ToDay with E.G: The Sign of a leader: self-motivated! Part 8

I'd like to briefly share with you this small remarks that I have been sharing with people since the first time I heard it in a leadership event. In 2008, I discovered a new leadership expert and he has become my favorite leadership expert. Jim Collins in his presentation "From Good To Great" gave a series of advises and one of them is - when we form a team to work with, we need to choose people who are 'leader material'. These people are the right people for your organizations or Church administrations. They are sometime
easily recognizable. I'll come back to this principle with more examples in a future post.

How do we recognize those "right" people? The answer is simply this, among others: they are self-motivated people. They don't wait for you to tell them what to do all the time. Nor do they wait for you to motivate them to do the job, because those people are self motivated. They take initiatives and make things happen! They are the face and the incarnation of determination.

When St. Paul got closer to his death, he had this advise written in one of his epistles, which says: "And the [instructions] which you have heard from me along with many witnesses, transmit and entrust [as a deposit] to reliable and faithful men who will be competent and qualified to teach others also." (2 Timothy 2:2 - AMP). The good news, the gospel was certainly for everybody but they can not be entrusted to just anyone. They are entrusted to people who are capable. Self-motivated people. People who won't need the apostle to run after them with hope that they'll preach and teach the gospel. No, these people are themselves self motivated and aware of the necessity to share the good news, just as St. Paul were. They are self-motivated when it comes to share the gospel, they are diligent and trustworthy. You can count on them to do the right thing. These are leadership qualities. they are sought after by every sensible souls, from Wall street businesses to Church board members.

"And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great  persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles." (Acts 8:1)

Somewhere in the first century, the Church met its first greatest persecution in Jerusalem. Due to that, the disciples scattered and run away from Jerusalem to the surrounding cities. The interesting thing about this scattering as Jim Cimbala, author of Fresh Wind-Fresh Power, pointed it out is that the apostles did not leave Jerusalem. Only the other disciples did, insist the first verse of Acts 8. However the amazing thing is that where the scattered disciples ran, the good news was being spread all the more, "Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word." (Acts 8:4). They were not even apostles, but they were "devoted men" as verse 2 tells us, they were dedicated to their cause. Maybe not at the same level as the Apostles, but they were at their own level and the nations surrounding Jerusalem came to know about the word of God through their endeavor.

In Christianity, we are all called to display a level of leadership in our lives. The one quality that I always wish I could always have seen in every Christian groups, associations, cells, chapters, ministries, churches, families - is the self-motivation one. Those people who do not necessary need the presence of the apostles or other confirmed great leaders to act and make proactive actions and deeds. Those people don't wait that a fasting season be decreed or a prayer day be announced for them to do those things. They know the part to be played and they do them. With the help of the community or without them -- they initiate those proactive actions, because they are responsible people. By responsible I mean 'Response - able' = 'able to give a response' When they see a need they try to remedy them with the measure of the grace of God they have received as part of their Christian gifting.

So where are you with your progress in building your character and habits? I encourage you too to build the habit of self-motivating yourself and don't always depend on people to support you in doing what is right and acceptable. Take things in hands and be response-able!

May the Lord bless you all in Jesus' name.