There is a cry for legitimacy in the kingdom of God, with regards to ascension to leadership. Indeed in the world there is a cry for and a need for leadership. Because many have seen the void they are posturing themselves to be the leaders of tomorrow.
Natural or Spiritual Problem
We have diagnosed this as a natural problem but it is a spiritual problem that is manifesting in the natural. Its fulfillment cannot start in the natural as this will be a unnatural order but it must start in the spirit and then manifest.
Leadership Selection – Spiritual order
We require an Isaiah experience for the selection of leaders. Who can say, “in the year king Uzziah died I saw the Lord high and lifted up”. Men and women who can say I saw the Lord in his glorified position and I saw the uncleanness in me. Individuals who will say I was cleansed by the Lord and responded accordingly to His request, “Who will go for us?” Many of our so called appointed leaders have never seen the Lord whose people they are leading or are aspiring to lead. You can only lead if you are hearing the voice of the Lord calling out for you to go.
Moses was called by God to lead the people he did not call himself. Gideon was doing his thing when the angel of the Lord visited him. Oh how we need the days of the judges where the spirit of the Lord would move on people and then they would rise up to bring people into the place that God has ordained for them.
Babylonian Philosophy on Leadership (the world and the church)
The driving force in these models or philosophies of leadership is ambition and being goal (result) orientation. These cannot be disparaged, as they are indeed great attributes that must exist in a leader, our concern is two fold, their genesis and result.
I am quite sure this Babylonian philosophy on leadership “let us make a name unto ourselves” is not pleasing unto God. Just in case you were wondering how does this relate to this day and age, the title and the accolades associated with the title which is aspired for is the “let’s make a name for ourselves”. The thoughts of “doing something that you may be noticed”. Perceiving this to be the only way that is going to earn or be given a leadership position in the church. Let me not forget the other thought, I should be vocal enough, visible enough, to garner enough support and credibility to be promoted to leadership.
The above bends the purpose of leadership models in the kingdom of God. The purpose of leadership in the kingdom of God is to facilitate the establishment of Kingdom and to manifest the will of God in the earth, “Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.”
The Church – leadership Development programs
In the church we have birthed programs to create leaders, we have leadership-training programs, leadership training material. We have fine-tuned our philosophical positions on the prerequisites of leadership. Graduate classes have been established to produce fine leaders that will take the church into the next level or dimension.
Having done all that we can a great challenge has manifested. We have trained them, graduated them and placed them into leadership, however, the question challenge is “we have done this but what does God have to say concerning them.”
The Church Solution to the leadership dilemma
We have seen a great “porting” in the church, where we have subscribed to humanistic worldly views of leadership. We have spiritualized these and tried to hammer them to fit what we are doing in the church. Unfortunately these philosophies do not have the kingdom of God as their genesis as a result they do not provide fruit which has a genuine desire for advancement of the kingdom of God. Yes individuals are advanced in the models that are presented before us but they do not know how to advance the kingdom.
Our leaders look to the world for ideas and then want to conform what they have seen to the church. How can light and darkness be in fellowship? How can two walk together lest they be in agreement? The principle of agreement is a powerful thing. If two or three shall agree on touching any one thing it shall be established. The church in its ignorance has legitimized certain leadership philosophies from the kingdom of darkness because we have been in agreement with them.
Using world models for leadership selection has been detrimental to the church.
Recently a friend posed a question concerning the church leadership that triggered a great philosophical discourse in the mind. Why is the church seemingly behind or seemingly inconsequential in the world? Several thing rose up and these are
The world is setting the pace and we are trying to catch up with them
Our leaders are being lead by the world and not God. Because who ever you want to emulate is going to be your leader.
Questions that the church must address (leadership – to those that aspire to lead)
Who birthed the desire, ambition, motivation and orientation in the individual?
Yes every leader must have a vision, because where there is no vision people perish. Again the genesis must be answered.
The bible clearly states that which is born of the flesh or has its genesis in the flesh is of the flesh, and nothing of the flesh can glory in the presence of the Lord.
For God himself is a spirit.
That said there are things that are birthed of the spirit and they are indeed of the spirit but these must also be qualified with regards to the spirit that birthed the vision
* The devil and demons are spirits and they also birth visions in people.
Who birthed the vision?
We have had this long understanding that whatever has been birthed in a kingdom is designed to serve that Kingdom. Any vision that is birthed in the kingdom of darkness has Lucifer as its father and it must serve the objective stated in John 10, Steal, Kill and destroy. As for the kingdom of God, it must bring life and life more abundantly.
Leadership and Direction
Yes leadership must provide direction as to how the organization must go, however leadership in the kingdom of God is not the progenitor of vision for the church but it is God himself for it is His church
Many have the right posture for leadership; they have their rods and positions within their tribes.
We see at this present time God beginning to reset things with regards to leadership. God is calling for consecration so that those who should lead begin to rise up and take their position of leadership.
Through out history we have seen “leaders” and leaders-wanna-be, occupying positions of those that have been legitimately elected by God to lead. God has then to set a criterion, not to choose but to show the world who he has chosen. So the qualifying thing in the kingdom of God with regards to leadership if the confirmation of the selection that God has already established
The Need for new leadership
We have correctly diagnosed that we are in a season of change, however we are not the ones that are dictating the change but it is God himself that is instigating it.
There is a change in the custodianship of the things of God, from one generation to another, Elijah is going up and Elisha must rise.
Moses is leaving and Joshua must rise to lead the people.
It is not Joshua or Elisha that chose themselves but it is God himself that chose them.
We often look at the model that is presented before us and do not consider that these man were already chosen by God. So what must God then do to resolve the situation between chosen leaders and self-appointed leaders? God will call forth for their rods to be brought before His presence and for a period of waiting those that have been chosen will see their rods budding.
Bring the Rods before me
It is significant to note that the rod is a support instrument implying that it is the support system that the leader has. So God is going to judge the support systems that are being used by the leaders as their claim to lead. Chosen and self-appointed leaders both have support system, but only those that have been chosen will produce fruit when they stand before the Lord.
This means that a leader can only be judged, not by the presence of a support system but by the fruit that is produced by the support system when it stands before the presence of the Lord.
Could it be that most of our “leaders” cannot afford to have their support systems stand before the presence of the Lord so that their legitimacy as leaders cannot be challenged. It is only in the presence of the Lord and not in the courts of public opinion that the authenticity of a leader can be verified. So as long as the support system is not exposed to the presence of God there will never be the opportunity for the right to leadership verification.
Having the understanding that God is required to bring legitimacy to leadership most of these “self-appointed” are forced to exhibit a form of godliness so that the support system and followers believe that God has sent them.
