The Greatest: “The Synopsis of Great Leaders”

By Cyril K. Nwozor PhD

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:14)

Nothing can be more humiliating than that time when the disciples should have had such contentions and in such a time and place. When just as Jesus was cogitating his own death and laboring to prepare them for it, they strived and contended about office and rank. This shows how deeply seated the love of power and authority is. Do you want to be greatest?

Have a childlike character, says the Lord. It takes no title to be a great leader. Being wealthy does not make one a great leader. That you are educated with highest accolade in education does not qualify you to be a great leader.

A great leader is one who is humble and has a servants heart; he is one who rules, guides, inspires, and treats others as he would like to be treated. Having influence or power over others is not leadership; that is dictatorship. A great leader is that person who possesses the ability to lead others like Christ led and has potential to teach others. He is one with the ability to identify gifts and talents in others and guide them to potential. A leader is someone God has chosen and people choose to follow; one who loves and positively influences others to do things they may not otherwise do. Ideally, an effective great leader is a person who imitates Christs style of leadershipa person full of compassion, integrity, and humility and is not a dictator. Again, do you want to be greatest? Have a childlike characterthink like a child, love like a child, trust and have faith in God like a child.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532024771

Cyril K. Nwozor PhD

DR. CYRIL NWOZOR is a Church planter. In 2008 he was the Founder of New Covenant Revealed Ministries, Lagos Nigeria. Today he is the Founder/Senior Pastor of Power of Praise Church International, a non-denominational Church located at Enugu, Nigeria. For over a decades he has proclaimed the word of God all over the world mainly in villages and rural area. He provides spiritual leadership, covering and inspirations to many Pastors within and outside his ministry. Dr. Cyril and his wife Deborah Ify Nwozor (Co-pastor, POPCI) by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, share the vision in taking the gospel in rural areas of the world, walking by faith and in love, empowering, unifying and encouraging believers to be active in advancing the kingdom of God.

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Copyright © 2017 Cyril K. Nwozor, Ph.D.

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NKJV – New King James Version

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

KJV - King James Version

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-2476-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-2477-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017908427

iUniverse rev. date: 04/04/2018

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1     The Greatest?

Chapter 2     Empowered To Have Dominion

Chapter 3     Jesus’s Style Of Leadership

Chapter 4     Unrecognized Leaders

Chapter 5     Servant Leadership

Chapter 6     Principles Of Servant Leadership

Chapter 7     Good Team Leaders

Chapter 8     What Makes Great Leaders?

Chapter 9     What Makes Good Members?

Chapter 10   Devoted Heart

Chapter 11   Stop Procrastinating

Chapter 12   Follow Before You Lead

Chapter 13   Temperament

Chapter 14   Leadership’s Key Elements

Chapter 15   Titled Leaders

Chapter 16   Be Encouraged

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To My Father God, Our Lord:

My Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God (Ps. 42:1). There is none like You! When I think of You, I melt with joy, knowing You are always there to protect and preserve us. Lord, my soul thirsts for You when I remember all the excellent things You have done for us. Thank You, Daddy, for making me a chosen one. Thank You, Father, for taking me back and loving me unconditionally. You are the best. I love You, Daddy!

To Deborah Ifeyinwa, My Beloved Wife:

We have done it again. Thank you for being there for me and for accommodating me. Thank you for being patient with me and for letting God use you to call me into the ministry. You are my John the Baptist (forerunner), my best friend, and my love. Baby, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing (James 1:2–4). God bless you. I will always love you.

To Our Son, Cyril Kanayor Nwozor Jr.:

Son, when you were born, I found arrows, strength, and blessings with abundant grace inside me. Now I know that all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28). Yes, all things did work together for good in our lives because of Christ in us. Thank you for taking this journey with us. Mama and I love you dearly.

