Me:                      I am going to change the world

The World:         Change thyself first!

It is true that charity begins at home; it is also true that leadership and true salvation are inside-out; hence, when we meet potential change-agents, particularly the ones we know, it is a lot difficult to believe they can make significant differences. Particularly if we met them before they became “significant”; afterwards, everyone else can believe.

When David showed up to kill Goliath, everyone took him serious except his brother; to whom he answered, “is there not a cause?”. Of course, David, there is a cause; the only issue is why it had to be you that is concerned about it!

Why You?

The reason why this question is often difficult to answer can be attributed to knowledge – our knowledge of ourselves – our perception. David had an individual sense of significance and everyone who has achieved anything significant does. Your internal sense of mediocrity is not a virtue, particularly if you cannot rise above it.

For David, he rose above it, not because he found anything extraordinary about himself, but that He could see God in his very ordinary life. Our sense of significance need not come from ourselves, in-fact, it shouldn’t come from ourselves. It should come from the acknowledgement of our relationship with God and from our basic humanity; I will discuss the latter first.

Public Good and the Individual Sense of Significance

There is a correlation between the influence of individual liberty or the sense of it on the development of nations (public good). When men lived under tyrannical kings, the nobles owned everything of value and there were few incentives to be creative or aspiring; particularly for public good. Hence, when Goliath taunted Israel for 40 years, it was primarily King Saul’s problem – he had the most to lose. We see a similar structure in corporate firms and nations where CEOs and Presidents are the “kings”; the leader is deemed to be personally responsible for the socio-economic destinies of those under their jurisdictions. It is not common to see a “commoner” share these “kingly” burdens even though for the most part, the “king” is really no different from the commoner.

The result of this state of affair is that though everyone talks about the kings, few ponder on the things kings ponder on; it is as if we don’t know that this pondering, regardless of titles, is kingship itself. So, when for example, you take a look at the topics of our undergraduate and post-graduate thesis, particularly in Nigeria, you begin to see the incapacity of the current system to contribute significantly to the current problems of the society; we are not even asking the right questions, simply because of the lack of this sense of significance. You can do a better analysis by evaluating the quality and “kingliness” of the private meditations of the average young person.

Africa and The False Assumption of Significance

It is important to point out that it is often falsely assumed that those with positions are significant and should worry more about our development issues. Hence, it is not unusual that in Africa, it is assumed that the Colonial masters know better (the foreign-is-good syndrome), that the Professors know better, the PhDs, the Senators and the Executive Cabinet Members. Well, if they did, with all the AID money and support we’ve been receiving; the plethora of leadership and Academics at every level, our problems would have been solved.

It is even worse when these individuals believe they actually do know better. Good kings, however, know that the Davids, Josephs and Daniels of this world hold the answer and are not afraid to let them shine.

These false assumptions, to me, is one of the most limiting stereotypes of the African race, it breeds mediocrity, closes its eyes and is lost in perpetual prayer; waiting for a messiah. It is no surprise then that a lot of such “close-your-eye” religiosity is now focused on demons, witches and enemies; it is simply because the problems haven’t gone away – hence, someone need to be blamed.

In truth, Christianity is not a leap of faith into the dark but rather, into light. Arise from your slumber, allow Christ to give you light!

David believed God

David’s sense of significance came from His knowledge of God and His work in Him; all of us who claim such knowledge are called to find likewise courage in Him. Studying David’s life, we do not find a saint, rather, we find a man who sought and found God. By that knowledge (the truths he found) he literally changed the world, he changed himself too – he allowed truth to always conquer him and by that, he could conquer all, including his gravest errors.  

Me: You can change the world.

This paper aims to discuss the subject matter of corporate governance in the body of Christ. This discussion is critical at this point in the body of Christ, especially in Nigeria, in view of the leadership crisis the nation is experiencing. The church, as the light of the world, the ground and pillar of truth has a lot to teach and demonstrate about leadership.

For simplicity, the questions it desires to answer will be first presented and the rest of the paper will seek to answer them in no order; other related questions will be presented in the course of the paper. The questions are enumerated to help identification in discussing the answers provided.

Context

The discussion of corporate governance could be seen in certain quarters as predicated on the absence of trust; this posture, however, is incorrect as most successful corporate governance practices are those instituted by leadership. This corporate governance deliberations, therefore, proceeds from this premise – a deliberate attempt by leadership to do the right thing. A premise, other than this could portray and/or suggest a state of rebellion.

