KNU International English Church
May 2, 2010
Josh Broward
Today, we are continuing our series on Community Basics. We come to a basic issue: Leadership. (You’ll have to wait till the end to understand this title. That should keep you interested!)
Leadership is a must in any organization, but we often get confused about what leadership really is. Leadership is influence. Leadership is affecting change. Leaders are not always at the front or at the “top.” Influence and change can come from anywhere in the organization, family, or system. Leadership is not constant. It shifts and moves. Sometimes one person exercises more leadership. Sometimes another person steps forward with a special gift or moment of leadership. Leadership happens in different measures all at the same time. Everyone shares some influence in every environment.
In some ways, we’re all leaders. In fact, there are some basic forms of leadership to which we are all called.
1. EXAMPLE: This is the most fundamental truth of leadership. We are all leaders through our example. People will follow what we do far more than what we say. Paul talks about example again and again and again (e.g. 1 Corinthians 11:1).
If you come late to the worship service, you are leading by example. That example sends a message to others: “This isn’t very important to me. Nothing exciting is really happening here. You should be like me and come late too.”
If you come early to the worship service, you are leading by example. That example sends a very different message: “This is really important to me. I’m excited about what’s going on here. I expect this to be one of the best parts of my week.” If you want to be a leader here, I want to give you a challenge - 10:15. Be here at 10:15. Come early and pray and greet people. That will cause a huge positive influence in our community.
2. ENCOURAGEMENT: To encourage means to give courage to someone. When we encourage others, we are building them up, making them stronger, more hopeful, more able to fulfill their dreams and callings. This is a powerful form of influence. As the book of Hebrews says, “Spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).
The first church gave one leader the nickname of Barnabas or “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36). He made those around him better and stronger. He helped people in his community become their best, connect with their dreams, and stretch out to fulfill their potential.
LeBron Fairbanks says that the real test of leadership is in the growth of those around us. Are we helping those around us become better and stronger and more able to do whatever they are called to do? If so, then we are effective Christian leaders.
Maybe you don’t have special gifts to be an official leader. You can still lead by encouraging. Encourage our leaders. Tell them that you appreciate what they do. Help them with their projects. Pray for them. Build them up. Give strength to them, and you will be participating in the leadership process.
3. INVITATION: Simply inviting someone else to participate is a form of leadership. Invitations are powerful forces for change.
When Philip met Jesus, the first thing he did was go find Nathanael to tell him about Jesus. Nathanael had doubts, so Philip said, “Come and see for yourself!” (John 1:45-46).
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, she had been married and divorced 5 times, and she was living with man #6. In a highly religious society, she was the most unlikely of leaders, yet when she said, “‘Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did’ ... the people came people came streaming from the village to see him” (John 4:29-30).
You can be a leader just by inviting your friends to church or to a party or to join you in a ministry. Invitations are a force for change and a quiet form of leadership.
4. MENTORING: This may surprise you, but everyone is called to be a mentor. Everyone is called to disciple others in the way of Jesus. This is an act of leadership that belongs to all of us. Parents naturally coach their children in the ways of life. Teachers are mentors not only in their content area but also in their attitudes and perspectives on life. We all have a responsibility to be teachers and learners. We all need mentors, and we all need to be mentoring someone else.
Right now, I have two mentors. I email Ron Benefiel, the president of Nazarene Theological Seminary, once or twice a month to talk about ministry issues, and I just started meeting Father Kelvin, an Australian priest who lives in Seoul, for spiritual direction. He’s helping me work through my spiritual life as a pastor.
Who is mentoring you? A fundamental act of leadership is learning. Who is coaching you as a Christian and as a leader? I encourage you to make sure you have a clear mentoring relationship. I will be starting a discipleship and mentoring group this summer. It will be an intense small group, focused on growing together in the heart and practices of Christian leadership. If you’re interested, please talk to me.
Who are you mentoring? This isn’t something that we can put off or deny. Paul tells the older women to look after the younger women, to teach them about life and God. Paul tells the older men to care for the younger men, to guide them in the process of becoming faithful men. (Titus 2; see also 1 Peter 5.)
If you have a position of leadership in our church, who are you training to do your job? Who will do what you are doing next year? Make sure you are mentoring someone to carry on your role. This is important in any church, but in our church with so many people coming and going, this is extremely important!
