TRUE LEADERSHIP
Jeff Hostetter
SURRENDER BEFORE BEGINNING TO FIGHT?
Many are defeated before beginning to fight. This seems apparent to me after looking at the way and manner in which people both teach and practice their Christianity. In particular, we see this in the type of leadership that is allowed to set the standard for the Lord’s church. I am convinced that the devil works at the motivational level of mankind to demotivate, discourage, and obscure things so that we cannot reach our true potential in Christ. The actual truth is that we are like “gods” in some respects, or angels when we are truly in Christ as new creations, born again of water and spirit. The fantastic potential that sons of God have is a tremendous threat to the enemy, and so he has (in some cases quite successfully) attacked faith. Faith is a picture of Christ in glory that reveals what we become when we are immersed into Christ and rise to walk in newness of life. Although the devil cannot outright stop the preaching of the gospel, and can by no means overcome the Lord’s church wholly, he can and does have the ability to deceive even the elect. This seems to be reliant upon men’s laziness or lack of faith-building exercises such as prayer, intensive Bible memorization and study, continual hearing the word of God through good preaching and teaching, and especially in sharing continually truths that are gleaned from God’s word with others, both Christian and non-Christians. I believe another reason is because of the moral depravity that surrounds us and the general low standard that has an impact upon our own conception of ourselves and our potential. Furthermore, the so-called “churches” and so-called “Christians” have muddied the waters and made it difficult to get a good, clear picture of what a Christian ought to be in both teaching and practice. All these factors add up to dissipate the power and virility of true Christianity.
REACTIONARY OR “ACTION-ARY” FAITH?
One of the things that is obvious in the New Testament (and somewhat in the Old) is that God has always been able to do great things through men who have faith. This is the faith that is: Following Actively In Trusting Him. It is action, not reaction. It is “standing on the promises”, not “sitting on the premises.” It is not apathy or fatalism, but aggressively seizing the promises of Christ and living daily as if they are true. We do not base our life upon what others do or don’t do, or upon the environment in which we live by making decisions that just reflect or react to these things. Rather we look at God’s word, accept the given facts, premises and precedents within, and go out and plan our daily schedule and long term goals according to what we have learned and believed in scripture. One little example is Phil. 4: 13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Obviously such a verse reveals no true limits except those which God imposes. A person with that kind of belief system will not easily be daunted by even the (seemingly) most impossible barriers.
NOBODY IS PERFECT?
The satanic strategy to deactivate and devitalize the powerful potential of God’s spiritual children aims directly at the leadership. One of the big lies that I hear going around, even within “Christian ranks”, is that there was no such thing as the perfect church in the New Testament, and there is no such thing as a perfect Christian. Much debate has been generated over the word “perfect” since God commanded us to be perfect as He is perfect. One person recently told me that perfection is to be full of love for fellow man, to be “perfected in love.” Others used the word “maturity” in the sense of being whole or complete without any ongoing and obvious errors in one’s life. Others talk about it being a spiritual position we have while in Christ, rather than in behavior. Thus, to “Be Holy,” as God is holy means that we are covenantally, through the blood of Christ, and corporately, within the body, and cosmically, within heaven, able to be holy but not in daily living! ? There are serious problems with taking only one of these views.
PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH
It seems scripture indicates that we are not only positionally or spiritually perfected in Christ, but our practice should match that true position. Anyone making such claims is accused of being a perfectionist in the most horrible sense of the word. It is seen as false doctrine and supreme arrogance. There is failure to note that God has given us much greater resources than in the Old Testament and that there were some extremely great men even then, such as Enoch, Joseph, Nehemiah, Elijah and so on. A careful scanning of the pages of Holy Writ show no indication of moral depravity or of any other kind of on-going weakness in these men’s character. Yet these men lived under the old dispensation without enjoying our greatly superior New Covenant. Matthew 11: 11 indicates that even the least Christian is greater than any one of these. When considering that men like Moses talked face to face with God and led nearly three million Israelites and camp followers out of Egypt for 40 years in the wilderness (and other such great achievements), it should cause serious consideration of just what is , according to Jesus, the greater standard of the New Covenant (He said that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees!) True, this is all possible spiritually because of our identification with and in Christ. Nevertheless it should still be revealed or translated into our lifestyle and achievements that spring out of that new life in Christ.
LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Once more, much of the pervasive defeatism so evident springs from the leadership. It is extremely humbling to admit one’s failures and be willing to resign from a position of leadership in order to pave the way for a new and better generation of leaders. Job security for paid preachers and positional pride of unpaid elders, plus a host of para-church and institutional leaders make it extremely difficult for this to happen. Careful and honest examination of the type of leaders that we see in the New Testament makes most modern leaders seem pale ghosts in comparison. What is the excuse? Do we have less of the Holy Spirit? Do we have a different Holy Spirit? Do we have an incomplete Bible? Do we have poor precedence from scripture? Is God dead? Is the job of bringing glory to His name through the proclamation of the gospel by loving, dedicated servants no longer essential? All these questions are obvious to any person with common sense. Only truly spiritually blind could fail to answer them!
EXCUSES OR REPENTENCE?
The fact remains that it is much easier to make excuses for weaknesses and failures than to repent and fast like David for seven days with his face down on the floor and make the necessary changes.(See Psalm 51) It is my contention that through such repentance, renewal is a sure result because of God’s nature and His sure promises. Leadership must bear the burden of blame for the weakness of the average member in the Lord’s church. There can be no passing the buck or giving blame to other causes or persons. In any corporation, business, or military setup, it is the generals, managers, and CEO’s that must bear the blame for lack of production. Why should the Lord’s church be different? Is Satan just too strong an opponent, or the world too evil an environment for victory to be achievable? NO WAY! Let us remember that the early church was born into an extremely pagan and evil environment. A quick review of ancient history will show this. For one example, the theaters of that day had live sexual acts on stage, usually homosexual in nature! (And we think today’s movies and television programs are evil!) Instead of making such lame excuses, we need to roll up our sleeves and get busy recreating, renewing, and revisiting the ancient power (II Cor.5:17) and purpose (Luke 19:10) of the Lord’s church. We should quit spending our precious time and energy looking for the weakest possible interpretation of difficult scriptures and finding every possible loophole in which to pass our failures and unlawful lives through, and use that same energy in pursuing righteousness, and in being holy and perfect as God. We would be amazed at the fantastic results. As Don DeWelt said, “If we would believe what they believed and do what they did, we would be what they were.” It all boils down to FAITH and COMMITMENT.
WILL A REAL N.T CHURCH LEADER PLEASE STAND UP?
A false premise, (a great lie of Satan), is that in the New Testament there were no perfect churches, and that failure was as rampant then as it is today. That a “white-wash” of grace was needed to cover up the decaying, urine splattered walls of men’s continuing poor behaviors. (“I’m just a sinner, I’m just a man, I’m only human”, etc) No new creation or rebirth here! Let us not forget what Paul told Titus: “That… grace teaches us to say NO to ungodliness and to live sensible, righteous, and godly lives in the present age.” (Titus 2: 9) Just look at the New Testament and see that there were many great leaders that were living as Christ lived by the power of the Holy Spirit and were models for the many new converts. There are no continuing imperfections noted. Careful examination of Paul’s life, for instance, shows no imperfections at all…(after a close encounter of a heavenly kind with the GLORY of God in Christ.) Any errors or mistakes were covered by a continual lifestyle of obedience and repentance and an overwhelmingly victorious conquering of sin, Satan, and self. Let us now look at the word of God to see that this is true.
MODEL LEADERS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
First of all, in the early church, when a crisis arrived concerning the serving of widows who needed daily benevolent care (feeding) it was necessary to choose some men to deal with this problem. Note in Acts 6: 3 that the apostles told the church, “But select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.” In verse 5, we see that the congregation chose seven men that were full of faith and the Holy Spirit. The excellence of these men is seen very rapidly. The word of God kept spreading and Stephen helped spread it, even though it cost him his life. Acts 6: 8 says he was “full of grace and power performing great wonders and signs among the people.” When one looks at the manner and way in which he died, it is impossible to conclude that he was less than a perfect man. Not only was he able to forgive as Joseph in the OT forgave his brothers, but during the act of forgiving he died a painful death as a blasphemer and a liar. Acts 8: 55 says, “He saw the glory of God in heaven, being filled with the Holy Spirit and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and that his face shone like an angel!”
