Understanding Church Leadership 5
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)
It is another glorious week and thanks to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for the grace to witness it. May all the benefits therein be our portion in the name of Jesus! Last Monday, we considered salvation as the foundation of any true leadership, but today we shall be building on having the mind of Christ.
The greatest leader of all time is no other person than Jesus Christ. Though He is divine, but while He was on the earth, He was human and in His humanity he demonstrated to us what true leadership is all about. So, it becomes expedient that anyone that will truly lead the way Christ must have His mind. “5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:5-7).
Being saved is not the same as having the mind of Christ. Though, being saved should naturally make us have the mind of Christ, but in reality, there are many saved ministers without the mind of Christ. This is evident in Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippian Christians. So, having the mind of Christ is a step further in our growth or spiritual maturity as ministers.
Evidences show in the Bible that many of the Apostles, even, having received the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ, lived with Him for three and half years, experienced and tasted of the power of the age to come, witnessed the resurrection of Christ, His ascension and the promise of His second coming, yet did not still have the mind of Christ.
And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.” (Acts 11:1-3) “ Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?” (Acts 11:17)
Foremost, the mind of Christ is that which demonstrates true humility. True humility is not assessed on the basis of frequency of prostration or piety but by our inward expression of the nature of Christ right at the point of conception of our thoughts. Oftentimes, it is the laser of God or His scanning machine alone that detects this.
Though, the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart and a tree is identified by the fruit it bears, this is often difficult to discern when it comes to humility. This is because, what men sometimes regard as humility isn’t humility before God and what men regard as pride may actually not be pride before God. False humility can easily be taken for true humility and this is common amongst men today. “7But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7). This is the foundation of genuine, true, highly impactful and lasting ministry.
Pastor Raphael Adegoke is a Pastor in Christ Apostolic Church (Nigeria & Overseas) and a Lecturer in Christ Apostolic Church Theological Seminary.
