Not everyone has characters of a good leader. The qualities of a good leader shall satisfy God's requirements. As Xue Tiandong notes, leaders of Christianity are God's servants. They know where the church should go. They can attract followers with their personal charm and great talent of leadership. "
1. To learn about the characteristics and necessities of the age:
(1) Know about what is necessary of this age:
Jesus said to Jews: "When you see morning glow, you will know there is wind and rain on that day. You can tell the weather by the changing of the sky but you cannot discern the signs of the miracle."
This sentence tells us that people shall have eternal wisdom to know about the change of the times, which is very ironic for those scribes. The words also remind Christians especially the leader of the church to consciously meet the needs of the history and the will of God.
Every age has its characteristics, crisis and errors. People are going to face challenges, choices and some awkward situations at any historical stage.
(1) Have an excellent vision:
In the Old Testament, we are moved by Joseph's good character. We are sympathetic for his misfortune and angry about brother's unrighteousness. What impressed us most is his unique understanding of his experience.
He said to his brothers: "Do not fell sorry for selling me here. The land may be infertile in five years. You won't be able to grow crops here, let alone harvest. God sent me to keep the rest seeds in the world and save your life."
A church leader of the 21st century shall stand high and gaze far just like Joseph.
(2) Look to the future based on the moment
A.ASayce used to describe the prophet Isaiah as follows: "No one in the Old Testament occupies such a prominent position as Amos' son Isaiah. It is said that when he was dying, he was still preaching gospel. He vividly described the kingdom of Messiah and told people the promise of Messiah clearly in his book."
The prophetic vision of Isaiah is not limited to the country and times he was in. He saw the church springing up. He witnessed the unity of Jews and gentiles. He declared that one day the representatives of the world's unbelieving Powers--Egypt and Syria, had to worship God with the Israelites. At that time God would say: "Believers in Egypt will be blessed and Syria is my job at hand.' Isaiah's prophecy acts as a bridge linking the Old Testament and the New Testament.
From this description we can see that a prophet not only needs to understand the contemporary era but also foresee the future with full confidence!
（3）To have wise vision:
"Without the vision, people will be presumptuous." The leader must have a vision and a clear life purpose and career plan.
Abraham, a man of vision, lived in the Ur of the Chaldea. God pointed out the direction of his life. When he knew the way God had planned for him, he led the whole family to the Canaan and received the blessing of God.
Jesus also took his disciples Peter, James, and John together to show them the glorious visions. The disciples had known their life purpose and work direction. They were inspired to make excellent contributions to serving God.
What is the vision of today's church leaders? Do you have a direction? If you have a way of thinking, there will be a way out for you. Only with the hope and direction will people work together to achieve the same goal.
In short, the leaders of the church must first understand the times and the current ideology. With a correct understanding of the real situation and needs in the church, the leader is sure to promote the harmony and healthy growth of the church.
2, Bear the mission of the times:
Even great people can't avoid the limitations of the times. It is not easy for them to complete the mission of the times.
King Uzziah's five-year reigns were glorious and prosperous but unfortunately all ended up in darkness. He became strong due to suffering and danger. However, he fell in peace and prosperity. Suddenly his glory vanished and he picked up leprosy.
The death of King Uzziah brought about the crisis of Judah and dispelled the hope of the patriotic Isaiah. God let him see the vision so that he prepared to serve his own country and the whole world. We can learn from the story that at the important moment of the country we can often witness and meet with God!
As a prophet of God, Isaiah saw the needs of the times and bravely exposed the sin of the politic and society. He shouted out his grief and brought the people light and hope.
3. To care about society and life:
When it comes to politics, some Christians believe it's just the business of politicians and people engaged in political activities. They think Christians are God's sons and daughters. It is better for us to ignore politics and stay far away from it.
The word "politics" came from Greece. From the beginning, the word meant the sum of various public activities such as administration, participation and struggle in the city.
Aristotle wrote the first book of political science, in which he proposed a well-known definition of the human being: "The nature of a human is an animal that tends to live in the city. " We people are political animals in nature.
As a famous saying about existentialism goes that we are involved in politics whether we like it or not. The church is related to a state, politics, and life. Bishop Ding Guangxun once said: "Theology should not deviate from politics since sometimes theology is delicate politics."
(2) To ability of leadership:
1. The ability to manage:
The most important job for a leader is to effectively manage. A leader must have administrative capacity and be good at organizing things.
Zhongshu Hui believes that in the past leaders became who they are due to his rich knowledge compared with other people. Nowadays thanks to the spread of education, people guided by a leader are also wise and informative. They require a leader to focus more on their responsibilities and less on privilege.
Work of management costs painstaking effort. The job will never be finished. The responsibility of management ever lasts.