Another of these seven men, chosen from among the congregation of the early Christians, was Philip, who became a great evangelist. Not content with merely serving tables, he also went out and preached the gospel in Samaria. He was extremely successful (even though he had not attended a Bible college or any other institution of higher Christian education) and great revival broke out. Later we know that Philip won the first well-known African convert, the Ethiopian eunuch, and then went on to be an evangelist at Caesarea for over 20 years, and had four virgin daughters who prophesied. The last item shows his success as a father in raising strong, Christian children who were devoted to the Lord. Evidently, if his wife was alive during this entire time, she also was a partner in his ministry. It was not only Philip and Stephen, but we see in Acts 8: 4 that the entire congregation, when scattered throughout the regions, proclaimed or preached the word. In Acts 11: 19 we see some of these went to Phoenicia, Cypress, Antioch, and were able to win large numbers to Christ. Verse 21 says, “The hand of the Lord was with them.” Here also we pick up the story again of Barnabas who was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. (verse 24)
GIVE ME THOSE OL’ TIME LEADERS
These are just a few examples of the kind of leadership that arose out of the New Testament church. There was no denying that they were full of the Holy Spirit, and that their lives were perfect because of this indwelling power of Christ. We can be sure, in Acts 14: 23 that the elders that Paul and Barnabas appointed met ALL of the qualifications, no matter how stringent, that Paul gave both Timothy and Titus. These elders were men who had very successfully raised their children in the Lord. Most of them had Jewish background in the synagogues and had grown up morally pure and with good family lives. When they repented and were immersed into Christ, the Holy Spirit could quickly take and use these men in leadership. Many look at the stringent qualifications of eldership and decide they are only ideals to keep in mind while choosing the best possible candidates available. Is this not defeatism? Is this not giving Satan his due? Is this not hoisting up the white flag of surrender before we’ve begun to fight? Why is it assumed that it is impossible to find men who meet all the qualifications in the New Testament? What scripture backs up this kind of faithless picture? There is none. Looking at other scriptures, we see a couple like Aquila and Priscilla in Acts 18 who were perfect in Christ. Wherever they went, they started house churches, had an ideal marriage, and there was nothing but good said about them. Why should we read back into their story all of the modern day problems we have in our marriages and lives? We should take the Bible at face value and simply accept that these were superior people because of the superior teaching and example they had. I advise you to look at all the Bible references with Aquila and Priscilla and see what kind of people they were.
IMITATION - LET’S PLAY ‘FOLLOW THE LEADER’.
Paul refers to this kind of leadership in several places. He refers to himself as one who should be imitated as he imitates Christ (I Cor. 4: 16, 11) Then he goes on to mention Timothy, who he says will go on to remind them of all his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Paul also says in Philippians 3: 15-17,
“Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude. And if
anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to
you. However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we
have attained. Brethren, join in following my example and observe
those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.”
Here is a very positive statement that needs little clarification. In Colossians 4: 12 he mentions another great man, Apaphras, who he said was a bond slave of Jesus Christ and always labored earnestly for his fellow Christians in his prayers. Look at the purpose, that “they may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.” He also mentions Onesimus and Tychicus as examples of great men that can be imitated. He said that Jesus, or Justus, was an encouragement to him! For one to be an encouragement to Paul would mean his life would be abundantly excellent.
I & II THESSALONIANS
Paul in I Thess 1:6-7 says,
“You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received
the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit. So that
you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achia.” Further down in chapter 2:10:
“You are witness and so is God how devoutly and uprightly and
blamelessly behaved toward you as believers just as you know
how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one
as a father would his children so that you may walk in a manner
worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”
Reading through chapters 1 and 2 and on we can see that there is a walk, there is a life that should be imitated. In Chapter 2: 14 he says,
“For you brethren became imitators of the churches of God in
Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you also endured the same
sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen even as they
did from the Jews.”
In chapter 5: 5 Paul calls the Thessalonians sons of light and sons of day. Then again he goes back to the type of leadership and the example set in verses 11 and 12.
“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another just
as you also are doing. But we request of you brethren that you
appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge
over you in the Lord and give you instruction and that you esteem
them very highly in love because of their work. Live at peace with
one another.”
