Last month in Nepal, I had dinner with a pastor who spent time in jail for evangelizing. His case is still ongoing and he potentially faces several years in prison. I asked him whether he was nervous about going back to jail. Without hesitating, he simply replied, “No brother, we have already won!” His statement took me by surprise. How can someone view this as a victory? He explained how in jail he was able to share Christ with all the inmates and guards, and I realized that his comment about winning wasn’t ignorant; it was a wider perspective on what it means to succeed spiritually. He knew that whether he went to jail or not, God would use it for His greater purposes.

This embrace of suffering goes against our typical paradigm of leadership, which motivates us to win and lead people to physical wellbeing. But a worldly leadership paradigm fails to consider that God’s view of success is far different from ours. In fact, the Bible says that suffering is a part of God’s plan for believers.

After Saul encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus, God tells Ananias, “I will show him (Saul) how much he must suffer for My name” (Acts 9:16). Some may think this is punishment for Saul, but I don’t think so. It seems to be a prophecy of how God will use Saul to spread the gospel. Jesus says a similar thing when talking about the end times. He says, “you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me…and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:9,14). This appears to be more than just a prediction of Christian suffering; Jesus says there is a specific purpose for suffering in fulfilling God’s final purposes on earth.

If God uses suffering to spread the gospel, then we cannot fully lead God’s purposes on earth without understanding the role of struggles, hardship, and persecution.

Suffering is not the failure of God to intervene. God himself suffered. He became a man and died for us, on purpose. Because God suffered, suffering has the ability to sanctify us and make us more like Him. This is why following Christ to the cross is not morbid but a joyful pursuit of God’s greater work in us and in the world. If we examine the Bible, we can find many purposes for suffering. Here are just 20 I’ve found:

1. Persecution leads to boldness (Acts 4:13,29)
2. Struggles lead to selflessness and sharing (Acts 4:32)
3. Suffering bears the fruit of joy (Acts 5:41)
4. Persecution leads to outward movement and mission (Acts 8:1,4, Matthew 10:23)
5. Those who are persecuted receive blessing from God (Matthew 5:10)
6. Suffering points to a reward in heaven (Matthew 5:12)
7. Death of ourselves can lead to spiritual multiplication (John 12:24-25)
8. Suffering confirms we are co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17)
9. Suffering confirms our hope (and the best) is yet to come (Romans 8:24-25)
10. Suffering shows God’s working purpose in all things (Romans 8:28)
11. Suffering reveals Jesus’ life in us (2 Corinthians 4:7-11)
12. Suffering allows Christ strength/power to show in us (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
13. Suffering helps us grow in holiness like Christ (Hebrews 2:10-11, 12:10)
14. Suffering creates empathy (Hebrews 2:18)
15. God’s discipline creates righteousness and peace (Hebrews 12:10-11)
16. Suffering shows that we are content in Christ alone (Philippians 4:11-13)
17. Suffering refines our faith (1 Peter 1:6-7)
18. Suffering results in God’s praise and honor (1 Peter 1:7)
19. Suffering brings intimacy with God’s Spirit (1 Peter 4:14)
20. Suffering confirms our commitment to God (1 Peter 4:19, Matthew 24:13)

With this in mind, I pray that we will gain a godly perspective on our lives amidst suffering, so that like my friend facing trial we (and those we lead) can joyfully say, “Thank you God, for we have already won!”

The Church has everything it needs to impact the world. Unfortunately, if we compare it with secular society, there are several areas where society is leading the Church- ways in which the Church was meant to excel! Part of the problem is our bad theology, or lack of theology, which holds us back from the full potential of Christ’s body. Here are five areas where the Church needs to reclaim its leadership.

1. Encouraging Individuality

Freedom (within God’s will) is supposed to be a hallmark of the Church. Instead, the Church is more known for uniformity. In fact, many people leave the church because they are bored or don’t feel they fit in. The goal is to follow Jesus, but we don’t have to look the same. Popular culture is desperately telling people to be unique. God’s message thousands of years ago was that He made us each uniquely in His image (Psalm 139:13).

