Empowering Leaders
Below is a lesson that I have re-taught recently. This time, I taught it to the congregational leaders in our church. As we aim to do more for God locally and globally, we need to build up more leaders. Empowering them is an essential attitude and skill that we need to acquire.
Hope it will be helpful to you too.
Empowering Leaders
Introduction
Empowering people is one the most important leadership role. Without empowering people, we will not be able to do more than what we are doing now and what we are able to do.
Jesus’ Plan To Win The World (Matthew 28:18-20). It is a call to make disciples – to empower people to be disciples.
Paul & Timothy (multi-levels of leaders)
2 Timothy 2:2
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
Apostles In The Early Church
Acts 6:2-4
2So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
People are the most important asset, not anything else. We must believe in people. We cannot empower people without a high belief in them.
Because people are created in the image of God, we are capable to do great things for God.
People respond to us according to our belief in them. In Romans 8 – when we know that God loves us, we will become more than conquerors.
1) Have A High Belief In People
We cannot empower people when we do not believe in people. Often times, we do not believe in people because we do not believe in ourselves or at least know how much God believe in us.
Romans 4:17
As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
Believe In People Is Not Equal To Blind Faith or Being Unrealistic
Believe in people means that we think the best of people and think the best possibility in people. For example, we may not be able to fully entrust an important task to someone who had failed us now but we want to believe that this person will change.
2) Get Near To The People
To impact lives, we have to come near. We are able to impress from far but can only impact from near.
That is why Jesus had to incarnate as a man to save man and impact man.
Hebrews 4:15-16
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
What Do You Do After Getting Near To Them?
2.1) Express Your Belief In Them / Personally Challenge Them
Exodus 3:4
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."
1 Samuel 3:2-4
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am."
God challenges people individually. 99% of the people will not do anything until they are being challenged to do so.
We need to challenge to the whole crowd and also personally.
2.2) Model For Them
We need to show them what it means to live the kind of life that God wants us to live.
Jesus was the Word becoming flesh. God took His truth and wrapped it in human flesh.
John 1:46-49
46"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. 47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." 48"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." 49Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
This needs to be intentional.
2.3) Do Life With Them
Matthew 4:19-20
19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
Leaders need to create moments together. We need to make memories together. We create teachable moments together.
This is not an end by itself but we bring them back to Jesus.
2.4) Open Your Life To Them
Openness breeds openness. We need to open our hearts to them. We seek to exhibit authenticity to them. We share our joy and our disappointment (need wisdom here).
We will run the risk of getting hurt but that’s the nature of empowering and loving people.
Matthew 26:36-38
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
Jesus was definitely hurt when the disciples abandon him at the cross.
3) Release The People
This is the final test. It may be the hardest part for some.
It takes secure leaders to release them (like parents sending their kids overseas or marrying their daughters off).
Just because we train them does not mean they are ours or our army (all belongs to God). We empower people such that they can do more than us and be all that they are created to be in Christ (not created in our image).
Luke 10:1-3
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
Releasing them may mean that they may not work with you anymore but for God.
Conclusion
These are simple principles that work. You will be able to do more for God when you do these principles into practice!
Please feel free to use this lesson in anyway if it is helpful for you.
Hope it will be helpful to you too.
Empowering Leaders
Introduction
Empowering people is one the most important leadership role. Without empowering people, we will not be able to do more than what we are doing now and what we are able to do.
Jesus’ Plan To Win The World (Matthew 28:18-20). It is a call to make disciples – to empower people to be disciples.
Paul & Timothy (multi-levels of leaders)
2 Timothy 2:2
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.
Apostles In The Early Church
Acts 6:2-4
2So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
People are the most important asset, not anything else. We must believe in people. We cannot empower people without a high belief in them.
Because people are created in the image of God, we are capable to do great things for God.
People respond to us according to our belief in them. In Romans 8 – when we know that God loves us, we will become more than conquerors.
1) Have A High Belief In People
We cannot empower people when we do not believe in people. Often times, we do not believe in people because we do not believe in ourselves or at least know how much God believe in us.
Romans 4:17
As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
Believe In People Is Not Equal To Blind Faith or Being Unrealistic
Believe in people means that we think the best of people and think the best possibility in people. For example, we may not be able to fully entrust an important task to someone who had failed us now but we want to believe that this person will change.
