CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP The Bible is more concerned about what a leader IS than what he DOES.

We find NO checklist of skills in scripture of the top 10 skills a leader should have. Most qualifications are related to moral & spiritual characteristics. 1) Holy 2) Habitual & 3) Humble We can have all sorts of natural gifts, all the right techniques but if let pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, sloth or some other sin go unaddressed in us our creative influence will be diminished or even cancelled. Many TRY rather than TRAIN to life the Christian life! Paul refers to a race. (1 Cor 9:24-25). All run, but only one gets the prize. To run the race you have to prepare --train. Images of a disciplined life dominate the NT. A training mentality develops & practices godly habits. (Eph 4:22,24) Spiritual disciplines are the habits or practices that prepare us for transformative work of the Holy Spirit. A leader must have 1) Picture of a preferred future & 2) ability to influence people to embrace that future BUT must follow the example of Jesus! But first we must "dearly love & constantly delight in that 'heavenly Father' made real in Jesus. When the mind is filled with this great & beautiful God with inward hindrances removed then our natural response will be to do everything Jesus told us to do. We'll develop an INTENTION, a vision of holiness to live in this kingdom reality. We will become Christlike. That means that we should learn from Christ & constantly practice His ways & arrange my activities that enable me to live in the fruit of the spirit. Remove distracting voices. Like what? Only as a person settles into quiet can the dirt begin to drift to the bottom so that the water can become clear. Too much activity without a Christlike intention makes for a murky mixture. Solitude & silence open us to the penetration of God's Word! These disciplines are like the plow that cuts furrows in the hard soil of our hearts. Once silent & open then we progress to study. Place your mind fully upon God & his kingdom (Vision). The natural completion is WORSHIP! Q: What does my life communicate to others about God that I claim to serve & represent? This requires self-examination. -Are you a driven person? -Are you using others as mere tools to fulfill your vision? -Am I experiencing & conveying joy in my relationship with Christ? -What is the point if my life does not convey finding pleasure in my relationship with Christ? -Programs, plans, dreams, budgets, buildings--for what purpose? -I am not my work, even if it is my calling. -Who are you? Identify yourself! 1) You are first & foremost a beloved child of God, my Father! 2) I want to live under the pleasure of the Father. 3) I want to give Him pleasure with my life.

2 Remember your first love. (Rev2:4) You may have the intention to become a leader but 1st you must guard & cultivate this primary relationship from which Christian leadership flows. Q: What does your life convey about your joy in Jesus? He must increase, I must decrease (John 3:30). John, the Baptist, has a clear sense of his CALL and his identity is in his call. He was inwardly rooted in the truth. When he saw that his work was complete, his joy was full. Q: Do we know who we are & what motivates us in kingdom work? Approach: always answer the questions: 1) Why--motives & 2)How--style Aim for God inspired vision. Q: How are power & influence exercised, & in what spirit? Example: Mark 10:42 Jesus teaches. James&John sought honor, close to center of power-pagan like; hierarchy or status. Quote poem: p60 of Ogden's book. Honor--measure of worth Power--comparative position of those above & below us. Essence of pride- competition It's not about being rich, clever, or good-looking but being more so than the next. Jesus teaches: (Mark 10:43-45) Away from hierarchical to communal with servant not entitlement attitude. Not interested in receiving praise. Proper leader concern that: 1) God's dream for the people becomes a reality 2) all involved feel valued for the contribution they make to executing God's vision. --They don't talk about themselves. --Good leaders are: quiet, humble, modest, reserved, shy, gracious, mildmannered, self-effacing, & understated. --They are ordinary people quietly producing extra-ordinary results. --Being a leader is NOT about their own success but about something bigger. It's not about fame, fortune, adulation, power but God's will. (See John 13:3-4) Jesus was a servant leader because He knew his value was firmly established by his father. Biblical Vision of Team Ministry: Jesus tells us that integral to the fulfillment of the Great Commission is "baptism 3 (disciples) in the name if the Father & the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Math 28:19).

