"If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he's talking about." [1Tim 3:1-2 MSG]
Therefore if you desire to become a leader in the church, consider the following:
1. Have a personal relationship with God. James 4:8 Without a personal relationship with God you are going nowhere. If you want to become a shepherd you must have a personal relationship God; you must study the word, pray, have your quite time. You must be an example for others to emulate. Listen to messages and read good books.
2. Have an interest in listening to preaching tapes and word videos. Eze 2:2 The word of God is light so the more you listen to it the more it brightens our spirit.
3. Have a personal fasting life. Mat 6. Fasting paralyzes the potency of the flesh. [READ ALSO: THE BENEFIT OF FASTING AND PRAYERS]
4. Availability
for the work. Anyone who desires the
work of God must be available for the work. Even though we are all busy with
our own personal work but we must make time for the things of God.
5. You must be willing to make financial input in
the church. It is a good thing to
support the work of God financially; knowing that there is a blessings that
come with it. “Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed
down, and shaken together, and running over shall men give into your
bosom. For with the same measure you
use, it will be measured back to you.” [Luke 6:38] ESV
6. People handling skills: Be nice to people and be sensitive to their feelings. Dealing with people is an art so you need to learn if from your pastor or by reading it from books. “If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not given to wine, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry.” [1Tim 1:1-3] MSG
7. Preaching and teaching skills. For every course you intend to pursue there is a requisite. So one of the things you need to do to become effective shepherd is to listen to preaching and watch videos as well. Learn the art of teaching lest your preaching becomes boring. Learn to include illustrations, analogies, examples, stories, jokes and many more just to make your preaching powerful and fun. This all requires skills and you can learn it too.
8. Have an interest in evangelism. Every great company has a strategic marketing plan. In the church, Evangelism is a form of marketing and it is the basic duty of a shepherd to go after souls and win them. This is the reason why light house chapel international has the largest number of churches in every continent of the world. I think it is the biggest Charismatic church in Africa.
9. Have an interest in soul winning. This is similar to point 8. Read also [Matt 19:11-12]
10. Visiting, counselling and organizational abilities – Learn these by following and observing.
11. Have a stable and happy marriage. “For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church?” [1Tim 3:5 MSG]
12. Catch the spirit of the leader. Shepherds should learn from their pastors or senior shepherds.
13. Have a personal, and financial job stabilities. I think it is a good idea for shepherds and pastors in general to have multiple streams of income. You can’t depend on offerings because the offerings ain’t enough. [READ: HOW TO ACTIVATE MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME]
14. You must be a person with a vision for your life. Without the people perish. Have a solid vision and plan for your life and ministry. Know what you are supposed to do at any period of your life.
15. Loyalty. Be loyal to people, your superiors, pastors, fellow brethrens in all your dealings.
Inspired by the teachings of Bishop Emmanuel Nterful
INCREDIBLE PRINCE
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