2) Get Near To The People
To impact lives, we have to come near. We are able to impress from far but can only impact from near.
That is why Jesus had to incarnate as a man to save man and impact man.
Hebrews 4:15-16
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
What Do You Do After Getting Near To Them?
2.1) Express Your Belief In Them / Personally Challenge Them
Exodus 3:4
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."
1 Samuel 3:2-4
2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am."
God challenges people individually. 99% of the people will not do anything until they are being challenged to do so.
We need to challenge to the whole crowd and also personally.
2.2) Model For Them
We need to show them what it means to live the kind of life that God wants us to live.
Jesus was the Word becoming flesh. God took His truth and wrapped it in human flesh.
John 1:46-49
46"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. 47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." 48"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." 49Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
This needs to be intentional.
2.3) Do Life With Them
Matthew 4:19-20
19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
Leaders need to create moments together. We need to make memories together. We create teachable moments together.
This is not an end by itself but we bring them back to Jesus.
2.4) Open Your Life To Them
Openness breeds openness. We need to open our hearts to them. We seek to exhibit authenticity to them. We share our joy and our disappointment (need wisdom here).
We will run the risk of getting hurt but that’s the nature of empowering and loving people.
Matthew 26:36-38
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
Jesus was definitely hurt when the disciples abandon him at the cross.
3) Release The People
This is the final test. It may be the hardest part for some.
It takes secure leaders to release them (like parents sending their kids overseas or marrying their daughters off).
Just because we train them does not mean they are ours or our army (all belongs to God). We empower people such that they can do more than us and be all that they are created to be in Christ (not created in our image).
Luke 10:1-3
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
Releasing them may mean that they may not work with you anymore but for God.
Conclusion
These are simple principles that work. You will be able to do more for God when you do these principles into practice!
Please feel free to use this lesson in anyway if it is helpful for you.
posted by Jeff Chong at 12:19 am
7 Comments:
Thank you for the teaching...
This is the first time i read your Blog since i started mine recently and i notice you listed The Cure, Style Council and Tears for Fears in your profile, they are my favourite bands too.
Hi Roger Caleb, glad that we shared the same music taste! I have a thing for British accent and the bands.
A thought-provoking teaching. May our leaders share your heartbeat to win the world for Jesus and to release people into ministry. Give them a chance to serve, please. Personally, my CL had a kind of matyr complex and was always overburdening herself and her one core team member. They "bao ge liao" and only give selectively tasks to one other person in the group. I volunteered to do stuff but was not taken up seriously. And I am not a new believer. I was in the core team before too. Maybe the leader just doesn't trust people to do it and prefers to take everything herself? She was often tired and sick and would say that she had many things to do. Then how about the rest of us? Granted there are many in our caregroup who preferred to lay back and not take up things to do but I was not like that. After more than 15 months of begging, she finally "allowed" me to lead worship. One time.
hi anonymous, I would like to suggest that you talk to your CL again. Do list out to her on the exact areas that you can contribute it. You can even take initative to prepare food, bring extra bible (for the CG), prepare the CG meeting place etc first. I know that you will be such a blessing to your CG and CL.
You could also talk to your UL on your desire to involve more. Please continue to use your time, talent and treasure for the Kingdom!
We need more hands on deck!
Sadly to say, from my personal experiences, many leaders skipped the basic part of letting members realise the initial purpose of being leaders/coreteam etc. The reason for 'rising up' is subtly thwarted towards the pursuit of influence, status and even popularity. Perhaps even these leaders have long abandoned the core value of leadership. I mean, how many leaders nowadays actually want to be leaders because they want to do more for God globally by working locally. The rat-race is blinding, and many people are in it.
Nevertheless, this message does not come from a jaded member. There are impressive role models in church that have outstanding charcter. Being a leader myself before changing congregation, I try my best to be as objective as I can be. Of course these are just opinions gathered from personal experiences and not all members may share the same views.
Thanks for your investment in the KOG, Ps Jeff. You have made a big difference! =)
Hey thanks for the note. Appreciate your honesty and your serving as a leader.
My take is that we need to continually fan leadership and Kingdom's value. It is very easy to be suck in by the demands of our world and simply slip into leading without a clear vision.
Let's join with many around us to heat up the Kingdom and serving leadership value. God and I are on your side!
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