Church leadership and administration: Beyond academic certifications

Preamble
Let me commence this paper with the assertion of Winston (2002:3) – Calling is something that comes from God and not something that one can be educated/trained to serve. Winston made this statement, not because he undermined the importance of education and academic relevance in human capacity development, but to bring better and the much-needed understanding on the truth about the primary prerequisite for Christian faith and its leadership. This was also to buttress what Warren (2002:8) posited that – you must build your life on eternal truths, not pop psychology, success-motivation, or inspirational stories. These eternal truths have to be based on the commandments of God, concerning the virtues expected of His own beloved children, as documented in the Holy Bible.

Just as the scripture says concerning Barnabas and Saul (Apostle Paul) that – As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them (Acts 13:2). And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away (Acts 13:3). This also, was clear enough, as to the non-mentioning and the non-emphasis on the earthly knowledge of the duo before they were chosen. Referencing the scripture, the standard of the Holy Ghost in choosing them (Barnabas and Saul) for the assignment was beyond any earthly certifications, but biblical demands.

These demands, from the Holy Ghost, were inclusive of the criteria of what the Apostles set in choosing the seven men, who were to take care of the increase in the number of believers – Men of honest report; and full of Holy Ghost and Wisdom (Acts 6:3). All these, made it explicitly clear, that the leadership of the church is primarily on divine arrangement, and not something that can ever be assigned based on human knowledge and human preference. However, what impact will human capacity development, in terms of academic qualifications, have on the church? This is one of the issues that this paper will proffer solution to.

The Church
According to Gehman (2008:37), the church is an organism, not an organisation; yet she is organised. The church is spiritual in her nature, evidenced by the various metaphors (Gehman, 2008:37). The church is equally The Body of Christ; The Temple of the Holy Spirit, and is both Visible and Invisible (Gehman, 2008:37).

The Church, as the Body of Christ, was made clearer by Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12:27 – Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. However, the Visible Church refers to professed believers in Jesus, who are organised together in local assemblies where believers and unbelievers assemble together to worship (Gehman, 2008:38).

On the other hand, Gehman, (2008:38), asserted, that the Invisible Church, is the Church Universal. With this in mind, Gehman (2008:38), posited that the Visible Church should reflect the Body of Christ and should be characterised by: submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church; the faithful preaching of the Word of God; obedience to the Lord in baptism and the Lord’s supper; the dynamic working of the Holy Spirit within the Body as members contribute in unity to the building up of the Body of Christ; and faithful discipline to preserve the unity and purity of the Church of Jesus Christ.

In his own, Heward-Mills (2004), defines the Church as the regular gathering of Christians for the purpose of teaching. Meanwhile, while the Church is made up of individuals, who have professed Christ, the visible church is inclusive of the denominations like The Catholic; Cherubim and Seraphim, which Motailatu Church Cherubim & Seraphim Worldwide and Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim & Seraphim, Cherubim & Seraphim Movement Church belong; The Anglican; The Baptist; The Pentecostals, which The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Winners Chapel and Zion International belong; The Evangelical Church Winning All; and other denominations. Therefore, The Church, be it Visible and Invisible, must function effectively and for the purpose of its existence, and most importantly, under the appropriate, spiritual and Spirit-filled leadership.

Being Paper Presented By Baba Aladura, Elder (Dr.) Israel Akinadewo (Omoeri), Prelate, Prophet and Supreme Head, Motailatu Church Cherubim & Seraphim Worldwide at the 2018 Sub-conference and to mark the 54th Anniversary of MCCSW on Thursday 14 – Saturday 16, 2018 at International Headquarters, Motailatu Close/Bus Stop Ibeju Lekki, Lagos.Leadership

Leadership, according to Sharma, et al (2013), is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organisation in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. However, Silva (2016) asserted that leadership is one of the concepts that are very hard to define. Whilst also quoting Volkmmann (2012), Silva (2016), made mention that there are approximately 1400 different definitions of the words leader and leadership. He then said that the numbers, whether real or exaggerated, simply mean that there is no consensus about what leadership is and, therefore, the search for a better definition goes on.

Meanwhile, it has been shown that leadership is an evolving concept, but it could be satisfactorily defined as the process of interactive influence that occurs when, in a given context, some people accept someone as their leader to achieve common goals (Silva, 2016). Being Paper Presented By Baba Aladura, Elder (Dr.) Israel Akinadewo (Omoeri), Prelate, Prophet and Supreme Head, Motailatu Church Cherubim & Seraphim Worldwide at the 2018 Sub-conference and to mark the 54th Anniversary of MCCSW on Thursday 14 – Saturday 16, 2018 at International Headquarters, Motailatu Close/Bus Stop Ibeju Lekki, Lagos.