ECTIONS REFLECTIONS n REFLECTIONS n REFLECTIONS

what the Bible teaches us about being a leader is much more than just servant leadership. “You could be forgiven for thinking that the only leadership

style in the Bible is servant leadership,” he says. “There are dozens of other metaphors for leadership in scripture that we really fail to tap into and explore the implications of. What does priestly leadership look like, actually standing in the place between God and the people? What does warrior leadership look like? What does kingly leadership look like? One of the reasons we pick on servant leadership is that it is just an easy one to exegete from scripture. Trying to do warrior leadership and unpack the implications of that – that is a lot harder for us, with images and consequences that are difficult. But by not doing that, we do not adequately prepare people in Christian circles to be leaders and deal with the realities of the leadership challenges that they face.”

Churches run when the pews are on fire

BMS General Director David Kerrigan says that “servant

leadership has to be our starting point,” but that it is “often misunderstood as either being weak leadership or a style that won’t take any decisions without masses of consultation. “Servant leadership is more about the attitude that the

leader has towards the people he [or she] is leading,” Kerrigan says. “If you see them as part of your team then your style will be to empower the team, and to release the team. You will encourage them to become leaders because you want them to be alongside you. You travel as a group.” Empowering others in church leadership and leading as a team is a model that many BMS workers around the world are advocating as a way forward. It is proving helpful in Peru, where Gill Thurgood helps to train pastors at Nauta Training Center. “We’ve concluded that a participative leadership approach

almost always leads to more solid and sustainable outcomes,” says Thurgood. “Though this can mean a more lengthy and complicated process, we believe this approach affirms our Peruvian colleagues as equal partners in the work. “We’ve also found that inviting people to take on responsibility before they believe themselves to be ‘ready’ is actually one of the best ways to grow and develop leaders.” Group leadership, Rob Hay says, suits those from

Generation X and Millennials (generations born in the West from the early 1960s to the early 2000s) who “hold leadership lightly, pass it around when people come along, and engage with it in a more group orientated way.”

For Ben Francis, the church is at its best when pastor and

followers are working together in mission. “Churches run when the pews are on fire,” he says. “Everybody gets to do the work and everybody chooses to do God’s work.” Chris Hall is editor of Engage, a magazine of BMS World

Mission. This article first appeared in the Winter 2014/2015 issue of Engage.

Liberia confirmed its first two cases of the Ebola virus disease

on March 30, 2014. As of March 17 this year, the date of the last known occurrence, 4,283 Liberians died as a result of the outbreak, which also affected Sierra Leone and Guinea. A total of 9,555 Liberians were known to have contracted the disease. “May God bless Liberia. May the situation that has emerged signal a new day of opportunity and may it herald the renewal of hope,” Callam declared.

JULY/SEPTEMBER 2015 21

HAPPENINGS AROUND THE WORLD n HAPPENINGS AROUND

Liberia Ebola Free, Baptists Say THANKS

Baptists in Liberia have expressed thanks to God and to the global Baptist family after finally being declared Ebola free. “Since Saturday, May 9, 2015, Liberia has gone through an incubation period of 42 days without any new case of the deadly Ebola virus. I thank my God,” wrote Olu Menjay, president of the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention. “So many churches, partners, friends and individuals aided us collectively and independently to sustain this great achievement,” Menjay said. “Indeed, we were overwhelmed by countless challenges and you provided us with help. You stood with us in tangible ways. We are grateful!” A World Health Organization ceremony was held in Liberia’s

capital, Monrovia, on May 11, to mark the achievement and to make the official declaration. “We join the leadership and people of Liberia, to express our deepest gratitude to you. We join the leadership of Liberia Baptists to say thank you,” said Menjay, who is also a vice president of the Baptist World Alliance. “We are utterly delighted at the news that Liberia has been

declared Ebola free,” BWA General Secretary Neville Callam told Liberian Baptists. “You have endured much, but you persevered in faith and you were never forgotten. Prayers on your behalf were constant and hopeful.” The BWA, through its Baptist World Aid division, supported

Liberian Baptists in their response to the crisis through sensitization and education campaigns, the provision of sanitation equipment and materials to churches and communities, food relief, medicines and trauma counseling for families and communities.