Questions:

1. What should be the organizational structure of the New Testament Church?
   1. How should the different tasks be distributed?
   2. How should the different departments relate with each other?
   3. Is there a model for such a structure?
2. What are the functions (tasks) of the New Testament Church?
3. What is Corporate Governance?
4. Is there biblical basis to enshrine Corporate Governance in the local church?

Introduction

Contemporary Definition of Corporate Governance

The subject of Corporate Governance refers to the framework of rules, relationships, systems and processes within and by which authority is exercised and controlled within an organisation.

It encompasses the mechanisms by which organisation and those in control are held to account.

In a nutshell, it has two elements:

1. Rules, Systems and Processes for Exercising Authority
2. Mechanisms for Accountability

Questions

1. Should leadership in the Church have rules and systems for exercising authority?
2. Should there be accountability structures?

Answers can be found in the following passages of Scripture:

1. The Oracle of Kingship – recognizes the equality of the people of God, particularly with respect to the conscious humility of their leadership – so that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren (Deut 17: 14-20).
2. The Doctrine of Service (John 13; Mark 10:35-45) recognizes the servant posture of leadership; to serve and not to be served.
3. The Doctrine of Agreement – recognizes the need for homogeneity of will in the exercising of Church power. (Math 18:20, 1 Cor 14:29.
4. The practice of the Saints – the republican Apostolic approach exemplifies these understanding. (Acts 15).
5. The Above-Board Dispensation of the Apostles – in dealing with the complains of the Hellenists portray these understanding. They had complained about their widows and were told to appoint for themselves a board of Deacons. Note that the apostles’ teachings ensured they had men that met the qualifications, but it is the people that chose the men. (Acts 6:1-7)

So, we will proceed on the premise that there should be accountability structures in the Church, and that the presence of these structures does not imply the lack of trust; however, more emphasis will be made on the pillars of this premise.

It is important that the reader notes that beyond the organizational structures that make for corporate governance, is the heart for such. In fact, it is the opinion of the authors that no corporate governance intervention will be successful on the long term if the posture of the heart and the affections of the mind are not first addressed.

The Posture of the Heart

The Oracle of Kingship

In Deut 17, we see that indeed all leadership possess the capacity to multiply riches for itself and usually does; yet, the best of civilizations (judged by the well-being of the citizens) is seen when this does not happen; the best of Church history occurred in the era where her leadership refused (intentionally) not to multiply riches; the worst of church history occurred when the church got lost with economic and political power.

The oracle of Kingship is wise not because it makes the leader humble but more importantly, because it makes the people humble. Followers tend to outdo their leaders and part of Africa’s problem is embedded in the character of her religious leadership. Note also, from the Words of Jesus to the Jews with respect to the Pharisees and Scribes in Mathews 23:1-12; a situation can arise where doctrine is not the issue but rather, lifestyle.

The Oracle of Kingship is more about the heart of the leader than anything else; the leadership must not see itself as better than the followers in kind.

The Doctrine of Service

Leadership exists to serve the body; the service of the body is not only in word and doctrine but in socio-economic welfare as seen with the early church – “that none lacked” was a big part of the focus; the subject of the service was not just in the delivery of the Word but very much in the meeting of the needs of the body. Nearly all mentions of giving and sacrifice in the New testament was to meet the need of the saints. Again, the practice of this has political implications; the early Church saw dramatic giving; not because of coercion but because it was one for another – all for one, one for all.

The prophecy of Jesus about the sheep and the goats offer excellent review material on this subject (Math 25:33-46).

The Doctrine of Agreement

Leadership authority is best exercised in agreement and agreement requires diversity and humility; hence, the early church had a council of elders and apostles. The Roman Civilization had a wonderful mixture of power deployment where Ceaser had to agree with the Senate; we also see such in the Trinity; the Father loves the Son and gives him everything; the Son loves the Father and does only His will; the Spirit loves the Son and the Father and will not speak of Himself. The three agree; unity in diversity. Uni-varsity.

The Church is not borrowing division of power and the principle of agreement in diversity from the world; it is the nature of reality; deriving its bearing from the First Cause.

