For twenty years Douglas Hyde was a member of the Communist Party in England before he renounced Communism and joined the Catholic Church. He then wrote a book called Dedication and Leadership to explain what Christians can learn from the Communist’s attitudes and methods.

One day he was conducting a leadership training course for a group of Communists in London and ended his lecture by saying that the Communist Party could take anyone who was willing to be trained in leadership and turn them into a leader, The one qualification was that the would-be leader must be willing to be trained.

As Douglas stepped down from the rostrum, he met Jim who was eagerly awaiting to speak to him. Douglas said, “As I looked at Jim, I thought that I had never seen anyone who looked less like a leader in my life.”

In a voice that contained a distressing stutter, Jim who was “very short, grotesquely fat, with a flabby white face and a cast in one eye” said, “Comrade, I want you take me and turn me into a leader of men.”
The rest of the chapter describes the unfolding story of how Jim, the most unlikely person, grew to become a national leader in the trade union movement and that his death was of sufficient importance that it was reported on the front page of the Communist newspaper. Jim’s transformed life proved that it was true that the Communist Party could take anyone who was willing to be trained and turn them into a leader.

I now recall that the book, Dedication and Leadership had an unusual impact on my life and caused me to undertake a deeper study on the way Jesus took a group of ordinary men who made themselves available to Him and proceeded to live extraordinary lives. Like the story of Jim, so with the disciples, their lives of leadership amazed the people around them.

In Acts chapter 4 we read of the impact that the preaching of Peter and John had on the crowds. “Many believed in their message so that the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.” But Peter and John were put in jail and questioned. “By what power or name did you do this?” Peter replied by boldly speaking about Jesus.

The religious leaders were amazed at the impact with which Peter and John spoke. “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were UNSCHOOLED,  ORDINARY MEN, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Jesus had taken unschooled, ordinary men (the literal translation of these words is UNGRAMMATICAL IDIOTS) and transformed them from followers into powerful leaders.

Not only did the book Dedication and Leadership challenge the way I saw the people in my church, but the words that were spoken of Peter and John by the religious leaders caused me to realise that to see the people in my church as Jesus saw them would mean seeing them all as emerging leaders instead of followers. With this perspective, the words of Jesus to His followers on various occasions took on fresh meaning. For Jesus taught His followers to see themselves as emerging leaders, people of influence, in the world in which they lived, and not followers.
Consider the following:

1. “You are the SALT of the earth.” Matthew 5:13
   Salt is an agent of influence in that it adds flavour to its surroundings, promotes healing and preserves all that is good.
2. “You are the LIGHT of the world.” Matthew 5:14
   Light is an agent of influence in that it removes darkness and helps lost people find their way.
3. “The kingdom of heaven is like the YEAST a woman uses in making bread.” Matthew 13:33
   Yeast is an agent of influence in that although it is small in size, it can transform an unusually large amount of flour into bread.

Douglas Hyde, in his book, explained how the Communist Party saw every member not as followers but as emerging leaders in the world in which they lived. Jesus saw His disciples not as followers, but as emerging leaders in the world in which they lived. And there came a time that I chose to see the people in my church, not as followers, but as emerging leaders in the world in which they lived; in their neighbourhood, WORDS THAT HAVE SHAPED MY LIFE (94) “PASTOR YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD” | Rod Denton (roddentoneng.com.au) , in their extended families, and in their places of employment and study. And the real issue that I faced was not whether the people in my church were leaders or not, but rather what kind of leaders were they going to be.

So, church in many ways was transformed into a leadership training school.

1. People grew to understand that they were called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and the yeast in the bread.
2. Sermon time was not a lesson for followers, but an equipping time for emerging leaders.
3. Leadership training courses took a place of priority in the life of the church.
4. Small groups became a place where leaders emerged and responsibilities were delegated, as groups multiplied.
5. Short term mission teams were raised up and sent out to nearby countries to have real life cross cultural experiences.
6. International speakers were brought in to conduct leadership conferences in our church.
7. Church prayer meetings were conducted outside the four walls of our church and in strategic locations around the surrounding community. People were instructed how to pray for their non Christian friends.

Just like Douglas Hyde and Jesus, I continually affirmed the fact that God takes ordinary people to do extraordinary things as they make themselves available to Him. I called people to choose to be a leader (a person of influence) in the world in which they lived.

In his book, Douglas Hyde quoted the conclusing words in Karl Marx’s book, The Communist Manifesto.
“You have a world to win.”  Interestingly, Jesus in His final words to His disciples before His ascension said something similar. “……go and make disciples of all nations.”
And they both knew that it would only happen if their followers were equipped to be leaders in the world in which they lived.

So what do you see when you look around your church or mission organisation? For what you see will determine the impact of what you seek to achieve.
CHOOSE TO BE A LEADER…..NOW in the world in which you live | Rod Denton (roddentoneng.com.au)