Then at the very last part of I Thessalonians, in verse 23,
“Now may the God of peace sanctify you entirely and may your
spirit, soul, and body be preserved complete without blame at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
When we move over to II Thess 3: 6-7, 9,
“Now we command you brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that you keep aloof from every brother who leads an unruly
life (undisciplined life) and not according to the tradition which
you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to
follow our example because we did not act in an undisciplined
manner among you. Not because we do not have the right to this
but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you that you might
follow our example.”
This is in particular talking about working but it goes beyond that.
I & II TIMOTHY
Timothy is told, “Let no one look down on your youthfulness but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.” (I Timothy 4:12) It is interesting that it doesn’t say “to those who believe” but “of those who believe” which is more correct. The best leadership that evangelist Timothy can offer is his example. Evidently, Paul expects it to be good enough to be imitated by those in the church. In I Tim 3: 2, an overseer/elder must be above reproach and that must would be for the rest of the qualifications. It is possible that when he says he must be above reproach that the rest of the items show how: one woman man, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, apt (capable) of teaching, not addicted to wine, pugnacious, gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money, one who manages his whole household well, keeping his children under control with dignity, (from Titus we know that these are believing children, and if a man doesn’t know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?) not a new covert, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the Devil, must have a good reputation with those outside the church, he must not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Hebrews 13: 7, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you. And considering the result of their conduct, or the end of their life, imitate their faith.” Verse 17 says to “Obey your leaders and submit to them.” Brethren these and many such scriptures show not only the importance, but the ability of leaders to model correct Christian behaviour for others to follow.
In I Peter 5: 5, Paul says, “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you…proving to be examples to the flock.” One must be very careful not to belittle the power of example and what is involved here. If is the example of doing your best, of striving to be like Christ, but not succeeding in any meaningful manner, then this is all nonsense. But if it is actually what it seems to be, the successful living out, by the power of the Holy Spirit, of Christ’s life through one’s own body on earth, then we have an encouraging teaching here. Paul says to the Philippians, “Receive him (Apaphroditis) in the joy and hold men like him in high regard.” (2:29) The power of one man’s perfect life in Christ is not being underrated at all by Paul. Ephesians 6:21: “A beloved brother (Tychicus) and faithful minister in the Lord who will make everything known to them and comfort their hearts.” Paul could have confidence in men like these that they would not only talk about Jesus and the Apostles teaching, but they would model it in their own lives. Paul says, “You who are spiritual, restore others who are sinning.” (Galatians 6:1) Spiritual and unspiritual Christians do exist. He also said about the spiritual man that “…he has the mind of Christ, that he appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.” (I Corinthians 2:15) Since there are spiritual men this once again proves the possibility of daily living perfectly by the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ.
“And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:4
NO MAGIC BULLET OR INSTANT MIRACULOUS PERFECTION
At this point, let me make this clarification. It is not that these men had stopped potentially being able to sin or passed beyond the realm of mere men into some mystical invisible realm where they could not be tempted and where there was not a daily struggle to walk in the spirit and avoid the flesh. I am not suggesting that there is any one particular experience or just one piece of secret knowledge that will enable a person to instantly and almost painlessly, permanently enter into a higher state of being. Rather it is a daily walk in humility before the Lord, doing every positive thing that is known that we must do and avoiding and crucifying the flesh. It is also a learned behaviour of lifestyle and not a given thing granted by the Lord to some while others fail to receive this blessing. Anyone who will choose faith and live according to faith can achieve perfection in Christ through the help of the Holy Spirit. There is no scripture that indicates that we cannot on a day-by-day basis walk with the Lord and please him.
THE CHALLENGE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT GIANTS OF FAITH
Think again about Enoch who walked with God and was no more. Not even experiencing the pain of death or Elijah for example. If men in the Old Testament were capable of such close contact with God, why would we consider anything less for us today? We look at a man like Daniel who prayed despite threats to his life and who became such a great prophet and saw the Lord as a shining lightening type of angel! When men of old set their mind and heart to being like their father in heaven, great things happened. Look at the commendation the Lord God gave to a man who lived about 3800 years ago. Job 1:1 says he was “…blameless, fearing God and turning away from evil.” In verse 8, God said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” What high, high commendation. Jesus said of Nathaniel before he even began his ministry, “Here is a true Israelite in whom there is no guile.” Going back again to the ancient times of Noah. We are told in Genesis 6: 8-9, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a righteous man blameless in his time. Noah walked with God.” Now I am not suggesting that these men had the same high standard that we have today. They did not have the same knowledge of Christ in glory. One who had died, resurrected, and given a whole new meaning to the word love. Nevertheless, consider their accomplishments in, as it says in Genesis 6: 9, “in their time.”
