Feed Them Yourself: Training Leaders to Become Shepherd and Under Shepherd

By Emmanuel Seide

The book addresses the challenge Jesus put before the disciples when they asked him to release the crowd to go home so they can get some food to eat because it became dark, but instead of releasing the people Jesus asked the disciples to feed the crowd themselves. They were unprepared, they gave all the excuses, but Jesus was serious. He fed the crowd bread, fish. Can pastors and church leaders answer to this challenge within the body of believers context? The church needs to have an holistic approach in ministry to provide the necessary care for Gods flock. The service to Jesus is expressed by the love his servant has for him. Pastors and church leaders can make great difference in believers lives to bring real change that presents the reality of the Gospel. Yes, the believers are on their way to heaven, but they still live on earth. Therefore, they have to deal with many challenges they face in their daily life in this present century. The church is not doing enough to help the people in the pews or chairs, especially the needy person, who face all kinds of challenges. A believer can worship the Lord and feel the presence of God, feel that he or she is ready to go in heaven, but that does not prevent him or her to still struggle with many issues in life such as: Emotional, family, divorce, financial, social, job, spiritual, health, physical, physiological issues just to name a few that I addressed in the book. The bible remains a great source and resource of information for the contribution of biblical leadership of the Old and New Testaments. Jesus is the owner of the church. His love for the church, his investment in the disciples make the church what it is today, his trust and his vision, mission for his church mean a lot and can challenge the pastors and church leaders to do ministry with love. The different challenges the church of Jesus-Christ face in this present century and the church needs to acknowledge and deal with them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449793180

Emmanuel Seide

Emmanuel Seide lives in Long Island, West Hempstead, New York, with his wife, Pauline Seide, and three children: Moise E. Seide, Emmaline Seide, and David E. Seide. He is a pastor with twenty-two years of experience. The Lord has blessed his ministry. Emmanuel thanks God for the people He adds to church. He thanks God for the opportunity to equip leaders to do the work of the ministry. Rev Seide is the CEO and founder of Emmanuel Seide’s Ministries, Inc. which is a non-profit organization that established a school in Haiti to provide an education for the needy kids; organize micro enterprise, which provides help the needy believers. Pastor Seide is a preacher of the Word of God and teacher of the Bible, hermeneutic, theology, homiletic. Emmanuel Seide is the speaker of Emmanuel Seide’s Ministries Radio online. Pastor Seide is also the director of the Bible Institute.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-9319-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9320-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9318-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013907535

Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/5/2013

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1

Challenge #1: The Challenge of the Disciples

The Challenge of the Early Church

The Church’s Foundation

The Apostles’ Responsibilities

The New Member of the Family of God

Spiritual Formation

Organization

The Challenges the Church Has to Meet

Assessment

Evaluation

Body of Believers

The Believers and Their Challenges Today

1. Spiritual

2. Emotional

3. Social Issues

4. Familial Issues

5. Physical

6. Finance

7. Physiological Issues

8. Sickness

9. Labor

Strategies

Chapter 2

Challenge #2: Biblical Model to Train Leaders to Be Shepherds and Serve under Shepherds

Unity

Leadership Team

The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Word of God

Conscience

Conviction

Confession

Forgiveness

Reconciliation

Love

Pastoral Training

Chapter 3

Challenge #3: Biblical Model of Leadership to Train Leaders to Be Shepherds

General Revelation

Special Revelation

Identity

Jesus Met the Disciples at the Seashore

The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts

Chapter 4

Challenge #4: Prepare Excellent Leaders

Leadership

Gangs

Develop Your Skill as a Leader

Coaching

Equipping Laypeople as Leaders

1. Discipleship

2. Knowledge of the Word of God

3. Understanding the Mission

4. Love for the People

5. The church’s vision

6. Teamwork

7. Evaluation and Assessment

8. Unleashing the Laity

9. Building a Relationship with Jesus through Prayer, Bible Reading, and Meditation

10. Commitment and Loyalty

11. Exposing Laypeople to Strategic Planning

12. Coaching Laypeople as Leaders

Chapter 5

Challenge #5: Family

Family of God

The Human Family

Child Education

Character Education

Moral Character

Distorted Character

Perverse Society

Marriage

Divorce

Divorce Morality

Live in Harmony

Divorce Legality

Complexity of Divorce

Chapter 6

Challenge # 6: Christ is the Owner of the Church

The Church Base

The Church Mission

The Church’s Destination

The Examples Set by Christ Himself

How Christ Sees Man?

