GROUND OF TRUTH BIBLE INSTITUTE
NO 1, ABODERIN STREET AGBAJE ORITA CHALLENGE IBADAN OYO
STATE NIGERIA
08056008526
HANDOUT
PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP 
ADVANCED CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP (100 LEVEL)
PRINCIPLES
OF CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP
ANCHOR MAN
Each
time God wants to do anything, He will look for a man, on whom the work can be
anchored. Until God sees such a man bears burden for the work, He will be
grossly handicapped to do anything [Ezek. 22:30 ]. This anchor man becomes the leader of the work. He
serves as the custodian of the vision, who is saddled with the responsibility
of getting the work done.
In
spiritual matters; a leader is therefore the one on whom God anchors His work
with the trust that nothing else shall be done by him, except the work given to
such a person by God [Jn. 9:4; 4:34 ].
For Jesus, as an anchorman and a spiritual leader, there was nothing He carried
as a responsibility apart from the work that God sent Him [Jesus] and even to
see to it that the work was finished
However,
this anchorman is expected to carry out some duties or responsibilities. Those
things he has to do and the necessary tools needed to do it, are all what leadership
entails. But leadership seems to have different meaning to different people;
therefore, Jesus gave us a very clear picture of what it is, to be a spiritual
leader.
And there was also a strife among them
which of them
should
be accounted the greatest: and he said unto them,
the
kings of the gentiles exercise lordship over them; and
they that exercise authority upon them are
called benefactors.
But ye shall not be so but he that is the greatest among you, let
him be as the younger; and he that is chief as he that doth serve Luke 22:
24-26[KJV]
“Within minutes they were bothering over
who of them would end up being the greatest. But Jesus intervened. Kings like
to throw their weight around and people in authority like to give themselves
fancy titles. It‘s not going to be that way with you. Let the senior
among you become like the junior, let the leader act the
part
of the servant” [The Message] Lk. 22:24 -26
leadership,
from the presentation of Jesus, has nothing to do with the exercise of lordship
authority, throwing weight, wearing of fancy titles etc. leadership, simply put
, is rendering service; even unto those considered to be younger or subjects.
Jesus
identified these two kinds of leadership.
a)
Gentile
or Natural Leadership
b)
Christian
or Spiritual Leadership
As
far as Jesus is concerned, spiritual Leadership appears to be the direct
opposite of what is obtained in the world, among the gentiles or unbelievers.
HOW TO DISCOVER
LEADER IN A GROUP:
There
are three different types of people emerge in any given group. They are as
follows:
- The Actors.
- The Observers
The
Pessimists
5% The Actors
 |
25% The Observers
 |
70% The Pessimists
The
Actors: These groups of people are those who believe that it can happen and
they will make it happen. These are the actors in any given organization. They
are just five percent of total number and from these the leader emerges (Num.
13: 30)
The
Observers: This group of people believe that it may happen and it may not, whichever
way, they will want to go and see it.
The
Pessimists: These people believe that nothing can happen. They are usually the
largest in any congregation.
 |
NATURAL
LEADER SPIRITUAL LEADER
- Enthroned by men Is
a gift from God
- Fight to remain in position See
any office as an opportunity to labour
- Do cover their mistake Do expose his mistake and ask for forgiveness
- Needed a diplomacy Just need the Holy Spirit
- Says; Do what I say Says; follow my example as I follow Jesus
- Focus on money Focus on soul to win
- Do exercise authority Do
lead by example
- Love men’s applause Have
a quiet and silent labour
Love title and appellation Wait for God’s ordination and
introduction- Does what pleases men Do ask for God’s will and do
accordingly
A
spiritual leader should not be recognized by the authority he/she exercises or
commands or derived from the position, unlike how it is done among unbelievers.
He
should not be known either, by the possession of influence and titles attached
to the position. But he is rather known by his taking of the position of an
active servant. He is never independent; he simply acts, exclusively, on behalf
of God
REASONS
FOR A SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
GOD WILL BE ILL
EQUIPPED WITHOUT ONE. Exd.
3:7-10
“And the LORD said, I have surely seen the
affliction of my people, which are in Egypt
for I know their sorrows; and I am come
to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians…come now
therefore, and I send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my
people the children of Israel Egypt
Even
though God said He had come down to deliver His people, yet He sought for man
to send. The coming down of God would have been a useless or ineffective thing,
if there was nobody to be sent.
