Life Transcript
I wasn't saved because someone else wanted me to be saved. I wasn't denying myself happiness or pleasures against a secret desire for those same things I was denying. I wasn't fearful that to live differently would lead to hurting my loved ones. Those were not the reasons I loved God. Denied myself sought to learn more about the Lord and give myself to a lifetime of seeking and serving him.
I was saved because that was the life and purpose of life I chose for me and he chose for me. The only one in life I didn't want to disappoint was God. I could not conceive of life without Christ as my Lord and Savior. My relationship with him was key and valued in my life. Strangely enough in my search for me, faith and purpose, I discovered him not just as savior, but as Lord.
1 26 reads and God said, let us make man in our image and after our likeness, Jeremiah 29 and 11 says, for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, sayeth the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil. To give you an expected end. So much of our lives are determined by factors. We have little consciousness, awareness of, and even less control over factors.
We are not comfortable acknowledging or admitting. Some of the factors we typically think of as major influencers in our life are who our parents are, where we're born, and the circumstances we are born under and into. Then there are the uncontrollables, like our family, our mother or father, sister or brother, our ethnic culture and traditions, our D n A and inherited traits.
These are all major contributors and influencers. Over who we are. It is believed by many that these things together all work to mold us and shape us and all work together to make us the person we are and the person we become. But I've learned that there is another factor and influence and a determinant that is often the least considered element in the final determination of who we are or shall be an element that is present from our beginning.
To our dying day. It is not known by most and fewer e ever acknowledged that it plays any significant role at all in determining who we are. Though this influence is not known by most or may be greatly discounted by others, it is in my mind the most significant deciding factor in determining who we are and who we will become.
It's buried deep, but in plain sight in the scripture. Jeremiah 29 and 11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, sayeth the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil. To give you an expected end. Every human being begins life who God imagined them to be in his creative imagination. Which means we are all born with purpose.
We're all valued by God. We're all filled with talents and gifts, and have within us a destiny. We don't look the same. Some are short and others are tall. Some are black, brown, yellow, or white. Some have a tendency towards slim. Others have a tendency toward plus size. Some are athletic and others are seemingly born with two left feet.
We are imagined, created, made, and born different. The beauty of life is in the array of difference that exists in this world. Thus, the living of our lives holds significance and meaning for him, for us, and those who love us, even if we're not always as valued. Held in significance or viewed as meaningful in the eyes and lives of others.
God makes no rejects and he makes no mistakes. Our finite minds may not always understand or comprehend the infinite ways of God, but it doesn't change the fact that God is omnipotent. God is omnipresent and God is omniscient. God is in control and does all things well. When I think about my life, I think of all of the things I've said previously about influencers and influencers and of the societal, ethnic, and family culture and traditions that existed and played a part in my life.
I think of my parents and grandparents as major influencers. I think of my aunts and uncles and church members, leaders and pastors, teachers and friends, all adding something to who I am. I think of being inspired to pursue being the best me I could be by both my mom and my dad. I remember being the first child, the first son child, the first nephew, the first grandchild.
Being first was natural and nice and privileged in my life, but being first was also burdensome because of its expectations. The expectations of others and the expectations that I held for myself, they all helped to set a high bar for accomplishment in any and every sphere of my life. I didn't mind it.
In fact, it fueled me, and meeting expectations was never enough. I sought to exceed everyone's expectations, including my own. It helped define me to me. But the one thing more than any that influenced my life, my drive, my sense of who I was and whose I was, was the knowledge that before I was born, my mother dedicated me to God.
I don't know what prompted her to do so. Perhaps it was in gratitude for firstborn son. Nevertheless, she returned me to him, submitted my life to his care, his use, and his perfect purpose. I've lived with this knowledge all of my life and early in my life. It made certain things inevitable to me. It was inevitable that at the time of accountability, I would, on my own free will dedicate my life to God and his purposes for my life.
It was inevitable that satisfactory life for me would be filled with acts of sacrificial ministry service. To others. It was inevitable that all that I learned, experienced, and gained would be cataloged, stored away to be later used in my service to God and others. At the age of 14, though it was not my conscious plan at that time, I received Christ as my Lord and Savior and began living my Don't do this and don't do that.
