The Premise

The nature of the individuals to which this text refers are individuals who have come to a place.

These individuals have come to a Psalm 23 and 46 place.

Psalm 23:        The Lord is my Shepherd…

                        He makes me lie down in green pastures

                        He leads me besides still waters

Psalm 46:         Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

                         A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High

God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it.

There are men that have a river, not really that they are led by still rivers but that there is an inner river that makes all the difference, men whose trust is in the Lord and in Him alone.

David was of that rank.

He had known the Fatherhood of God

He had an inner stillness

He was accustomed to God-refreshing

This premise is not innate; we often arrive here after passing through the wilderness.

The Wilderness

The purpose of God-ordained wildernesses is to bring us to rest – to an inner refreshing, an inner stillness that is not affected by the shaking of the mountains and the surging of the seas.

The wilderness is often the first encounter in following God’s plan. It is the introduction to process.

Jesus was here.

Joseph was here

Jacob was here

Abraham was here

David was here

You will come here

Wilderness shows ours heart, teaches reliance on the word and, hence, we are approaching this discourse from this premise of rest.

Characteristics

  1. From the finished work of Christ, we have mastery!
  2. Here, we are not in a quick-fix mode
  3. We are operating from rest
  4. We are not hustling

 

The Motivation

1        We are not trying to make money

2        We are not trying to be like the Jones’s

3        We are not trying to prove a point

4        We are about our Father’s business

 

 

Eph. 2:10 for we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

Heb 4:9 so there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.

Heb 4:10 for all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labours, just as God did after creating the world.

 

The Business Arena

When you look at governments and the Business Arena, What Do You See?

Jer. 1:11 Then the LORD said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?

What you see matters; it defines your reality and your rules of engagement.

Contemporary World Views

Most people see:

  1. The rat – race
  2. Pay checks
  3. Connections
  4. The Big names

 

What We SEE

The Kingdom perspective is to Systems – Spheres of Influence

The Business Arena and governments are spheres of influence – of control.

The prevailing mind-set and culture in the market place is a direct picture of the prevailing influences – either that of our Kingdom or of this world’s.

 

Bishops

Bishops within this context refers to overseers – men and women who to an extent are charged with the responsibility of administering the socio-economic fate of other men under their charge.

Though a Bishop in this case would be a major industry leader, I’d chosen the term to depict the spiritual nature of the responsibilities of these men and their effects on the economy. Though it is the government that administer policy, security and the rules of the economic playing field, it is the business leaders that ultimately operate that field.

Bishops operate within three main arenas – business, governments and the academia.

Responsibilities of Market Place Bishops

  1. They win and administer the contracts that comprise the majority of the government’s budget.
  2. They administer the pooled resources of the team – insurance, pension funds and savings of the public and the government.
  3. They manage the resources of the government, e.g. oil wells, firms, etc.
  4. They store the resources of the team. E.g. Banks, investment houses, etc.
  5. They employ a great number of the society members.
  6. They directly and indirectly influence the quality and quantity of the food on the table of the team.
  7. They influence the election of the personnel on the team into government positions (note that government personnel were all from the team).
  8. They are lobbied by Government to bring in investment and drive economic growth.
  9. They lead efforts in the creation of new products and services and determine the level of the industrialization of the nation.
  10.  They are great leaders and are often paid premiums for administering the funds of the nation.

 

Responsibilities of Bishops in the Academia

  1. They directly and indirectly shape the culture of the people
  2. They provide credibility to the policies and strategies of the other bishops
  3. Their intellectual garb provides a powerful stimulus for action; they essentially seek to perpetuate the prevailing logic of the society.

 

Responsibilities of Bishops in Governance

  1. They directly influence the socio-economic state of the people
  2. They provide public leadership and manage public resources
  3. They shape culture
  4. They operate security and other public infrastructure

 

Note that the roles of these leaders are a given, someone must play that role and only few people can do that at the same time. The system is such that playing these roles – particularly for business leaders, would ultimately make one very rich; hence, the billionaire club is a default niche team. The global economy is such that some people would need to be billionaires. Hence, this article is not about material possession, but about influence.

For business leaders, examples of such leaders are the owners of the major corporation in Nigeria, their actions and inactions affect us more than we care to admit. The recent upheaval in our banking sector is a clear indicator of the potent power of a few individuals. The way our business leaders would react to the Chinese and Indian onslaught would very much determine our national economy ten years from now.

Their decision to either make more money for themselves or create more value for Nigerians would influence you. Note that value creation and money generation are not always one and the same, within a global economy, a nationalistic posture may not bring maximum returns for a business owner but would generate best returns on the long term for the nation within which he operates. The Bishop’s decision at such situations is the main thrust of this text.

Joseph as a Bishop

Gen 39:4 -5 

And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.  And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

Bishop Question

Does it matter who the bishop is? 

Your answer is important.

