1. EDUCATION MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN THAILAND Asian Academy for Leadership and Peace, India Christian Educators Leadership Training Role of Spiritual Leadership CHURCH OF CHRIST THILAND, BANGKOK, THAILAND OCTOBER 9-10, 2015 Prof. Dr. John Zechariah Chairman AALP 1

2. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many ” (Mathew 20:26-28). 2

3. There are many definitions of spiritual leadership; some think he is a “guru” and others as counselor who can guide others through the problems and trails of life. The Bible describes a spiritual leader as one who: possesses the spiritual gifts of leadership, the ability to lead others. concerned with the souls of those he leads. one who possesses the spiritual gift of leadership leads by example, as Jesus did, first and foremost a servant toughest forms of leadership 3

4. The Bible describes a spiritual leader as one who possesses the spiritual gifts of leadership, the ability to lead others as a direct result of the gifting received from and performed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual leader also concerned with the souls of those he leads. The biblical spiritual leader understands that his leadership is one of servant hood. The Bible describes a spiritual leader as one who possesses the spiritual gift of leadership, the ability to lead others as direct result of the gifting received from and performed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual leader leads by example, as Jesus did, who said He came to serve others, not to be served by them. 4

5. The spiritual leader recognizes that he is first and foremost a servant. Jesus modeled the true servant style of leadership, when He the Lord incarnate, bent down and washed the feet of His disciples, teaching them that the true measure of a leader is one who first serves others. 5

6. Spiritual leadership is one of the toughest forms of leadership. To lead someone to grow spiritually is entirely different from game altogether. 6

7. James and John wanted the glory, but not the cup of shame, the crown, but not the cross, the role of master, but not servant. Jesus used this occasion to reach two principles of leadership that the church must never forget, the sovereignty of spiritual leadership and the suffering of spiritual leadership (J. Oswald Sanders) 7

8. Spiritual leaders are those who have: confidence in God rather than self-confidence, follow God’s example closely rather than creative and doing things differently would lead by example rather than exercising control over others Uses connection with God or prayer to get things done rather than use connection with others to get things done. 8

9. Sometimes leader’s confidence become arrogance and loses humility. Leader has to balance their identity with their self-esteem. Look at David’s life how he perceives his identity and maintains both confidence and humility: (John M P.215) David sees his own weakness and humanity David sees his God-given position and privileges David sees a balance by giving all the glory to God 9

10. A spiritual leader needs to get God’s wisdom and understanding. It is essential that Godly leader think: (John M p.277) Qualities of Spiritual Leader: * - Consider God’s vision is bigger than theirs - They always include others in their work - They want to see result and fruits - They want to keep improving - They keep in their box - They want to see God’s rule come to their organization and community - They want to serve and add value to people - They evaluate quickly and see possible answers 10

11. A spiritual leader should have following traits as David pictures: (John M p.28) Characteristics of Spiritual leader: A spiritual leader should have following traits as David pictures: (John M p.28) - Possess integrity - Does not participate in gossip - Does not harm others - Does not Speaks out against wrong - Honors others who walk in truth - Keep their word even at personal cost - Is not greedy to gain at the expense of others - Is strong and stable 11

12. Christian leader has to be a good shepherd and spiritually alert. A shepherd leader must be: watchful, prayerful and courage’s Roy Lessin, describes how a Godly leaders finds …. *Finds strength by realizing his weakness *Finds authority by being under authority *Finds direction by laying down his plans *Finds vision by seeing the needs of others *Finds credibility by being an example *Finds locality by expressing compassion *Finds honor by being faithful *Finds greatness by being a servant 12

13. While spiritual leadership involves many of the same principles as general leadership, spiritual leadership has certain distinctive qualities that must be understood and practiced if spiritual leaders are to be successful Distinctive Qualities – Henry and Richard Blackaby: 1.The spiritual leader’s task is to move people from where they are to where God wants them to be 2.Spiritual leaders depend on the Holy Spirit. 3.Spiritual leaders are accountable to God 4.Spiritual leaders can influence all people 5.Spiritual leaders work from God’s agenda 13

14. Bill Hackett: Missionaries study the culture and habits of the people they plan to reach. It helps to know some characteristics of unchurched people before we try to reach them. Characteristics of Secular People 14

15. 1.Secular people are essentially ignorant of basic Christianity and are often biblically illiterate. 2.Secular people are seeking life before death. They think more about life this side of death—how to find it, salvage it, give it meaning and purpose—more than they think about life after death 15

16. 3. Secular people are conscious of doubt more than guilt. People today may no longer feel guilty or responsible. They see themselves as victims of society and do not think they are responsible for their actions. Instead of guilt, they are skeptical and full of doubt, especially when it comes to believing in absolutes. 4. Secular people have a negative image of the church. They doubt the intelligence, relevance, and credibility of the church and its advocates. 5. people have multiple alienations: work, nature, government, jobs, and one another. 16

