Introductory Lectures in Fundamentals of Christian Leadership

1. Introductory Lectures in Fundamentals of Christian Leadership

2. Biblical images and values for shaping and motivating Session 3

3. Introduction • Christian Leadership in the Bible are pictured in many ways by different metaphors. • Biblical images concerning leadership can be adapted in any culture. • Each metaphor has a particular meaning • It gives the reader another view of the responsibilities of the leader and what is expected from him or her.

4. Metaphors Regardless how we look at leadership, It becomes clear:

5. Various traits of leadership • The various traits of leadership are clearly stated in both Testaments. • Delimitating to the New Testament, we find leaders are called, among other things • “apostles” and “heralds” (1 Timothy 2:7 NIV), • “witnesses” (Luke 24:48; Acts 1:8), • “builders” (1 Corinthians 3:10), • “farmers” (2 Timothy 2:6), • “athletes” (2 Timothy 2:5

6. The scope of this session will be limited to the image servanthood to explain how they best serve Maltese Christian leadership. • This does not mean servanthood in Malta is ideal, because it is not. • We as leaders must not only talk about serving and sacrificing, but by practice, my must lead by example.

7. The meaning of “servant” • The word “servant” in English is a representative of an array of words from the Greek New Testament. • A servant is one to whom both tasks and relationships have been entrusted.

8. Elected parliamentary members, who are democratically elected to lead the nation, call themselves “ministers.” • This is the same word which is used for the clergy in the Roman Catholic Church. • The term minster is used in other countries such as in the United Kingdom, to refer to ministers of the clergy.

9. In Malta, within the Evangelical church the usual word used for religious ministers is “pastor.” • Regardless if the person is a teacher, an evangelist or missionary, the office is given the title as “pastor.” • Whether this is appropriate or not to mention this issue in this seminar, one needs to begin to address this issue at some point.

10. The connotation of “minister” • The connotation of a “minister,” whether in secular or religious contexts, is to be a servant to his or her people. • The Maltese conception of the title “pastor” is connected with “shepherd.” • This is a very common image to understand servanthood, as usually the shepherd, shepherds the flock owned by himself.

11. Biblical servanthood is described in many ways. • In the next slide we have a chart with some Biblical words from the Hebrew text and the Greek New Testament • They give us a typical understanding of leadership. • Stotts description of a leader is

17. Christian leaders must be visionary leaders • The concept of visionary leadership is actually very important for the Maltese Evangelical-Pentecostal church. • Those who, in one way or the other, manage to become leaders, with no calling will end up having no divine vision to guide them. • Pastors can’t simply appoint leaders because of an emergency need

18. Each Vision is Specifically Given to a specific Person • Visions can be discerned. • When one who is not called for a specific ministry says he or she has a vision concerning that ministry. • An experienced spiritual leader should be able recognize and discern the vision is not from God, but is humanly planned.

19. Maltese seasoned leaders know visions cannot be planned by man. • One cannot just have an idea and attribute that idea to God. • A person must test that idea to make sure it is not something he likes and wants to do. • A person can have many plans, but those plans cannot become divine for the simple reason one says “God told me!”

20. Human plans cannot be “baptized” as divine. • Simple, the plans are not come from God (Shawchuck and Heuser 1993, 69). • Divine visions for a specific mission will only be given to the person who is specifically chosen and called by God to lead it.

21. Each Vision is Accompanied by Empowerment • God births vision in a leader for direction. • Every leader who receives a calling will also receive a vision to direct him or her towards the accomplishment of the Divine calling. • With the vision, God will also give certain abilities to the leader to help him fulfill his plan. • These can be personal anointing and endowments of gifts upon the leader per se, or the provision of personnel to help the leader fulfill the Divine plan.

22. The Bible is full of examples of God empowering people to fulfill His plan. • For example, when Moses was given the vision to build the Tabernacle. • What is most important though is the anointing on the person which marks him or her as the person chosen by God to accomplish that particular vision.

23. Each Vision Demands Sacrifice • Visionaries are required to take up the cross. • The expression "take up the cross" recalls the common practice of the Romans to make the condemned person carry the cross beam to the place of execution. • Such a demand entails that all who follow Jesus must be prepared to suffer and be crucified. Jesus' road to suffering and eventual death by means of the cross became an example of obedience and commitment to God for all who would become disciples.

24. In this respect the call to leadership and discipleship is a call to both self-denial and suffering (Ryken, 1998). • The Christian leader calling in general, whether Maltese or not, requires every believer leader to carry his or her cross. • The leader is to be an example of taking up the cross if he or she is to lead others to accomplish their own vision. • The leader has to practice self denial for the sake of reaching the goals the Lord set for him or her. The term, “to serve” or “to minister,” requires self denial, as explained in Table 1 above.

25. The Lord demands the whole person and all what was trusted to him or her to fulfill His plan. • The leader who received a vision must expect divine testing. • Testing does not mean the leader is not faithful; on the contrary, the Lord tests the faithful like He tested Abraham, Joseph, Paul and Jesus Himself during their earthly life. • Testing means greater trust and responsibilities are on the way.

26. Three Dimensions of a Vision • When the Lord gives a vision to any of His servant leaders, the leaders will receive a three dimensional vision.

27. This is the reason why the leader, who received the vision, must require specific divine insight which does not match the vision of those who are not “sighted;” as they have not received the vision. • Shawchuck and Heuser describe the three dimensional vision as

28. Maltese leadership would do well to understand the importance of having a God given calling as the foundation for a Divine vision. • An understanding of this concept may help the church to understand, although every Christian is called to serve, not all Christians are called to be leaders. • The three dimensions of a vision should give understanding to the National Church concerning vision and leadership.

32. End of Session Three