The Above Board Dispensation

The decision of the Apostles to ask for the appointment of leaders was to give the Church leaders ownership in the disbursement of their gifts. “We are not masters of your faith; we are helpers of your joy” (2 Cor 1:24). Leadership is a tool for the edification of the Saints and the best of its work is seen in the independence of the saints, not in their captivity. Leaders must see to the maturity of the Saints, and nothing matures the saint as responsibility.

Summary

The Premise of Corporate Governance in the Church is founded on the following:

A non-materialistic leadership committed to the spiritual and material blessing of the led, deployed in a manner that depicts sufficient transparency to avoid accusation, with structures for consensus building between membership and the leadership.

We find this in the lifestyle of Apostle Paul who took up vocation not just because he needed the money; he wanted to be above board. He knew that these things mattered.

The functions of the Church

1. Spiritual Edification – Word and Prayer
2. Material Edification – ministry to the widows, the poor and the less privileged.

Current Assessment

A current assessment of most church expenses will reveal a trend like this

• 85% to Overhead (rent, equipment, purchases)
• 5% to wages, honorarium
• 5% to social services and welfare

Sometimes, there are no other evangelical platforms outside the four corners of the Church.

There are reasons for this, however, the major outcomes are that there are a lot of people complaining like they did in the early church; the Church appears not to be solving their social problems.

The reason why it is not solving their social problem is simply because her leaders are not accountable to them.

A survey to examine what individuals that give to their church really think the church should do with the resources given will really help. It is the belief of the author that there is a great disparity between what church finances are used for and what those that give them think they should be used for.

Also, the over-monetization of “giving” can jeopardize the growth of other relatively low-cash requiring ministries that need the ordination and support of the local church to flourish (e.g. Prison Ministries, Education Services, Psychological Care, Elderly Care etc.). For these, the major requirement are individuals committed to the sacrificial giving of their time with little or no compensation.

In practice though; a truly representative council appointed by membership (to avoid sycophancy) should represent the view of the whole; and it is this representative council that should determine expenditure and regular reports made available to her membership. It is important to note that this is not different from what we expect of civil authorities and the Church of God ought to be the ground and pillar of truth; the absence of which reflects the truth that what we expect of civil authorities is a cultural shift of which the church must lead.

Can Church Members Be Trusted to Partake of the Budgetary Process?

The answer to this would depend on our perspective of who a believer is or who a believer should be? A body of believers or their chosen representatives are more than qualified to partake of budgetary processes and to make key decisions that pertain to the growth and flourishing of the body in keeping with the spirit of “I do not call you servants, for servants do not know what their masters do”.

Development of representative members full of the Holy Spirit and Wisdom is the call of the fivefold Ministry and their absence is an indictment and not an excuse for the lack of corporate governance.

Note

We live in a consumerist society; where costlier is better; new is good and the people of God have somehow fallen for this, as the rest of the world has. It is as if we have allowed the world to dictate our prayer points; our targets; at the end of the day, we have a money transfer where cash flows regularly from the Church to the world; rather than the other way around. It is so because the world is winning the culture war. Whoever dictates the culture, dictates the flow of resources. The distinction should have been easy and is still is easy – ideally, the Church’s focus is men (fishers of men), the world’s focus is things (fishers of fish).

The authors believe that this culture of consumerism is at the heart of most of the challenges of corporate governance; it breeds a cycle of neediness.

Lessons from Church History

When the Pope was selling indulgences to build Cathedrals (the House of the Lord); it is not exactly right that the house of the Lord was exactly what the people wanted or needed; they, the masses are the House of the Lord. We need to be so focused on building the people that we won’t know when the structures pop up under us.

So, in a nutshell, the absence of corporate governance at best reinforces the separation of clergy and laity; where laity give to clergy to do the work of God; whereas it shouldn’t be that way. The result is either dark ages or it is atheism. History has shown that leadership are not wholly without blame in scenarios of civil revolt; particularly when those revolts revolve around material resources.

Harmonizing the Two Works – Accountability

As seen with the early Church; the Apostles didn’t seek doctrinal validation from the people – though they sought it from one another, the Fivefold Ministry must have peer-review structures.

The social aspect of the work should be done very transparently and is the bulk of the work that requires money.

