I conducted an unofficial survey of friends and associates. I asked, "When you think of great leaders, who comes to mind?" Who comes to your mind? Most of the answers I received began with long periods of silence followed by a few names, most of whom are dead. In his leadership essays, John Gardner pointed out that at the time the United States was formed, the population stood at around 3 million. Six leaders of world class - Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, and Hamilton were produced. Our American population today of approximately 260 million might be expected to produce 86 times as many world class leaders. Gardner asks, and so do I, "Where are they?"
If ever we needed leaders it's today. Post-modernism has invaded every corner of our lives. This mind set is marked by doubt, dysfunction and despair. Risk and intimacy are feared. Rejection of absolutes and structures is pervasive. Loss of personal identity and future hope is hidden by a public mask of immorality, isolation, subjectivism, secularism, anger and apathy. They, and maybe many of us in our moments of despair, ask, "Is there anyone I can trust?", "Is there anyone who really cares?", "Is there anything worth living for?" Worth dying for?
Add to this attitude unprecedented staggering change. The rate of change in the world seems to be increasing logarithmically at a meteoric pace while many of our Christian institutions and churches are moving at a glacial pace. We spent thousands of years, by some estimates, hunting and gathering, hundreds of years in agriculture, and approximately 150 years in the industrial age (1790 - 1950). The information age began in 1950 with the advent of computers. This age is expected to last about 50 years and will be succeeded by the bio-technological age. In 1993 one brain cell and one micro-chip were combined and maintained viability for a short time. Recently, a ewe and two rhesus monkeys were cloned. You can see, I'm sure, the ramifications for the future. Some have suggested that when the creature becomes the creator Christ will come.
The development of human knowledge is following the same crazy pattern. From the time of Christ until 1760, world knowledge doubled once. From 1760 to 1880 it doubled again. In 1914 it doubled a third time. Now human knowledge doubles twice a year. More recently, some have said it is doubling twice every 3 to 4 months. Technological advancement has experienced a similar rate of change: 5000 years from sailboat to steamboat; 100 years from steamboat to airplane; 40 years from the air age to the atomic age; 12 years from the atomic age to the space age. Many may agree with Mark Twain - the only one who likes change is a wet baby.
In the newspaper cartoon Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller, a businessman returns from lunch. His secretary reports, "While you were out, the company was sold, your job was downsized and is now being done by someone half your age at one-third your salary, your wife left you for a woman, and your new home is a cardboard box. Tragic as that might sound it is not far off the track.
Add to this scenario the ascendency of dysfunctionality to a badge of honor worn proudly by
many of us. You have probably heard of the new psychiatric hotline being installed around the
country. You dial in and the following directions are suggested . . .
If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly.
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2.
If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5, and 6.
If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line so we can trace the call.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press.
If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer.
This may be tongue-in-cheek but does, never-the-less, provide a commentary on our openness and acceptance of dysfunctionality as an understandable if not natural and common way of life.
These influences among others have produced a daunting ministry challenge. The increasing pressures of data saturation, designed isolationism, frenetic lifestyles, relational poverty, institutional disillusionment, competing value systems, ethical bankruptcy, and future uncertainties are producing needs that can only be met in Christ and by Christ. These needs can no longer be suppressed by shear discipline or repressed by shear fear. These needs are oozing out of the corners of our lives. People are seeking spiritual meaning, ethical clarity, relational intimacy and practical answers to life's problems.
Add to these needs God's initiatory activity - He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Ec 3:11). This God-shaped vacuum, as Paschal called it, compels humans to cry out "Why am I here? Who am I? Where am I going?" Every human being has a need for trust, for relationships, and a need for a future. Intrinsically, we have a need to believe, to belong and to become. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! (Rom 10:14-15)." We have the answers to their questions. Yes, we need leaders but not just any leader - we need godly leaders!
Even postmodern mentality with its pessimism and cynicism recognizes the need for leadership, leadership that seemingly violates their own declared tenets including the denial of the transcendent and the rejection of absolutes. In Neikirk's article mentioned earlier the public, he says, has an idea of what good leadership looks like. They are looking for leaders who have, and I quote, "a moral compass, a set of core beliefs, a firmness that is not authoritarian, strong powers of persuasion and a self-effacing manner." The article goes on to say that people are looking for leaders that "inspire trust and confidence", that have "the ability to articulate a vision", that are seen as "acting on principle and not caving in", and that "show coherence and constancy". Christians are also looking for these kind of leaders.
Throughout the Bible, and in these times, God searches for leaders but not just any leader.
According to 1 Samuel (13:14) He seeks leaders "after his own heart" like David. In Jeremiah
(5:1) He looks for leaders "who deal honestly and seek the truth". And in Ezekiel (22:30) we
note that God looks for leaders who stand before Him "in the gap". J. Oswald Sanders, in his
classic book Spiritual Leadership, says "the Bible shows us that when God does find a person
who is ready to lead, to commit to full discipleship and take on responsibility for others, that
person is used to the limit - even with shortcomings." As leaders we have no reason to boast.
"No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges:
He brings one down, he exalts another (Ps 75:6-7)."
But what is a leader? Joel Barker, who introduced us to the over-used concept of "paradigm shifts", offers this appealing definition, "a leader is someone you will follow to a place you wouldn't go by yourself." David Cook along with Howard Hendricks, in the video seminar entitled Leading God's Way, suggests the following definition - "a leader is a person who influences people to accomplish a purpose." J. Oswald Sanders adds "if a leader is a person who influences people to accomplish a purpose then, every Christian is a leader, for we all influence others." I might add - for good or for worse. Sanders goes on to say, "if the world is to hear the churches voice today, leaders are needed who are authoritative, spiritual and sacrificial. Authoritative, because people desire leaders who know where they are going and are confident of getting there. Spiritual, because without a strong relationship to God, even the most attractive and competent person cannot lead people to God. Sacrificial, because this follows the model of Jesus, who gave Himself for the whole world and who calls us to follow in His steps."