It
means that, a spiritual leader is the principal equipping, which God needs
anywhere, for Him to do His work. Moses became a very crucial man to God, if
what God had in mind will come to pass. No matter the greatness of the vision
of a church, no matter what God had said concerning a church, nation or even a
family, without this principal instrument, God will be handicapped., until God
sees an anchorman, whatever He may be planning to do will be on suspension
GOD
NEEDS A MASK FOR HIMSELF. GEN. 1:26; 2; 7
Right
from the time of creation, God saw the need to retain the light on earth, so
that the darkness that engulfed the earth in Gen. 1:2 will not have another
chance of deforming the earth and make it empty. So God decided to have His own
image on earth. And this image of His put He inside the house of clay [dust].
What is seen outside is the clay [the house made for God] but within is God.
Since
that time, God has never come in His official appearance as God to carry out
any assignment here in earth. Everything He wants to do, He executes through
man. He gives over the earth to the children of men, while the heavens remain
His palace [Ps. 115:16]
GOD
NEEDS A SEPARATE INSTRUMENT. IS. 6:8; JER. 1: 5:7
The
issue God was dealing with, in the days of Isaiah is just whom to send, but who
will go FOR US”
Several
leaders, who had been sent in the past, went for themselves. They pretended to
be interested in what God wanted to do but as soon as they are commissioned,
they started doing their own thing. Many politicians, who campaigned with lots
of electoral promises, forgot the people who voted for them, the moment they
were sworn-in.
But
a spiritual leader is needed to act exclusively on behalf of God. God told
Jeremiah.
Before I formed thee in the belly I know
thee; and before thou comest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and
ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
But the LORD said unto me, say not I am a
child for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command
thee thou shalt speak. Jer. 1:2-7KJV
The
word “sanctified” means separated. God always desire that His servant will be
exclusively His. It is not difficult to see whom those calling themselves
‘servant of God’ are serving today. Several of those calling themselves
servants of God are truly serving something else.
This
is why God should have servant[s] who will go only to those places where He [God]
shall send him, do only what God wants him to do and say what God asked him to
say. Until God sees such a man, He will not find an anchorman or a spiritual
leader on whom to anchor His work. Men who served God faithfully in those days
reflected these qualities.
PREPARATION OF A
SPIRITUAL LEADER LK 1:80; 2:40; 52
Leaders
are to born but made. Moses received the greatest shock of his life, when a
fellow Israelite asked him about who made him a judge over them [Exd. 2:13 , 14; Acts 7:25 ]
There
is no spiritual leader, who can become one, without being processed. Each man
who did exploit in the bible was prepared, processed and formed. God is not
such that does not have standards. There are specific things that must be
package into a spiritual leader before he can be considered qualified for the
assignment.
John
the Baptist was example of a spiritual leader who was processed before he was
given the staff of office, despite some prophesies on ground about him before
he was born.
‘And the child grew, and waxed strong in
spirit and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel
HIS
BIRTH
The
first matter was the issue of the birth of a spiritual leader. Though God knew
Jeremiah before he was formed in the belly of his mother, though, he was
sanctified and ordained a prophet to the nations before he came out of the
womb, yet all these will never be useful until he finally came out of the womb.
Everything a man become or will become must first wait for the man to be born.
The
physical birth is crucial, yet the spiritual birth is a more crucial matter in
spiritual leadership. Nobody should be considered for spiritual leadership,
when his/her salvation is questionable.
PHYSICAL
AND MENTAL GROWTH
And
the child grew … no matter what God has spoken about a life, if physical growth
is not seen, then such prophesies can wait. If a baby refuses to grow to
maturity, not able to walk, see and speak, how can he become anything? A
spiritual leader is not made exclusively of a spiritual composition. Moses was
learned in all the wisdom of Egyptians [Acts 7:20 -22]
Jesus
also grew up physically. The Bible talked about when he was twelve years old.
“All those who heard him were astonished at
his
powers of comprehension and at the answers
that
he gave. Lk 2:47 [Phillips]
This
power of comprehension is a reflection of growth. A leader cannot be a person
who cannot comprehend issues correctly.
Physical
and mental growth are very principal, in the preparation of a spiritual leader.
A leader must have clear thoughts. He must be able to reason logically. He must
not be a novice [I Tim. 3:6]. Stupidity is not gift of the spirit. A spiritual
leader should have mental alertness.
