teaching notes from ltci, siliguri - based on j oswald sanders book, spiritual leadership

1. Section 10 - The Leader’s
Pitfalls & Rewards
Group Activity: Create a one-
page visual summary of the
leader’s pitfalls.
Study chapter 10-11 in Blackaby
Study chapters 20-22 in Sanders

2. REPRODUCING
LEADERS
J. Oswald Sanders,
Spiritual Leadership,
Chapter 20

3. 2 Tim 2:2 And the things
you have heard me say in the
presence of many witnesses
entrust to reliable people
who will also be qualified to
teach others.

4. If a leader is to fully carry out
the trust the Lord has given him
then he has to train and develop
leaders who will succeed and
possibly supersede him.
Barnabas is seen positively when
Paul, his protege, goes on beyond
him and becomes the dominant
team member.

5. As a team leader would you
be prepared to offer
opportunities for those you
lead to exercise and develop
their abilities?
Would you give young
people the chance to feel the
burden of leadership, to
take initiative and to make
the final decision in
situations?
Will you give full credit and
let them make mistakes?

6. One Asian said of Western missionaries,
“Today they should be less of a performer
and more of a trainer.”
However training leaders is a delicate task.
Bishop Stephen Neill commented,

7. If we set out to produce a race of leaders, what we
shall succeed in doing is probably to produce a race of
restless, ambitious and discontented intellectuals. To
tell a man he is called to be a leader is the best way of
ensuring his spiritual ruin, since in the Christian
world ambition is more deadly than any other sin,
and if yielded to, makes a man unprofitable in the
ministry. The most important thing today is the
spiritual, rather than the intellectual, quality of those
indigenous [Neill's life work was training national
missionaries] Christians who are called to bear
responsibility in the younger churches.

8. Leslie Newbigin questioned
whether it was good to use the
word leadership in Christian
circles as it had bad connotations
with the non-Christian world. He
suggested saints and servants
were needed not “leaders” -
forget service and the whole are
of leadership is dangerous.
We must follow the example of
Jesus with the 12.

9. Perhaps the most strategic and
fruitful work of modern
missionaries is to help leaders of
tomorrow develop their spiritual
potential. This task requires careful
thought, wise planning, endless
patience, and genuine Christian
love. It cannot be haphazard or ill-
conceived. Our Lord devoted the
greater part of His three years of
ministry to molding the characters
and spirits of His disciples.

10. Paul trained Timothy for the
church in Ephesus - his method is
instructive.
Timothy was about 20 when
Paul became his friend - he
tended to melancholy, and was
too tolerant of and partial to
people of rank. He could be
irritable with opponents. He was
apt to rely on old spiritual
experiences rather than kindle
the flame of daily devotion.

11. But Paul had high hopes
for him and set about
correcting his timid nature,
to replace softness with
steel. Paul led Timothy to
experiences and hardships
that toughened his
character. Paul did not
hesitate to assign him tasks
beyond his present powers.

12. Traveling with Paul brought
Timothy into contact with men of
stature and character. He learned to
meet triumphantly the crises that
Paul considered routine. Paul
shared with Timothy the work of
preaching. Paul gave him the
responsibility of establishing a group
of Christians at Thessalonica.
Paul's exacting standards, high
expectations, and heavy demands
brought out the best in Timothy,
saving him from mediocrity.

13. Paul Rees describes the experience
of Douglas Hyde, one-time
Communist but later a convert to
Christ, as recorded in Hyde's book,
Dedication and Leadership
Techniques: one story connected
with his Communist years - involves
a young man who came to Hyde
and announced that he wanted to
be made into a leader. "I thought, I
had never seen anyone look less like
a leader in my life. He was short,
grotesquely fat, with a great, flabby,
wide uninteresting face...

14. ...He had a cast in one eye,
and spoke with a most
distressing stutter."
What happened? Well,
instead of turning him away
as a hopeless prospect, Hyde
gave him a chance - a chance
to study, to learn, to test his
dedication, to smooth out his
stutter. In the end he became
a leader in one of the most
Communist-infiltrated labour
unions in Britain.

