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Script: Yvette l Narrator: Josh l Mix: Yujie
Hello friends, thank you for staying tuned with the series Outstanding Leader, inspired by Pastor Daniel Foo.
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2: 1-2)
In an organisation, good leadership and team-building are important for the present as well as for the future. The second critical component of fulfilling our purpose and vision is ensuring posterity and legacy. This means that we must always keep the purpose-vision of the organisation at the forefront. It also means the contribution of the team is greater than the individual. The team must continue with or without us, for through them, the purpose last longer than our own efforts.
The late Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, certainly understood this. In an interview, he said, “I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There’s nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life.”
As a minister mentor recognised by the cabinet before his retirement, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew realised that Singapore’s success was far bigger than his own ambitions. He took action to bring prosperity not simply for himself or his party, but for all Singaporeans. He did this by ensuring that the next generation of leaders were honest and competent, emphasising good, clean governance.
The key to success that is to mentor and multiply leaders. This is the pattern we see in Scripture and life.
Scripture is full of examples of leaders realising their work was not just about themselves, but taking care to ensure that it was continued through the generations. Moses mentored Joshua; Elijah mentored Elisha; Mordecai mentored Esther; and Jesus mentored His twelve apostles, in particular Peter, James and John.
In the midst of the early church’s explosive growth, Paul took care to be a good mentor to Timothy, knowing that in due time he would take up the baton and teach other leaders. 2 Timothy 2: 2 says, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”
What is “mentoring”? In their book entitled Connecting: The Mentoring Relationship You Need to Succeed, Paul Stanley and Robert Clinton identified a range of mentoring relationships. The range of relationships begins in a passive yet less deliberate form such as being a role model. From a role model to a sponsor, a teacher then to a counsellor. The move is progressively moving towards a more intensive and intentional mentoring, such as being a coach and spiritual guide eventually.
As an intentional disciple-making church, we seek both to make new converts and train disciples into a deeper relationship with the Lord and each other. We pastor everybody but deliberately mentor those who have leadership positions in their cell groups and ministries. To be a mentor, we must have a good connection and relationship with those that we disciple, and be willing to invest the time and energy to walk alongside them.
A mentoring meeting is a purposeful discussion that leaves the mentee with an understanding of how to take the next step of growth. I use the Journey-Issue (JI) method for my mentoring groups.
First, we focus on the journey. We begin by sharing the time we were born to the time we were born again. We can share significant spiritual milestones in our individual walk with the Lord. Subsequently, we share updates of latest happenings in our lives. We then move on to discuss issues that are relevant and current to the mentee. The whole journey of the mentoring relationship should be soaked in prayer.
The JI method involves asking the right questions. The ability to frame our questions is key. As our mentees move towards their personal destinies, we ought to ask them questions about the process. How are they seeing their purpose-visions come to pass? How are they living out the mission they have been given? Do they see their core values being changed in the process? Is the strategy they have put in place still sufficient? Are they carrying out their responsibilities well and communicating effectively with others?
Pastor Foo suggested the following Lead, Oversee and Word (LOW) Principle:
2. We must oversee them as shepherds and pastors. This is achieved by working with them to ensure that the right strategy is being executed from input to output; we also need to engage every leader and member under our oversight, communicate effectively, and pray with and for them.
3. We must use the Word for its intended purposes: strengthening, encouraging and building them up (1 Corinthians 14: 3 NIV). The purpose of the Word is to inspire our leaders to press on in their lives and ministry.
In summary, our questions should proceed along the lines of direction, oversight and instruction from Scripture. Along the way, remember that our communication must be Effective, Clear and Personal.
LEAVING A LEGACY
Ed Silvoso, one of the key founders of the transformation and revival movement, stated that the vision we have is not enough to change the world unless it is generational, where its objective is to go beyond its bearer to bless others. He used the story of David and Saul to illustrate.
What Saul did was all for himself and his legacy perished with him. But David made preparations for his son, Solomon, to continue his lineage by preparing the resources required to build the Temple. David also reached out to Saul’s surviving descendants and took care of them (2 Samuel 9: 1-3). In looking beyond himself, David became the hearer of God’s blessings to the world, through the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7: 1-7) which led to the birth of the greater David, the Messiah, our Lord Jesus.
As we mentor and multiply our leaders, we enlarge our leadership base and increase the bench strength, building our reserves and ensuring that God’s kingdom will continue to be advanced.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
The former Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, pointed out that the term “minister” means “servant”. As such, a Prime Minister is literally the “First Servant” of his people. Hence, leaders are to serve their people, not the other way around.
There are many misconceptions about servant leadership. The term has been abused to mean that the leaders help out in menial tasks such as cleaning the toilets, taking out the rubbish and washing the dishes.
Servant leadership is not a specific act. It is a posture towards those we lead, and a concern for their well-being and growth.
The Lord Jesus modelled this through his life on earth, declaring, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10: 45). Just as Jesus served wholeheartedly, we are to similarly pour our lives in ministry.
How servant leadership is expressed depends on our roles and responsibilities and it is different for each leader. For example, the apostle knowing they could not give themselves to the teaching of the Word and distribute food to the needy at the same time, they appointed capable deacons like Stephen (Acts 6-7). Yet, both apostles and deacons were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. They were strong, effective servant leaders who had the growth and benefit of the early church at heart.
To be an effective servant leader, we should understand the different styles of leadership. Psychologist Kurt Lewin devised a module to define distinct leadership styles into four categories: Authoritarian, Democratic, Laissez-Faire and Bureaucratic. In brief, each of these categories has the following characteristic:
Authoritarian is task-oriented who prefers to make decision alone then direct others to do the required.
Democratic is people-oriented who emphasizes team inputs. He is a team leader who opens to communication.
Laissez-Faire is permissive and abstains from direct leading. He leaves power with followers.
Bureaucratic knows and adhere rules and procedures from top to the bottom. He is impersonal.
Effective leadership uses different styles according to the situations and the individual. Everyone is different and the optimal approach is dependent on Competence and Commitment. Everyone has either high or low levels of each.
A leader’s response to his people can be seen as supportive or directive. Those with high Competence thrive on support. We provide this when we listen to their views, praise their efforts and facilitate their growth. For those who are committed and diligent, we empower them to make day-to-day decisions, handing responsibility to them as needed.
For those with lower Competence, more direction is needed. We put structures, control and processes into their work. As they improve and learn the course, we move into a coaching relationship which combines direction and support. This enable them to learn more and grow into contributing members of the team.
The ultimate purpose of building people-partnerships, mentoring others and having a posture of a servant leader is to bring glory and honour to God. The apostle Paul declared in Acts 20: 24, “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
Paul valued his life and achievements only in the light of how he served the Lord and achieved His purpose. He sought only to please the Lord and knew that he had been chosen to take the gospel to “Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9: 15).
Every leader must know his personal destiny, that is, his purpose and vision. It is this knowledge that enables the leader to live God’s way, achieve God’s mission and receive His rewards. Any other focuses will only lead us astray from this work.
Beginning next week, we shall look at the fifth key - the Performance of the Leader which talks about results, managing and leading, and the dynamics of team competency. It’s going to be more vibrant and impactful. Please do stay with us for more details. See you soon and have a present week. Goodbye.
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Excerpted from outstanding Leader by Pastor Daniel Foo; first published by Armour Publishing Singapore and the book can be purchased from