Leadership Principles for Cross-Cultural Ministry
There are so many discouraging, frustrating, and downright miserable experiences unique to the missionary life, but the good news is that you can never improve upon God’s love for you, nor can you do anything to detract from His love for you. The Father delights in you as He does His own Son, who fulfilled all righteousness for you, fully, freely, and forever. Never will there be a day where the Father says to you, ‘I love you now more than ever.’ His love is immeasurable, eternal, and immutable. So, lead with all your might, steadfast in the Word, but rest with all your heart in the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. It is His work, from start to finish. He is the Leader and the Lord of the Great Commission. He is the true Missionary sent by God into the world.
This following list of missions leadership wisdom principles grows out of the reminder to rest in our union to Christ and in His work on our behalf.
Fear of God
Proverbs is a book written for princes who would someday assume the role of king and ultimate leader. If there is any book in the Bible written with leaders in mind, it is Proverbs. Proverbs makes clear that above all else, wisdom and knowledge are of utmost importance for the leader (Prov. 4:5-7). And, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Prov. 1:7). The Christian leader must be so tethered to God’s heart and holiness that there is never a question about where his allegiance lay. It is the fear of God that makes the leader enjoy the friendship of God (Ps. 25:14).
Humility
The leader who truly fears God is deeply humble. God opposes the proud leader but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Because the humble leader is quick to repent and confess sin, the presence and favor of God marks his leadership (Isa. 57:15). The leader must surrender his will and sense of significance under the sovereign hand of God, knowing that he cannot serve God as though God needed anything (Acts 17:24; Job 41:11). The humble leader is not afraid to work himself out of a job. The humble leader does not view himself as indispensable and without replacement. He knows God alone promotes and demotes leaders.
Courage
“...courage is a strong confidence in the abiding presence and sovereign purposes of God in all things that is willing to take risks in obedience to God’s commands. ”
Courage requires a steady endurance in the face of great adversity. God’s most repeated command to Joshua was ‘be of good courage’ (Josh. 1:7-9, 18). Courage is not an inner strength that trusts in self and fears nothing. Rather, courage is a strong confidence in the abiding presence and sovereign purposes of God in all things that is willing to take risks in obedience to God’s commands. People follow leaders because of their God-fearing courage, not because of their ascribed or achieved titles.
Bible-filled
God commanded Joshua to meditate on the Law in order to obey it and speak it. His leadership success corresponded to the quantity and quality of his meditation on the Word of God (Josh. 1:8). The sense that this is the way prescribed in the Bible is what gives leaders the strength to pursue the straight and narrow path. In the face of temptation to give in and try an easier way or a way that will bring quicker results, if a leader follows the principles of God’s Word, he can be certain that God will honor him in eternity. A tight-fisted grasp on the Bible keeps the leader focused on objective, unchanging truths and not on passing trends or cultural fads.
Prayerfulness
The Son of God Himself is the greatest example of prayer in the Bible. Apparently, His prayer life was so influential and inspiring that His followers asked Him to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1). This is the only instance where Jesus’ followers asked Him to teach them to do something. Of all the things they could have asked Him to teach them to do, they asked about prayer. When a leader is prayerful, he demonstrates to his followers that his vision is bigger than he is, that he is on a holy mission, and that he is seeking to lead in a way that is supernatural. One of the greatest steps a leader can make is to inspire his people to pray.
Ability to teach
There is a big difference between desiring to teach and being able to teach (1 Tim. 1:7; 3:2). A leader cannot merely desire to teach that about which he is unskilled. He must demonstrate competence to teach (2 Tim. 2:15). The Bible assumes that leaders teach the Word (Heb. 13:7). Those unable to teach the Scriptures are not qualified to be church leaders, specifically elders. This is the one skill demanded of the Christian leader that is not character-related (1 Tim. 3:1-13). It does not mean gifted to teach, but mighty to teach the Word.
Lifelong learner
“The Christian leader must have a theological orientation that connects all aspects of life back to God’s glory.”
The Christian leader must see his work as theologically-oriented, since his leadership in the kingdom of God is much like that of a prophet, priest, king, and sage. Due to the nature of spiritual leadership, the leader must posture himself as a lifelong learner—one who studies and holds firm to the doctrines of the faith in order to be alert and guard the deposit entrusted to him (1 Tim. 4:6-16; Acts 6:4). The Christian leader must have a theological orientation that connects all aspects of life back to God’s glory (1 Cor. 10:31). This prevents him from being jarred by unexpected situations and new doctrinal trends. In order to make wise decisions, a teachable leader esteems lifelong learning.
Passion
There needs to be a spiritual energy and urgency in the heart of a leader. The Bible says leaders should lead with zeal (Rom. 12:8): ‘Never flag in zeal, boil in the Spirit!’ (Rom. 12:11). In order to implement change, urgency is required. A leader on fire will inspire.
Strategy/Objectives
The spiritual leader must not only be a visionary; he must also be a planner. The leader that fails to plan, essentially plans to fail. Jesus was called to preach the kingdom of God, and He strategically implemented that mission by targeting certain towns, choosing certain disciples, training them to imitate his leadership, and then giving them assignments to go to certain areas and declare certain truths within a certain time frame (Matt. 10:5-16). The leader must create strategies that implement the vision and then delegate responsibilities to execute those strategies.
Endure disapproval
The Christian leader will not only face demonic opposition, but he will also suffer criticism from the people he is seeking to lead. The reality of constant criticism requires the leader to not seek man’s approval (Gal. 1:10). In fact, if a leader never knows criticism and only praise, likely he is not following the Lord as he ought (Luke 6:26).
Servanthood
Jesus came not to be served, but to serve (Matt. 20:28). His model of leadership was one of compassion and ministry to the sick (Matt. 9:36) and serving His followers (John 13). Instead of only seeking out affinity for those with whom leaders easily get along, biblical principles call leaders to pay the price in identifying and enduring with a group to which he is committed even when it is frustrating to do so.
Growing and empowering young leaders
The leader has a responsibility to grow young disciples by intentionally teaching them. The leader should set aside times to directly speak truth at length with young disciples and not only limit teaching truth to mutual conversations. Nevertheless, part of his responsibility is to reveal God by his life as he trains young leaders. Leadership does not have to do with status; it has to do with responsibility.
This article was adapted from The Missionary-Theologian: Sent into the World, Sanctified by the Word (Christian Focus, 2020)
