“Everything rises and falls on leadership.” – John Maxwell.
Those of us who were at “The Ship” when Pastor Reid was at the helm, heard that quote many times. He made it a point of developing “ministry leaders.” Many of you will remember our regular leadership training sessions that consisted of John Maxwell’s bible based leadership principles. As you probably know, John Maxwell has become one of the nation’s best known authorities on Christian based leadership principles.
After the Lord called Pastor Reid home, all of those Saturday morning leadership training courses paid off. I personally commend all of the leaders who have served in various capacities since 2012. The principles we learned proved to be priceless as we awaited the arrival of Pastor Morgan. I also commend Pastor Morgan for walking in the confidence he has in his calling. Although God has called him to shepherd The Ship, his leadership style empowers qualified leaders to lead and function in their gift.
The greatest leaders mentioned in the Bible (Moses and Jesus) also had a team of leaders supporting their God given mission.
Exodus 18:13-24 Jethro, Moses father-in-law, gave him wise advice. “Thou will surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.” Exodus 18:18 KJV.
And perhaps the greatest example of appointing leaders to assist in carrying the Gospel message forward is given by Jesus. “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sickness, and to cast out devils.” Mark 3:14-15 KJV.
As Pastor Rick Warren states, “God didn’t put those examples in the Bible for our entertainment.” Therefore, what are they there for? Those examples teach us that the work we are called to do is organized and too massive to be performed by one person. Consider The Great Commission:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:18-20 NIV.
Just pull out a few of the verbs in the Great Commission – go, make, baptizing, teaching – and consider how difficult it would be for one individual to solely carry it out.
All that we do must be for the fulfillment of that command. The work is too great for one and the masses must be led lest the work becomes chaos. The role of the Christian leader is not always easy, but it is possible through Christ.
I encourage you to visit our web site (www.fbbchome.org) and review the various ministries. And if you have not already, I encourage you to join an existing ministry. By the way, procedures also exist for establishing new ministries.
This month we usher in the term of new anointed leaders in most ministries. The faces and procedures may be different, but the commission remains the same. God has an order about things. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Morning comes only soon to be followed by evening. The seasons change and usher us into another phase of this great dance God has choreographed. Working within the scenes of what God has created and executing His Devine plan are the leaders. The faces may change and in many cases the methods used to bring about the goal are “outside the lines.” But the goal is the same. Make disciples!
Let’s commend those stepping down and encourage those stepping up.
“Everything rises and falls on leadership.” – John Maxwell.
Written by Henry Hopson, Jr.