To Dr. Von and Pastor Terri Peaks:

Every time I sit at my writing table, you are there with me. You are examples of what true leaders must be, and I have been blessed by your love, knowledge, and wisdom. My wife and I are honored to have you as our spiritual leaders. God bless you.

INTRODUCTION

People see greatness differently. Some see greatness in football, basketball, soccer, and baseball stars. Others think greatness can be equated with material things.

Jesus sees it another way. He sees greatness in serving others, in obedience, humility, simplicity, love, forgiveness, and trust. And when His disciples asked the big question—Who is the greatest?

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.( (Matt.18:2-5)

We see in Mark and Matthew that the disciples had argued and wished to know who among them should have the principal offices and posts of honor. Who would get to sit on Jesus’s right and left hands? You can imagine Peter standing up to make a valid case for himself. After all, he was the one to whom Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom; with faith, he was the only one who walked on water; he was the one who drew a sword and struck Malchus, the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. The others might well have responded, Yes, Peter, but you were also the one Jesus called Satan. You were the one who denied Him three times.

Just imagine the tension and embarrassment that might have existed in the room when Jesus surprised them with the question What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road? They did not want to answer Him. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their hearts (Luke 9:47) that they had been discussing who was the greatest among them, took a child, and set him in the midst of them and said to them, Humble yourself if you want to be the greatest in My kingdom.

These men were connected with the most significant man of their times, and yet they focused on titles instead of focusing on Jesus. Many people in churches today are creating unfriendly environments, arguing and fighting about positions instead of serving the Lord with all their hearts. Our problem is that we think too much of ourselves and too little about others. The apostle Paul advised us not to be selfish or conceited but to be humble and to prefer others over ourselves.

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 2:3–5)

God shows no partiality. The righteous judge will not act according to any such principle but will weigh a person’s character and conduct. He will take no wicked man to glory, and He will send no righteous man to destruction. This is how God treats us. Our sense of worth comes from an understanding that God loves us unconditionally, values us, and showers us freely with undeserved favor.

If you are a leader, stop seeking your own glory. Humble yourself.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:6–7)

God has equipped you for greatness. He has destined you to be the greatest. Before you were born, God destined you for a prophetic office. He formed His plan for you and appointed you to be His envoy to His people.

CHAPTER 1

THE GREATEST?

Don’t we all like to think of ourselves as the greatest? We live in an age of aggressive ambition. We itch for more recognition. We want people to know how intelligent or how handsome or beautiful we are or maybe how smart our children are. We secretly feel a sudden wave of keen emotion or excitement when we learn that others have failed. We are eager to hear even the smallest positive comments on our achievements. We feel disappointed when we see other people’s achievements. We don’t like to hear others being praised. All this is so because we want to believe we are the greatest.

God has given each of us special gifts and talents, but some of us have misused or neglected them. Some people pretend to be humble, but on the inside they are supremely arrogant. They feel that no one can touch them. They believe they deserve better lives, but they are not willing to work to improve their lot. Do you desire to be the greatest? Humble yourself, follow instructions to accomplish something great, and leave others to commend your humility.

Nothing could have been less seemly than for the disciples of Jesus to be arguing over who would be the greatest among them. Just as Jesus was heading toward His death and was laboring to prepare them for it, they were contending over position and rank. This shows how deep-seated is the love of power and authority in human nature.

Many people measure greatness by status or wealth. Some judge greatness according to what one has achieved in life. For example, people believe that athletes who break long-standing records have achieved greatness. We tend to see greatness in material things, but Jesus sees it differently. He does not measure greatness by what we achieve in life but by how we live life. He sees greatness in obedience, humility, simplicity, forgiveness, love, and service to others. If we want to be great leaders, we must be clothed with the spirit of humility, be truthful, and be without worldly ambition. We must have a childlike faith, love and trust in God.

Children to a great extent are without ambition, pride, or arrogance, yet they are the most precious of all before God. The Lord requires us to lay aside our ambition and pride, to serve others, to have a