(1) Morbid managers:
Norman • Xiao Crowe • Hughes classified morbid managers as three kinds-poor function managers, dysfunctional managers, non-function managers.
He concluded by saying that the dysfunctional and poor function pastors can be healed. They would learn from his mistakes someday with the help of God. However God has no ways to help non-function pastors due to their indifference to spiritual things.
Dysfunctional or poor function leaders shall regard themselves as the stewards and Christ's fellow workers.
2) Understanding of the stewards:
Jesus never used the term manager and he used the term" steward ". A steward has nothing. His fame comes from his honesty and management.
The steward is responsible for God. God will ask the steward to report the job. If a steward is selfish and only thinks of his own benefits, he is not qualified for the management of the church. A loyal steward works according to the laws of God and the teachings of the Bible.
(3) To be an effective manager:
Peter Drucker, the authority of management in the United States, said: "The roots of management are deeply rooted in culture, society, values, traditions, customs, beliefs, government and political systems." Drucker pays much attention to the social significance of management. "The use of social traditions, values, and beliefs benefits the management a lot." he said.
In the same way, we cannot effectively manage the Christian churches in China by simply copying the theory of management and leadership. If we can combine modern management with China's ethics and traditions, we can achieve good management. It is necessary to find out the "root of management" in Chinese tradition and customs.
The knowledge structure of a leader shall contain theology, knowledge of management and Chinese culture so as to make the church thrive.
2. The ability of using talents
A good opportunity is always the best lure to attract talented people. A leader shall create an atmosphere where talents are valued so as to provide a talent pool for the revival of the church!
Drucker (1990) argues that the most important task for leaders is to anticipate the crisis. They can expect a bad weather before a storm.
A leader may not be good at everything but he must have the ability to use talented people. Beinga leader in God's home doesn't mean being a workaholic.
M.Rush argues that many church leaders fail to recognize the unlimited potential of human resources. They have to deal with many things, getting tired and depressed. A good leader is aware of the different abilities of the brothers and sisters in the church. It is good for both believers and the church.
A leader who emphasizes individual heroism will make the church divided. Believers will attack each other and never receive the blessing of God. It is natural that they won't have any good vision.
"Even the best leaders know they cannot control everything," says Peter Drucker, "and only those stupid leaders will be supercilious."
When God called for Moses, he said to God he was not good at talking. God arranged Aaron to be his assistant. God also let Miriam be the prophet. When they crossed the Red Sea, Miriam suggested Israelites singing and dancing to praise God.
When God raised Joshua to lead the Israelites during a war, Moses went to Sinai to look for God. God commanded him to make the tent of meeting. Moses couldn't do carpentry. God told Moses: "I have called upon the son of Uri and he is good at carpentry." God let us know that God will certainly prepare assistants for a leader.
Pastor Su Ying-Chih, who led the legendary growth of the church in Hong Kong in a short span of 20 years, said:" Put the wrong person in the wrong place will lead to regression; putting the wrong person in the right place leads to frustration; putting the right person in the wrong place brings confusion and the person will run away sooner or later. Only by putting the right person in the right place the church will make progress. So putting a lot of right people in the right place will lead to multiplication. Today, many churches cannot grow because of using the wrong person or the misplacing of the person.
3. The ability to communicate:
"15 percent of a person's success depends on knowledge and experience. The left 85% depends on the ability to communicate - the power of expressing themselves and motivating others," says Carnegie. We can see that the power of words is huge.
Some leaders can't clearly convey their meanings and thoughts while some leaders are good at speech. They can describe things like a poem or a picture. People like listening to their words.
President Huang Jin of China University of Political Science and Law President Huang Jin said in the graduation speech: "You shall dare to cry faced with unfairness; you shall be brave and struggle faced with evil force; you shall be good at rejecting when faced with temptation. We are responsible for our own voice. "
In Information Age, people's horizons are widely broadened. On more and more occasions we need to public our views and use our words to impress others.
A person who speaks with techniques can cultivate his own sentiments and contribute to the governance of the church. Charming words can reflect the personal ambitions and raise the individual's social status.
Confucius once said: "A wise man won't lose his word or friends." This sentence means that a truly wise man should be careful with every word of his. However, when friends need help and comfort, we shall cheer them up with right words.
Chinese people are sensitive and concerned about their reputation. The leader shall listen more and talk less. It is advised to stand in other people's shoes more often.
Of course, a qualified church leader needs all sorts of abilities. The acquisition of abilities is from learning and thinking in addition to praying for God! A qualified leader will also learn more about the various aspects of the society and good experience from better churches.
As a Chinese saying goes that it is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books; it is better to learn about countless people than to travel ten thousand miles; it is better to have a good teacher than to learn about countless people. All in all, nothing can compete with your own thinking and learning.
