“Then
Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
When I answered God’s call to the ministry I
simultaneously answered the call to become a leader, albeit a servant-leader,
but a leader nonetheless. So, throughout my adult life I have been a serious
student of leadership and have been mentored by leaders I admire.
One thing I have learned about leadership is this
– there is never a leadership vacuum, someone WILL lead!
That came to mind as I sadly watched our
President refuse to lead on the Syria issue and surrender leadership to the
Russian President. I am not making a political statement I am offering a
leadership observation that is indisputable. America’s foreign policy, at least
in the Middle East, is now under the direction of a sworn enemy of everything
we hold dear. That does not bode well for the U.S. nor for Israel.
Watching this unfold further stirred the passion
within me to see the Church of God and people of God arise and assume their
rightful place in our world. That was the thrust of my message Sunday. It is
the motivation behind this article.
Praying and meditating on this development led me
to the realization that the Great Commission is not just a call to evangelism
and discipleship but it is a call to leadership! I believe Jesus was calling
God’s people to step up and lead because there is no such thing as a leadership
vacuum. The people of God will either lead their world or they will be led by
the world!
Where do I get that? From the Great Commission!
Look at the verbs contained in these verses,
“All authority has been given….” – translation – “TAKE IT”, “GO”, “MAKE DISCIPLES”, “BAPTIZE”,
“OBEY”.
Those five words are active words (verbs) –
powerful words – commanding God’s people to be PRO-active not RE-active. What
is a synonym for being proactive? LEADERSHIP!
I believe I could make a strong case for tracing
the demise of our culture to the failure of God’s people to be pro-active with
the Gospel of Jesus Christ and thus creating a leadership void to be filled by
ungodly people. As a result, the Great Commission has become the Great Omission
and God’s people have become reactive rather than proactive – playing defense
instead of offense.
The mandate of God to His Church is to “TAKE” His authority and “GO” boldly
to our lost world, to “MAKE DISCIPLES” through evangelism,
and “BAPTISM” and discipleship, and for
God’s people to “OBEY” Him in ALL things.
You have a call to leadership! FredWes has a call
to leadership! We can no longer be reactive or inactive we must become
pro-active in leading our world back to God!
Jesus’ last words on earth are a call to leadership!
Let’s step into the leadership void that is the American culture and begin to
change our world!
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