Money and the Work of God

In a nutshell, it behooves on leadership not to fall for the trappings of materialism (big structures) at the expense of the people. A well-engaged membership led by accountable leaders will give money; as much as is required to do the work of God; it is their work. Also, good leadership recognizes that the entire Church is the Body of Christ and not fall for the Lutheran dictum of “this is my body”; hence, the work of God is much beyond the congregation itself.

The result is partnership; in the correct sense, the membership is not partnering with the pastor; they are partnering with themselves to reach the world. The right approach to these matters provide the followership with a very good understanding of how life should be lived and this affects every other aspect of their lives. One of the factors that contribute to the apparent madness on our streets is because people simply do not see enough love in places of worship; they see God as a tool to get blessings and unfortunately the gospel of faith can be erroneously understood this way, simply because it was inadvertently taught that way.

We are not just people of faith; we are people of love; the posture of faith is redemption not cars or things.

A Church focused on reaching the world in love, focuses on developing her members to gain the spiritual and material resources to do that work effectively. It is at the center of the action happening in the society. To be able to do this effectively, resource (spiritual and physical) management and deployment is key.

How to Organize the Body

A lot is lost when church leadership is centered around only the teachers of the Word; there is more to the work than that; a lot more can be done when leadership supports other non-Word ministries to thrive and the accountable body throws resources at this kind of work.

Leadership should focus on supporting the Ministries of the Laymen; they should be taught to live Christ in their work and must not be made to think that they “give to God” only when they give to the Church; their 8am to 5pm every weekday is as sacred as their Sundays.

A local church, for example should start “Society for Girl-Child Education”; “Society for Artisanal Workers Development” etc. according to the needs and callings of her membership. These engagements should be seen as a powerful Ministry of the Word; it wasn’t just the words of Jesus that got people; it was more of His Acts. Miracles and Healings will happen when we unleash and support our people to do the work of God in such Societies.

It is important to note that it is such societies that brought Christianity to us in Africa and the much-needed social amenities.

On Motivation and Accountability for Gifts and Offerings

For speed, the points are enumerated.

1. Transparency should be instituted at all levels of leadership simply to be above board.
2. Remuneration for leadership should be reasonable and in compliance with “so that his heart be not exalted above his brethren”.
3. Leadership should intentionally be humble; there is great wisdom in that. Not because of lack of capacity but because of it.
4. Leadership should let the people contribute to decisions on how funds are deployed.
5. Regular reporting structures are part and parcel of corporate governance.

Examples of Accountability Structures

1. Leadership Councils; the use of a senate-like Council or board as the highest decision-making organ of an organisation is important in avoiding individual excesses, of which we are all vulnerable when left unchecked. This structure also protects the larger body from offence, as most times, issues that may offend are quickly resolved within the council. As seen with the Council of Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem, doctrinal matters form a key element of the functions of that council. Wisdom can also be gleaned from the Protestant reformation, which successfully enthroned the authority of Scriptures (rather than church traditions) as the principal source of truth; hence, the powers of the Council must derive from Scriptures alone, in keeping with the spirit of “we are not masters of your faith, but helpers of your joy”.
2. Budget/Budget Review Meetings – these are annual, semi-annual or quarterly meetings where the Church (all members) deliberate on what it wants to do with the resources of God committed to it, it should be noted that if Shareholders of earthly companies can make inputs on their budget at the annual general meetings and Government Executives seek budget approvals, leadership in the house of God should be much nobler. The people of the Lord, are holy.  The Holy Spirit, if we ask Him, can inform us what to focus on per quarter, or per annum. At the review meetings, the progress of the work is explained and discussed; with inputs made from membership. Note that since the Church’s focus is her membership; there is nothing (be it building projects, giving, etc.) that should be deemed too discreet for her; however, in certain cases, it might be best to limit participation to elected representatives.
3. Appointments: for the day-to-day operations; the people themselves should appoint leaders to represent them in these matters; these appointments should be reviewed regularly to avoid nepotism and sycophancy. It is important to note that these structures are fundamental pillars of the early Church; they were indeed essential pillars borne not out of tradition, but more from an understanding of the full counsel of God, of the nature of men and the whiles of the enemy.