2. Influencing Culture

This is foundational to the mission of the Church. We are to impact the world for Christ by making disciples, being salt and light (Matthew 5:13). However, we see far more disciples of Hollywood, Silicon Valley, TED Talks and Harvard Business School. Leading cultural change for the better should be a core component of the church, but it’s often outsourced to secular society.

3. Inspiring Drive and Passion

Being driven for selfish motives is wrong, but being driven is not. Society encourages personal drive for money, power and success. In the Church, are we as driven to make Christ known? The Apostle Paul was relentlessly driven by the glory of Christ in every sphere of his life (Phil 3:7-9). Are we more passionate about the mission of the Church than businesses are about making profit?

4. Pursuing Quality

In the business sector, if you don’t perform then you are out of a job. In the church we can’t just drop people, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hold people to a higher standard of quality. We know that ministry is not about production, but our efforts should be to the best of our ability (Col 3:23). It was the Jesuits and Presbyterians who founded some of the best educational institutions. Shouldn’t Christians today create movies, books, music, apps, and websites that compete with the best of society? After all, what we do tells the world how committed we are to the One we serve.

5. Adapting Creatively and Contextually

We know that there are moral boundaries for how the church operates, but the church is meant to be extremely adaptable- able to thrive in any culture at any time. The Great Commission makes it clear we are to teach and baptize to make disciples (Matt 28:18-20), but there are many possibilities for how we can reach, teach, and equip the saints. Yet with all of our resources (including the Holy Spirit in us!), we still get spiritual myopia. It is often our tradition that blinds us to new possibilities. Society contextualizes movies, business plans, and technology to reach the masses. How creatively is the Church doing the same?

Earlier this month, I joined a group that was biking across South Africa. Not only was I able to make new friends, I also got to introduce the group to our work training leaders and caring for vulnerable children. Over the seven days that I was with the team, I rode over 350 miles. You should know that I am not a biker so that probably doubled the amount of miles I have ever ridden! Needless to say, I had a lot to learn.

One event sticks out in my mind as particularly formative. It was early in the trip about midway through the ride. I had stuck with the lead group for a while in the morning, but was growing tired and slowly fell behind. At one point I was about a 100 yards behind the group, which felt like an insurmountable distance to catch up. At that time, our South African group leader Mark came up from behind me. Apparently he had been watching me and knew I was falling further and further behind. With two simple phrases, he changed everything for me on that ride. He rode up next to me and said, “Follow me, Ill take you there.”

Instantly, I gained new confidence. Mark got in front of me and I fell in line behind him as he shielded me from the oncoming wind. With that, my pedaling grew easier and my hope was restored. I kept my head down and carefully followed the cadence of his pedals, matching his rhythm and speed. Slowly, I noticed that we began to gain ground. And after a while, to my astonishment, we caught up to the group.

You may be able to guess why this memory is lodged in my mind- it characterizes so much about the struggle of leadership when people fall behind, teams fall apart, and you must lead people back to success. So what happened in those few minutes with Mark and how can we do the same for others? I believe there are three very simple things, which I learned on that ride: target, tactics and teamwork.

Target: The first problem was that I had lost my target while trailing the group. More specifically, I had lost hope of getting to the target. I no longer even wanted to catch up. My target had become status quo and staying behind. Without Mark calling me back to the main objective of reaching the group, I would not have had the motivation to do so. His simple vision of “getting there” was enough to renew my goals.

Tactics: I am not a cyclist, as I mentioned, so I didn’t have the knowhow to catch up to a more experienced group ahead of me. But Mark did. All I had to do was follow his lead, match his steps and tactics. He took a slow and steady approach to catching up. It was so steady that I hardly noticed I was going faster. This kind of strategy and pace are necessary to move people to a better place. People need more than just a target, they need a strategy to get there.

