Developing Christ-Centered Leaders

Ephesians 4:1 ESV

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

What is God calling me to do? To become a dynamic Christ-centered leader who pursues God's kingdom with a passion for making disciples and inspiring others to follow the crucified Christ.

But do you believe you have been called? According to the scripture, those who follow Jesus Christ are called and are given the privilege carrying out the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). I couldn’t understand in heaven why the Lord chose me (i.e. poor speaking skills, biblical illiterate, average in everything) and maybe you feel same impression too. However, God can use anyone and no matter what position of leadership you're in, God wants to lead - especially leading others to his Son. Paul explains how everyone in the church has a role to play when it comes to expanding the kingdom.

Ephesians 4:11–13 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

God design the church to be relational, unified in the the faith, and also for his body to become the the best Christ-centered leader that we can be. God wants you to find your role as his disciple and the result of finding and fulling our role is cultivate a healthy church that make eternal impact that affect their community. When we all aspire to be leaders, we influence the world and make difference.

Unfortunately, we have many local churches even in the thumb that are shrinking because not every Christian in that body stepped up to the plate. The quickest way of killing a church is letting everyone else to the work. But here at Ubly Christian, I want all of us to lead. For a Christian leader is one who influences the world with the power of the gospel.

And healthy churches have dynamic leaders who pursuit God's kingdom with a passion for making disciples and who inspire others to follow the crucified Christ. Every church needs overseers, servants, and obedient Christ-followers to build a church spiritually and numerically. In the message, we focus on the principle of Christ-centered leadership within the church and how everyone deputized to ministry.

Godly leaders must have Christ-centered Character

Talents will take you far, but without godliness a church cannot grow. It’s like trying to make a tree grow without dirt and water. The same applies to the everyone who desires to be a leader.

Purity

Matthew 5:8 ESV

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Consequences of lack of purity Bill Hybels at Willow Creek 2018 and James MacDonald at Harvest Bible Chapel 2019, both founders of the churches had sexual allegations against them and we fired leaving their churches hurting with an open wound.

Sexual immorality will hold a church back. Find sexuality purity by protecting your eyes and heart.

2. Sincerity

Church leaders must maintain the difficult balance between authenticity and spirituality. If you appear to be perfect, people will see you as unread and regard the Christian life as unattainable. But if you appear to be too sinful, people lose respect for you. They will see you as no better than next guy, and that are uninspired. You should be transparent about your own failures and let people see your faults, but a church also has the right to expect it’s leaders to be a cut about the rest. Be real, be an example that will motivate others to stretch in their spiritual walk.

3. Humility

Philippians 2:3–5 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

Dying to yourself and being brought low to the ground as mankind was formed from the dust of the earth. Recognizing when good things happen to a church, it’s not you but God doing the work i.e. church grow, budget is well, and the church is healthy. When we can grow in purity, sincerity and humility.

Christian Leaders must have the capability of carrying out God's plan

(learn, empower, adapt, delegate, reflect, serve) Elders, Deacons and Christ-followers

1 Timothy 3:1–13 ESV

1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. 8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

1) A courageous confrontation of problems

John Wilson, longtime minister of the First Christian Church in Springfield, Ohio, suggested that when a church has problems, the leaders have to determine if it’s measles or cancer. If it’s measles, the problem will go away on it own; if it’s cancer, it has to be eradicated. The temptation leaders face is to let all the problems slide, to be passive, and to hope they will go away.

Paul chastised the Corinthian leaders for not confronting immorality that was being flaunted in their fellowship (1 Cor. 5). He warned Timothy that false teaching was like “gangrene” (2 Tim. 2:17). And he personally confronted divisiveness in the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 1).

Distinctive leaders confront malignant problems scripturally, lovingly, and openly. Average leaders spend too much time speculating about people’s reactions: What will they say? Who will be offended? How many people will leave? Superior leaders are primarily concerned with what God has instructed us to do in His Word. The one essential for stability in any organization is the assurance that someone is in charge in a time of crisis. Nothing destroys the cohesiveness of a body like the feeling that no one is doing anything about a serious problem.

2) An attitude of reasonable flexibility

In Bible-believing churches, certain truths are absolute. Good leaders do not waver where the Bible speaks, such as on the doctrines of inspiration of Scriptures, the deity of Christ, the plan of salvation, the resurrection and the second coming are not debatable.

Good leaders are sensitive to the they Body so as not to offend those with a weak conscience, but they aren’t intimidated by a few vocal critics. They apply this rule: Methods are many, principles are few, methods always change, principle never do. Good leaders are receptive to change if it promises to benefit the body.

3) Progressive Delegation of responsibility

Excellent leaders watch out for the dangers of Boyle’s Law: if not controlled, work will flow to the most competent person until he is swamped. When Moses became overburdened with counseling responsibilities (Ex. 18), his father-in-law wisely advised him to delegate the responsibilities by training several men to help him. When the church in Jerusalem grew to the extent that the twelve apostles began experiencing time pressures, they decided to select men to care for the welfare needs so they could continue giving themselves to “prayer and the ministry of the word’ (Acts 6:4).

The church is to invest in developing your leadership qualities

1) live an authentic life

Be yourself people are watching you.

1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV

1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

People want to know if who you are is consistent with what say. That’s why Paul told Timothy

1 Timothy 4:16 ESV

16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

2) Be accountable to someone

Find a mentor or a friend who love you enough to ask the difficult questions: How is your marriage? Are you growing spiritually? Is the ministry going well? Is there anything you need to confess?

3) love your family

Love your family first, they are your first ministry.

4) stretch yourself

If you are stagnating spiritually, perhaps God is preparing your heart for a new challenge. Consider what it could be that God is leading you to do: start a new ministry in your church, go on a mission trip, start a building project, listen to other christian speakers, enroll in seminary.

Dynamic Christ-centered leaders will plant and grow a healthy church.