SPIRITUAL
GROWTH
“And the child grew. And waxed strong in
spirit. Lk. 1:80 KJV
The
conjunction and shoes that the physical/mental growth, should go along with
spiritual growth. The problem of Moses was that he had a physical and mental
growth, but without the spiritual one. And for this necessary growth, he had to
spend an additional forty years with the priest of Midian before he could
handle leadership.
It
is an unfortunate development in the contemporary church that mental or
educational qualification is the major consideration in appointing people as leaders.
However, for anyone to be a correct leader, spiritual growth must be part of
his/her preparations.
WILDERNESS
EXPERIENCE LK. 1:80; 4:1-4; DEUT. 8:2-3
Wilderness
is a place where the content of the heart is checked. It is a place where a
leader in preparation is expose to hunger, to prove what is in his heart.
Wilderness is a place to test the obedience of a person who will be a leader.
Even Jesus was led to the wilderness to be tempted.
John
the Baptist was in the wilderness UNTIL.
The word until means he was not there forever. John the Baptist was born
of a priest, so ordinarily, he should be trained as a priest in the temple but
that will not be a correct training for the kind of work, he must carry out for
God
A
leader who has not passed through the wilderness is such that cannot be
trusted. Such is a leader will compromise in the face of hunger. Such is a
leader who will be excited at the presence of worldly things. Such is a leader
whose emphasis will be on things of this world. A leader that has not passed
through the wilderness will not hold on to the word of God, in the face of
hunger.
SHOWING
FOR THE PUBLIC ASSESSMENT. LK. 1:80; ISAIAH 42:1
“Till the day of his showing unto Israel
There
is always a time for God to display the servant whom He is preparing. So that
the people may assess him. The Lord says in Is.42:1
“Behold my servant…”
Every
servant of God that will become a man to be heard, must be such, that the
people can behold. This “behold” is to look, check, touch, handle and rough
handle. And all of these is to know the stuff he/she is made of
WHO LEADERS ARE
1. The Leader keeps the vision and the goal: A leader must be goal
oriented he shuns distractions that is, anything that may prevent him from
realizing his goals. A leader keeps his eyes on the goal and carries others
along until the goal is achieved.
2.
A Leader serves as a catalyst: A catalyst is
an activator. There is high tendency
for any group to be distracted or settle down to mundane things of life. At
such a time, leaders are needed to refocus the group on the goal. A leader
activates the lost\dead vision of the group.
3.
To Set Example for Living: A leader set example for
others to follow. A leader should be a standard model for the group he leads. A
leader should lead by example.
4.
To set the pace: A leader is a pacesetter. There is always a
limited time between the people and the goal. If the pace is not set, the goal
may not be reached within the available frame of time.
5.
To Maintain Order by
Giving Responsibilities and Discipline the Group: Every group has the
tendency to be disorderly, like having conflict with each other. The leader has
to reorganize them. Friction in a relationship is distraction. Friction cannot
be totally eliminated, but it can be minimize. Jesus settled every friction
with teaching. A leader never entertains petty things, he deal with real
issues.
6.
The Think Tank: A leader should be in
position to think very well. He must have capacity to think. Goals are
essentially motivated by the need of the people, and the need of the people cannot
be change. The leader therefore, must study the people and think about their
need before setting his goal. People are much particular about their need.
QUALITIES OF A SPIRITUAL LEADER IS. 42:1-4
Behold-able. I Sam 12:1-3
For
any servant or spiritual leader to be such that can lead God’s people, to the
desire destination, he must be a man that is “beholdable”. This means he must
be a man that is holdable, a man who is real, who is not abstract. He must not
be a slippery man; he must be a man that can hold responsible for all his
actions.
A
spiritual leader must be accessible to those he is leading. He must be a man
that can stand as an example. He is touchable. You can touch him and he can be
touched by the infirmities of others seeing he also is a man [Heb. 5:1-2]
So
many leaders are not real. The messages they preach are not real in their
lives. Samuel said
“I have walked before you from my childhood
unto this day. Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and
before his anointed; whose ox I have taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Or whom
have I oppressed? Or of whose hand have I received any bribe to build my eyes
therewith? And I will restore it you [KJV]
Samuel
did not walk behind the people of Israel Israel
A
correct leader must be such, who is transparent; he is a man that is not
walking in the dark. A man who is visible to the people. A man that is nor
hidden and whose life is not hidden from the people.
MY SERVANT.