Teamwork: The final piece of the puzzle was teamwork. I was unable to reach the lead group by myself. I had tried to keep up, but was unable to because I had not yet learned how to ride in a pack. In this case, I needed Mark to draft the wind for me and show me how to cycle more efficiently. When he shielded me from the oncoming wind, my pedaling became 20% easier and I was able to keep up. Moving ahead requires other people, not just for motivation but for longevity. Every good biking team knows that teamwork is imperative to keeping pace, conserving energy and going further.

This event also provides a great image of Biblical leadership, specifically of Christ who said the same words to his followers two thousand years ago, “Follow me”. The difference is that His goal is to take us to God and godliness. We are all subpar with God and falling further behind. Perfection is the goal, but our efforts to get there alone always fail. We need a Guide who can take us there. That person is Jesus, but we must learn to follow Him. We need to learn to walk like him, live like him, and love like him. We need Him to bear the wind for us and we need His Spirit to inspire us with hope. If this is how our wonderful Savior leads us, then we must learn to do the same with others.

This month I (Caleb) was able to attend Lausanne Movement’s Younger Leaders Gathering (YLG) in Jakarta. It was a privilege to gather with about 1000 leaders and mentors from over 140 countries around the world, and an honor to help facilitate the prayer room and evening of prayer during the event. The purpose of the gathering was to teach, pray, connect and collaborate with ministries around the world to propel global mission. After some reflection, here are a few key takeaways from the week:

• Understanding God’s Story is a great cure for our idleness, idolatry, and infectiveness. During the gathering, we discussed the grand narrative of the Bible. It was powerful to see that the more we understand what God is doing, the more we are forced to step outside of ourselves and engage in missions.
• All Mission is God’s. The Great Commission is impossible without the Holy Spirit! We (especially in the West) need to realize that God is the initiator and leader of all successful mission work. Therefore, we all need to wait, listen, and respond more. That is why prayer took such a central role during the gathering.
• Globally, the church is succeeding despite challenges. Where we see the biggest opportunities in missions, there are also some of the biggest obstacles like persecution. But God is raising up incredible leaders who are making huge strides with the gospel and reaching the unreached.
• Unity is not just a strategy, it is a part of God’s goal! This is a unique time in history when the church needs to be more unified than ever. We have to realize that we will not succeed alone because our unity affects both our progress and our testimony.
• Our brothers and sisters need our involvement. We need to support our brothers and sisters around the world. Technology, communication, and transportation are making this possible, but we must engage with wisdom. It’s complex, so let’s enter every situation with humility, discovering how we can best serve the body of Christ.

Halfway through the gathering, during the evening of prayer, we all took a white stone and wrote what God is speaking to us. Then, at the end of the week, we took someone else’s stone to commit to prayer. To me, this is a beautiful picture of how God is fulfilling his mission through our diversity and unity. It is humbling to know that God is using people like you and me to reconcile the world to himself, but our confidence is in the Cornerstone who brings us all together. So, while our generation may have a huge task ahead of us, I am excited to see what the Lord will do!

Our paradigm for servant leadership is wrong.

When servant leadership became popular, it was a positive alternative to the domineering and power-driven leadership we often see in the world, which wasn’t just a problem in the secular workplace. The church also had leaders who’d become overly dignified. Like anything else, the excitement of power and spotlight had drawn many people into ministry leadership. So servant leadership found its place among emerging leadership theories by promoting a more humble view of leadership that flipped the “leader on top” mentality upside down.

Though well-intended, the servant leadership theory extended an incorrect paradigm. This “leader on the bottom” view simply took a secular view of leadership and tried to fix it, instead of redefining leadership biblically.The first problem with this paradigm is that it keeps an artificial division between leaders and followers (everyone else). Whenever there is a division like this, there becomes an “in” crowd and an “out” crowd. Though it may seem prestigious to be in the leader’s circle, it’s no surprise that ministry leaders today are more isolated and lonely than ever.

Because of the division between leaders and followers, it perpetuates the idea that leadership is a special blessing or final stage for elite Christians. Yes, there are qualifications for leadership (1 Timothy 3), but checking off boxes doesn’t automatically make one a leader. Leadership is given by God (Ephesians 4:11). The truth is that not all are called into formal church leadership, but we’ve made leadership the pinnacle of Christian success for everyone in the church. When a spiritual gift like leadership (Rom 12:8) is exalted, it only leads to favoritism and belittles other spiritual gifts, making them appear less valuable. Leadership is just one of many gifts. In fact, the Bible says we should give special honor to parts of the body that receive less recognition (1 Corinthians 12:23).

Even our terminology “servant leader” unduly puts the emphasis on the noun “leader”. The “servant” part becomes the adjective, making it seem that some leaders serve and some don’t. If a leader has to be told they are supposed to serve, they may not be the right person to lead. The emphasis should be on servanthood- some lead and some don’t. When we tell leaders they should serve (instead of discovering servants who are called to lead), people may get the impression that leaders are the only ones who serve. In reality, every person in the church is called to serve (1 Peter 4:10). By narrowing service to leaders (and praising them for it), we are bound to see less engagement in the rest of the congregation.

Servant leadership is not a form a leadership. Leadership is a form of service.

Everyone in the church is a servant in the kingdom. So actually there is only one kind of leader- a servant. The Apostle Paul said, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord… Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:4,5,7). Some are called to teach, some to encourage, and some to give generously, etc. The point is that each person has a spiritual tool that makes them uniquely able to bless others.

In the church, we need to think more biblically about leadership and then live it out. This means creating a culture where all saints serve and promoting equal value and interdependence between unique kingdom-building gifts. Then the church will radically demonstrate a kingdom culture that is less about us and more about the King.

Leadership is hard to define. There are thousands of definitions out there and hundreds of methods. But at the end of the day, most people agree that it is about getting people somewhere (hopefully somewhere better)! For most people, this means that the leader takes followers to a destination that they choose, and they do it their way. If we take this as the common framework for leadership, then Christ-like leadership should break the mold in three specific ways:

1. It must lead people closer to God
2. It must lead people along God’s path/plans
3. It must lead people God’s way

These key differences make Christ-like leadership serious business! They affect why we lead, where we lead, and how we lead. Fortunately, Jesus showed us what this different kind of leadership looks like- it’s called discipleship. And I believe that this kind of leadership has much to offer our world’s current methodology. So, based on the list above, I think discipleship has these three major implications for our leadership today:

1. It points to God. This is why we lead. Christ-like leadership (discipleship) always brings people closer to God. Jesus discipled everyone he met- even if it was a brief encounter. He interacted with them and pointed them to truth in love. He didn’t waste any opportunity to show people the Father, whether it was a criticism, message, or miraculous sign.
2. It is holistic. This is where we lead people to. God’s plan for mankind is complete redemption. Jesus’ interactions with people did not dismiss their basic needs. He often emphasized their spiritual need, but he also cared for physical and social needs too. Discipleship is holistic in nature because it leads to the fullness of Christ.
3. It is relational. This is how we must lead. Discipleship requires authentic relationships. One cannot move people to God effectively without walking alongside them. The body of Christ is meant to labor together because we cannot be conformed to God’s image by ourselves. We need others.

The bottom line is that discipleship is the most effective form of leadership. We know this because that is what Christ did and the impact of his leadership has transformed generations for two thousand years!

In our culture today, which is dominated by systems and programs, we must consider whether we are compromising the leadership model of Christ. If we simply want to teach people more information, give certificates, and get the next group in the door, then our cultural methods may work. But if we want to see life-transforming results, I think discipleship is the only way.

Do you want to make a difference during the holidays and celebrate the season of giving? We might have the right opportunity for you! This November, we are partnering with a creative company called Doxahlogy. They don’t just make beautiful jewelry; they support the work of great artists and ministries like us.

Throughout November, twenty percent of all Doxahlogy’s online sales will go towards Leadership International. These proceeds will specifically go towards training pastors in the rural mountains of Nepal. So the more you buy, the more pastors we can train!