Save life. I lived it with no hesitancy, no regrets, and in my mind, as far as I was concerned, there was no other way to live. It was also inevitable that though my grandfather was a preacher and later a pastor, there was no way I was going to serve God that way. I wanted to be an architect, a builder, an engineer, a baseball player, a basketball player.
Well, the prospect for that was slim to none. Too short in both stature and talent. I wanted to be a lot of things, but preacher was not one of them. I guess I forgot to ask God or sneak a peek into his imagination when he imagined me and consult him concerning his plans for me. He began calling me to him at 17, and I kept choosing to turn a deaf ear because that was not inevitable.
So I thought early in life I was diagnosed with asthma for all of my formative years and well into my adulthood. I was plagued with frequent and severe asthma attacks. It was a mighty influencer. I experienced an era of my life where there were limits and delimiters placed on those expectations.
Wherever physical exercise or activity was concerned, the desire to protect me in my earliest age. By some made me want to go beyond those diminished expectations and limitations. My grandmother was, my God, sent God ordained savior. In this instance, she suggested to my mother that keeping me indoors and out of the cold weather and overprotecting and coddling me was not the way.
Allow him to reach his limitations on his own. That released me and fueled the exceed expectations mindset that became and now is more and more who I was, who I was to become and who I am. Thank God for mama. Thank God for Louise. At 19 years old, I was in college and I had a crisis of faith. I was challenged by a friend that I was living an inevitable life, but also a life of fear.
Fear that to do anything different from what was expected of me to live any different than I was currently living would cause a disappointment to those who had taught me and lived in front of me, the life I was now living. He posited that deep down within me. I desired to do something else. I desired to live as he was living, to live in another way than the life I now led.
But love and fear kept me doing and living different than my deepest desires. I dismissed his words immediately. The very thought of what he said was dismissed, but immediately at the same time, I began to be haunted by those very thoughts. I began asking questions that countless many others have and are still asking concerning the truth of their faith.
And their walk with God. Was it true? Was my life choice merely a lived out expectation of others? Was there another way for me to live that I hadn't discovered that was more pleasing, satisfying, gratifying, and fulfilling? Was I wasting my life with limitations and rules? Doss and don'ts that robbed me of fun, pleasure, self satisfaction.
And just an opportunity to do what I wanted to do and not what others wanted from me, of me, or wanted me to do what was true and real about me, about God, about faith, my faith. So for 90 days, I wrestled with those fundamental questions and more. It was my come to Jesus moment, and it was also my epiphany moment.
Well, 90 days later I had answered all of those questions. I came to clear resolution and conclusion. I wasn't saved because someone else wanted me to be saved. I wasn't denying myself happiness or pleasures against a secret desire for those same things I was denying. I wasn't fearful that to live differently would lead to hurting my loved ones.
Those were not the reasons I loved God. Denied myself sought to learn more about the Lord and give myself to a lifetime of seeking and serving him. I was saved because that was the life and purpose of life I chose for me and he chose for me. The only one in life I didn't want to disappoint was God. I could not conceive of life without Christ as my Lord and Savior.
My relationship with him was key and valued in my life. Strangely enough in my search for me, faith and purpose, I discovered him not just as savior, but as Lord. I discovered that he and my mother had joined in presenting me with a j Jeremiah 29 11 as the pathway and motivation for my life. I was happy that Christ was my Lord and my Savior, but it was the Lord part that was the clincher.
It settled whose I was knowing, whose I was made knowing who I am, quite easy. I didn't have to look within myself to discover myself by myself. You know, it's tough for the wondering to settle the reason for and end of wondering by looking within the one who was wondering, sounds like a tongue twister, but it made good sense to me that in order to find myself, I had to look at he that created me.
That created me with purpose. It created me with destiny. My life from that moment on took on new meaning. Relationship was what God and me was all about. Salvation was to restore right relationship with God. Do's and don'ts were no longer important. My submission to God was important. I had come to value my relationship with God above doing the right thing or not doing the wrong thing.
Now, there was a different basis of my obedience, a new and different governor over my actions, my thoughts and my desires. How do they affect my relationship with God? Became my concern. Does what I do enhance or damage that relationship became the new basis for what I did or didn't do. As I valued my relationship, I became more and more the governor and not others and outside forces as I value my relationship with my parents as a child, for example, and sought therefore to respect, honor, and love them.
