Church Leadership in the body of Christ - My views

The only lasting property Jesus has on this universe is the church. That's why Christ ave His life to redeem the church. Titus 2:14 - who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own. But you and I know know that the most imperfect people are in the church. Hence the governance of the church cannot be based on secular principles.

The church is then only organization where reverse accountability works. In the secular world, the CEO in no way is accountable to the management. The management is accountable to the CEO but not the other way round. But in the church this is possible and must be the modus oprandi. This is becasue the church operates on principles based on the Word. The moment those at the top say they are not accountable to anyone, we have started our journey down the slippery trail of animosity. How can this machinery work without ruffling one another.

Humility.   This is the key to any seamless operation.  Until and unless we are willing to humble ourselves, we will never learn the art of accountability to our subordinates.
  • Eph 5:21 -  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
  • Eph 4:21 -  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
  • Phi 2:3 -  [Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Unity.   Paul encourages unity of mind and thought.1 Cor 1:10 - I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. In Eph 4:3, Paul says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace". How can we have unity:
  • Sound relationship.    The closer our relation ship, the easier to submit to each other. That's why the writer in Heb 10:25 says, "and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near." The better we know each other , the better we relate to making sound decisions. That's why regular meetings and fellowships are so important.
  • Praying together.   When saints come together to pray, barriers are broken, fetters are shattered and relationships are made stronger. Matt 18:18-19 - Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. Praying together in unity produces unexpected results.
Conformity.     Obeying the Word of God to the very letter. The church leadership should not deviate from the Word of God. Any slight compromise spells disaster. When Saul decided to spare Agag and the good cattle, it all looked like a valid reason but NO. It was wrong. It went against God's command. In today's context where there are so many controversial issues, the church leadership needs spiritual courage, discernment and audacity to do what God's Word says. Anything short is a failure of the office.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devotion - Psalms 44: 6-7 - Its God who gives the victory

Image
Psalms 44:6-7 - I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. Any soldier will know that the basic weapon of warfare, in those days, were the bow and sword. Without which no soldier will not venture into the battle field. Even the famed Goliath was geared in full battle order when he faced David with the stones and the sling. Isn't it a paradox then that David, one of the finest soldiers Israel had ever produced, proclaims that its not the bow and the sword that gives the victory. Its is the Lord, Jehovah, that gives the victory. I don't think David is trying to say that we should not prepare ourselves for warfare. His concern is that we recognize that ultimately its the Lord that gives the victory. A few things we need to remember: Human efforts are necessary in the God-man partnership Human efforts alone does not guarantee God intended results Recognize that its God that always gives u
Read more

25th Wedding Annivesary - Silver Jubilee

Image
11-1-11 - 25th Wedding Anniversary. Today my wife and I celebrate our Silver Jubilee, 25 years of being married together. How time flies. I look out of the window, the weather reminiscent of the day we got married. It was raining the whole day and so is today. How appropriate. Praise God for His faithfulness in our lives and for the blessings He has given us. Lam 3:22-23 - Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. It has been a wonderful journey. Yes there were disagreements, quarrels, desperation and even "fights" but through it all, our love has grown stronger for the Lord , for the family, for the ministry and for one another. Jeya has been the magnet that holds our family together. Almost three months in a year I am out of country for ministry and kids busy in school. But she has always been the inventory holder that keeps reminding of the things that needs to be done an
Read more

Fare-thee-well my friend, Rev James Ng - A tribute

Image
I t was with deep sadness that we bade farewell to another of God's General, Rev James Ng. But we don't grieve like the rest of the world because of the hope we have in Christ Jesus. We will meet him soon at the Master's feet. To me , he was more than a friend. A true brother in Christ. He was one of the pillars of our Missions work in Asia. A true missionary, teacher, philantrophist and servant with a devoted passion for His Master.  I met James in 2010, when he attended the Haggai Area Seminar, held in RELC. He was introduced to me by our dear friend, Sis Doreen Lim and her husband Dr Lim. Thereafter we became good friends and he became acquainted with our mission work. He was a regular on many of those trips. He preached and taught the Word to many church planters and congregations. It was not easy for him, with all his medical conditions. There were times when we had to travel long hours on the road, up the mountains, down the valleys, cross rivers, and stay in uncomfor
Read more