Healthy Leaders | Issue 2
The power of God's Word via Nehemiah, confident but careful teaching, and delegating like a pro.
Welcome to Issue 2 of Healthy Leaders.
In this issue, we’re zeroing in on teaching, design recipes, and hand-written notes. Plus: what it takes to just let that one thing go. Let’s dive in.
10 Truths about God’s Word from Nehemiah 8
Right out the gate this issue, we have Ryan at Knowable Word laying down some reminders for all of us about the vital power of the Word of God, and how it transforms our lives as we submit to it daily.
“From the way the people handle, approach, and react to the Law [in Nehemiah 8], we can learn much about God’s word…
I was quieted and convicted as I read this chapter of God’s word, because I don’t always treat the Bible as it deserves. Perhaps you might benefit from a slower meditation on these truths about the Scriptures. Do you believe them? Do they shape the way you and your church approach the Lord?”
What does your relationship with God’s Word look like currently, and what does that say about your relationship with God Himself? Are you treating Scripture like it comes from an infinite, holy, loving God, or like a book of good ideas about how to live?
The Lost Art of the Handwritten Note
Speaking of God’s words for us… When communicating something that requires warmth and connection, maybe skip the email or text and choose something more tangible.
“There is something about the time and thought it takes to write a handwritten note that speaks to people, even today. No other medium can match the personal gift of putting words on paper for someone who matters to you.
Whether you’re writing to offer comfort, gratitude, congratulations, condolences, or encouragement, handwritten notes create a connection between people that is hard to replicate.”
Whom do you know who might need a bit of encouragement today? Get that paper out and sharpen that pencil, leaders.
Four Marks of Faithful Teaching
If we truly submit to God’s Word, our life with Him will spill out into our teaching. Scott Hubbard opens up Acts 20:18-25 as a way to understand faithful teaching.
“Throughout the New Testament, the teaching of Jesus and the apostles, and then the church, assumes a certain context, flows from a certain character, comes with a certain content, and aims toward a certain completion.”
I couldn’t help but notice that his first two points are all about the life of the teacher:
“The word teaching, for us, likely evokes images of academia: classrooms and desks, lectures and note-taking. Paul certainly had a category for formal public teaching, as when he taught in the Ephesian synagogue or reasoned in the hall of Tyrannus (Acts 19:8–10). But for the apostle, teaching was also woven into all of life.
Paul “lived among” the Ephesians for three years; his “students” were those “among whom I have gone about” (Acts 20:18, 25). Paul knew the Ephesians deeply, and the Ephesians likewise knew Paul. He had taught not only in public but “from house to house” (Acts 20:20); they had seen not only his talk but his tears (Acts 20:31). In his teaching, Paul clothed abstract principles with his own lived example. He had not only told them the words of the Lord Jesus, that “it is more blessed to give than to receive,” but he had “shown” them (Acts 20:35).”
…Given this all-of-life context, Paul’s teaching required a certain character. If teaching included imitation and not just information, the teacher needed more than true ideas; he needed a holy life. So, as Paul reminds the Ephesian elders of his ministry among them, he says as much about his manner as he does about his message.
Paul had served with humility, taught with tears, suffered with patience (Acts 20:19). He preached Christ as altogether worthy and then showed his willingness to die for his name (Acts 20:24). He taught the whole counsel of God with courage (Acts 20:27). And he displayed a manifest freedom from greed and laziness as he commended the Servant Savior (Acts 20:33–35). As he taught in all of life, he modeled — as much as an imperfect saint can — all of Christ.”
Sounds a little bit like Transformational Teaching to my ears …
Careful but Confident: Preaching in God’s Presence
God’s approval of our ministry, whether we are leaders or teachers or both, matters far more than the approval of our followers. Lucky Mogakane exhorts us to submit to God’s presence over our teaching and in our calling with confidence and carefulness:
“There was a time in my life when I was so confident in the presence of God and his call on my life that I did not see the need to prepare a message for preaching. Thus when I prepared a message, the Bible functioned only as a proof text, propping up what I wanted to say. The danger of this type of preaching is that it fails to communicate the message that God desired when he inspired the text. The message of the passage becomes subject to the preacher rather than the preacher being subject to the Bible.
It also overlooks the fact that our confidence in God’s presence and his call on our lives should serve as a warning for how we conduct ourselves in ministry.”
Designing Transformational Leader Development
Malcolm serves up a simple but satisfying recipe for designing leader development.
“Recently I ate a very nice dish when I was in Asia. It was a famous seafood dish for the region – one dish with many different ingredients. There were noodles, water, seafood, ginger, sugar, rice wine and other things. There were a lot of unique ingredients but they all went together to make one tasty dish. This is how to design training!
When the chef prepares the dish, he knows what he intends the final product to look like, smell like and taste like. He starts with the goal and then he determines what ingredients need to go in, in what order, how they should be mixed together and how it should be cooked – all the details of the design.”
12 Steps Toward Delegating Better
And finally, Chuck offers us a holistic and practical way of thinking about delegation — a pretty vital skill to sharpen for those of us building leaders. Here’s a few choice examples:
“5. Pray. Jesus told us to pray for more laborers (Luke 10:1-2). That’s a critical step in delegating: pray for God to raise up the next leaders.
6. Watch. Keep your eyes open for church members who show faithfulness and fruitfulness. They might be the next laborers to train.
7. Train one. Delegating all tasks to untrained people can be risky. Instead, begin delegating by training one person to do one thing. Start somewhere.
8. Let that one thing go. Go ahead—let the person you trained take on one of your tasks. Trust your training you provided.”
That’s all for this one, friends. If you found something encouraging in this letter, share it with a friend (link to forward email). If you’ve found something encouraging outside of this letter, send it our way (link to reply email). We love to share what our leaders love.
Until next time, we’re with you!
— Chris
(for all of us at LeaderSource)