Leadership Crisis

In 2010 Australians were very unsure of the sort of leadership they wanted in Government. There were hundreds more informal votes than ever before. No one party could govern in its own right. Before any alliances were formed one leader was saying they will change the marriage act, so that marriage will no longer be defined as a union between a man and a woman. Who knows to what degree the Judeo-Christian foundation of our democracy will be further eroded.

Peterson notes in the introduction to 2 Timothy that "Christians are quite serious in believing that when they gather together for worship and work, God is present and sovereign, really present and absolutely sovereign. God creates and guides, God saves and heals, God corrects and blesses, God calls and judges. With such comprehensive and personal leadership from God, what is the place of human leadership?

"Quite obviously, it has to be second place. It must not elbow its way to the front, it must not bossily take over. Ego–centered, ego–prominent leadership betrays [the Lord Jesus]. The best leadership in spiritual communities formed in the name of Jesus . . . is inconspicuous, not calling attention to itself but not sacrificing anything in the way of conviction and firmness either.

"In his letter to Timothy in Ephesus . . . we see Paul encouraging and guiding the development of just such leadership. What he had learned so thoroughly himself, he was now passing on, and showing them, in turn, how to develop a similar leadership in local congregations. This is essential reading because ill–directed and badly formed spiritual leadership causes much damage in souls. Paul in both his life and his letters shows us how to do it right" [adapted from the study notes of the Message].

Timothy's personal needs of encouragement, strength and endurance.

Dr Keith Graham