Advantages of this Approach

• This will quell the current giving and tithing controversy in many quarters; believers should not just give their tithe and walk away (God wants the entirety of their lives); they should be part and parcel of His work. When people get involved with God’s work, they will give more than 10%.
• This will also create the right kind of citizens – the salt of the earth – the non-inclusiveness of followership in leadership is the major limit to Africa’s development and the prevailing Church governance structure in many quarters reinforces that; if Church leadership (the holiest) are accountable to their people, the people will force their earthly leaders to be accountable. Let thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

• Also, if Church leaders present a humble outlook in accordance with the Oracle of Kingship, it will catalyze the emergence of servant leadership with the hallmark that it utilizes the very little resources we have, to do much more. This is important because part of the biggest challenge of consumerism is that it wastes the opportunities and is in a perpetual cycle of neediness; from such, no prayers can save.

• A well run governance structure in church will impact positively on the society at large. History has taught that the most effective governance structures governments have adopted world over, originated from the church.

 Conclusion

A lot rises and falls on leadership; and in the Body of Christ, this responsibility becomes even more significant. We must all strive to get the noble commendation at the end of days. We can do so by taking heed to ourselves and to the flock that is committed to us.

Leaders are dealers in hope. They are not hope-dealers because they are more optimistic than the rest of the team but because they are less afraid – not unafraid – to follow their instincts. They smell out water and follow the chase, some have died before they found water but the ones we celebrate today are those who found their chase just before the last breadth.

Often times, their chase is not entirely rational especially at first, at least to the onlooker. It is not that leaders are entirely irrational but often operate with different hues of rationality. Much more than others, the leader is much more prone to cross-examine herself; as she is operating by a higher yardstick. The fears and criticisms of onlookers help her in this quest – to verify her persuasions, hence the necessity of these.

She is special, like the rest of us are and her task also is; so she thinks herself double so and with this, Heaven agrees.

Her failings force her to learn more, to study more and to engage the deliberate act of exposing herself to new ideas and people. She knows the drawings by heart but needs the information out here to help execute her blueprint. Between the actual execution and the learning curves are timelines – the price the leader must pay, the ability to survive this interval is a combination of the Grace of God and practical wisdom. Wisdom to prepare for the rainy day and the Grace of God when preparations fail – as they often do.

The leader is therefore spiritual – she hears things and most time has a great deal more faith in those things than in the observable. To kill her before time, one must first disconnect the vital link –this meditative heart, to fill it with noise and cares.

A leader knows that life is really a preparation for death – not a cessation from existence but a completion of the race of this particular phase of life. She lives not to survive it or to just exist because she knows she would always do (we all will keep existing), rather she lives to be ready for the finish line –to die. With her, God is really glad, for she has lived as she ought to.

For her journey, she must find wisdom and faith. This is written to remind him that both are within grasps, that though the errors of life be many, but with faith and wisdom, one can arrive ready –having done all that God had required of us. For some, that path might involve many failures but these kinds are akin to those of a child learning to walk. The one who stumbled trying – and all would, might have failed to stand but the wisdom is not in calm sitting but in the faith to try again.

Faith is not man’s quest for God, it cannot be, for where can he find Him? It is God’s quest for man; hence, genuine acts of Faith are best seen in man’s response to the passions of God. When the Scripture says “seek Me and you shall find Me”, it is not because of the greatness of our efforts but in our response to the one who so earnestly seeks us. The true seeker is truly sought. Yes, in many ways, God has been really looking for you.

Man’s righteousness therefore is not a product of good deeds but in the obedience to God. If you have really tried hard at being good, you would agree that the self awareness posture required to pursue righteousness quickly leads to the discovery of one’s depravity. We are not perfect creatures, but we can be. The passions of God for us, makes such possible.

Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

The Nature of the Call
This call of God, however, is not essentially a physical or material calling, it is that and much more. It is true that God must not be judged by the material, many have missed Him by so doing.

The call of God is to God. ”Abraham” He says,”I am your exceedingly great reward”. For Abraham, his son Isaac was the promise – the material result of his faith, yet God wanted to bring him to the place beyond Isaac. This divine desire is same for all of us. The day Abraham believed God was the day he pleased Him and his faith was accounted for righteousness; yet, it took a longer while for Abraham to get Isaac. Our Isaacs are not as important as our response to the call.

Yes, material results are not as important to God as we think of them; though in many ways we deal with Him in the material, He is more concerned with what goes on in our hearts. Every business man knows how easy it is to lose money after it is made; the wise one learns that the critical thing is the nature of the heart of the individual, with or without the resources. By that, it is easier to judge men, not in the size of their pockets, but in the size of their hearts.

