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What It Means To Be a Life-Giving Leader

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (I John 5:12 (NKJV))

God . . . has made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (II Corinthians 3:6)

Definition of Life-giving: To be a life-giving leader means “imparting or having the ability to impart, life or vitality; invigorating, vitalizing life from one heart to the heart of another; that which makes something or someone alive; the quickening principle of real life.”

Scarcity translates into value in a hurry. That fact is especially true when it relates to leadership – especially life-giving leadership.

Leadership styles are varied. Many leaders are reactive, not pro-active. True pro-active leaders who take positive redemptive initiatives are exceedingly scarce. Therefore, pro-active leaders are increasingly valuable throughout the Body of Christ.

Leaders often see their roles in vastly different ways. It reminds me of the six completely blind men who went one day to “see” an elephant. Their descriptions of what they “saw” is an intriguing glimpse of the differences in perception at any level.

Six Blind Men and the Elephant
J. G. Saxe

It was six men of Indostan to learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant (though all of them were blind),
That each by observation might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant and happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side, at once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk, cried, "Ho! What have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp? To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal and happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands, thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," said he, "the Elephant is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out his eager hand and felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like is mighty plain," said he; "Tis clear enough the Elephant is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, said: "E'en the blindest man Can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can.
This marvel of an Elephant is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun about the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail that fell within his scope,
"I see," said he, "the Elephant is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan disputed loud and long.
Each in his own opinion exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong!

Irrespective of our differing perceptions of the way we each personally “see” leadership, whether pro-active, reactive, or inactive, of two basic principles in church leadership there should be no reasonable debate.

I. LIFE PRINCIPLE NUMBER ONE: Life-Giving Praying

Life-giving Praying builds and strengthens our personal relationship with God, through Christ, and also helps transform our personal life into a life that wins.

Nothing, it seems, is preached about any more and practiced any less than life-giving prayer.

And yet, it is prayer that grasps the Omnipotent Hand. When that hand is strong, the whole life is strong. When that hand is weak the whole life is weak.

John Wesley said:
“God does nothing but in answer to prayer.
Give me ten people … only ten … who fear nothing but God,
love nothing but souls, and hate nothing but sin,
and I’ll shake the very foundations of hell … .
Get on fire and people will come and watch you burn
and then, those same people will become ignited themselves.”

God honors His Word. As we invest God’s Word in our hearts, we will know how to pray in accordance with God’s will. God’s Word is His will. Our prayers will be effective as the Word abides in us. The Word is God’s standard.
As it abides in us, we can live by it and truly be His disciples. (See John 15:7.)

• The secret of prayer is prayer in secret.

Jesus, Himself, taught us:

“When you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly; and your Father who knows your secrets will reward you (openly).” (Matthew 6:6) (Living Bible)

The “closet” is the “closed place,” the place from which the world is shut out. In the realm of the Holy Spirit, while it is possible to have a refreshing talk with God through finding a secluded place of prayer, we can also “close the door” while walking along the crowded streets. Outward separation may not always be attainable, but inward separation is almost always attainable.

We should set apart time for going into the closet. Jesus does not say how often we should go, or how long we should stay, but He does say we should go into the closet and shut the door. The shortest, the surest, the safest way to meet with God is in the closet of secret prayer.

Both of my grandmas had a time to pray, and they prayed in between times.

The Bible describes to us how God’s people prayed in other days and places:
• Jacob at Jabbok
• Daniel with his open window
• Jesus all night on the mount and in the garden at midnight
• Peter on the housetop
• Paul in prison
• And John in lonely exile on the Greek island of Patmos

We all know that a sinning person will stop praying and a praying person will stop sinning.

Just listen to Psalm 66:18:
If I regard sin in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of His highest willingness.

Another writer observed:
“There is no power like that of prevailing (life-giving) prayer …
Of Abraham pleading for Sodom,
Jacob wrestling in the stillness of the night,
Moses standing in the breach,
Hannah intoxicated with sorrow,
David heartbroken with remorse and grief,
Jesus in sweat and blood.” – Samuel Chadwick

Add to this your own personal burden and experience, and always there is the cost of passion unto blood.

• But such life-giving prayer prevails.

It transforms otherwise “ordinary” people into people of power.
It brings fire.
   It brings rain.
      It brings life.
         It brings God.
And it keeps God, through Christ, as the life-giving wellspring of our eternal soul.

• This wellspring of prayer in our own personal life will become rivers of living water.

Listen to these Words of Jesus:
“He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:38 (RSV))

Rivers!
All the Amazons.
All the Zambezis.
All the Niles.
All the Yalus.
All the Volgas.
All the Tigris and Euphrates.
All the Mississippis.
Rivers … of living water!

Living for Christ means living in Christ. It is a personal relationship with God and His people. We are connected by true Christian fellowship.

Just think of how it was among the Christians of the early church – and indeed how it is today especially among Christians of the persecuted church globally.