JER. 1:5-7; Jn. 4:34; 9:4
A
spiritual leader is such that is serving God. He has no other agenda apart from
what God has instructed him to do. He does nothing, except the will of God. He
does not his own will, except the will of God. A spiritual leader draws his
nourishment from doing the will of God.
Jesus
remains the perfect example of a spiritual leader. For Him to work is a must
and the work must be the work of Him [the Father] that sent Him [Jesus] . Jesus
did not have any personal work
WHOM GOD
UPHOLD JOHN. 5:19-20
A
correct spiritual leader should be the one, who is not standing on his/her own,
except on God that is God is the only fact in his life. Remove God, and he/she
remains nothing. He does nothing by his abilities. He is not independent.
A
spiritual leader should not be standing upon the basis of his knowledge,
wisdom, and experience and such like things. A correct leader has nothing to
refer to, for his outstanding feat apart from God.
A
man who known that nothing is holding him up apart from God, will never be
proud. “Whom I uphold”. Remove the ‘I’ and there will be nothing to hold him up
high. Without God, a correct spiritual leader will be down.
GOD’S
ELECT GAL. 1:15; LK. 1:26-35
A
spiritual leader must be able to know that God just choose him by grace. Divine
service has to do with Divine Approval, which only comes out of Divine Mercy.
This is not won by any human effort or intellect.
Genuine
spiritual leader depends solely on the mercy of God, which is the
determinant of the result of every input he makes into any life.
Mary
was highly favoured of God. She was not the only virgin in Israel
GOD’S
DELIGHT .LK. 3:22; JN. 5:20
A
spiritual leader must be the delight of God. He must have a life, [not a mere
message] pleasing to God. If God is not pleased with the life of a leader, how
will He reveal necessary secrets unto him?
This
means that, a correct spiritual leader must do things that are pleasing to God.
God must have reason to rejoice over his/her life. What a correct spiritual
leader will strive to have is a life that God is pleased with. The relationship
between him and God is of a paramount importance to him. He ensures that
nothing tampers with his relationship with God such that God can reveal many things
to him/her
HAVING GOD’S
SPIRIT IS. 11:1-2
Though
there is a lot to learn about the Holy Spirit, but basically, the giving of the
spirit of God in this regard is not to make the servant speaks in tongues but
to introduce God’s very nature into the servant.
When
Elisha got what he requested for, from Elijah, despite the fact that nobody
knew about his request, yet the sons of the prophet, who stood on the other
side of Jordan, when Elisha made his request said: The spirit of Elijah doth
rest on Elisha.
What
provoked this statement was because Elisha did what Elijah has done. It means
therefore that, when God’s spirit is upon a life, then God’s nature/character
must be found in such.
It
implies that s spiritual leader is the person, who has the very nature of God
in him. He cares for what God cares for and abhors what God abhors.
NEVER
SHOUTING
A
spiritual leader does not draw attention to himself or to what he’s doing
He won’t call attention to what does with
loud speeches or gaudy parades.
Is. 42:2[The Message]
Jesus
did not advertise his work or Himself. He warned several people not to tell
anybody of His mighty acts. He was the opposite of what is prevailing in our
days, when men of God spend fortunes on publicity.
HE DOES NOT
GIVE UP. IS. 42:3
“A bruised reed shall he not break, and the
smoking flax shall he not quench…” KJV
A
spiritual leader is longsuffering. He can endure long. He does not get easily
discouraged over a life. Jesus didn’t give up on Peter and Thomas. Barnabas did
not give up on Mark, until he becomes a man profitable to Paul in the ministry.
THINGS
THAT CAN DESTROY LEADERSHIP- SPIRITUAL
INSESITIVITY: Spiritual
insensitivity occurs when a leader is no more having his spiritual antenna
out. Such leader is said to be cut from the presence of God. At such
times, he will not be able to receive messages or instructions from God
who appointed him as a leader.
- PRIDE: Pride goes before a fall. When a
leader is full of himself, and he feel indispensable; then, his kingdom
will fall. When a man put himself in the position of God, he will soon
collapse in his leadership.
- PERSONAL CONFLICT: This usually comes out of jealousy,
when a leader fell threatened by the growth or development of a member of
the group. A leader who is entangled in all these kinds of fights or
trivial issues cannot make it.