1Ki 4:29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

God in the Mundane
God speaks to us, when we are in relationship with him and sometimes even when we are not. Now, it is difficult to claim to know God if such a relationship of hearing does not exist; if we are not in pursuit of Him on a daily basis. But if we are, we would find that even in every day things of work and living, God has a will for us as individuals; that agenda sometimes look mundane and not so spiritual but the source is always very clear, even when the message is not.

For someone, it was to literally help carry the cross of Christ. Another gave his tomb to be used for His burial and countless persons have in the ordinary course of human pursuit dedicated their lives and resources to doing the biddings of God. However, beyond these desires of God from us is His desire of our lives – we are desired to be creatures of a particular sort.

2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

He desires us to be creatures of love in a world where such love is alien and of righteousness where corruption is rife. It is a calling away from ourselves and to God – for it is only in Him that we can truly find ourselves. We’ve not always lived up to call, yet like Paul, it should be the relentless pursuit.

The Glory and the Glorifier
God is both – the glory and the one that glorifies. True glory is to know the applause of God – the ‘well-done, thou good and faithful servant’ commendation. The pursuit of the high calling is to pursue that commendation above every other accomplishment. In pleasing God, we might gain the glory of men but must learn to count such as nothing and fleeting. His is the one that endures.

The Fear of the Lord
The Lord commandeers his own, like soldiers in an army, we obey the supreme command. There are times when in battle array, when in the thick of the battle we are jostled from our positions and shaken by enemy fire, it is particularly then that good soldiers listen to receive the orders of their commanding officer. The one who fears the Lord waits upon Him, he might be slow but eventually he would arrive right on time.

Who am I?
I am thine!

1Pe 2:9-11 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you- from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.

Muchas Gracias

It wouldn’t dim the lights

Or dull the applause

Though I do it myself

For public applause is never a chance thing

Bad luck has never held back a nation

Neither will good luck save it

It would take awareness and commitment

It would take me

I am unique, impregnated with change

Destined a light

A destiny that calls my name

A call I must heed

Though there be other calls

Calls for moderation and caution

Given by loving loving hearts

Some by referees that will never play

Calls that would have killed Edison and emasculated David

Calls to feed my need

Visible calls

I however choose to heed the invisible

And to hear the inaudible

I choose to serve my seed rather than my need

I understand that the essence of reality is relationships

For truths tell of something

But reality is that of which truth is about

It is seen in the trinity

The father loved the Son and gave Him all

The Son loved the Father and does His will

The Spirit loves the Son and wouldn’t speak of Himself

Relationship is the essence of reality

Relationship based on service

Never for national cake

But for national task

My only regret is that I have but one life

One life to give for my Lord and Nation

Alas death is not an end but a hallway to Glory

So I choose to die knowing that thus is life

I choose today’s work

To love not myself alone but humanfolk

And that above myself

I chose to be ashamed to die

To die without winning a trophy for humanity

I’d rather die than rob the generation of Daphnie of something to be proud about

Someone said, “show me something to be proud about my nation and you’ll see how proud I can be”

I will

Years from now

Young hands would hold mine, though calloused, and say

“Papa tell us some tale of men gone before, tales of valor and fame”

Though it now seems there be no story to tell

I would mutter and say

“Thus the story began”

“How this might be” you ask

“I am the story” I answer

Real heroes never sought hero ship

They only heeded the call

The call that today tugs at my heart

The call that has made me a stranger and a fool

A call that has made days hours

I have come, in the volume of books it is written about me

To do thy will, Oh Lord!

The Author sat at His desk

Wrote “Time” and smiled

“Adam” and wept

With gingerly fingers He scribbled “Jesus”, felt the shame and pain

It was divine tears that touched the scrolls as He rolled them back,

Stood up and said “Let there be light”

Light came running at 3600km/s, and is still coming

He has never stopped speaking since

The other day He said “Nelson”

I cried, “Father!”

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,

10. Not quarrelsome,
11. Not a lover of money.
12. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,
13. He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
14. 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.

Sincerely, I do not know if you have been here. Though I doubt if you have not but really the issue is not whether you have been here or not but whether you recognize this place for what it is.

