Foundations of Christian Leadership, Student Workbook, SW07

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F O U N D A T I O N S O F C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S H I P

Readings on the Church (continued)

Beyond the Gospels, most of the NT is the story of “local churches” and how God intended them to function. True, Jesus Christ came to lay the foundation and to build his ekklesia (Matt. 16.18) and when he said to Peter, “I will build my church ,” He was certainly thinking more broadly than establishing a “local church” in Caesarea Philippi where this conversation took place (Matt. 16.13-20). . . . On the other hand, Jesus was also anticipating the multitude of local churches that would be established in Judea and Samaria and throughout the Roman Empire--and eventually all over the world as we know it today. This story begins in the book of Acts and spans a significant period during the first century (approximately from A.D. 33 to A.D. 63). Furthermore, during this time frame, most of the New Testament letters were written to these local churches--or to men like Timothy and Titus who were helping to establish these churches.

~ Gene Getz. Elders and Leaders . Chicago: Moody, 2003. pp. 47-48.

A World to Change, a World to Win

If anyone is going to change the world for the better, it may be argued, it ought to be the Christians, not the Communists. For myself, I would say that if we started applying our Christianity to the society in which we live, then it would be we, indeed, who would change the world. Christians, too, have a world to change and a world to win. Had the early Christians gone in for slogans these might well have been theirs. They might be ours too. There is no reason at all why they should be the monopoly of the Communists [and the Muslims, and the atheists, and the hedonists, and the secular humanists, and the . . .]

~ Douglas Hyde, Dedication and Leadership , pp. 32-33

Those Who Turn the World Upside Down Have Themselves Been Turned Inside Out

The bitterest foe became the greatest friend. The Blasphemer became the preacher of Christ’s love. The hand that wrote the indictment of the disciples of Christ when he brought them before magistrates and into prison now penned epistles of God’s redeeming love. The heart that once beat with joy when Stephen sank beneath the bloody stones now rejoiced in scourgings and stonings for the sake of Christ.