Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
As leaders, the effectiveness of our leadership is directing connected to our connections in relationship in Christ. Leaders are connected to an expression of the body of Christ. They lead in the testimony of Christ, not some human expression of themselves. This is manifested in life-giving communities of believers that express the life and love of Christ in natural and supernatural ways. Leaders are an expression of that body.
If we are not connected to something living, we cannot give living words that join people to community expressions of life. We must be planted in relationship to produce the fruit of relationship. We must be a part of love to be expressions of love to and in our world.
Psalms 92:13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.
Our ability to flourish is directly connected to our planting in the house of the Lord. When we are planted in the dwelling place of God’s presence, we know the life that God freely gives. We know the love that He gives. When we are planted in life, we can bring life to the surrounding courts. We will bring life to the places that God sends us.
When we read about the church in the New Testament, none of the New Testament letters existed for the first twenty to thirty years of the church. There were no buildings or structures called the church for two hundred to two hundred and twenty years. The believers gathered in homes and various places, but they gathered together as the family of God. They gathered together as the dwelling place of God’s Spirit. They were people joined together to know the presence, testimony, and purpose of God in them for their world. They were a governmental influence of life to the world around them.
So, when Scripture refers to the church, it’s not referring to something that is locational. It is referring to something that is relational. It is not referring to a structure or system by which we agree upon common information. It is referring to a living body by which we become life-giving expressions of God for His will to be done and His kingdom to come in an increasing way to our world. When we study the Scriptures as leaders, we must keep this in mind.
We are called to help those we lead to live in an intimate relationship with God and a relational connection with others. For this to happen, we must be connected in relationship ourselves. Our first relationship is with God, and our second relationship is with the body of Christ. It’s all for love that we do anything! It is not for the power of ministry! It is for the testimony of powerful love!
We must be planted to plant others. Unless there is a spiritual letter that is joined to us, we don’t have credentials to speak. The testimony of the church, believers joined together in relationship for God for His will and purpose, is the fruit of our leadership. That fruit is life-giving.
2 Corinthians 3:1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? 2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
Human lives are the testimony of a spiritual letter written by Holy Spirit. It is written in the heart of leaders first. We lead people in a direction determined by Holy Spirit. We don’t seek the will of leadership. We seek the will of God in all things. It is for the will of God that we speak. It’s not for the will of a Christian belief system that we lead. We believe Christ and lead others into that reality of believing Him. When we believe Christ, we join ourselves to Him. When we join ourselves to Him, we become an expression of Him. We cannot just say we are joined to Christ by being joined to Jesus as our head. We must also be joined Christ in His body. It is for this that we lead.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
Donations can be made at the link on the home site of: www.ted4leaders.com www.ted4you.com or www.houseofbreadministry.org. Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to: House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225 To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year. Our Ministry Information Is: House of Bread Ministry 3210 Meridian St. Bellingham, WA 98225-1728
