clcgh.org Building The Capacity Of Christian Leaders, Equipping The Saints For The Work Of Ministry, Redirecting Straying Christians To The Sound Knowledge Of Christ
True leaders leave lasting legacies when they leave the world stage. Their heritages speak volumes about their achievements and impact on society. They remind generations after them about what they stood for, laboured for, fought for and lived for.
Jesus Christ is incontestably the greatest leader the world has ever known since its creation. His three and one-half year public ministry of preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of heaven, healing the sick, setting the oppressed free, and above all, saving the lost has impacted the world than any other man.
One thing that distinguishes Jesus from all other men is the power of His words. The Jews in His day testified about Him, saying, “no man ever spoke like this man” (John 7:46). And no man will ever speak like Him. His teachings were so potent that His hearers could not forget them; they always remembered the words of His lips.
Jesus Christ gave a hint about this unique ability of Himself after His arrest and prior to His arraignment and crucifixion. It was when the chief priest questioned Him about His disciples and teachings.
“Jesus answered him, ‘I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; THEY KNOW WHAT I SAID” (John 18: 20-21, emphasis mine).
Jesus had taught His disciples many things, and He was convinced that those men, including illiterates knew everything He had taught them. The Lord did not say they may know His teachings or they will try to remember them.
He authoritatively said, “they know what I said.” In other words, the disciples were ready to share Christ’s teachings with the high priest if he seriously cared to know them.
This means the disciples truly heard Jesus speak, understood His words, retained His words, recalled His words and applied His words to their lives. Simply, they knew what He said to them. They were men full of the knowledge of the teachings of Christ Jesus, their Pastor.
With this knowledge, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John could write the gospel books by the help of the Holy Spirit years after Christ Jesus had ascended to heaven. The disciples accurately narrated the teachings of Jesus to the gospel writers, particularly Mark and Luke (Luke 1:1-3).
Now, some important questions that need to be answered are: do today’s Christians really know what their pastors have taught them over the years? Can they accurately teach others to know them? Can pastors confidently testify about their church members knowledge of their own teachings?
The sad reality today is that most Christians, especially those in Africa, who are overwhelmed with poverty and unemployment cannot even remember the topics of the messages their pastors have preached and taught them.
The causes of this challenge are obvious. Most pastors, on one hand, are not sincerely carried along by the Holy Spirit to minister the Word. Remember that the Word of God inspired by the Spirit of God must be ministered by the Spirit of God in order to impact lives.
Moreover, many lack basic communication skills, including ensuring clarity of speech, repeating messages; speaking slowly, paying attention to choice of words and feedback.
It is also important that ministers pronounce words correctly, pay attention to tone, control their breath and ensure precise expression of thoughts.
Importantly, pastors have a core responsibility of feeding believers with knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15). Our ministry should form sound Christian beliefs and strengthen those beliefs, ensuring that God’s people are well-grounded, stable, and established in the Word.
Church members, on other hand, must learn from Jesus how He sat down, concentrated on listening to the teachings of the Word of God and asked question (Luke 2:46). We must all learn to meditate on the Word of God taught by our pastors, pray with it and apply it to our lives.
These things can help us to comprehend, retain, recall the teachings of pastors, thereby enabling us to communicate them to other people for the glory of God. By this, pastors can confidently say that their church members know their teachings.
By James Quansah