IN NOT NOW, THEN WHEN? IF NOT US, THEN WHO?
We are now in our time. Time of the new improved, superior covenant, which according to II Cor 3, completely outstrips and outshines the covenant of Moses. By this new covenant we are being transformed into the very image of Christ. (II Cor 3: 18) In that same chapter, we are told that the glory of the new covenant, which brings life, far outweighs the glory of that old covenant. In the Old covenant system, a few individuals could rise up on the basis of their personal character and efforts to great heights. Now we have a system in Christ than can consistently “mass produce” every participant to greater heights of glory than the greatest of these.
GOD SAID IT, AND THAT SETTLES IT FOR ME
The fact is that some individuals take God at his word and put consistently into practice what is written therein. When God says, “You are forgiven.” they believe it. When God says “Go.” they go as far as they have to. When God says “Don’t sin.” they crucify the flesh, resist the devil, and find the way of escape that God provided. (I Cor 10: 13) Looking upon these individuals jealously, or trying to make them special cases doesn’t help the situation at all. We just need to get in line behind them, follow their example, and set the example for others who can see our lives.
A WARNING FROM HEBREWS
Remember what the Lord said in Hebrews 2: 3, “How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?” Clearly the emphasis is that we have so much more than they did in the old times, and therefore much more is expected. That is why it says we must pay closer attention to what we have heard lest we drift away from it.
Hebrews 2: 1,2,
“For if the word spoken by the angels proved unalterable and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how
shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
100 % QUALITY LEADERSHIP FROM TOP TO BOTTOM
When we examine the leadership of the Lord’s church, we should be able to
take a drill and bore down through the surface, and the deeper we go, we find no difference in the quality of the wood. No veneer covering rotten, wormy, termite-ridden wood, but the same quality clear through from top to bottom -100% grade-A hardwood. Like a river that is not only beautiful from the sides, but deep. When we go to a leader’s house and spend more time with him, the glory in his life should be seen even more. There should not be a revealing, or unveiling of the “real” man with all kinds of spiritual errors or mistakes in his life. What a shame when preachers stand in their buildings with fine suits, fancy words, and big degrees, like an angel of light, and then when you go home with them there is malice, rage, bickering and so on! Any new convert should be tremendously encouraged by not only the public, but also the private life of every leader. New converts should gain strength and encouragement from they type of children that are raised in the homes of godly leaders. From this modeling, they should be motivated to do the same with their families. The type of soul-winning, and disciples that leaders have made should also be a source of motivation for new converts. It will always be true that the Lord’s church in every location will always have many problems because of false teachers slipping in and new converts that are still babes in Christ and often live and act like mere men. Nevertheless, those who have known Christ longer and have been given the right teachings should be living up to a standard higher that Noah, or Daniel, or any other great man or woman in the Old Testament. (Matthew 11: 11)
IF THE SHOE FITS …WEAR IT!
I hope you will not be defensive of what you read here, particularly
if you are a leader. This is not to condemn any one personality, but rather to address an overall problem that must be rectified so the glory of the Lord can be seen among His people. If your family or your personal life is not blameless, if you are not filled with the Holy Spirit, if you are not able, like Stephen, Philip, Tychicus, Titus, Timothy, and many others, to clearly proclaim the truth and win souls, than admit it. In confessing your sin, you will be free and God can begin working with you to make you a true leader by your entire life, not just your knowledge. If you are willing to look in the mirror of God’s word, you can straighten out things but it might cost you much. Are you willing to be brave and courageous and pay the price for excellence? Are you willing to think about those who are watching you and will follow your example more than your own pride and dignity?
If any questions on this paper contact:
Evangelist Jeff Hostetter or
Stephen Icenogle Evangelist Jeff Hostetter
Church Growth Resource Centre CGRC
P.O. Box 278 P.O. Box 685, UST
Sunyani, GHANA Kumasi, GHANA
tel # 061-470 tel # 051-26878