- LOSS OF SPIRITUAL VITALITY: Praying, studying the word of God and
fasting are pillars on which life of spiritual leaders are based. If a
leader therefore looses grip on
these spiritual disciplines, he will began to have problem in the
discharge of his responsibilities. (Acts.6:1-4). When spiritual vitality
are lost, a leader should face the reality of it and nor cover up with
programmes. Go back to God for revival!
BEHAVIOURAL STUDIES
Behavioural studies is all about
understanding human behaviours. It is the ability to understands oneself, to
start with and fellow human beings. Before one can know his/her own behaviour,
a peep must be conducted into the physical background of the person concerned.
Many leaders find it difficult to relate
with some members of the group they lead. There are always reason(s) people
have the way they do, and the reason(s) are closely linked to the following six
major human backgrounds.
1. FAMILY
BACKGROUND: The family
background of a person usually goes a long way to determine how he/she behaves
in the public. (Est.3:2, Num.24:7, Est.6:13). The family background of Mordecai
determined his behaviour.
To Hamman, Mordecai was proud,
but to Mordecai, he was simply practicing what he had been taught. (Jer.35:1-10).
The Rachabites do not drink wine nor build house, that was their family’s
creed, and even God understood them. (Gen.46:31-34, 47:3).
2.
SOCIAL OR
ENVIRONMENT BACKGROUND:
Social/Environmental background can affect the behaviours of a man. A boy who grew
up in G.R.A will be never behave as one who grew up in a local area. Moses grew
in the palace and so the instinct to lead and judge came on him naturally
(Exd.2:11-14).
3. EDUCATIONAL/PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: Education is information, or knowledge
acquired through gathering of relevant information. Reading through the gospel
according to Saint Luke, it will easily be confirm that the man was a
physician. He gave miracles of healing prominence more than other miracles.
4. CULTURAL BACKGROUND: The culture of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego did not permit them to bow to any idol; and they were not ready to
bend the rule even in the face of death. An Ibo man does not prostrate; so a
Yoruba leader may find an Ibo man “arrogant” by not prostrating when greeting.
5. RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND: Religious is a thing of the mind and it is
a very serious issue in the lives of human beings. (Gen. 46: 33-34) By
religion, Egyptian do not kill cattle, they considered shepherding as an
abomination. Therefore, the religious background of Egypt made it impossible
for Israel to dwell in main city of Egypt.
6. TEMPERAMENT BACKGROUND: Among all these six points, only
temperament is different. The earlier ones are by association, but temperament
is innate, in-born, divine imprint on our nature. This cannot be learnt from
anywhere and in a way, temperament has control over our behaviour.
HUMAN TEMPRAMENTS
1.
Cheerful: This is a person that is easy to go along
with. He is very friend, he takes decisions quickly, many times without thinking
about it. He does not have in-depth thinking. He is free, open and relates very
easily with people.
2.
Thinker: The thinker does not take decisions
quickly. He is an addicted think tank. He thinks over an issue for long time
before taking his decision. He is very meticulous, he is reserved and an
introvert to the core. He is not the type who jokes here and there. When he
makes a mistakes, he will be sad for days, because he takes enough precaution
before taking his decision. Because he takes too much time in thinking so he
loses too many opportunities.
3.
Commander: The commander combines the characteristics
of the cheerful with his.
In the sense that he moves very fast,
relates with people, very open, but he does not take nonsense from anybody. He
is business minded. He is a driver, he drives people. He does not get tired
easily.
4.
Perfectionist: The perfectionist is a very meticulous
person. He is a good accountant. He keeps tradition. He does not believe in
mistakes. He is very strict. He does his thing according to the laid down
principles. He is not always ready to change his old methods.
As a leader, one needs to realize that, all
the above points help in moulding our thinking pattern which consequently helps
in determining our behaviours. As a leader, one needs to study his/her
behaviours especially his temperaments and deliberately make attempts to
control his weaknesses with the fruit of the spirit
Stated in Gal:5: 22-23.
THE WORK OF A
SPIRITUAL LEADER
JN. 10: 1-5
The
sheep in this scripture are human beings- believers; and they belong to Jesus.
Sheep does not have any wisdom of its own like goats and this is why someone is
needed to guide
them.
In the same vein, believers are to be sheep, which count on leadership to guide
them. And this means every group of believer should have a shepherd.
The
spiritual leader, like the shepherd, who takes good care of the flock and raise
prayers for them when necessary. He watches over the people. He feeds them; he
does not feed on them. {Jn. 21:15]
May God find
you a worthy leader!
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