Jesus was the classic mentor. He did somethings in large groups, but he invested deeply in 12 people. He poured his heart into 3 people (Peter, James, and John). When Jesus died, he had a few hundred followers. That’s not bad for a church, but that’s not exactly earth shaking. However, Jesus had invested so deeply in these key leaders: the 12 and the 3, that they were able to go out and live like him. They were able to lead like him, to serve like him, to love like him, to pray like him, to heal like him. Jesus changed the world by mentoring a few key leaders who could take over when he was gone.
Be like Jesus. Do the same thing. Mentor a few people. Spend time with one of our kids or youth. Coach them in the ways of life and faith and our church. This will change the world.
So far, everything we’ve talked about is for all of us. We can all do these things. We can set an example for others to follow. We can encourage others. We can invite others to join in. We can mentor someone in the ways of life and faith. By engaging in these four basic practices, we can all be leaders on a basic level.
However, some of us have special gifts and skills for leadership. Throughout the Bible, some people are specially equipped to be leaders in unique ways. Some are positional leaders like kings or priests or governors or elders. Others are leaders for a moment or a season like prophets or warriors or advisers. To really understand leadership, we have to understand these special leaders as well.
In our world, the spiritual and the natural often merge. This is especially true in leadership. Leadership involves certain skills and habits, but leadership also involves what Christians call “spiritual gifts.” For now, I’ll call these gifts, but with these gifts come skills that can be developed.
Leadership takes special shape through 6 key gifts. You might have some of these gifts for most of your life, or you might step into one for a moment or a season.
1. SEEING: Some people can see things others can’t see. Sometimes this is getting a vision for what we can do as a church or as an organization. Sometimes, it is seeing a connection between two people or two ideas that don’t seem to go together.
When the church was debating what to do about the Gentiles who had become Christians, James stood up and made a connection between the Old Testament prophet Amos and the current situation (Acts 15:16-17). This is the gift of seeing.
2. SPEAKING: Some people can say things others can’t say. Some people have the ability to say things in a way that moves us to tears or to action or both. Sometimes, the gift of speaking is a carefully timed question. Other times, the gift of speaking is in speaking the truth that everyone knows but no one is willing to say.
After David killed Bathsheba’s husband and took her as his wife, no one would tell the king the truth. But Nathan walked into the palace and spoke the truth to David through a parable so that David could really hear it (2 Samuel 12). This is the gift of speaking.
3. ART: Yes, you heard me. Art is a form of leadership. Let me ask you a question, and if you have the sermon paper, don’t answer! ;) Who was the first person in the Bible who was said to be filled with the Holy Spirit? It wasn’t Moses or Abraham or Adam. It was Bezalel. Who?!? Bezalel. Come on, don’t you know Bezalel?! He should be famous, right? He’s the first person - as far as we know - who was filled with the Spirit of God. So what did he do? Was he a prophet or a priest? A king or a warrior? Maybe a judge? No, none of those. He was an artist.
Seriously. God was giving Moses all of these detailed instructions for how to build God’s first house of worship, and he said, “See, I have chosen Bezalel ... and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship” (Exodus 31:1-5).
Art and beauty are very important to God. God is the first artist. Beauty draws us closer to the heart of God. Art is influential. Good art is a form of leadership.
If you are an artist, you have a unique gift to create beauty or to display beauty. As God’s people, we need you to help us connect with your beautiful God. Using your artistic creativity is a key act of leadership, for art opens our hearts to God’s Spirit - the Author of beauty. If you want to do art here in this church, please talk to me. We are desperately in need of more artistic leadership.
4. ORGANIZATION: Sometimes this is called the gift of administration. Some people look at a big mess of things or ideas or people or tasks and feel overwhelmed. Other people start organizing. OK, this goes with this, and if we do this first, then later that will be much easier. (These are the people with the carefully arranged sock drawers!)
Moses was a great leader. He had courage and hutzpah and the ability to unite people around a common mission, but - bless his heart - he was a terrible organizer. He tried to do all the leading all by himself. People came to him from morning till night with every little problem or dispute, and they were wearing him out.
But Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, had the gift of organization. He said, “Moses, what are you doing? You’ve gotta get organized. Teach some people how to lead and how to settle disputes. Then, appoint them over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. Then, everyone will be happier.” (See Exodus 18:13-26.)
People with the gift of organization are great at event planning and system organization. We NEED organizers. If you have a well organized sock drawer or other skills at organization, we need you! We need you to step up to the plate and help us plan things and get our systems straightened out.
