Transcription
About a dozen years ago, a group of leaders from around the world gathered in Amsterdam to discover what must be done in order to help accelerate the spread of the gospel.
There are a couple of voices that were very clear to people in the room. One was the voice of the lost—the four billion plus people that have yet to accept Christ and experience the life-transforming power of the gospel for themselves. A second voice that was being heard was the Christian leader—it's that man or woman who serves right on the front lines. They know their language; they know their culture; they're committed long-term to reaching their nation with the gospel. Those are leaders whose voice was heard, and they were simply saying, “Equip me, and I will reach my nation for Christ.”
Those leaders that gathered from around the world came together because something has to be done to help accelerate the spread of the gospel. Two thousand years and all these generations, and yet so many still need to hear Christ’s name and respond to Him. Now, one of the things that was also known was: every place that you see the kingdom of God advancing, you will find outstanding leadership—men and women leading the way forward, guiding the movement, helping to bring the kingdom of God on earth. And the exact opposite is true: wherever you see an absence of the kingdom of God coming on earth, you’ll find an absence of leadership. So the voice of the lost, the voice of Christian leaders saying, “Equip me,” and the simple knowledge that something must be done to help raise up men and women who can help bring the kingdom of God on earth—that’s why we came together.
Now, what happened is, as we were discussing this need for Christian leadership, someone asked a very important question. They simply said, “What is it that makes the best Christian leader the best Christian leader?” What is it about their faith? What is it about their attitude? What is it about their skill sets? What is it about their people skills? What makes them different from everybody else? And we sat and began to discuss that—top leaders from around the world—and we realized there was no consensus. So that set about a research project, and for the next two years, a group of people from around the world set to answer the question: What are the core values of the very best Christian leaders? Eight values emerged, and I want to share those eight values with you today. Each one of them is important; each one of them is significant when it stands alone. But if you take all eight of these values and you begin to build those intentionally in your life, and if you begin to invest those core values in others, then you have built a platform, a foundation, a strong foundation for your Christian life and for your Christian leadership.
Here are the values: First one, intimacy with God. God is looking for men and women who live and lead out of an intimate relationship with God. It’s the foundation, and it sounds simple, but the reality is, for many of us, it’s a great challenge to maintain that intimacy with the Lord.
Second core value is passion for the harvest. If you have true intimacy with God, it naturally leads to passion for the harvest. You care about the things that God cares about; you want to feel and know God’s heart for people; you want to share God’s love with the world; you want to see the lost reach for the gospel. God looks for men and women who want to see God’s heart for the lost shared all around the world. How do you have this heart? You ask for it; you receive it. It’s not something you burn from within yourself, but it’s something that God puts in your heart. It’s the in-birth, the fire that God places within you. Word: passion means that which you’re willing to sacrifice for. And the Passion of the Christ, the movie, was—we saw what Christ was willing to suffer for us. God’s looking for men and women today who will join His heart and help reach the world and share His passion for the harvest. The workers are few, and the harvest is plentiful. God is looking for men and women who are passionate for the harvest.
Third core value is visionary leadership. God is looking for men and women who will be biblically grounded and who will cast vision, who will mobilize people, who will set goals, and who are overcome obstacles in order that the world can be reached for Christ. God is looking for men and women who will discover God’s vision for their life and for their ministries, and they will begin to live that out. So the first three: intimacy with God, passion for the harvest, visionary leadership.
The fourth core value of the most effective Christian leaders around the world is culturally relevant evangelism. There’s a much evangelism that goes on is not particularly effective and not particularly relevant to the lost people. So what we have to do is we have to begin to develop our skills and our methodology so that we’re truly effectively reaching people with the gospel.
Fifth core value: multiplication of leaders. God is looking for men and women who will disciple and coach and mentor other leaders. Most leaders don’t raise up leaders, but there is a process by which, if you follow it, you can be effective in helping to raise up other leaders and help to accelerate the spread of the gospel around the world.
Sixth core value: faithful stewardship. God is looking for men and women who will be faithful—God is looking for men and women who will be faithful stewards of their time, their finances, and their spiritual gifts, not only for themselves but also for others. When we use God’s resources for His glory, God is able to use that to help bring the kingdom of God on earth.
Seventh priority—seventh core value—the seventh core value is family priority. This is one of the most important values for all of us in Christian leadership. Our families are on the front lines; the pressures against us can be immense, and they can be challenging in the best of times. So God is looking for men and women who understand and know that family is God’s priority and make their family a priority in their own life and in their leadership.
And then the last core value is integrity. It’s the bookend. Integrity is how God leads us to live holy lives—lives that are accountable to God and to the body of Christ.
So there’s eight core values: intimacy with God, passion for the harvest, visionary leadership, culturally relevant evangelism, multiplication of leaders, faithful stewardship, family priority, and integrity. If you have these eight in your life, then you are going to have a rock-solid foundation for living your life and for helping to influence others. You will be among those chosen men and women who are among the most effective Christian servants on planet earth. My prayer today is that you will become a Christian who is living by these core values.