The church in Nepal is small but growing. Estimates show that over 90% of the country is still unreached, and historically those who are Christian have been oppressed by the Hindu majority. Since the earthquake in April, God has been moving in a great way. Many doors have opened and the church is now able to reach out and bless the broken and hurting. People’s hearts are more receptive to the gospel and churches are seeing new growth. Unfortunately, many rural pastors have no formal ministry training. They are struggling to sustain a growing church, shepherd their people, and effectively teach the Word of God.

With your help, we can answer this great need. It costs about $20 to take a pastor through our biblical leadership course. So for every $100 that you spend, you are equipping a pastor in Nepal to reach a community with the gospel! Pretty amazing right? So don’t hold back. Go ahead and shop your heart out (for friends, family, and yourself of course) at Doxahlogy.com. You’ll be getting amazing Christmas gifts and spreading the gospel in Nepal. It’s a win-win!

Dear Friends of Leadership International, the Warrens, the Wagners, and our many partners in Africa!

I trust you had a good summer. Ours was encouraging, good times with our 3 Tennessee sons, many friends, and getting our Southern twang back! We were also able to visit with the Wagners and Pratts in Washington State, for fun and new developments in growing our donor base there & in Orlando, FL where we have family and friends and are making plans for a STORYSONG event there in Jan to raise funds to build 2 more day care centers in South Africa. Each of the 25 centers we’ve funded so far are providing a safe Christian environment for 30-40 pre-school aged children, so their single mothers can find work and this program has created almost 1000 jobs for women who were previously at home, barely surviving, trapped in poverty.

We also dedicated a new conference center for our leadership training this month for East Africa, in Sudan, for Southern Africa, in Capetown and in Ghana for West Africa, where we took the pictures below.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to see many of you since we traveled more than expected and mainly because Mary’s mother suffered a heart attack the day Mary arrived to visit her, only to get her to the hospital where after 2 weeks of treatment for major infections the doctors thought she was strong enough for the needed heart surgery. Ironically, the surgery was scheduled for Mary’s birthday, but her mother died the night before. We are thankful she didn’t have to go through the trauma of heart surgery, but her death was unexpected and quite a blow to the family. Please pray for Mary and her brother and sister as they grieve, and adjust. We continue to thank the Lord that Nell had made a profession of faith years ago and that Mary had the privilege of hearing that when her Mom joined a nearby church where the memorial service was held.

Mary and our sons did a great job of honoring Mary’s mother, and I preached from the book of Mark, giving all those who attended a copy of that short book of only about 40 pages, challenging them to clarify for themselves and share with others: “Who is Jesus, Why did he come, and how should we respond?”

I wrote the first three paragraphs of this message ten days ago,  along with the rest of our quarterly ministry update, which I’ll share next month. Last week, another missionary friend called to deliver the sad & shocking news of the death of an 18 year old son of another couple in our small group. We are all still stunned, hurting & praying for the family suffering this great loss. Alex was Johnny, our youngest, first friend in Kenya. They met in the second grade here in Nairobi and were fast friends for the next 10 years.

Why does God allow the death of the young & extreme suffering on families and communities of faith? These are some of the questions that come out of  the pain of Johnny’s senior class, friends and family as we weep. I don’t know the answers. Job didn’t either when he lost all his children & he even asked God, and got all his answers. Not answers completely understood because “His ways are not our ways”, and in this life we only see through a shadowy mirror, the reality of the battle against principalities and the power of evil. Eph.6

I’m currently reading a book with some men, written by another missionary to Kenya, who lost a teenage son who is buried on the campus of Rosslyn Academy where Johnny & Alex & all my sons attended.  The author says in “The Insanity of God,” that when his son died, he felt a ” crucifixion pain”. His wife called it “resurrection pain”- both unbearable, he died on Easter Sunday.