15. Frank Buchman, founder of Moral Rearmament,
displayed many leadership gifts. He claimed that
if he failed to train others to do his work better
than he did it, he had failed. For many years,
he worked to make himself dispensable, a
rare agenda for a founder.

16. Developing leaders, for the
development of new churches will
greatly depend on the spiritual caliber
of the local Christians. Once the
pioneer stage in any field has passed,
the training of leadership should take
high priority.
Always allow room for the unusual
person. God has His "irregulars,"
many of them have made outstanding
contributions to world evangelization
- these cannot be measured by
ordinary standards or made to
conform to any fixed pattern.

17. Leadership training cannot be
done on a mass scale. It
requires patient, careful
instruction and prayerful,
personal guidance over a
considerable time. "Disciples
are not manufactured
wholesale. They are produced
one by one, because someone
has taken the pains to
discipline, to instruct and
enlighten, to nurture and train
one that is younger."

18. PERILS OF
LEADERSHIP
J. Oswald Sanders,
Spiritual Leadership,
Chapter 21

19. “…so that after I have
preached to others, I myself
will not be disqualified for
the prize.”
1 Corinthians 9:27
The perils of the spiritual leader
are subtle. He is by no means
immune to the temptations of
the flesh, but the dangers most to
be guarded against lie in the
realm of the spirit. Satan will
take advantage of every inch of
ground he concedes in any area
of his life.

20. 1. PRIDE
Pride is a sin that makes God take
second seat in our lives - Rising in
position means an increased
temptation to become proud.
the Lord detests all the proud of heart.
Prov 16:5
3 Tests help us identify pride:
The Test of Precedence: How
do we react when another is
selected or promoted, when their
gifts seem greater?

21. The Test of Sincerity: Do you
realistically know your weaknesses and
faults? How do you respond when
others identify them?
The Test of Criticism: How do we
respond to our critics - do you resent
the comment and justify yourself ?
“Of the myriad forms that sin assumes, none
is more abhorrent than spiritual pride. To be
proud of spiritual gifts that God has bestowed
or of the position to which His love and grace
have elevated us, is to forget that grace is a
gift, and that all we have has been received.”

22. 2. EGOTISM
This is the practice of thinking
or speaking of ones self rather
than to God, magnifying your
own achievements not God’s.
• Do I reflect the ugliness of
egotism or the transfigured glory
of Christ the Lord?

23. Robert Louis Stevenson told the
story of a Muslim veiled prophet
who was a great teacher and light
among the people of his day. He
wore a veil, he said, because his
countenance was so glorious
none could bear the sight of his
face. But, eventually the veil
decayed and fell away revealing
nothing but an ugly old man.

24. Stevenson stressed that, however high the truths
the preacher taught, and however skillful he
might excuse the blemishes of his character, the
time comes when the veil falls away, and a man
is seen by people as he really is.

25. 3. JEALOUSY
Describing the leader who is
envious of rivals.
Are you jealous of others who
do things better than you - are
you unable to avoid being
critical of others who are at the
same level as you?
Gods work in others is to be
encouraged, not snuffed out.

26. Num11:27-29
A young man ran and told Moses,
“Eldad and Medad are prophesying
in the camp.”
Joshua son of Nun, who had been
Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up
and said, “Moses, my lord, stop
them!”
But Moses replied, “Are you jealous
for my sake? I wish that all the
LORD’s people were prophets and
that the LORD would put his Spirit
on them!”

27. 4. POPULARITY
Most leaders like to be well
spoken of - it is not a great
testimony if all speak badly of
you!
Jesus said “Woe onto you when
all men speak well of you.”
It is tempting for spiritual
leaders to build a personality
cult - Paul saw this danger at
Corinth 1Cor 3:7

28. We should esteem leaders for
their work and ministry - but be
careful not to adore them.
Leaders can be appreciated but
not idolized.
Any fervor or loyalty people
might have for the leader
should be fastened to Jesus
Popularity is the most
dangerous spiritual state…It
leads to easy to pride.

29. Bishop Stephen Neill said, in
an address to theological
students, "Popularity is the most
dangerous spiritual state imaginable,
since it leads on so easily to the
spiritual pride which drowns men in
perdition. It is a symptom to be
watched with anxiety since so often it
has been purchased at the too heavy
price of compromise with the world."