Christ’s Ministry on Earth

Christ’s Mission

Redeemer

Salvation

Spiritual Food

Christ the Healer

Christ Sets Free the Captives

Christ’s Investment

The Disciples’ Mandate

Strength

Commission

The disciple’s responsibilities

Christ Vision

The Church’s Mandate

Chapter 7

Challenge #7: Strategic Planning

Joseph

The Purpose for Planning

Definition of Strategic Planning

Core Values

Biblical Core Values

Mission Statement

Vision

Core Competencies

Objectives

Goals

Tasks

Strategic Planning

Job Description

Conclusion

Strategy

Chapter 8

Challenge #8: Biblical Model of Old Testament Leadership

Abraham

Joseph

Moses

Daniel

Chapter 9

Challenge #9: The Church of Jesus Christ in the Present Century

Modern Philosophy

The Challenges of Twenty-First Century

The Twenty-First Century and Its Evils

Financial Difficulties

Gay and Lesbian

God’s Place in Society

Conclusion

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

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I thank my wife, Pauline Seide, for her support throughout the process of writing this book. I also thank my wife for her advice and ideas. I want to thank my son Moise E. Seide, who always wanted to know the progress I made with the book and sat down with me to brainstorm the ideas and the title of the book and read the text as well. Special thanks to Emmaline Seide, my daughter, who always wanted to know the progress I made with the book, and my son, David E. Seide, who has supported the whole process. Special thanks to Imartha Bruno, who support the project and wants to see the book become a reality. Special thanks to Primose Estriplet, who encouraged me in the writing process. Special thanks to Rev. Yeathus Johnson, my coach. Special thanks to my friend John Soper, who encouraged me in this project. Special thanks to Ernst Alfred who encouraged me to write the book. I want to thank my friend Rev. Children Presume for his encouragement as I wrote this book. I want to thank my brother Rev. Saintilma Seide and my friends Rev. Ossiny Jean, Rev. Ronet Germain, Rev. Ernst Edmond, and Rev. Eutrope Samsom for their encouragement. I also want to thank the students of the Bible Institute of the Haitian Association. Special thanks to Betty Jean and Anide Jean for their support. Special thanks to Richard Borg for his advice and encouragement. Mostly, I want to thank God for the idea and the realization of this project. This was a longtime project, and God gave me the possibility to make it a reality. I want to thank the members of Peniel Church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance for their support of this project. Special thanks to the leadership team of Peniel Church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Special thanks to the editor and Westbow press.

Preface

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It takes me some time to research and observe church leaders to understand that Jesus gave his life for his church. He loved the church so much that he took upon himself the guilt of the believers and died on the cross to restore the believers’ relationship with God. As a pastor with twenty two years of experiences I take my ministry very serious. In the church today, the focus is not on people who sit in the pews or chairs or the needy but on the top leaders. Instead, one finds a church that generates millions of dollars in profits, and yet the believers struggle to put bread on the tables for their families or put roofs over their heads. It is good for the church to take good care of the pastors and other employees by the same token it has to take care of its members. Throughout the Bible, Jesus gave instructions to Peter and others to take care of the sheep. Most of the time, the sheep are neglected, which causes many believers who struggle financially to provide for their families great pain despite the fact that they are members of the family of God. I felt compelled to write about these issues—the hypocrisy within the Christian family, where many couples fake their relationships, and the many problems Christian believers face in real life. Pastor and church leaders need to answer these challenges that believers struggle with. God gives gifts to the believers of the church. The good usage of these gifts can help the church solve the many problems that believers face in daily life. I feel that God wants to challenge pastors, leaders, and the church in this present century to brainstorm ideas about how to feed the needy people within the body of believers and solve many other problems. I find that the biblical model of leadership in the Old and New Testament can teach pastors and church leaders good strategies in approaching these issues. The Bible can help pastors and church leaders make real change in the lives of Christian believers. I hope that this book will challenge you to see the suffering of needy people and the challenges Christian believers endure in their daily lives. What can be done within the body of believers to solve these problems?