17. 6. Secular people are untrusting. They often feel abused, manipulated, and exploited. They sometimes put God in the image as the exploiter, the abuser, and the cop. 7. Secular people have low self-esteem. This is part of the basic sin problem and is compounded with divorces, dysfunctional homes, etc. 17

18. 8. Secular people experience forces in history as out of control. People see the world today as out of control with political unrest, the AIDS epidemic, etc. 9. Secular people experience forces in their own personalities and families they cannot control. They see their very lives as a problem. 10. Secular people are lost and cannot seem to find God on their own. 18

19. Spiritual Vs Secular leadership 1.Spiritual leader does not presuppose the idea of leader There are many attributes that are attached to the idea of a spiritual leader: - Godliness - Integrity - Compassion and - Genuine love for the people Normally we don’t find these attributes with secular leader. 19

20. 2. The second most important thing about a spiritual leader is that while all decisions may be made by them there is always a higher power. (Wright, 2008) A spiritual leader must be in tune with God, God's plan and God's will for the life of the leader, employees and company. Many times this results in a decision that would seem to go totally against the grain of all good business sense. However, the greatest thing about answering to God is that when leaders are faced with a choice and they choose to uphold God's principles is that God is allowed to have a "Now God" moment (Stanley, 2005). A moment in time where all logic tells a leader that a bad decision has been made but where God intervenes and the turnout is better then any one could have ever imagined. 20

21. 3. The major comparison between secular and spiritual leadership is the overall goal of their leaders. Secular leadership, which places the leader in position of ultimate authority, as a job to move the company forward, make the most money with the least amount of cost no matter what sacrifices in any area of the company. Contrast that with the purpose of a spiritual leader, who answers to the authority of God, and stills wants to move the company forward but only if that means supporting the workers, following God's principles and never sacrificing the ethics of God to maintain the blessings (Stanley, 2005). SPIRITUAL AND SECULAR LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES SOME TIME OVERLAP. 21

22. 4. The first contrast between secular and spiritual leadership is the difference between whom that leader is working for. In a secular position the leader is working directly for whatever the governing body runs the company. Essentially those people, CEO, stock holders, president have entrusted their leader to direct the company so it will succeed. In this model the leader is where all traffic stops, the leader is the top of the food chain, everyone has to answer to him and aside from an occasionally update the leader does not have to answer to anyone. (Blackaby, 2007) However, in comparison, the Christian leader must constantly answer to God. Even though the Christian leader is in the same hierarchical position as the secular leader and all decisions go through him, that leader is ultimately accountable to God. 22

23. 5. The accountability factor has much more effective on the Christian leader then it does on the secular leader. When a leader is trying to run an organization based in Biblical principles that person is always under the microscope for not only business reasons but also character reasons. Many times Christian leaders are leading people who are not Christian and those people are always looking for a reason to call that leader a hypocrite. Christian leaders must live in God's character all the time, the smallest slip could destroy trust and report between a leader and his followers. (Blackaby, 2007) 23

24. 6. In secular leadership, the leader is still under the microscope for business reasons, however; a secular leader does not have to uphold the moral character as a Christian leader does. (Blackaby and Blackaby, 2001) A secular leader need stills the trust of the people he leads, but something like going to a bar; having to much to drink and stumbling home would not affect a secular leader in the same way it would with a Christian leader. (Edwards, 1992) So there is a double standard of appearance when it comes to leaders and the people they are leading, some things that a secular leader can get away with would destroy a Christian leader's reputation. 24

25. 7. Another major distinction between secular leaders and spiritual leaders is in their purpose for being in their position. Secular leaders are placed in a company by a board of directors in order to lead the company. This leader must create a vision and move the company towards that vision by any means necessary. (Blackaby and Blackaby, 2001) Any means necessary is a scary phrase because this can mean any number of things like mistreating employees, making bad deals, lying in the account books or any number of other deceitful practices where the ends of an improved company justify the means. 25

26. 8. However, a Christian Leader's purpose for leadership is to build relationships with those people that are following at the moment. (Hernando, 2005)relationships A Christian leader may invest in their people with an understanding that better people create a better company. (Maxwell, 1998) A leader should always be investing in the people that are following and should do so not simply because it is better for the company, but because it will ultimately help those people as they move into their careers (Stanley, 2005). 26

27. 9. Christian leaders need to always remember the words of Paul "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3:24 New International Version) If Christian leaders can remember they are working for Christ then the division between Christian and secular leadership will not only be a huge difference but also an incredibly positive one. 27