16 June 2014 by Adeline Lum CM-
On June 5th, Pr Peter Tanchi, founding and senior pastor of Christ’s Commission Fellowship, shared in the DUMC Lead Conference 2014 about the topic: The Mark of Christ-like Leadership.
What are Christians known for when people think about Christians? That is a good question because the world has ideas of Christians.
Mahatma Gandhi said before these famed words, “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
When asked how to evangelize India, Gandhi plainly stated that we need to be more like Christ, do not water down the gospel, focus on love, and learn about the culture and belief system of other’s.
Like a toothpaste tube being squeezed, what would come out if you were to be squeezed under pressure during trials and troubles? If we have Christ in us, shouldn’t we show Christ in us?
The main goal of leadership then, is to influence (not change because only God can change) the people around us to be Christ-like.
He shared FIVE myths that people have in their minds of marks of being more Christ-like (or more spiritually mature).
The first myth is that we believe that knowledge of the Bible equals to spiritual maturity (1 Cor 8:1).
The second myth is the busier the person is in offering service in ministry, the more spiritual mature the person is. (Matt 6:1)
The third myth is that passion for Christ equals to spiritual maturity. (Romans 10:2)
The fourth myth talks about success as a sign of spiritual maturity, i.e. size of congregation, total tithe collected, etc.
Lastly, we believe in the myth of longevity. We believe the longer a person becomes a Christian, the more spiritual the person is. (1 Cor 3:1,3)
Pr Peter shared that Paul explained the real test for spiritual maturity or Christ-likeness clearly below:
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Cor 13:1-3)
He emphasized that the mark of Christ-like leadership is found in John 13:34-35:
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Pr Peter asked the audience, if they had one opportunity to ask Jesus one question, what it would be.
The question asked in the Bible is this: “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matt 22:36-40)
The Jewish people have so-overcomplicated the gospel with human rules and traditions, that they became legalism.
We have also forgotten about the essence of following Jesus. And Jesus basically answered, “You cannot love God without loving people.”
Jesus replied:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt 22:37-40)
However, what is new about the command that Jesus gave (John 13:34-35), compared to the Old Testament?
The new command is to love one another as I have loved you.
How did Jesus love us? Pr Peter Tan shared 4 ways.
Love is a commitment that transcends feelings. It is a choice we make according to our Will. Like a mother’s love for a baby, she is committed to attend to her crying baby regardless of how she feels. This is unconditional love, which is so different from the Hollywood kind of love (i.e. selfish love) we see.
Secondly, Jesus said ‘love one another,’ which is said during the last supper to his disciples that included Judas who would betray him and also Peter who would deny him. (John 13:34) With that said, Jesus tells us to love imperfect people. And the first ‘one another’ to love is our family members, whose flaws we are so familiar with.
Thirdly, love is seeking the highest good for the people we love. It is not sentimentalism, where we mindlessly shower love for that person. Sometimes, in seeking good for the person, we need to exercise discipline and withdrawal of privileges.
Lastly, love involves personal sacrifice with the verse, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
In conclusion, to love like Christ or true love is a commitment to imperfect people to seek their highest good, which involves personal sacrifice.
Love is the mark of a Christ-like leadership.
And to love like Christ, we need to grasp and understand the power of God’s love. We need God’s help to love like that because it’s very difficult of us to love this way. That is why it’s important to connect people to Jesus, so that they can receive His Love and we can love one another.
About Speaker: Pr Peter Tanchi is the founding and senior pastor of Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF Philippines). Peter is passionate about the importance of discipleship at home and in the workplace. He regularly conducts seminars on marriage and parenting, and on growing healthy churches. He is a self-supporting pastor to this day through God’s blessing on his family business, which is being managed by his sons. Joyfully married to Deonna, they have five children and thirteen grandchildren.
For more information, please visit http://dumc.my/
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Note: This article is written from the perspective and interpretation of the writer, to condense and accentuate the ideas of the pastor in a more understandable and readable way.
Pictures are credited to DUMC
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