Leader
Jesus promised to build His Ekklesia. He will give the leader all that is needed to get the job done. If God calls someone to lead, the proper response is obedience. Don’t look for ways out of it or argue about it as Moses did. Moses, Gideon and Jonah all did great things worthy of honor. However, they are also stained with the scene caused by their initial responses. It takes courage to say yes. It also takes trust in God, which if one doesn’t have yet, one will by the completion of the mission. What the leader needs to have is a character rich in persistence and perseverance.
Servant Leaders Wanted
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:27-28
Are you ready to be a servant? Christ Jesus is our example of putting the needs of others ahead of our personal desires. He laid down His life for us both in the living and in the dying. There is a cost and there is sacrifice; and either of them can seem great. Greater surrender to Christ means more peace during what others would perceive as difficult or worse. Most won’t see it, however, as many hours, many tasks, and much of the work of ministry is out of sight and out of mind for most people who have not experienced true servanthood.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13
Thick Skin
When the arrows are released by the enemy, the leader will need more than just a dream. The plan and the leader will most likely come under attack.
Other people won’t have the same passion as the one receiving the call and the vision for what is to be done. People will come and go, in and out of the process. Unless there is legitimate reason to do so, one cannot take it personally. Don’t look at the number of participants. Look at the faithfulness of the few and give thanks for them.
Leaders need to be surrounded by serious intercessors and those who understand the call, and are able to give wise counsel.
Communicator
The ideas, framework, and revelation will need to be communicated to the team of two or more in whose midst is the presence of Christ. Always a clear message according to what God said in the call, and always in tune with Scripture.
Documentation is good to have in a journal to refer back to from time to time. When a false accusation comes, or someone revises the history, it will be there to fall back upon for comfort. It is not for self-defense or for getting into a debate, rather, it is to have a record to reassure oneself of the truth of the matter and then forgive the other person who was unwittingly used by the enemy. It will also be there for times we need to go before the Lord in repentance.
A journal is also handy in the dry times or the down times to refer back to for a history of what the Lord has done. It is also good to have a history to share with those who are new to the ministry or Ekklesia. Who is the scribe among you?
Read the Book of Nehemiah
Nehemiah is a book that serves as a template of rebuilding a city. Read the book when you get a chance. It was in October of 2016 when the Lord began leading me through Nehemiah, revealing the parallels I needed to see for the assignment He had for me.
Nehemiah gained the passion as he prayed to God concerning the broken down state of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah was sent by the king who promised him that whatever he needed was his.
He had the mandate from God to rebuild the walls and repair the gates.
It all came down to hearing from God and acting in obedience.
“And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,”
Nehemiah 1:4