Greetings brethren!

Recently we conducted a ministerial conference and leadership workshop in Davao, Philippines. I hope the men who were able to participate benefited greatly from the meetings. It was a pleasure having Doug Horchak join us for the conference and workshop. This was Mr. Horchak’s first opportunity to visit the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Based on his comments he thoroughly enjoyed his experience. I found his comments and presentations to be most helpful.

The church has devoted a great deal of time and resources over the past years to help in the area of leadership development. As we look to the future we realize that many of the men who have served as our leaders and mentors will no longer have the health and stamina to continue to do so. We see an urgent need to mentor and develop the next generation of leaders of the church.

Leadership can be defined as the ability to influence the thoughts and behaviors of others in a positive manner. Leaders in the church must be able to help others reflect godly thoughts and behavior. Perhaps we could say that a godly leader is a person who has the ability to help others in the process of conversion. So we have focused on the importance of doctrine, teaching as you have been taught, mentoring programs, personal integrity, ethics, pride and humility.

The Bible is a wellspring of knowledge on the subject of leadership. When we think of examples of leadership in the Bible, one example that comes to mind is the selection of leaders in the nation of ancient Israel. Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, encouraged Moses to select men to help in the leadership of the Israelites. Moses was urged to select able men, such as fear God, men of truth and hating covetousness (Exodus 18:21). The book of Proverbs has many statements in relation to leadership. We learn that when the righteous are in leadership positions the people rejoice (Proverbs 29:2).

In the upcoming year I hope that we can discuss the subject of leadership in great detail as well as equip our pastors and elders to work with the next generation of leaders in God’s church.

© 2008 United Church of God, AIA - Pilipinas