Introduction

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Feed them yourselves is the response Jesus gave to his disciples when they asked him to dismiss the people instead of releasing the crowd Jesus challenged his disciples to feed the crowd of five thousand men, women, and children. What a challenge the disciples had to meet. The disciples did not expect Jesus would ask them to feed the crowd. The statement from the book of Acts presents another challenge to the church today. In their midst, there was no needy person. I use the word challenge to reemphasize the difficulties the church of Jesus Christ has in finding solutions for these challenges. There are some challenges that the church needs to take into consideration in order for their leaders to answer these questions in this present century. To bring a real change into the lives of believers, the churches and their leaders need to pay attention to nine challenges that demand action in order for the church in this twenty-first century to feed believers themselves. As I wrote this book, these nine things came to my mind, and I decided to write on them. I want to challenge pastors and their leaders to engage in brainstorming with church leaders and members on these topics so that we can find the strategies necessary to solve these problems in order to help the church move in the right direction and make real change in the lives of the believers.

The first challenge is this one about feeding them yourself, the statement written in the book of Acts: There were no needy persons in their midst. this fact is recorded in Acts 4:34. This is a simple sentence that demands serious consideration by the church and its leaders in seeing how it can apply to the church in this present century. I want the pastors and leaders to ask themselves the following questions:

1. Is this model of ministry a good model for the present church to follow and adopt?

2. Do you have needy persons in the body of believers (your local church)?

3. What do the churches do to improve the lives of those needy persons within the body of believers?

4. What were the strategies used by the leaders of Old and New Testament to do the great work they were able to accomplish?

5. What can the church and its leaders do to meet these challenges within the church today?

6. How can this model of ministry applies to the church in the present century?

The church should engage more in helping its members answer the challenges life presents to them on a daily basis. The church leaders and pastors must pay attention specifically to the needy and other issues that believers struggle with every day.

Many believers struggle to provide for themselves and their families. What is the effort made by the church to give the believers the chance to live a better life on planet earth?. The churches have to use all their resources to meet the diverse challenges that the body of believers face in their daily lives. To feed the believers, the church and its leaders need to pay attention to the strategies used by the disciples and the Master to meet the people’s needs.

In regards to the second challenge, a church needs leaders who have a clear vision, understand their missions, and plan strategically to have a positive impact on the lives of the people in the body of Christ. Pastors will be able to lead the believers that God entrusted in their care to the right path. To make an impact on the lives of Christians, the churches need leaders who understand the complex situations of believers. The church leaders need some training to help them develop strategies to overcome these challenges.

As for the third challenge, pastors and church leaders can learn a lot from the biblical models of leadership in the Old and New Testament. Today, there are many great leaders who do great things in the churches for their members, but still, they fall short of reaching the needy persons in the church and tackling various challenges the Christian believers face on a regular basis such as: familial problem, divorces, financial hardship, health issues just to name few. We can learn a lot from the experiences of the leaders in the Bible as we lead and care for the flock of God. Leaders can learn from these previous styles of leadership, which biblical leaders used to effectively work for the ministry and greatly impact and make a difference in the lives of the people.

Fourth, biblical model of leadership pastor can follow to train leaders to become excellent under shepherd in this present century. The relationship of biblical model with God and spiritual lives they lived that can teach leaders in this present century about the source of their strength was found in God who called them into ministry.

Fifth, Christ is the owner of the church. Jesus Christ’s ministry on earth was a success. Jesus, the Master, the Savior, the healer, the redeemer, the coming king, the owner of the church, and the greatest teacher of all time, had a great influence on the disciples and people of all generations. Jesus’ teaching and the examples he set for his disciples challenged them to have effective ministry and bring real change into the lives of the believers, both spiritually and socially. He invested in the formation of his disciples, who had to continue his ministry when he ascended into heaven after his resurrection.

The sixth challenge is simple: family. When a believer Becomes member of God’s family the church must know that the new believer brings with him issues and baggage. The member of the family of God does not have the same tide member of biological family enjoys. Family members always receive special treatment by other family members. They care for one another, and they share their belongings with one another. Parents provide solid education for their kids. The new members receive special attention and treatment by the existing members of the family. It becomes an obligation for members of the family to unite together to meet the challenges they face in this century. The Christian family must reflect the reality of the family of God while we live on this earth. There must be a difference between the lifestyles of God’s family members and those who do not know the Lord. The implication of this concept has on human family and mostly on Christian family. As members of God’s family believers do not live like biological family members live.

The seventh challenge is strategic planning. To effectively work for the ministry, pastors and leaders must be exposed to strategic planning. The Lord blesses the church with people who have gifts and great talents, but they must be equipped to do the work of the ministry. As we minister in the present, we must do our best to understand Jesus’ mind-set and ask ourselves this question: What does Jesus want his church to do for