The Missing Link In Understanding Leadership In The Church

Today, in our world, the most important subject hardly discussed among believers is the reign and the governing rule of Christians with Christ in the present dispensation and the future to come.  In fact, a good number of believers shy away, not wanting the hot seat of talking about the role of leadership of the Church in the world, and the kingdom of God.

Different denominations have different ideas on what stewardship and invariably leadership means in today's dispensation of the gospel. Hence, this is an area of our spiritual growth great misunderstood among believers because of the poor teachings offered by many denominations in place of the truth.

And the effect was seen in the vacuum created in the Church differing in offering leadership at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the church did not play a clear leadership role in forcing a decisive response to calm the fear of the people worldwide.  Until this moment, lots of believers still believe that leadership is a role best suited for those with a strong personality in the community of believers. Instead of believing the new dispensation of grace introduced solid enablement of the Holy Spirit coupled with meekness, humility, and dedication are the first element desired in any Christian services.

At the same time, some still hold on to the belief that leadership, belongs in the world and not in the Church structure. This kind of unscriptural belief has caused the fellowship to suffer much in the hands of abusive leaders. Also stemming from fear, timidity, many strange and false beliefs have caused many to back out of the truth of their calling to lead in the Church. It is strange how believers in this century still believe that holding and playing a leadership role in the faith is un-Christianly.

Thus, believers with such thought limit leadership to the secular world and the places where citizens socialize, political establishments, corporate business, sporting activities, and professional gatherings in society. The price of having such an idea is evidenced in the low and unworkable leadership structure in the body of Christ. These are the belief that has robbed the Church of having the true spirit-filled leaders needed in moving the gathering of believers to a new level of spirituality.  

For that reason, many have not believed the good news of their call to lead and serve as well.  Nevertheless, to you. Do you know that every believer is a leader and a steward serving the Lord? However very few would believe they are leaders in Christ Jesus. As well as those, having a false sense of humility, believing it is presumptuous to think as a leader does in exercising our Christian obligations. 

In the few years of my fellowship and ministry of reconciliation to the lost and the faith community, I have put the same question to young believers new in the faith, to find out if they understand the basics of the Christian faith. To my surprise, most have responded nine times out of ten negatively to my question.

Just a few have given back the right answer; most have got it all wrong and failed the test. Some have even gone off tangent offering the wrong answer for a good reason. All leading me to conclude that most believers are yet ungrounded in rudiment of the faith.

However, things are not supposed to be that way in the Church and in the service of Christ. If having leadership skills and services is all wrong, then why did our Lord, focused on this aspect in His teaching? This truth is self-evident in the teachings of our Lord on leadership. In the teaching of the Lord, we discover that a LEADER IS CALLED TO SERVE, BOTH THE LORD, AND THOSE HE LEADS. What a contrast and a strange way to define leadership. Perhaps that is the reason many do not want to lead in the Church.

And it pleases our Lord God in His sovereignty to assign believers as leaders in their calling. All believers have been lightened by Christ to walk and lead in the light that lights the world. Where a leader changes the atmosphere by introducing a vision where there is darkness, a direction where there is doubt, and life where there is hopelessness.

Moreover, every believer is an ambassador of Christ called to represent the kingdom of heaven on earth. The job of an ambassador is more than representing his home country; it also includes leading others in understanding the standard principles of his home government. Therefore, a Christian leader must show a high level of moral and spiritual uniqueness unparalleled in the secular world.

In addition, the difference between leadership in our community and the secular world is the element of the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit of God that connects believers with the God of heaven and earth. There is some similarity between leadership in the secular world and church which tends to merge but differs in many aspects.