Understanding Church Leadership 17
By Pastor Raphael Adegoke
16Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning. 17Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness. (Eccl 10: 16-17)
Glory be to God for another glorious week. May we continue to enjoy His sweet presence everyday of our lives! Amen! Last Tuesday, we considered emancipation as one of the things great servant-leaders ensure, but today we shall be discussing about integrity.
Leaders are usually the binding force anywhere they lead. This is because all the parts of a group, organisation or a community are bound together by leaders. That is why no community or organisation can rise above the standard set by its leader(s). Meanwhile, the true measure of the standard in any place is determined by the level of the integrity of its leader(s).
Integrity is firm adherence to a code of especially moral values. Integrity is one of the virtues that are becoming eroded today in our society and in the Church. Meanwhile, if anyone would lose integrity, then it should not be a leader. “So David shepherded them with integrity of heart and guided them with skillful hands.” (Psalm 78:72). God does not confirm His covenant with anyone who has not passed His test of integrity. “When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the sovereign God. Walk before me and be blameless. 2 Then I will confirm my covenant between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” (Genesis 17:1-2).
One of the ways you can know you have the kind of integrity God seeks is when there is alignment between your God given instructions and your thoughts with your words and actions; but such leaders are very scarce“15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Gen 22:15-18).
It was an act of integrity that made God never to do a thing without telling Abraham. “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Genesis 18:19). Whatever God put in Abraham’s heart was what he would do. God (who declares the end from the beginning) was so sure of this
If truly we desire to be the kind of a leader God wants us to be, then we must grow to the level where it is what is in our heart that we’ll declare to a people. We won’t have “A” in our mind and declare “B” to a people. This is an enemy of true and divine elevation.
Pastor Raphael Adegoke is a Pastor in Christ Apostolic Church (Nigeria & Overseas) and a Lecturer in Christ Apostolic Church Theological Seminary.
