What Kind of Leader are You?

We must become BELOVED LEADERS.

The “Beloved Community” was Dr. King’s phrase. There can be no beloved community if there are no beloved leaders. You must let a force come on you and flow through you.

AGAPE love = the unconditional love of God.

AGAPEO = to be loved and loving simultaneously. We lead by loving the world. This same John wrote, “God so loved the world…” God wants to do something about education, forced child prostitution, and all the other problems in our society.

When Jesus comes back it’ll be Justice. Until then friend, it is “Just-us.”

Nobody loves across racial lines like God! There was a force beyond this place that came into this place … and loved everybody. A leader needs love! Go ahead and get all the knowledge you can, read all the books you can, but if you can’t love across racial lines you can’t lead!

We must be loving leaders.

We must be an ABIDING LEADER.

John says, “… love of God abides in us ... ” People must see that. We abide in something beyond us. Some people don’t step out and lead in a multi-cultural world because they feel like they are not qualified.

It’s not about qualification!

The church should be multi-racial and multi-ethnic. Tribalism is still a deep evil force that courageous and bold leaders must take on. No matter where you are, you cannot escape disparities around the world that exist because of race, class and place! Disparities exist in the church!

We abide in the force of God’s love.

We stay where the hurting people are; we created dwelling places. Sometimes, to lead, we have to stop dreaming about church buildings and we need to have visions about dwelling places where hurting people are.

We must be CONFESSING LEADERS (1 John 4:15).

Take responsibility. Say, “My bad,” when you mess up. Take responsibility. Jonah had to say, “The reason there is a storm in the world, is ‘my bad.’”

NOTE THIS ... When high pressure collides with low pressure a storm erupts. When the high pressure of God's will bumps against the low pressure of what we’d rather do, a storm erupts.

There is no institution in the USA that can make the case, “We only cater to people who are like each other.” That’s “low-pressure.”

The Confessing Leader says, “I’m confessing, ‘I don’t know what to do.’”Whatever you are, confess that. Be honest. Wherever you are, just confess that. What if we actually did something about the system and ethos that created the black church, and the Korean church? What if we saw ourselves beyond black and white?

(1 John 4) Some things have to be rearranged. A case can be made for ethnic specific churches ... but, we still cannot deny all of the communities around the world that are mobile, hip-hop and multi-cultural. Crazy kids come in all colors and sizes and places all over the world. We don’t need any more grown men with “little” in front of their name.

[Mark Beeson/Ephrem Smith]

Keys to Leadership

1. Stay True to Your Passion. No leader can be effective who does not identify 100 percent with the organization’s mission. Because this identification between leader and organization is so important, it’s critical for you as an aspiring leader to identify your passion – what really drives you – and to stay true to that passion through the course of your career. If you do, you will find that this passion is a powerful resource for guiding you through the challenges of leadership the hard way.

2. Get An Invisible Mentor. No aspiring leader has to wait to be assigned a mentor. Choose and invisible mentor, someone whose behavior you study from afar. Choose someone whose leadership style you relate to and admire. Study that person closely.

3. Become a Reflective Practitioner. A term coined by organizational theorist Donald Schön in his 1983 book, a reflective practitioner is one who systematically reflects on one’s own experiences. It’s the kind of learning that happens in the moment. Build systematic reflection into your everyday activity.

4. Learn From Your People. A close relationship with your people can give you a tremendous resource for bootstrapping you r leadership capabilities. There are a variety of ways to develop that close bond – be present in the organization, don’t be afraid to expose one’s own mistakes to the organization, welcome dissent, and use your own behavior strategically. Aspiring leaders should get in the habit of thinking of their actions as a form of communication.

[Leadership the Hard Way by Dov Frohman]

A New Direction for Leadership Development

A decision has been made at the International Offices of the Church of God of Prophecy to close the Family Ministries Department and to restructure Leadership Development Ministries under a new ministry director. Current Director Larry Duncan stated, "We have submitted to these decisions out of reverence to Christ, as the New Testament teaches us to do. We recognize and respect the right of a leader to have his or her own team in place, and so we willingly step aside to allow that to take place."

The exact timeline for the closing of Family Ministries is yet to be determined. The changes in Leadership Development are scheduled to go into effect following the Assembly.

These changes are not the result of any scandal nor difficulties at the International Offices. In both conversation and written communication the General Overseer has said that "This decision is certainly no indication of any kind of misconduct, but rather it is based on a feeling that new leadership is needed to take us in a different direction ... At this point in the journey it is my sense that it is time to build further on all [that has previously been] done, by reviewing and realigning the Leadership Development Ministry here at the International Office."

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Church Leadership Book

A CHURCH LEADERSHIP book has been written which is privately produced in the USA and can be previewed /purchased at http://www.albertsferguson.com/.

This book unveils various “leadership gaps” within today’s churches, without regard to denomination. It pinpoints the root causes why so many leaders of churches (of all sizes) are failing so miserably in their leadership. The matter-of-fact and straight-talking style of the author is balanced by the sound advice he gives from his international background in religious and corporate leadership. Use this volume to audit the state of the leadership within your local church.

You might also be interested in an article this author wrote in yesterday's NASSAU GUARDIAN newspaper. The On-line version can be accessed from the following link - http://www.thenassauguardian.com/religion/318187693176408.php

These are excellent resources.
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