This study reveals the essential spiritual leadership qualities that drive growth within the Christian Church Union in DR Congo. How can the lessons from biblical leaders like Joseph and Moses transform contemporary church leadership practices? Discover actionable insights that can reshape your approach to effective spiritual guidance.
CHAPTER III : PRINCIPLES FOR LEADING OTHER PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH
III.1. Leadership of Joseph, Moses, Joshua and Deborah
To lead means to guide, conduct, persuade and direct affairs for the purpose of achieving a set of goals. Therefore, leadership entails possessing certain qualities or potentials that enables one to perform some of these functions in people’s lives. For the purpose of this topic, we will be focusing on four great leaders of Israel to know how their actions influenced the lives of the people and the qualities they possessed that enabled them to be successful.
Joseph As A Leader (Number 13:16 – 33; 14:1 – 10; 27:15 – 23; Joshua 1:1 – 15; 6; 24:1 – 31)
Major Talents of Joseph
- Joseph was a man of immense intelligence with special spiritual gift of interpretation of dreams. He was equally a dreamer and it was his dreams that brought him hatred from his brothers.
- Joseph was a good leader. He performed the assignment of storage and distribution of grains which he was given in Egypt by Pharaoh so well that other nations of the world benefitted from it.
- Despite the wickedness of his brothers, he forgave them instead of taking vengeance against them. He attributed their action to an act of God to fulfill his destiny (Genesis 45:5). This portrayed him as a good leader.
He respected God in all his actions- this was why he refused to commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife.
He was friendly with people; he interacted well with his fellow prisoners and interpreted dreams for them and this was what made the chief butler recommend him to Pharaoh.
He had a high sense of humor and. He acknowledged God as the owner of the divine wisdom in him (Genesis 41:16).
When compared with the present day leaders, Joseph’s leadership was exemplary in the sense that he demonstrated high level of honesty, integrity, fear of the Lord and forgiveness (he avoided vengeance).
Lessons to Learn
The lessons to be learnt from the life and leadership style of Joseph are:
- God turns disappointment, frustration and misfortune to blessing when one trusts and believes in Him just as Joseph trusted and believed in the God he served. This fact was made clear in his statement to his brothers when he told them that you meant evil against me but God meant it for good.
- Christians should always humble themselves and be at peace with everybody because they do not know who God will use to bless them. It was the chief butler that recommended Joseph to Pharaoh because they had a good relationship while they were together in prison.
- Leaders should be men of integrity, honesty and humility and they should always be ready to serve. Looking at most acclaimed leaders of today, dishonesty, recklessness and vengeance are exhibited by them in their mode of leadership.
- No human effort can stop one’s destiny once one trusts and serves God diligently.
Moses As A Leader (Exodus 1,2,3, 4:1 – 17, 5:1 – 5, 22 – 23, 6:28 – 30, 7:1 – 7; 14:1 – 31; 32:1 – 14, Numbers 13:1 – 13, 14:1 – 19)
Moses’ Qualities as a Leader
- Moses was a very patriotic nationalist that rendered selfless services to his people.
- All that mattered to him was the interest of his people and not his own interest. Twice, God threatened to wipe the Israelites out and make a great nation of the descendants of Moses, but he refused this and interceded for the people.
- He was courageous in facing the challenges from Pharaoh.
- He was very obedient and had strong faith in the God he was serving.
- Moses was a leader with high sense of humility; he knew how to manage crisis. On several occasions, the Israelites rebelled against him, but he managed the crisis efficiently.
- Moses’ courage and his obedience to God’s instructions made him succeed in his leadership roles.
- Moses was never discouraged, despite all the problems he encountered both from Pharaoh and the Israelites themselves.
III.2 Difficulties in Leading Stubborn People
It is difficult to lead people, especially those who are very difficult to be pleased or satisfied. This was shown by the actions of the Israelites. Things that should have been easy were made difficult, for example, it was the murmuring of the Israelites in the wilderness that prolonged their journey. A journey they would have completed in 40 days took 40 years.
Lessons to Learn
- Like Moses, Christians should demonstrate high sense of patriotism and render selfless services whenever they are called upon to lead people.
- Christians should be humble and tolerant as Moses was to his people. Christians should be obedient and take instructions work diligently.
- As Christians, we should respect, fear and depend on God to guide us in all our ways.
Joshua as a Leader (Numbers 13:16 – 33; 14:1 – 10; 27:15 – 23, Joshua 1:1 – 15; 6; 24:1 – 31)
B) Lessons for the Church Leaders
- Many of our church leaders today fear certain people in the church probably because of their riches and wealth. Joshua did not fear the people, he reported the situation of things as they were. The church leaders of today should say what they see without fear or favor.
- The church leaders of today should fear God and trust in Him. God is the over-all controller of the universe.
- The church leaders should copy the outstanding qualities possessed by Joshua for the role he played among the twelve spies.
- The church leaders should not think of what people would say, no matter the situation, even at the point of death.
Lessons to Learn From the Conquest of Jericho
- The Omnipotent power of God was demonstrated; with God everything is possible, nothing is beyond God’s power.
- God is ready to fight for His people, if we trust in Him at all time. The emphasis is on trust.
- Joshua is presented as a man of faith in God. He did not doubt God.
Obedience: Joshua obeyed God’s command. This led to his success.
God uses people no matter their conditions (e.g. . Rahab, the harlot).
D) Why Joshua Succeeded as a Leader
- Joshua succeeded Moses because he was courageous and he had strong faith in God. He demonstrated this by the speech he made to the Israelites when Moses sent them to spy the Promised Land (Exodus 14:19).
- Like Moses, he followed detailed instruction of God, and of course God always warned him beforehand (Joshua 1:8). Joshua demonstrated this in his conquest of Jericho. He was prepared to obey God’s instruction and this made him succeed as a leader.
- He was level-headed and prepared to learn and fellow the footsteps of his predecessor, Moses. Just as Moses spied Canaan, he too first of all spied Jericho before attacking the city. Again, like Moses before his death, he rededicated the people to the service of God.
Lessons to learn
- As demonstrated by Jericho, Christians are expected to work by faith and not by sight. When Joshua and his colleagues went to spy Canaan, the other made their own report based on the physical appearance of the people they saw, but Joshua’s report was based on faith and confidence in the omnipotent power of God. This attracted the love of God for him. As the Bible says, without faith, it is impossible to please God.
- Joshua trusted the Lord and followed the instruction of God and this was why he succeeded.
- Christians should always study the word of God, meditate on it and obey the instructions and their ways will be prosperous just as God told Joshua ,Joshua 1:8.
Deborah as a Leader Judges 4:1 – 24Leadership Qualities of Deborah
Lessons to Learn
- Deborah’s achievement as a leader is a pointer that gender difference is not a limitation to leadership. This implies that with determination, women in the church can aspire to any position and succeed.
- Honesty, integrity and uprightness are qualities which a leader must demonstrate in order to succeed.15
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13 https://cdn.website-editor.net, the importance of strong church leadership by Jack Graham, visited on 7th August 2022 ↑
14 Op cit Jack Graham ↑
15 https://itsmyschoollibrary.com, Christian Religious Studies, Leadership of Joseph, Moses, Joshua and Deborah, : Gloria Ogunbor, August 5, 2020, ↑