Please hit "WEBCASTS"
Script: Yvette l Narrator: Josh l Mix: Yujie
Hello brothers and sisters! In the past four weeks, we focused on the personal character of a leader, the invisible and unseen areas. Today, we shall discuss in detail a new section which is the second requirement of an outstanding leadership - the perspective of the leader. This section explores another facet of our inner life: the perspectives from which we see the world, think and respond.
The metaphor of the iceberg is often used to illustrate the connection between the hidden parts of our lives with the parts that are seen. According to iceberg model, 90% of our personality lies below the surface and only a very small part, about 10%, is visible through our words and actions. How we nurture our inner life will affect our values, attitudes and motivations, which in turn will be manifested in our public life through our words and actions. Therefore, it is vital to build a solid foundation for our inner life.
Scripture has the power to guide us by revealing God’s worldview, grounding us with theological anchors that will stabilise us and solidifying them into faith convictions. And these convictions display our worldview through our conduct, words and actions.
It is crucial for us to measure our perspective against the standards of Scripture because our perspectives can be incredibly powerful and make a difference in the way we live, no matter right or wrong.
For example, a businessman seeks to grow his profits so that he can begin to tithe a greater sum of money to his church. But if he is unwilling to tithe the hundreds of dollars presently, why would he be willing to tithe the thousands when he becomes wealthier? In either situation, what prevents him from tithing is not the actual amount but a belief system that lacks trust in God to provide for him. The result? He resolves to tithe only when he is financial stable. But the stability he seeks is an elusive goal that would only be attained when he embraces the principles of financial stewardship.
BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW
Our perspectives and how we think, act and respond shape our worldview.
As part of His redemptive plan, God provides such a framework for us through His written Word. The Bible is not merely a record of stories, a collection of laws or a recollection of events from thousands of years ago. It is a revelation of the God who loves us and cares for us, and desires for us to be “complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” as says in 2 Timothy 3: 17.
The Word of God is a living and active paradigm for faith in Him, a sure framework of guiding principles we can build our lives upon. CS Lewis wrote: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.”
Our choices and conduct are simply a reflection of our worldviews. Whether we realise it or not, our worldview is the lens through which we understand and interpret everything we see, hear and read.
2 Timothy 3: 16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Why is it so critical to have a biblical worldview? 2 Timothy 3: 16 guides us in the following ways:
Having a true biblical worldview gives meaning and hope to all our efforts. It set us up to see the world and respond to it as the Lord would have us, and direct our emotions, will and intellect according to His Spirit. It gives us not only a “how” and “what” for our actions and relationship, but also a “why”.
Remember, the Word of God is sufficient, containing all instructions that we need to live full and godly lives. Fresh revelation comes directly from the Word as revealed by the Holy Spirit to us when we read it. Too often, we chase after words of prophecy or encouragement from different preacher, believing he has a greater anointing than ourselves, or some special gift. Such people want a word but ignore the Word! John 1: 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Further, John 1: 4 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind”. Then, John 1: 14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
In response, Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22: 29). Unfortunately, many pastors and teachers push good and true teaching to false extremes nowadays. Here are some examples of false teaching:
One of the most popular strands of false teaching is hyper-prosperity that turns God’s promises of material well-being into a guarantee of great wealth for believers. Universalism turns God’s love, mercy and concern for all people into a belief that everyone will go to heaven. Thus, trivialising the gospel and ignoring many clear warnings about eternal consequences of hell.
Some preachers glorify suffering to an extreme never found in Scripture, saying “God gave me cancer to teach me patience and godliness”. Such teachings take the truth and distort it by placing God as the one causing trials and sufferings to happen.
Some false teachings are obviously wrong. For instance, denying the divinity of Christ or arguing that incest and pedophilia are permissible because they are part of our genetic orientation. However, some lies, deception and errors are not obvious. A bottle of mineral water could be 99% pure but if it contains even 1% sewage, the whole bottle is contaminated and we cannot drink. Likewise, if our biblical worldviews are not founded totally on the truth that comes from the Word, they will lead us into error and we become defiled and contaminated.
Therefore, we need the Holy Spirit to expose these errors because He is the Spirit of truth (please refer to John 16: 13) and helps us discern what is truth and what is in error.
Pastor Daniel Foo also cautions us ‘do not be a heresy hunter’! Countering untrue teachings can be a distraction in itself. When a leader takes his eyes off the Lord and focuses only on the counterfeits, he sets up to stumble and fall. It is always better to know the truth than to constantly look for the errors in others’ teachings for false teaching is the act of twisting a truth into something it is not.
Indeed, knowing the Word helps protect ourselves and others from error. You may check Hebrews 5: 14.
For sure, nothing in the Bible tells us, “you shall marry your former classmate” or “you shall send your children to an elite school”. But there is plenty in it about the kind of life partner we should seek, the way to educate our children in order to live the way God has designed for us. So, when we are in doubt, we turn to the Word and Spirit for correction.
For example, when a person claims personal credit for winning a soul, we can remind him that there are others praying, sowing and watering the seed in this person’s heart for many years. He is just reaping a harvest that others planted.
Another example, as leaders, we must give credit to our fellow leaders and colleagues where it is due and edify them. If we have clinched a major business contract for our company, we should recognise the efforts of all team members, including the marketing team who worked on customer segments, the IT department who provided technical specifications, the accounts team who computed the numbers and the sales team who put together successful presentations.
A leader who has gone through the journey of brokenness – he does not crave human approval or personal glory. But he recognises that success and promotion come from the Lord.
Our belief system comprises a mixture of godly and ungodly values and beliefs – some derived from our genetic traits, nurture from our families and subsequent life experiences.
In our Christian journey, our belief system becomes more aligned to God and His will as we follow Him, but inevitably, we retain models of thinking that are not in sync with God’s truths. These are the ungodly portions of our belief systems which originate from ideas formed from this world or contaminated by the lies of the devil. Whatever remains in our belief will be our purified faith in the Lord.
Testimony: Florence was deeply upset when her only son was involved in an accident during his time in National Service. Although he recovered from his injuries, since then Florence believed that God was out to punish her son because he was not a committed Christian during his teenage years. While his friend received desired posting after prayers, her son did not get what he wanted. Through other experiences, Florence became certain that God favoured others more than her son. Church leaders counselled and walked with her during the trial, somehow she allowed herself to become bitter towards God. Eventually, she stopped attending church and group fellowship.
People like Florence needs answers and at certain points in our lives, we find ourselves in need of them too. Can our worldview survive in times of trial and testing?
Psalm 109: 105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. Indeed, we crave God’s Word to guide us in our daily walk with Him. And, this is especially so for leaders.
We will examine how to develop a biblical worldview from the Scripture, and how to live it out through our faith convictions further. Please stay tuned with us on Outstanding Leader.
Excerpted from outstanding Leader by Pastor Daniel Foo; first published by Armour Publishing Singapore and the book can be purchased from