Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha
Jesus Christ spent three and a half years in
ministry. It is interesting to note that apart from preaching, teaching the
word of God, working miracles and bringing salvation to the world and
eventually dying for the redemption of humanity, Jesus also raised leaders for
the early Church. These were the people who succeeded Jesus in building the
early Church. Severally and privately, outside of public glare, Jesus taught
them great leadership principles. He made them understand that the primary
responsibility of a leader is service. Please see Matthew Chapter 20 verses 20
to 28. The Apostles definitely internalized this principle as they also served
the Church of God through prayer and the ministry of the word. Please see Acts
Chapter 6 verses 1 to 7. They devoted themselves to this aspect of service;
raised other leaders for administrative purposes. Quite significant is the fact
that some of these leaders also served God and the early Church through prayer
and the ministry of the word. No ministry gift or position supersedes the other
therefore no one should lord it over other people in the name of special
ministry gift or position by intimidating people with threats of curses, God
not blessing them if they do not worship him and members of his family so to speak.
A leader should therefore be tolerant,
accommodating, focused, selfless, forgiving, and intuitive and be humble enough
to accept corrections and rebuke. A leader should have a compelling vision of
where s/he is headed otherwise; s/he is driven by personal desires and passions
that have nothing to do with the global public good.
The Apostle Paul on the other hand had endearing
characteristics of leadership. He was bold, courageous, emotionally strong,
straight forward, and truthful and was not afraid of anyone. The Apostle Paul
was not hypocritical and showed no personal favoritism. At every point in time,
he stood for the truth. He did not at any time double speak or act contrary to
his beliefs and what he preached; like Peter who became hypocritical to please
the Jews. Paul was not a people pleaser. A leader should have sufficient inner
strength to rise above the fear of fellow human beings for fear sometimes makes
straight forward people become hypocritical. What a shame!
Peter allowed fear of people – the actions they may
take against him rule his life. Consequently, he denied Jesus Christ three
times because he was afraid. Please see John Chapter 18 verses 15 to 27, Luke
Chapter 22 verses 55 to 61, Mark Chapter 14 verses 54 to 72, and Matthew
Chapter 26 verses 58 to 75. Peter also stopped eating with the Gentiles when
the Jews from James came to see him. Please see Galatians Chapter 2. It was
only after Paul spoke about the fact that Peter was double speaking in his
utterances and actions that Peter woke up to his responsibilities as a leader.
He began to practice in total what he was preaching.
A leader should not panic, should respond to any
situation by the Spirit of God. That is why anyone aspiring to leadership
positions should be filled with the Spirit of God because the Spirit of God
helps the leader to deal with situations as they arise. A leader should not
fear or even exhibit fear in public.
Delegation, raising leaders and good succession
principles are attributes of great leadership. Jesus Christ demonstrated all of
these and imparted to them to His disciples in the period of time spent under
His tutelage. The Apostle Paul also demonstrated these attributes. He raised
and mentored a number of leaders in the Churches he planted. They include
Timothy, Titus, and a host of others.
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