30. The dangers of popularity and
success were constantly before
Spurgeon in his ministry.
Success exposes a man to the pressure of
people and thus tempts him to hold on to
his gains by means of fleshly methods and
practices, and to let himself be ruled wholly
by the dictatorial demands of incessant
expansion. Success can go to my head, and
will unless I remember that it is God who
accomplishes the work, that He can
continue to do so without my help, and that
He will be able to make out with other
means whenever He cuts me down to size.

31. 5. INFALLIBILITY
Spirituality does not
guarantee infallible
judgement the Spirit filled person
is less likely to make mistakes but
perfection eludes us all
There is a belief that a senior
discerning leader can’t be wrong.
Remember even the apostles
made mistakes!

32. Leaders are people of prayer
and seeking God - sometimes
this brings an inability to admit
the potential to make mistakes.
- Leaders must have strength &
decisiveness… But be willing to
concede when they are wrong
- Deferring to others judgement
is a sign of strength and will
win allies.
- Followers lose confidence
leaders who believe themselves
to be infallible.

33. 6. INDISPENSABILITY
Many Christian leaders cling to
authority long after it should be
passed to younger.
Often this results in younger
people being held back, and
being given no chance to grow
and develop.

34. On many occasions we find the ego of the leader
concerned is fed by some around them encouraging
them to think they are indispensable - this makes it even
harder for them to let go.
We become less objective about our work as we get
older.
From your earliest days in a job it is good to be seeing
out potential successors.

35. On many occasions we find the ego of the leader
concerned is fed by some around them encouraging
them to think they are indispensable - this makes it even
harder for them to let go.
We become less objective about our work as we get
older.
From your earliest days in a job it is good to be seeing
out potential successors.

36. 7. ELATION AND
DEPRESSION
We all have days of joy and
disappointment - we have to be
careful to get the balance right
between the two - discovering a
balance of temperament through
highs and lows is critical.
Luke 10:20
Elijah was depressed after the
battle at Mount Carmel -
1Kings 18

37. God told him to have two good
sleeps and two good meals - then
the spiritual lessons began.
His discouragement was baseless
- 7000 had not bowed to Baal,
and running away removed the
leadership the Israelites needed.
We have to face reality in
leadership:
- Not all our dreams will be
realised
- people will disappoint us
- sickness will happen

38. - sacrifices will be thought of as
selfish gestures
- bad things happen!
All men of God face the
possibility of getting low when
things are not good.
Learning to trust God when
things are difficult is imperative
for the spiritual leader.
“If successful don’t crow,
if defeated don’t croak.”
Samuel Chadwick

39. 8. PROPHET OR LEADER
Sanders talks about a preacher
with gifts of leadership who will
come to a fork in the path - does
he follow the path of a popular
leader or unpopular prophet?
Often the roles overlap but
situations develop in which you
have to choose pastoral
leadership or prophetic
declaration.

40. If he seeks to be prophet and a leader,
is apt to make a failure of both.
It was written of RA Torrey,
“The thousands who have heard Dr. Torrey
know the man and his message. He loves the
Bible, believing it to be the infallible Word of
God, preaching it with the fervour of red-hot
conviction. He never compromises.
He has chosen to be a prophet of
God rather than a mere leader of
men and that is the secret of his
power with God and men.”

41. 10. DISQUALIFICATION
No, I strike a blow to my body and
make it my slave so that after I have
preached to others, I myself will not
be disqualified for the prize.
1 Cor 9:27
Paul was carefully concerned
with not being disqualified -
Greek word meaning metal
not suitable for use as coins -
below standard.

42. Two aspects - what was preached
and use of his body.
The body requires rigorous
self discipline to guard
against sin.
Added to this bodily error were
the obvious doctrinal and ethical
errors which might be entered
into.
Paul exercised disciplined
moderation in his body - do you?

43. Are there any perils you succumb to
more readily than others?
Have you set up some accountability
and prayer to help overcome such
things?

44. How do you feel about Paul’s
concern over disqualification - how
can such thoughts help and hinder?