Lessons in Leadership

I remember when Tim was here. We had a lot of great talks and he shared a lot of wisdom with me. One thing we talked about was the fact that he had only been an elder a very short time. I asked him how he felt and what he was learning. He shared with me something he had learned from I believe Truit Adair. He said if you read in the Bible, the NT doesn't talk so much about a list of responsibilities. The NT talks a lot more about the character of an elder than the "things to be done". His argument was that a man's character is the most important thing! If the man fulfills the characteristics listed, then the actions will fall into place. You won't have to tell him "love the church" if he has loved his wife and children and taught them to follow God. You don't need to tell an elder "serve the church" if he is "not a recent convert", because he knows to do that after a time of watching other Christians serve. The point is that the people will follow the example of the leader. If the leader gossips, it will spread like a cancer among the people. If the leadership is lazy, nothing will ever get down. If the leadership is arrogant, the people will soon leave. BUT if the leadership serves, loves and teaches the truth, God will be glorified and the church will grow and flourish producing "30, 60 or even 100 times what was sown." I don't mean to take anything away from Christ being the head of the church, but we are in fact his body and if we are not doing our part than the body doesn't function.

Barb and I have worked with many ministers over the years and through that time we have seen the difference that a good leader makes. Red and Anne Coleman was a blessing during our time at Main & Ok. They service and good attitudes rubbed off on the congregation while we were there and made a difference. So many great men of faith come to mind, but a couple of them I'm writing about are Aaron and Ben. These two men are preachers. The Lord's people that Aaron serves didn't have elders for a long time and I'm not sure if they do, but if you look at the church you will see a lot of people serving and growing in the Lord. God's people where Ben serves do have elders. Ben is an excellent leader and I have seen how much of a difference his efforts in the pulpit and life have made among his people. When you read through the Bible you quickly become aware of the fact that when God's people had good leadership, God's people were serving Him. When the leader didn't do it's job or there wasn't a leader, God's people would stray.

When Tod was leaving Tuesday morning I hugged his neck and told him elders rock! One of the boys behind me started laughing. I guess he was too young to understand the tremendous responsibility it is to be an elder of God's people. He has yet to realize how important good leadership is in the Kingdom.

On the way home in the bus, Carl, Ty and I were talking about the various groups that we have hosted here in Leon, GTO. Although all have been a blessing to this work in different ways, I was reminded of how important good leadership is in the kingdom. It's a huge responsibility that is often "unsung" and very unappreciated, but God sees the service of the men who serve Him! I'm thankful to see good godly men and women leadering by example!