Like with Job or Alex”s’ family  God allowed Satan access to his most faithful & they suffer because suffering & persecution are two of God’s sharpest, but most effective tools of sanctification. Job & all of us who suffer tragedy, can stay firm in our faith. Even though Satan is the Father of Lies, and the Author of Confusion, James 4 says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you, draw near to me and I will draw near to you.” We are all, “children at risk” , but with hope.

This week is also the first anniversary of the attack on the Westgate mall here in Nairobi. I attended a memorial service last Sunday for the “Westgate families”, some of them also from our school, wearing t-shirts with pictures of their loved ones, killed by terrorists. Satan is a terrorist. My last e-mail message to you was about living a war-time lifestyle, not a life of protected peace that ignores the world where we  are called to be salt & light. Leaders around the world are fighting the physical terrorists, and we as Christian must fight the battle of the mind, Rom.12, and exercise the spiritual disciplines that are the Lord’s other tools of sanctification. Read Eph. 5 for more hope in God’s power and provision for us to resist the Devil and allow God who is greater than he who is in the world, to rule & reign in our hearts & those we love.

While scores of missionary families comforted our friends who just lost a son at a service in Kansas this weekend, our school and church also held a memorial service for Alex. My son Johnny shared about their friendship of more than a decade, he did a great job. Lord willing other students will move closer to the Lord and to each other, as Johnny encouraged us to do. The soccer team will start wearing “purple” arm bands-Alex favorite color, with an inscription, “Together we Trust'”. They trust in the hope of the Gospel. The banner at the Westgate memorial said, ” Kenya One”. Both groups know that together with the infusion of God’s power and our unity that reflects His love, we can live a life that reflects his Glory and enjoy the peace that surpasses understanding. We can’t do it alone. We need the Lord & each other.

It was a meaningful, yet strange, “circle of life” month as we went from the memorial services to dedicate and baptize 2 of my mother’s great-grandchildren in Orlando. Life is short, fragile, and a great gift from God to us, who has made it clear that we are sojourners; just passing through this world that is not our home. He has given his only begotten Son, who died in our place, so that we can have assurance for ourselves and others who pass from this life to the next. We have been given the free gift of eternal life, and our joy here can be full and His complete, now and forever.

Thanks for letting me grieve out loud. We are to bear one another’s burden’s. This month, we’ll be trying to move on, living a ” new normal”. No amount of understanding or 20/20 hindsight can bring back Alex or the almost 300 people who died or were injured at Westgate. Are you moving on with the Lord’s help?

Let me close with an encouraging update: Artists continue to contribute songs to our next compilation CD that we are praying that the Lord will use to raise funds to increase our ministry to orphans and other children at risk. We’ve started a KickStarter campaign to raise the funds to cover the cost of production and distribution of the CD, so please visit our Kickstarter Page HERE to make a gift so that this CD becomes a reality. Thanks to the Lord’s favor and the great work of our producer, David Mullen, we already have over 20 songs donated, many from the best know Christian artists in America.We hope this project, OrphanSong, will be an annual project to grow awareness of the 147 million orphans in the world, 43 million of which are in Africa.

CLICK HERE to view pictures and read the stories of students that you have already blessed with your gifts, provided by photographer, Bobby Neptune, and our friends at SpiroGraphics. Keep in mind that your gifts to “children at risk”, whether through the Kickstarter program, Leadership International or the STORYSONG website, will all be matched by 2 generous donors, so that 100% of the CD sales will go to care for the children we seek to serve. Make your gift with a check to Leadership International, designated for Children’s ministry, or online through Kickstarter, the LI  website, or the STORYSONG website.

Johnny, my mother, who just started her 90th year,  and I are back in Nairobi, while Mary continues to move along the estate process for her mother and visit friends and family. You can reach Mary @ 615-483-2219 or e-mail, mwafrica@gmail.com

Stay tuned next month for more amazing ministry updates from the great work that God is doing in Africa! Thanks for your partnership.

For the Kingdom,
Larry Warren
President, Leadership International-STORYSONG
Founder, African Leadership & Mocha Club
Executive Producer, OrphanSong Project