Glyn Barrett

• Jesus said; "I will build my Church..."


• Jesus said: "I only do what I see my Father in heaven doing!"

Jesus never produced manuals and held leadership conferences with the best known leadership gurus of the day. He didn't need to; He exemplified leadership at its best. With an appointment in "ministry" that lasted only three and a half years, Jesus revolutionised the world whilst maintaining a "simple" ethos for ministry. The trap of "leadership" in the 21st Century is the desire to complicate the "essentially simple" mandate for leadership.

Recently I was in prayer for the church & in particular for the growth of the departments in it. For some I was thanking God for the people who had been saved & added to the church & for others I was asking God; "How can I fill them?" I spent so much time asking "How can I fill them?" that God's reply came simple & to the point, "When did you start playing God in this relationship?"

Learning from Bruce!

One of the great movies of 2003 starred Jim Carey as "Bruce Almighty!" If you saw it, you will remember that Bruce was given God's job! At first he enjoyed his privileges as God. The funky music played as Bruce starting displaying his powers by, "Parting tomato soup, blowing fire hydrants apart & even lassoing and pulling in the moon just to impress his woman. However the fun started once he took on the role of answering prayers. The hilarious scene which followed featured Bruce working out a way of answering all the prayers. He finally decided to say yes to them all only to discover that millions of new prayers had been prayed whilst even typing in the words "yes" on his computer. The frustration of "playing God" was evident for all to see - humorous though it was.

When were you last incredibly frustrated in leadership? My frustration at not being able to "fill" the departments as I wanted was huge, but God's question to me sorted it out somewhat. "When did I become God?" The answer is, I hadn't & I wasn't & as Bruce aptly demonstrated, "Who would want God's job anyway?"

Saul learnt the hard way

In 1 Samuel 13, we read a graphic image of what we tend to do in leadership. Saul and the Israelites had been surrounded by the Philistines for seven days. Saul had waited for Samuel to arrive to "enquire of God!" & in sheer frustration, took on the role that was Samuels alone. He offered up a burnt sacrifice to God - playing the role of prophet / priest. Saul hadn't learnt the clichéd lesson "learn to wait when God is running late!" He was so desperate that he took on a role that was never designated to him.

We do the same. Jesus promised to build the church. He never said that as leaders it was our job to build the church. He claimed sole right to that responsibility. Not only did God respond to me by saying, "When did you become God in this relationship?" but also by adding, "...I'll fill the departments, you just do what I say!" Somewhere in my desperation to see the church grow, I took it upon myself to step into God's shoes & play his role.

The wisdom of Solomon!

Proverbs 3:6 says; "In all your ways acknowledge Him & He will make your paths straight."

• Note: "...in all your ways acknowledge Him." Your Job


• "...and He will make your paths straight." God's Job

Your job as a leader is simply to acknowledge God & He will ensure the path before you is straight!

Even Jesus followed this simple model of leadership when he was on earth. Look at the parallel between Jesus mandate of leadership & the truth found in proverbs 3: