), disunity among brethren and eternal loss of souls (cf. I Timothy 4:16).   

CONCLUSION

Satanic doctrines are those doctrines that are contrary to God and to the spiritual well-being of His Church. Jesus’ and His apostles’ teachings remain the unifying and defining sources of our instructions. Any addition, subtraction or adulteration is nothing short of satanic (II John verses 9-11).    

To remain in the doctrines of Christ, we must embrace a “Thus Saith the Lord” attitude, speaking where God has spoken, being silent where He is silent and ministering only with strengths He alone has supplied (I Peter 4:11). We must shun modern day religious effizy.

May God richly bless us all in Jesus’ name!