In this letter I am going to quote a small passage from the biography of C.T. Studd, missionary to China, India and to Africa. His life shines as a bright light for all Christians to see and follow. Let these words challenge you to a deeper commitment to the Great Commission.

“God’s man is a servant of Jesus Christ with whom he has settled terms of agreement already. He knows no other Master. He has not the ghost of a doubt about God supplying his need; he carries his checkbook with him always, and has no fear of the checks being dishonored. If death overtakes him on the battlefield, he knows such to be a special mark of Christ’s favor, Who has thus honored and promoted him sooner than he had any right to expect. As he looks to God to supply his needs, so also shall he look to God for his guidance and shall obey Him.

“Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin. The time for waiting is past. In God’s Holy Name let us arise and build. We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock of the sayings of Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us. Should such men as we fear? Before the whole world, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only in our God, than live trusting in man. And when we come to this position the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious campaign is sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ.”

Blessings,

Dr. Jim Burbank

Everything associated with Christianity is about relationships. The reason the Father created the universe is as a home for man. The purpose of the cross is to bring man and God back into relationship after the fall in the Garden of Eden. Now, as Christians, we are to be involved with other people in order to lead them to Jesus, assist them in becoming strong disciples and be leaders in the world.

Leadership is also relational, meaning the best way to lead is to first know the people you are leading. In John Maxwell’s Leadership Bible he lists three levels of leadership.

1. Leaders can IMPRESS others from a distance. We can impress others by our qualifications or our experience. The leader’s lifestyle should be ‘impressive’, this will bring others to willingly follow our lives. Paul said, “Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.” I Thess. 2:9.

2. Leaders can INFLUENCE others as they grow closer to them. Leadership is influence. The influence happens when the follower chooses to duplicate the example of the leader. At this stage the follower’s life will change. It is a humbling matter for our lives to bring about positive change in others.

3. Leaders can IMPACT others only in close relationships. Closeness brings about a climate for growth and transformed lives. It is as a leader opens his/her life that the followers see what needs to happen in their lives.

To be a leader is not about control or domination; it is about helping people fulfill God’s plan for their lives. Love is the only motivation for real leaders.

Dr. Jim Burbank