When the church was born, the Spirit of God brought joy.
When they prayed, there was power.
When they ministered, there were miracles.
When they were persecuted, they stood together as one.
When they embraced, there was covenant love.
When they gave, there was self-sacrifice.
When there was opposition, they gave their lives.
And when they were gone,
A new generation carried on the faith!

And today, more than ever, we know that true discipleship is about a lifestyle, not simply about stored-up Bible knowledge. We recognize and strive for the marks of a true disciple of the Lord:
A heart for Christ alone.
A mind transformed by the Word of God.
Arms of love.
Knees for prayer.
A voice – not an echo – to speak the Gospel.
A spirit of sacrifice.

With renewed faith, we go forth with hope in our words and help in our hands, understanding that the Gospel is an all-inclusive ministry that reaches out to all people everywhere.

Our vision is global. Our goal is missional. We freely minister to all with a servant’s heart.

As born-again, blood-bought Christians, you and I are together in a Circle of Care; a winning circle which embraces the whole world with arms of unconditional love. Along with you, I am determined in a new way to enlarge that circle of covenant love, of self-sacrifice, of mutual vision and that it be unbroken ‘til Jesus comes again.

In Christ, we not only accept what the Holy Spirit is doing around the world;
We embrace it!
We cherish it.
We welcome it.
We savor it.

It activates always, and in all ways, the winning circle of:

Evangelism. Discipleship. Benevolence.

True evangelism brings about discipleship and benevolence. And true discipleship always brings about more evangelism AND benevolence.

Often, benevolence is a gateway to evangelism, and evangelism begets discipleship, and the winning circle continues to work – everywhere – getting the Gospel beyond borders. ALL borders.

And now, let me address my remarks from this point onward to those life-giving Christians who are called by the Lord to preach the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ.

II. LIFE PRINCIPLE NUMBER TWO: Life-Giving Preaching

Life-giving Preaching is anointed, purposeful, passionate, persuasive preaching.

Today’s pulpit has become under-regarded if not disregarded altogether.
But God, Himself, has chosen that through the “foolishness of preaching” many will be saved:

… The world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (I Corinthians 1:21)

Let’s listen to the Apostle Paul:

… When I came to you, (I) came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. … And my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (I Corinthians 2:1,4,5)

• Life-giving preaching is not the mere performance of an hour, but the revelation of a life.

And it is a life that is hidden with God in Christ. (See Colossians 3:3.)
What we are speaks louder than what we say.

It could be that the reason today’s pulpit is often treated with such chilling disregard is because not very much preaching is done which follows the scriptural pattern of the Word of God as the Apostle Paul just described regarding the unction – the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

There is just too much fluff in the pulpit today – too many “fables,” not enough Word.

The Bible is explicit:

Neither give heed to fables. (I Timothy 1:4)

• Life-giving preaching is also “Word” preaching.

In a world where absolutes are vanishing, it is difficult to get a handle on anything lasting. Fables have never been – and will never be – a substitute for the Life-giving Word of God.

Away with the fables. Away with the sham. Away with the cheap entertainment. Let the very Word of God ring out from our pulpits again with anointing, and power, and authority.

What do the people in our communities need? What do the people of our churches need?
Nothing but the truth of God’s Word.

They must hear it.
They must read it.
They must believe it.
They must live by it.

“When the church was young,” said Earnest Loosely, “it had no buildings, no denominations, no fixed organizations, no New Testament, no vocabulary of its own, no dogmatic system, but – it had a gospel.”

And in only a few decades it could be said of those early followers of Jesus who proclaimed the Gospel:

These that have turned the world upside down have come here also. (Acts 17:6)

What a testimony to the life-giving power of the Gospel.

As for me, I’ll take my stand alongside the Apostle Paul who exclaimed:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes …. (Romans 1:16)

I have seen it happen too many times, in too many nations, and under too many circumstances to ever doubt the sheer life-giving power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Idol worshipers often have forsaken their false religions, risking their own death at the hands of their peers, after hearing the Gospel only one time.

They have been disowned by their families,
maligned by their peers,
forsaken by their friends.

They have been beaten, reviled, hated, spit upon, imprisoned, tortured, and sometimes killed by the enemies of the Gospel. But they counted the cost and determined for themselves this glorious truth:

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:20-21)

And it is for everyone who believes.

• The Gospel is still for “whosoever will.”

“But,” some may ask, “what about the children?”
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.

“But, what about the teenagers and college-aged young people?”
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.

“But, what about the middle-aged adults?
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.

“But, what about the elderly?”
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.

“But what about those steeped in heathenism, paganism, demonism, false religions, or those who are hardcore unbelievers?
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.

Period.

Whether the Gospel is presented by an anointed preacher, or by music, drama, videotapes, audiotapes, CD, MP3, DVD, television, radio, personal witnessing, or printed tracts, the Gospel IS the power of God unto salvation unto everyone who believes.

