God uses the weak to display real strength. Rwanda is small by African standards, but leading as an example of a country seeking to do it right. Perfect? Of course not. But on October 13th I was honored to address a monthly gathering of national Rwandan leaders from business, government and the church. I watched as the new leader of their Parliament sat with her well-worn Bible open, taking notes as I spoke. She wasn’t there for a “photo op” but to pray and seek God’s help as she assumes her new role as one of the five most powerful leaders in the nation. It was refreshing to see Christians from business, government, and the Church together; eager to learn how to lead like Jesus in their homes, ministries and government.
October was a month I will never forget, seventeen days devoted to travel and teaching leadership to African pastors and leaders in Tanzania and Rwanda. Of course, the surprise was not what I left behind, but what I brought home… out of Africa. As on previous trips to Rwanda, I learned as much as I taught. Here are some of the lessons brought “out of Africa”.
God uses the weak to display real strength. Rwanda is small by African standards, but leading as an example of a country seeking to do it right. Perfect? Of course not. But on October 13th I was honored to address a monthly gathering of national Rwandan leaders from business, government and the church. I watched as the new leader of their Parliament sat with her well-worn Bible open, taking notes as I spoke. She wasn’t there for a “photo op” but to pray and seek God’s help as she assumes her new role as one of the five most powerful leaders in the nation. It was refreshing to see Christians from business, government, and the Church together; eager to learn how to lead like Jesus in their homes, ministries and government.
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*Choice 10 of 10 in the Take Back Your Life Blog Series Did you know it’s possible to pick out just one truth—one statement—that encompasses all of what we find in the Bible? In fact, Jesus Himself did it. So if you’re looking for one truth that can help you take back your life, recapture life as it was meant to be, read Matthew 22: Jesus sums it up for us, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets” (verses 37-39). Simply put, the key to living the way God intended for us to live is to 1) love God with all your heart, and 2) to love others. If you want to learn a better approach to life, learn a new way to love. Learn to love like Jesus. What’s unfortunate is that the world has attached a lot of baggage to the word love. We usually think of love in conditional terms—that is, we feel love and return love to those who love, who are lovely, or who love us first. Or if we lead out with love, we do so to get love in return. I call it bartering with love. In a nutshell, our culture teaches us to use love as a wage or a bribe. |
AuthorI am Dale Burke, a follower and disciple of Jesus Christ, husband, dad and grandpa, leadership consultant, senior pastor for 30+ years and a pastor to pastors. Archive
May 2014
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