Empowering Groups to Govern Individuals to Lead赋权团体管理和个人的领导.pptVIP

Empowering Groups to Govern  Individuals to Lead Groups don’t lead. Individuals do. Yet there is wisdom in many counsellors. It is true that groups can and do provide positive direction for a wide range of spiritual enterprises. But it’s also true that groups of very capable people frequently fail to provide courageous leadership in times of greatest need. The Bible is full of heroic characters that provided daring and faithful leadership. Noah, Rahab, Samson, David, Esther, Daniel, Peter and Paul accomplished exploits of faith that would never have been approved by a committee or group of advisors. How many of our leadership teams would have approved Noah’s building program or Samson’s stunt with 300 foxes to burn the fields of the Philistines? On the other hand, there is strong Biblical basis for collegial or collective forms of influencing. The term “elders” is mentioned 186 times in the (NIV) Bible, 127 times in the O.T. and 57 times in the N.T. Rehoboam’s failure to listen to his advisors led to a “nation split” and Peter’s individualistic approach to life and ministry left him out on a limb more often than he needed to be. And isn’t it easy to imagine the conflict between Paul and Barnabas being resolved differently if they’d been willing to hear other mature voices? Is there a way to have the best of both worlds? As is frequently the case in Scripture, the answer is found at the point of tension between two ideals. It is possible to value the effectiveness of the individual leader as well as the benefits of guidance and governance that comes from a group. How should we respond to this tension between the bold faith of individuals and the wisdom that should be found among many counsellors? Will we dare to trust one another? Can we dare to bring wisdom to bear on sensitive egos? Can we communicate our fears to each other openly as well as our opinions? And, will we make room for God in this equation? We are unlikely to make perfect and good