An imperfect place is that place where right is not good; it is that place where nature is different from the observed. It is that place that an entrepreneur could arrive at where though he knows he is in the right business but his experience has not been a good one. It is a man looking into the eyes of his wife – the right woman, knowing that though she is right, there is still a lot that is seemingly unpleasant with her. It is the wife weeping over a misbehaving husband that she truly loves. She was right; they should be together, now it appears as if she is right and wrong at the same time.

Imperfect places are those places in our lives where it is hard to explain everything with the truth that we know; it is Mr. Job, a righteous man apparently punished by God. His friends believed only evil people get such punishments – hence Job must have sinned; so they told him to his face…just like us.

Imperfect places are akin to the recent death of a cherished minister of God who perished in a plane crash. He has been good, but apparently evil must have triumphed over him. Imperfect places, however, are everyday places; they raise questions, taunt our answers and urge us to find true and noble understanding. The critical paths of a man’s life are lived in such places – hence all men, aspiring for the best in themselves soon find themselves at this place.

WHY?

Why should things be imperfect? Why should something so right be so difficult, why would evil triumph over the good? Why do good men perish?

Is it not right that the good enjoy the good and the bad the bad? Is it not right that a noble cause be met with all that is glorious? How could Adam, made in the image of God – the first of His works be so marred by sin? Why should there even be sin in the first place?

THE ANSWERS WE GIVE

It is common to say to the drug addict who was raised by godly parents – “you caused it”. It is normal that Job’s friends insisted that he must have wronged God. It is celebrated when we pat ourselves at the back for our “perfectness” after all, “like begets like” things don’t just happen. Karma, cause and effect, something somewhere is responsible and we are quick to point fingers.

Worse when you are the one the finger is pointed at.

“I am right” we say. “I am right!” Job never believed his culpability, he was a righteous man in his own eyes. True, that is what made the scenario imperfect to begin with; it wouldn’t be an imperfect scenario if he was an unrighteous man. A woman betrayed by the right man wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t the “right” man. An ailing enterprise would not surprise us if not that it was just the “right” thing. So, most times, we stick to our righteousness – it must be God or someone that is being unfair! To Job, it was God. To the atheist – it is God!

“I got it all right, but see what He/he/she/they have done to me. See what they are saying”.

At imperfect places, because we are right, yet in a difficult, unpleasant or bad situation, we struggle to find an explanation – to either deny our “rightness” or point a finger, most times to point a finger. Sorely tempted, some have denied their righteousness completely. You must have seen this – the believer suffers some things and rejects the faith. A sincere believer struggles with a particular besetting sin and after a while says “it is not sin” or “forget it all…it is not real!”  A businessman quits…the career person throws in the towel and a marriage crumbles.

It Is Not that Kind of Perfection that Is Needed

Though our world is ruled by cause and effect, by laws…it is not completely so. Someone said “it almost makes sense”. True, per time, in the human experience, it almost makes sense. Then all of a sudden, it makes no sense at all!

Though we might be accused of being wrong in such places, though we might be tempted to point fingers, there is a third option, rarely exploited. One day the disciples of Jesus came to Him with an apparently tough question – the classical imperfect scenario. “Master” they asked, “this man here was born blind, Sir, who sinned? Is it him or his parents?”

They assumed what Job’s friends assumed – someone must have sinned. Also, the question was a tough one because even if the parents sinned or the unborn child did, it still would have been an unfair scenario. An unborn baby couldn’t have sinned, hence is righteous, something as bad as blindness shouldn’t be his burden even if his parents sinned.

Jesus answered “it is not him or his parents, but that the glory of God might be revealed in him!”

Beyond our complaints and our right and wrong analysis; there is a motive that transcends this universe – the desire of God to be glorified in all flesh and in all places. It is this Divine intent that should guide us at imperfect places. Though we must search our hearts, we must be careful not to deny our righteousness and not to blame people or God, we should seek that which He could move heaven and earth to manifest – His glory. This really is the essence of humanity – which is that God wants to bring many sons to glory. Hence when we experience the imperfections of humanity – our hearts should always seek His glory!

Listen to the words of Christ at His imperfect places:

 “ Now My soul is troubled and distressed, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour [of trial and agony]? But it was for this very purpose that I have come to this hour [that I might undergo it]. [Rather, I will say,] Father, glorify (honor and extol) Your [own] name! Then there came a voice out of heaven saying, I have already glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” John 12:27-28 (AMP)