Winning Wisdom: Build Them Also

Topic: Build Them Also [Monday, 31st July 2017]

Ese Ehimare Dave

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2

What is leadership if it does not produce successive leaders. A leader who do not produce worthy and even better leader as successor cannot be said to have lead well. It is incumbent on every leader to produce a better version of himself amongst those he is leading. Jesus Christ understood this, that was why "He ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach" (Mark 3:11). And when they started preaching, people got to know they've been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). And, you see, Jesus reproduced greater versions of Himself in His disciples, that was why they could do greater things (John 14:12). This should be the aim of every leader.

Apostle Paul understood this, that was why he told Timothy to also produce leaders by committing what he has heard to them (2 Timothy 2:2). The Greek word for commit is "paratithemi", which means to deposit by teaching. And these men will also go ahead to teach other people. This process will only birth generational leaders. Another meaning of "paratithemi" is to intrust and to commit to one's charge. This was what Jesus did with His disciples. He committed sensitive information about the operation of the kingdom and sent them to practice what He has taught them (Luke 9:1-5, Luke 10:1-16). This act of delegating authority and duties was to them build them for what was ahead.

Another thing that Jesus did, was to pray for them. In John 17, we have the record of the Lord's prayer for the disciples He has been preparing to take over the leadership of the church after He must have gone to the Father. Leaders must endeavor to toe this path, because the lesser is blessed by the greater. Every protege will always fall prey of one misdeed. It is therefore incumbent on the leader, who wants to build a greater version of himself, to patiently correct them and bring them back on track whenever they misstep. Jesus Christ did this with Peter in John 21:1-19. Building leaders that will take over from you is very essential. It's the most important part of leadership, so that there can be progressive continuity after the leader has left the scene.

Keep winning daily.

Wise Action:

As a leader, consciously build the leadership capacity of your proteges. Equip them with all they need to do better than you will ever do. Make this a legacy to pursue rather than only using them to achieve your own targets.