Team (Gen 1:26-27)-a circle, we see each other, no one is left out, we're interconnected, we hold each other up. --Different kinds of gifts from the Holy Spirit(1Cor12:4), different kinds of service come from Jesus (1Cor12:5), --different kinds of working (energizing) come from the Father (1Cor12:6). Focus on each other's gifts & pool them to perform God's mission given to the team. --None of us are self-sufficient! Leadership-Christlike 1)Christ said to the disciples come! 2)He showed them by Word & Deeds 3)He gave them a duty to perform--we say a person received a CALL. Each of us gets a CALL & not all called to be clergy. But we are called to an interactive love relationship with him through which we learn from him & apply the fruits of this learning as a business leader or political/civic leader, in education or the trades, whatever the "called" vocation. Then Christ said GO - a mission call. Our highest purpose: to live in communion with Him. APOSTLE -"sent one" MISSION-emphasises outward movement. Jesus sends leaders to preach-not to harangue to those who don't want to hear but to proclaim the good news. This assignment was given not to the few of particular skills but to all. Notice the different backgrounds if the disciples. We are sent with Christ's authority! Each of us should ask: "What particular job has God given me? Why did God put me here by this roadside at this time? (Philip & Etheopian eunuch.) What gifts, what tools has he given me? --Each of us is unique, each of us is shaped uniquely with a different personality & temperament. Each of us within God's mosaic can offer something that can advance the purpose of the church & the world. --People of God are like different pieces of stained glass through which God pours in brilliant array. Consider your treasure: (Mat 6:21): "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (1 Cor 12:6): "God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us." When a disciple is willing to answer The Call & invest their gifts, God sullies the grace. Eph 3:20 God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us," 4 P 91: List of Grace Gifts. 1) Exercise: face each other & identify the other person's gifts. 2) How does this list compare to your own list of perceived gifts?

ADOPTERS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD Example: Introduction of Electricity-->changed life style. How? Perspective of daylight & dark, hot & cold, clean& dirty, work & leisure, preparing food & serving it. But in order to use or apply the electricity one has to 'rely' on it. So we must be awakened to the possibilities created by the fact (rely on) that God's presence & his power is truly " at hand" or "near". God's power is available to those who cooperate with him. Examples: Noah-->adapted to the reality of God's judgement. Moses-->accepted God's decision to set his people free from slavery. Samuel-->accepted God's direction by anointing a most unlikely Shepard boy to be the the next king David-->as a Shepard boy believed in God's protection & his power. Nehemiah-->cooperated with God's call to rebuild Jerusalem through some stunning arrangement of events. POINT: When we have eyes to see, we find that God gives us a vision of what he can do with disciples willing to respond to his kingdom's call. Jesus-->with His coming demonstrated God's ultimate power of the invisible God by becoming visible to us in the flesh. For those of us willing to attach ourselves to the inexhaustible power source life would begin to change at every conceivable level. Example: (Matthew 4:18-20): "Jesus said 'come'...they came, left nets behind!" Q: What else did they leave behind? A: Christian leaders must have a clear concept of "ultimate reality" --of the world as it really is and --what it will be. Being Jesus' disciple may seem costly, but the cost of nondiscipleship is much greater. Q: What is the nature of this kingdom, and how do I work for its advancement? A: Christ gave his beloved, the church, the special mission of extending God's kingdom (the way and the will of God) into all the world, (Mark 16:15) Under the steeple, in the church, we become equipped to live when we are at home, the workplace, school or elsewhere. Notice-->how little time Jesus spent teaching in the synagogues or the temple courts compared to how much time he spent interacting with people in their homes or villages. He had no place to rest his head! (Luke 9:2) Jesus sent out his disciples to 'preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 5 Christian leaders are to focus on the hearts of the people and the complete renewal of human life. NOT in adding more church members BUT to heal the estrangement between God and humans and between each other. Also not in running lots of committees, developing action plans. Goal:-->Restore the careful stewardship of the earth (Gen 1--2)

-->Human endeavors need a deeper purpose than people defined ambitious outcomes -->we must remain clear about the source of the renovation we seek! (1Chronicles 29:11): "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power And the glory and the majesty and the splendor, For everything in Heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the Kingdom; You are exalted as head over all." --If our work is to endure, it will be because it is aligned with God's will! --Don't depend on human ingenuity but on the Devine genius. The kingdom grows 'organically' NOT 'mechanically' via human management structures or programs or government dictates. (Mark 4:30-32) Jesus asks rhetorically: "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like? It is like a mustard seed.....it becomes the largest of all garden plants....." As leaders we should be less concerned with "doing things right" and more with "doing the right things." We trust God for the harvest. Jesus also teaches that weeds grow up alongside and in competition with good wheat. So we should not expect immediate perfection in all we do knowing that some will be against us and knowing that even with good intentions people are flawed. Yet, God will work invisibly on a schedule that is wiser. His WILL shall be accomplished despite the weeds of resistance & frustrations. (Luke 18:24-25) - Entering the kingdom of God requires handling money, appetites, enemies and priorities in a way that differs from the kingdom of this darkened world. Kingdom leadership always costs time and energy but it's worth the price. (Matthew 13:44-46) "Well done!" Is simply the greatest prize of Christian leadership! Godly visions depict an outcome that may seem outrageous given present reality. Think of Noah, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Nehemiah , Mary, Saul. Paul says in Ephesians 3:20: "For God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Difference between Mission & Vision: 6 MISSION -->is a broad- based description of WHY you exist--your purpose for being. It defines the outer parameters of acceptable activity. VISIOM-->details the WHAT-- the particular direction you will pursue within the framework of your mission.