Responsibility of a Leader
What do we disciple the saints to?
Ultimately, Lord Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, and every man will have to give account for his own responsibility to Jesus. Colosians 1:28. Our goal is to make every man complete in Christ. We recognize therefore that we do not disciple people to ourselves but to Jesus. If we disciple a man to ourselves there is a danger that they will always need us and depend upon us. This can short circuit growth in faith and ultimately frustrate maturity.
There is a great danger also and even a risk that they may copy our own imperfections. We need to allow them to grow just as in the natural a father allows the child to find his / her own identity. What we want them to finally realize is their own identity and character in Christ. I Cor 11:1. In all these scriptures the emphasis here is on Christ than Paul. However, this does not mean a leader is not exempted from this responsibility. Paul is pointing the saints in Corinth, past him to the Lord Jesus Christ. An example is of John the Baptist who said, “ I am the friend of the bridegroom”.
Who is the disciple?
Holy Spirit is the disciple. John 16:13. He is the only one who knows every intimate need of the believer in making him complete in Christ. He also knows what a saint can take in correction and admonition at any moment of time and as leaders therefore we are under-shepherds working with the Holy Spirit to lead the saints into maturity. Our responsibility is to draw out and implement what the Holy Spirit is saying to make the individual accountable to the Word of God that is the word preached publicly and the word received in the personal reading.
Application
This will be through the setting of goals and objectives directly related to the Word of God received by the individual such as
a. What did God speak to you through the word preached?
b. What is the Lord saying to you in your life at this moment?
c. What are you going to do about it ?
d. How and when do you plan to implement it?
In this manner the people of God could be held accountable to the word. We can have the joy of seeing the word become flesh in their lives. We also would deliver the church from purely intellectual ascent and exercises.
This of-course assumes a saint who is consciously moving on as an active disciple of God. It would help him to constantly reach forward. Where there is a sign of withdrawal from the forward motion, admonition, exhortation or even correction may be necessary. Confronting such ones will expose them and they may then defend their stand or even attack our stand or even retreat that is back out being offended.
Encourage such ones by exhortations, this would help us in understanding their state. We would however, shall not force ourselves on any individual. The individual believer will have to respond.
Where the onus lies.
Jesus said to his disciples to ‘follow me’. This implies
a. They had a choice
b. The emphasis was on movement.
c. The onus was on the disciples to respond.
Jesus did not cajole, bully or campaign or plead for disciples to follow him. In fact when majority left his only appeal was ‘if you also want to go away…’ (John 6:60,61& 67). In other words it would mean that they could choose to follow him. The onus is therefore always on the disciples, he should be always pressing on himself to learn more of Jesus. Therefore, if he wants to grow he should be pushing you as the leader to know how to move on. It is the hunger of the sheep that brings burden on the shepherd to move forward or further. There is nothing more difficult to handle than a passive sheep who neither looks for a direction or apply it when given. He will lead you to an endless race of frustration because he is not prepared to take up responsibility for his own life. Be careful in this instance, you cannot pump faith into such a person or be constantly seeking to prop them up. You will end up striving and carrying him yourself.
Therefore, it is better to:
a. Let him alone for sometime and allow him to collapse to his own measure of faith that he might realize the lack of foundation.
b. At a later time check with him if he had a revelation concerning this progressive salvation and the call of God in his life.
Summary:
a. The onus is on the saints to actively be seeking to go on and grow.
b. The impetus should be coming from them to you and not otherwise.
c. It is difficult to steer a stationary ship, they also have a bad time in storms.
d. Jesus said “I will build my church” and we are co-workers with Him.
Love, Encouragement and Judgment
Our shepherding response and responsibilities are therefore outlined in more depth in love, encouragement and judgment.
Having said that the onus lies with the saint we do not leave them to sink or swim. We have a responsibility and it is essential to exercise this. It is important from us to recognize how we ourselves have come to the state we are presently in, so that we can exercise everything rightly and also watch out.
a. Striving: Trying to carry the saints in the strength of our own will. This would later yield to frustrations.
b. Unbelief: That is insufficient faith to believe that the Lord can see them through (the crisis of their lives), we should take care that we do not reach them by our soulical strength.
c. Frustration: Trying to move them at our measure of faith level or beyond their own.( This will lead both the giver and the taker to suffer frustration)
We cannot carry a saint on to his own piece of promise land (like Joshua could not fight for everyone, each had to possess the land his foot would tread upon). He or she must stand on it himself or herself. They must possess it.
The Starting Point of a Disciple
The starting point of our shepherding / disciplining or involvement with a saint is the point of faith, that is the personal acceptance of the responsibility for going on and growing on in Jesus Christ themselves. Their growing must be their lives ambition and goal and that is the place that the leadership comes in.
This man is actually moving on in the Lord. Leadership joins with the saints. He does not force but he is joining with one who is already moving. Therefore the role of the leadership is to steer, encourage and direct and not to carry. If we carry a stationary sheep who is unwilling to move in the Lord, this sheep becomes more of a liability than an asset.
The consequence of carrying is seen in Israelites when they told Moses, “ you have brought us”, they could not see more than Moses, they became standstill”. This was what the Hebrew writer was inferring when he said, “ today, if you hear his voice do not harden your heart”
The job of leadership is to pick up and not to prop up. We have to point constantly to the sufficiency of Jesus and where is necessary to show the next step required and not to CARRY the saint over it.
In this regard, the following three principles should work through the leader.
a.
Love and patience: Answers alone are insufficient, very
often, the saints know the answer and are gradually learning the
truth but what they need is love, understanding and compassion
in the process through which God is taking him. The
environment of love is essential to give them security to move
on into that, which lies ahead of them.
Note: Without that love they may feel insecure and a loss
of identity. So if you are giving direction and
especially if a saint is feeling hurt on the inside, show them
love by
a. Verbalizing it, which is communication
b. Visiting him and showing expressions of warmth even through
informal talk and putting your hand around him.
c. Let them know that you understand and you are praying
for them.
d. Be positive but be compassionate and patient.
God’s grace, your love and the right answers will see them
through.
b.
Encouragement: The most powerful motivating force we
have is encouragement. It is the language of the kingdom.
It is the way we build one another up. It is the life air
flow which as Christians we breath and grow. It is
important to note
– the New Testament is full of it
– without it we become stunted.
– it is actually prophetic in achieving what we speak for.
Encouragement is edifying which is building up.
(Carrying through - this is what we mean by it: making
allowances for the soul man of the saint. Pampering or
averting corrections or its severity on the grounds of
sympathizing).
–we should always be looking to encourage those whom we lead
particularly
*those whom we have recently given specific direction
* those who have achieved or achieving goals.
* at any point of progress or development in God.
Note: therefore encouragement should be specific rather than
general, genuine and not vague. It will then produce
specific results. It is important to always encourage them
towards what you see in them, even if they do not have the
confidence to see it for themselves yet. Believe for them
and in them for God does!