Our Rallying Point – It is a Good Thing

1Ti 3:1 this is a true saying, if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

Other Words use for the good work:

  1. Noble,
  2. Virtuous,
  3. Honourable and
  4. Worthwhile

Remember …

Eph. 2:10 for we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

Phil 4:8 and now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

It is good thing to desire to be a Bishop.

It is honourable and for many of us, it is the good Work.

 

Our Case Study Bishops – Men to Study

Daniel | David | Melchizedec | Joseph | Abraham |

 14 Character Traits of a Bishop

  1. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach – integrity
  2. The husband of one wife: Loyalty of affection
  3. Sober-minded,
  4. Self-controlled,
  5. Respectable,
  6. Hospitable,
  7. Able to teach,
  8. Not a drunkard,
  9. Not violent but gentle,
  1. Not quarrelsome,
  2. Not a lover of money.
  3. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,
  4. He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
  5. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

 

The Trajectory of a Bishop

  1. Faithful with that which is another man’s
  2. Faithful with Money
  3. Faithful with Little

From the above, a Bishop is a good manager.

We see such in the life of our case study bishops, these men were able to manage resources very well

Posture of the Bishop Heart

  1. God focused – Spirit led
  2. Love – To see God in others
  3. Faith – Unbelief is not the lack of confidence in God’s ability but rather, a doubt of His revelation.

 

The best of our universities, businesses and public corporations that deliver the greatest value to the society today were built by well-meaning bishops. Well-meaning in this context refers to individuals whose primary motivation was not just to increase the bottom line (annual profit) but rather to provide optimum service to the society and to the nation in general and to advance the Cause of Christ. 

It is important to note that Daniel, Joseph, David and Abraham served their society as well as the Cause of God; they were not hermits, stowed away “unto the Lord”.

This is written because God has commissioned certain Bishops for certain tasks and our roles include articulating our responsibilities and the belief system within which those responsibilities would be discharged.

A bishop therefore must be a man of vision and skills, a man who lives for a larger cause other than the bottom line, he must be a man of passion, a man who loves his nation and his people. He should also be a man of faith, he should be able to see opportunities in our bleak horizon and lead his team to maximize such. As a spiritual man, he should see both the seen and the unseen, hear the inaudible and move immovable scenarios. He should be a studious man, a diligent learner committed to maximum value creation for his team, nation and Lord.

The Focus of Bishops

Learn Management

  1. To Build a Team or be Part of a great team
  2. To provide leadership
  3. To drive followership for a cause

Learn how to build and lead an organisation – a system, a culture of excellence and of getting things done. Be wise; have practical wisdom.

Management

This skill-set is transferable – He that is faithful in little is faithful in much

Do it for free if necessary. Provide Management even when you’re not paid for it, one day you will. Remember Joseph in the prison and at Potiphar’s house

Be faithful at it.

Keep growing your circle of influence – that’s discipleship!

 Interpret Dreams

Provide Solutions, you will do these at three levels.

  1. The dreams of neighbours/colleagues
  2. The dreams of Pharaoh – significant people of greater influence
  3. Your own dream – saving Jacob

 

Be solution driven – let compassion take you away…let it move you to action.

Be concerned and curious

Do something about your curiosity

Research, Research, Research!

Meditate on things…you have the mind of Christ!

What bothers you? Meditate on it.

Interpreting Dreams can be delivered at three levels:

  1. Advisory                          –  Daniel
  2. Project Management    –  Joseph as Prime Minister and Daniel as Administrator
  3. Business Management – Leadership in the business of government David as         King/You as CEO

 

Providing Solutions Essentially Involve three things

  • Managing people
  • Managing the Vision
  • Managing Results

Don’t just have good ideas, always have capacity to deliver – i.e. management capacity.

 Make Proposals          

 Raise your hand for the job!

 Joseph wasn’t asked to make an offer, He did. (Gen 41:33)

Daniel initiated his first solution provision. (Daniel 2: 14-19)

David applied for the Job (1 Samuel 17:26)

 They all had what it takes, yet they had to go out and make an offer.

Don’t wait for an invitation. You may never get one.

Volunteer ship is one way to find ourselves within the purposes of God – it does not overlook the profit that would come out of it (like David’s inquiry on the reward) yet the primary motivation is not profit.

Note: It is Beyond Isaac

Imagine if all that Abraham saw was Isaac…he wouldn’t have agreed to the sacrifice.

This is the cure for materialism; the one that measures himself/herself by the name of their car, jet or building have fallen for the major pitfall of bishopric.

The Purpose of Isaac (The Promise) is to bring us to the Divine Nature.

Remember the Oracle of Kingship – Deut 17: 14-20; the God chosen King must not multiply resources (houses and wives for himself) so that his heart be not lifted above his brethren. You can read more on this here.

2Pe 1:4.

Through which He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, so that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. The corruption in the world comes through lust…

Finally, Be Faithful!

 Luke. 17:10 So also when you have done all things commanded you, you say, we are unprofitable slaves, for we have done what we ought to do.

Faithfulness is to do our work out of a deep sense of obligation, this is our reasonable service.