Dr. J. Robert Clinton, professor of leadership for Fuller Seminary, defines a leader in the Biblical context as "a person with a God-given capacity and a God-given responsibility to influence a specific group of God's people toward His purposes for the group." No matter how we define a leader the fact remains that without godly leadership there are no lasting answers to life's deep questions arising from a need for someone to trust, to love, and provide hope.
How then, is a godly leader developed? Dr. Clinton argues that "God develops a leader over a lifetime. That development is a function of the use of events and people to impress leadership lessons upon a leader, plus time, and the response of the leader to these factors. After carefully and exhaustively researching the lives of Biblical characters and Christian leaders he suggests that leadership development consists of six phases. The process begins with sovereign foundations, moves to inner-life growth after conversion, proceeds to the ministry maturing phase, continues to the life maturing phase and concludes with the convergence phase. Seminaries should and can play a significant role in leadership development beginning with the inner-life growth phase. During all the development phases God processes a person by bringing activities, people, problems and circumstances into his or her life. The leaders response to these character development experiences and other process items such as integrity, obedience, and word checks will facilitate advancement to the next phase of development with its increased responsibilities and expanded sphere of influence.
"In the long haul," according to Clinton, "God is preparing the leader for convergence. He is conforming (the leader in the making) to the image of Christ" as described in Romans 8:28-29. "He is giving (the leader) training and experience so that (the leader's) gifts may be discovered. His goal is a Spirit-filled leader through whom the living Christ ministers, utilizing the leader's spiritual gifts. The fruit of the Spirit is the mark of the mature Christian (leader)." In convergence then, "the leader is moved by God into a role that matches gift-mix, experience, temperament, etc." Put another way, convergence is reach when 80% of who you are matches 80% of what you do. This placement and role "not only frees the leader from ministry for which there is no gift, but also enhances and uses the best that the leader has to offer." In other words, who the leader is in terms of their spiritual gifts, talents, temperament, and passion substantially overlaps their role and calling at convergence.
If this is true, and I think it is, what part does Bethel play in the process of developing godly leaders for kingdom work? Where will these godly leaders come from? Who will help these leaders learn about themselves from God's point of view? Who will provide biblical and theological foundations to lead with a sense of calling and God-given empowerment supported by the authority of the Word? Who will facilitate their spiritual and personal formation to lead with integrity and authenticity? Who will develop transformational leaders in the manner of Christ to lead our churches and ministry agencies? Who will provide them with the tools and methodologies to change the world? Who will provide whole and holy men and women of God to stand in the gap? Bethel, in my view, is called to this lofty task. We are privileged to participate in the development of godly transformed and transforming leaders for the cause of Christ. In fact, we are charged with that responsibility. I believe we, who have been called to the role of preparing future leaders, will one day give an account of how we have discharged our duties and responsibilities.
For some time, I have sensed God's hand on the lives of men and women across the country. I believe God is raising up an army of leaders for the difficult times ahead of us just around the corner. I believe the stage is being set for the coming of the Lord preceded by the progressive persecution of His elect. We see indications of that persecution even now. In America, Christians are no longer admired for their beliefs or values. We are verbally abused and in some cases socially and politically ostracized. In other parts of the world people are being killed for following our Lord. How long before we too experience that kind of suffering on a much grander scale? Verbal persecution will be accompanied by economic and political persecution followed by physical suffering. I do not think it is coincidence that the lay led movement of Promise Keepers is effectively sweeping the land calling men to leadership in their homes, their workplace and in their churches. Some have called it a modern day revival. I would not argue with them.
I think we have a limited window of opportunity to prepare godly leaders for what faces us in the immediate future - leaders who live their lives from the inside out, leaders who recognize that transformed behavior is the result of a transformed heart. Conventional wisdom suggests that lasting behavioral change can be realized by conforming one's behavior to an acceptable standard. In other words, by personal discipline or supportive environment one can transform their behavior. We in the church have to some degree bought into this erroneous philosophy. In fact, the enemy Satan would rather have us concentrate on our behavior. His battlefield of choice, however, has always been and will continue to be the hearts of men and women until he is destroyed once and for all.
From a Biblical point of view, lasting behavioral change that brings glory to God is the result of a transformed heart. In the Bible, the heart is the seat of desire, inclination, will, emotions, knowledge, wisdom, conscience and moral character. The heart is comprised of core beliefs out of which proceed our values, the hills we are prepared to die on. These values form our attitudes about life, what we think and how we evaluate our experiences. Our attitudes generate our motives which in turn produce our behavior. Whoever or whatever captures our heart controls and informs our behavior. Either the world, the flesh and the devil owns the heart or God does. The first group promises bondage. Jesus, in stark contrast, promises freedom. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." "I am the way and the truth and the life."
Godly leadership has, is and always will be a matter of the heart, a matter of Christ-centered character, a matter of God-inspired integrity. I say again, transformational leadership is the result of transformed hearts - wholly committed to God. Transformed churches and ministry agencies must be led by transformed leaders. "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Cor 3:18)."
I conclude with a charge from J. Oswald Sanders. "We must be dedicated to transforming men and women from self-confidence to confidence in God; from knowledge of men to knowledge of God; from making one's own decisions in a vacuum to seeking God's will; from ambition to humility; from creating methods to following God's example; from commanding one's own destiny to delighting in obedience to God; from seeking personal reward to loving God and others; and from a life of independence to a life of dependence on God."
Copyright ©1996 G.W. Bourgond
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