Life-giving preaching must be resolute in its purpose,
urgent in its appeal,
unimpeachable in its integrity,
missional in its message,
and anointed in its delivery.

Almost more than anything else, life-giving preaching is anointed preaching.

God …. has made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (II Corinthians 3:6)

Preaching that is anointed is that indefinable, indescribable something which makes the Word of God quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

It is this unction – this anointing – that gives the words of the preacher such sharpness and power, such purpose and persuasion, such light and life. The same truths, which may have been preached in the strictness of the letter, as smooth as human oil and intellect could make them, had no signs of life. But anointed, life-giving preaching convicts the conscience and breaks the heart.

The anointing gives the preacher heart-power, which is greater than head power.

Unction is the essence of the divine in preaching.

Some very commendable traits are sometimes mistaken for unction – for the anointing.

Earnestness and unction look alike from some points of view. Earnestness may be sincere and serious. The anointing may produce earnestness but unction is not, in itself, earnestness.

Eloquence is also often mistaken for unction. Though unction may produce eloquence, it is not in and of itself unction.

Emotion also often resembles unction. While it is true that the unction of the Holy Ghost will produce emotion, it is not that anointing itself, that anointing which breaks the yoke and makes the difference in all our preaching.

Anointed preaching is life-giving preaching which makes a life-changing difference.

The task before us is never as great as the power behind us.

In too many instances, our emphasis is upon doing.

But Christ’s emphasis is upon being.

Life-giving preaching can never lose its place so long as the mystery and wonder of the human spirit endures.

And life-giving preaching costs the preacher, and few are willing to pay so high a price as this:
It costs a clean heart.
It costs a hungry heart.
It costs a prayerful heart.
It costs an expectant heart.
It costs a yielded heart.
It costs a faithful heart.

CONCLUSION:

In the light of eternity, as the preacher dedicates himself to the sometimes daunting task, and at times the sheer joy, of life-giving preaching, of these facts he can be certain:
As you give, you shall receive.
As you comfort, you shall be comforted.
As you counsel, you shall be enlightened.
As you minister to others, you shall be ministered unto.

For he that finds his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it. (Matthew 10:39)

Feedback

I was deeply moved as I read and re-read each word of the Lord's prophetic message. In it I heard more than a preacher preaching; I heard the very heart of God revealed! Thank you for reminding those of us who wear the mantle of the call upon us, the price set before us, and the power available unto us. We have indeed been called by God to make a difference in the lives of others. But I fear many have lost the belief that within them is the power to make an eternal impact on others for Christ. But as you so passionately penned, it can and is accomplished through a life totally surrendered to the Holy Spirit.

Pastor John Watford
Cornerstone Assembly of God
New Bern NC

Let me wipe the tears from my eyes so I can see correctly to type a hearty “Amen! “ to this message. Oh, so compelling and I believe the heart of the Lord is presented strongly in your blog. God bless you for allowing Him to challenge us with HIS call to dig deeper and remain steadfast and keep walking and loving and reaching out to this hurting world. This message refreshed my parched soul.

Dee Yoder
Mansfield, Ohio

Never before have I ever heard the concept of “Life-giving.” But I can see what it means and I need it in my life to work for the Lord effectively. Thank you for sharing your light with us here - also through your excellent website and monthly blogs. We also now listen to your daily radio ministry, “Oasis,” through your website plus your inspiring videos online. The gospel is stifled here in this Buddhist country and recent street demonstrations and a crackdown by our government have complicated our outreach to our fellow Tibetans.

Eric Wang
Lhasa, Tibet

I waited until I could devote proper time to read your message and apply it to my own heart and life. Ever since I became acquainted with you, I have always enjoyed your ministry - especially the times I've heard you preach in person - and in addition to typing many of your message scripts you preached on the "Forward in Faith" international radio broadcast. Thanks again for sharing from your heart. I do love and appreciate you and your family.

Carrie Humbertson
Cleveland, TN

Oh! How we need many more such leaders who truly are life-giving. Too many leaders deal death through the letter of the law and in an absence of the Holy Spirit’s anointing. And how I need this life-giving element operational in my own life. I have begun a new quest for the anointing of God’s Spirit which really is life-giving.

Carlos Garcia
Chula Vista, CA

I learned much from your excellent teaching about “Life-Giving Leaders. To me. it was new and fresh. Please, may we establish some kind of ongoing interactive communication with you and your Beyond Borders Ministry Network here? My wife and I lead several cell groups here and we need your assistance in providing more of your excellent materials and concepts.

Nuyen Lu
Singapore

It never ceases to amaze me how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. Just know that this message was perfectly timed and deeply meaningful to me today. I have already printed off and framed part of it for my desk. - “The task before us is never as great as the power behind us.” - “In too many instances, our emphasis is upon doing. But Christ’s emphasis is upon being.” Thank you.

Vicki A. Glasscock
Cleveland, TN

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