Leadership

Hi, on this page I will be sharing, reviewing, and recommending resources for children’s, family, and all-age, church-based work. I love to explore and discover new ideas, and creative ways of supporting this fantastic ministry. It’s such a privilege to serve the church and to help make worship meaningful and fun for children and families. I hope you’ll find my ideas and recommendations helpful.

This is a hat Ish was given just for fun many years ago. But probably like everyone else in the UK, I have been shocked but not at all surprised by the confusing models of political leadership we have had to endure last week in the news. It appears society is becoming more and more confused with the self-seeking, and cynical world of politics, which I find all very sad.

I was reminded of 1 Timothy Chapter 3, although it’s not referring to political leadership, there are many who could take some advice from the Apostle Paul:

Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Celtic missionaries being led totally by the Holy Spirit. There are also some excellent models of leadership in Celtic Christianity, and I have written about this in our book Our Cancer Journey in Chapter 9 for example I wrote:

We attempted to follow the example of the Celtic wild goose as a model of Church leadership, just as many business organisations do today when team building. For example, geese fly in a V formation which increases their flight capacity because in this formation their flapping wings create an updraft for the bird following. Their flight pattern is about teamwork, so when the lead goose tires it falls to the back of the formation and another goose takes over the lead. When a goose falls out of the formation, it feels the drag and resistance of flying alone, and quickly returns to the group for support. When geese are flying in formation, those flying behind call out to encourage those at the front to keep going. Leadership is about sharing, mentoring, discipling, and delegating and it is not necessarily a lifelong role. When a wild goose is sick or wounded, others follow it to the ground to support and protect it until it either recovers or dies.

Although I am sure there are many more here are 4 marks of good leadership:

Serve others rather than yourself
Lead by example by living a morally upright life
Give wise and loving pastoral care
Aim to improve and transform people’s lives for the better

LET US PRAY

Top of my prayer list this week will be the important decision about who will lead our government. Let us pray for the appointment of a person who is honest, full of integrity, compassionate and who will put the lives of everyone in this country first and foremost before the interests of any one party or individual. I’m also praying for someone who has Christian values and who knows God.

In the Houses of Parliament, sittings in both Houses begin with prayers. The Speaker’s Chaplain usually reads the prayers. The form of the main prayer is as follows:

“Lord, the God of righteousness and truth, grant to our King and his government, to Members of Parliament and all in positions of responsibility, the guidance of your Spirit. May they never lead the nation wrongly through love of power, desire to please, or unworthy ideals but laying aside all private interests and prejudices keep in mind their responsibility to seek to improve the condition of all mankind; so may your kingdom come and your name be hallowed. Amen.”

RESOURCES

Prayer in the Houses of Parliament

Christians in Parliament – Get Involved

Church of England Join in a Service of Daily Prayer

NEXT WEEK:

My Blog will be a day late next week as Ish and I are off on an exciting adventure visiting churches in the North of England. I will be reporting on our travels next Tuesday. 😊