…being fully convinced that what He had promised He was able also to perform…
Rom.4:21
Self-starter, motivated, good communication skills and a team player. This is the common requirement posted in job adverts. To be a team player is considered an asset. You must be able to fit in, flow with the current, and dance to the tune played by the majority regardless of your own conviction. The idea is if every body is doing it, why not just tag along? Please don’t get me wrong, I love being on a team, I believe in team effort and I am convinced that no organization can survive if its staff cannot function together as a team. I also believe that the strength of an organization depends on the strength of its working teams.
However, one thing that is easily overlooked when organizations talk about team spirit is team value. By team value I mean what is important to team. That is, what is that thing that makes the team what it is? Identifying that thing, gives meaning and purpose to that team. A team that functions at optimum capacity has been able to define and identified that important thing. When a team has identified that important thing, then team members can align themselves to it. Until that is done the team member cannot tell if he or she can play along or not.
The team leader establishes team value. He is the one who determines the direction in which the team will travel. If he is a man with a clear vision, a man who knows where he is going and how to get there, then it becomes easy for him to determines the things that are important for him to get to his destination thus he will require this important things from those he will invite to travel with him. But if unfortunately he does not have a clear picture of where he is going then getting there will be equally unclear thus he is not likely to know what is important for the journey thus he not only travel in circle but he will lead others on a frustrating journey that leads to no meaningful destination. Unfortunaly this is the situation in most organization where a lot of noise is made about team spirit. A situation in which a team is on a journey towards achieving what they don’t really understand, how much more believing in it.
The church as a body of individual believers is not immune to his issue of team spirit and team value. No single individual, no matter how anointed can single handedly lead a church to fulfill her divine purpose without the help and support of others. It takes a team of dedicated believers committed to a leader with a God given vision to grow a successful church. As much as the growth of a church depends on team effort, a lot depends on the leader. His call, commission and most importantly his conviction has a lot to do with the fulfillment of the vision he has for the church. If he has doubts or is not convinced of his call or commission, then his effectiveness as a minister of the gospel will be seriously hampered. A leader’s conviction has a role to play in his ministry effectiveness.
Unfortunately the word conviction seems not to have any real meaning to the twenty-first century Christian minister. Our actions, conduct pronouncements seems to show that we either not sure of the God we serve or we don’t believe the gospel we preach. The high premium we place on material things and worldly possessions at the expense of the spiritual conditions of the souls under our care leaves a lot of questions unanswered in the heart of those we are called to minister to.
Unfortunately the word conviction seems not to have any real meaning to the twenty-first century Christian minister.
With the proliferation of churches and the mass production of feel good, self professing, “tongue babbling” funky believers one will expect that the level of crime and corruption in our society would have been drastically reduced. Which top government officials and corporate executives openly identifying with the Christen faith, one would have expected institutionalized corruption to have been reduced to the barest minimum. But what do we find? Men and women of means making a show of religion without the accompanying fruits. Ministers of the gospel preaching about a holy God but lacking the power of righteous living.
The Body of Christ needs men and women who know what they believe. People who are convinced of their faith that they are ready to live it out. Men women who are ready to stand up and be counted. Not people who because of the glamour of appearing on the pages of the celebrity magazine or on national network will flow with the crowd. The church needs men who are convinced of the infallibility of scriptures, men fully persuaded of the divinity of Christ and the need for men to be born again and live a holy life before they can hope to live eternally with a holy God. The church needs men; yes we need men of conviction.
The church needs men who are convinced of the infallibility of scriptures, men fully persuaded of the divinity of Christ and the need for men to be born again and live a holy life before they can hope to live eternally with holy God.
Abraham was such a man, Scriptures tell us “being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform.” Be cause of this conviction he waited for the fulfillment of the promise. God is looking for ministry leaders, who are so sure of their God, men who believe their God so much that they are not ready to compromise their stand in other to fit it. Leaders who are so persuaded of the reality of heaven and the terrible pain awaiting apostate souls that they will refuse to bow don to gods of popularity and covetousness that is gaining much converts among notable Christian ministry leaders today. The time has come for our church leaders to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints”. The big question is how they can contend if they are not conviction and solid persuasion to contend for the faith. Do you have such persuasion?