5. TEAM-BUILDING: Some people don’t seem to have any special skills. They aren’t excellent communicators. They don’t see way into the future. They aren’t especially organized. And yet, they are still great leaders. Why? Because they are able to gather a team of people who have all of those skills.
Maybe you think you don’t have what it takes to lead. That’s OK! You don’t have to “have what it takes.” You just have to find people who do. It’s like cooking. Nobody is the flour and the cinnamon and the sugar and nuts and the chocolate chips. We all have different gifts, and for some people, their special gift is just getting the right people together to bake the cookies.
The apostle Paul had many leadership gifts, but he may also have been a team-builder. Throughout the New Testament Paul is always with someone. Paul is never alone, just doing things by himself. In Romans 16, Paul mentions 34 different people who have worked with him or along side him. Paul seemed to know a basic truth about leadership: Teams are stronger than individuals. Don’t do it alone if you can do it together.
6. CARING: Have you ever been around someone who is an outstanding listener? They make you feel like you’re the only person in the room. They really enjoy just listening to you talk about your feelings, your plans, or your problems. These people probably have the gift of caring. Listening is a deep act of leadership. It may not seem like it, but it’s true. Listening to others and caring about their well-being strengthens them. It helps them to understand what they are thinking and feeling. It proves to them that they are not alone. Someone cares. Someone is with them.
This is what the Bible calls “compassion.” This word “compassion” means literally, “together-suffer.” You don’t have to have all the answers. You don’t have to solve someone’s problems. Sometimes, your gift of leadership is simply to suffer-with, to listen to the problems and to share the burden emotionally and spiritually.
I want to wrap this up with one Bible passage and one story. First the Bible passage. Paul tells us a lot about leadership and community in Romans 12.
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. (Romans 12:3-11)
And here’s the story. Patricia loaned me a children’s book with a traditional Korean story translated into English. It’s called - I’m not kidding! - The Thunder-Farting Daughter-in-Law.
The story begins with EunMi, living together with her husband JunSeok and her father in law MinTaek. The father-in-law notices that EunMi doesn’t seem comfortable around him. She always has a sour look on her face, and she moves awkwardly. So he complains to his son, “Why is EunMi always so grumpy and grim?”
JunSeok laughs and says, “Oh, don’t worry about EunMi. She just has these incredible, horrible farts, so she’s holding it in around you.”
So the old man goes to EunMi and tells her to relax and let her true self out. She tells the old man to brace himself, and she lets out a fart that rocks the house. The old man is shocked, and he says, “Dang girl! You sure can fart! You’ve got something special there.”
Well, things seem to go on as usual for a while, with the addition of the occasional roof shaking fart. Then, a group of merchants travels through their area. EunMi meets them under a persimmon tree. The merchants are looking longingly at the lush persimmons, but they are all out of reach. EunMi offers to get them down for the merchants, and everyone laughs. So EunMi says, “Will you give me all of the silk on that donkey if I can get you all of the persimmons?” The lead merchant takes her bet. He thinks there is no way possible that this mild little lady can scale the tree and get all of the persimmons.
--- And here comes the best part of the story! --- Next, EunMi turns away from the merchants and points her rumpus up in the air at the persimmon tree and lets out a gigantic thunder-fart. The wind and sound from her nuclear fart shake the tree so hard that every last persimmon falls to the ground, and EunMi walks away with the donkey load of silk.
Back at home the husband and father-in-law are overjoyed, for they are now very wealthy. They slap each other on the back and say, “Boy aren’t we lucky to have a thunder-farting woman in our house! We’re sure glad she isn’t holding it in anymore!”
OK, now here’s the application. Are you listening? God has given each of us a gift. It may be organizing or art or speaking or listening or helping others or thunder-farting. (Half of the men are thinking: “Yes! I’ve found my spiritual gift!”) But here’s the deal. Like the thunder farting daughter-in-law, if you hold it in, you’ll be uncomfortable. You’ll always feel like something’s missing, and your community will be missing out on your unique contributions.
Here is the main point about leadership. Use what God has given you. Accept your role as an influencer in our community. Others WILL follow your example, whether you realize it or not. You can encourage others and give strength to them. You can invite others to participate. You can mentor someone younger or newer. Step up and be a leader. Use the gifts God has given you, no matter what they are. And this ... this will change our world.
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