I discovered it was for those same reasons that I valued my relationship with God. It is and was why I would obey God, honor God, and submit to God I loved him and he loved me. That's what I learned in my 90 day wandering experience. Everything going forward was to be put through the prism of valuing the relationship.
I now understood and better understand what Paul meant. When he was saying in Romans 8 38 and 39, for, I'm persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
I discovered that the, that passage was not merely a declaration from Paul of his love for God. I. As often thought, but it was also a bold declaration of how much love God has for us and is committed to us. Verse 35 asked Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? I realized God, Jesus Christ had reconciled me, embraced me.
Yes, the unworthy justifiably guilty me and sought relationship with me. That was the most significant 90 days of my life. Over the course of my life, I've had many more come to Jesus moments. Moments when I had to remind myself that he's God and I'm not. He's all right and I'm not. He's in control. I'm not.
He knows where, how, and why of my journey. I don't. Even in love, I came to understand that God had a purpose and a plan, and that to be led only by my flesh or soul was injurious to my relationship with him, affected my hearing, his voice, or seeing his way. As a young man, I desired to be married and follow the normal pattern of young men to find my bride.
After several failed attempts at finding that special one on my own and my own way, I decided to turn that part of my life over to God as well. I had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. I don't know what I'm doing. It was sometime later, but it did happen one August evening in 1971 while attending the premus service to our state convocation, I walked upon the one God had for me.
I knew it immediately. There were a few early obstacles, though. She wasn't really thinking about me in the same way I was at that moment thinking about her. We knew each other, but it was in a casual way. Hi and see you around. But that evening, at that moment, I saw the present and the future. I said, hello, but instead of continuing on, I stopped and waited.
I. And the rest is history. 47 years later, we are still married and she's still the one, the only one for me. There are many chapters in my life as there are with any life. These are just a few of the chapters of my life, but they are the significant few chapters. They helped establish the foundation of my walk, the strength of my conviction, and the basis of right relationship with God.
Life is a continuum, and along that continuum, there are moments, events, experiences, and opportunities that come together and present it to us. Choices and decisions, those choices and decisions offer us opportunity to receive or reject, learn or not to learn, succeed, or fail. We make decisions and choices, and we seek to manage and control our decisions and choices.
Because we can't manage or control our circumstances and the results of our decisions and choices at the foundation of who I am, who any of us are is the purpose of God for us, acknowledge and yield to his purpose and we reach the divine destiny he set for us from the beginning, ignore, be ignorant of or rebel against his purpose.
And we become nothing but the sum total of our uncontrollables family culture, D n a, heredity, our experiences, our environment, others' wishes, hopes and dreams, and on and on. And the end result of that mix is being unfulfilled, living beneath our privilege as God's children, though created in his image and after his likeness.
Leadership transcript
I heard to my surprise, God say these words, I release you. I was stunned and began to give God all of the reasons he was mistaken in releasing me. I reminded God of the condition of my grandfather, the dependency he and the church had on me to stay the course, steady the ship and hold my pastor's arms up.
In my mind, surely God missed those details in this unexpected declaration that I was released, but God's response to me was swift, and sure I've got this. No one monkey stops the show. This is my church. This is my man, pastor Thomas. These are my people and I will take care of them. I release you.
Leadership. Learning to lead is a journey that begins with learning how to humbly follow. It is in times of failure that our greatest lessons for leadership are learned to miss those lessons is to guarantee failure. In leading those two statements, probably best describe my pathway to understanding what true leadership is and the means by which I can make any claim to being a good leader.
A backward glance along the path to leadership for me are many remnants of my failure along the way. Being selected and sometimes even being thrust into leadership has been common for my life. This is connected to my being the first and so many things in my life. The first child, the first nephew, the first grandson, et cetera, there was an expectation of leadership.
The qualities emphasized to me concerning leaders and leadership were honesty, integrity, truthfulness, humility, character, trust, excellence, and know your limitations. That last one, know your limitations emphasized to me by my father was related to me in the following way. If you know you're not qualified for a job, have the honesty of heart.
And presence of mind to not take it. If after you've taken a job and find you're not up to it, have the honesty and humility to give it back. I've been surrounded by good and great leaders all of my life. Several of those leaders had a profound effect upon how I fashioned myself as a leader. The most obvious influencer was and is Jesus Christ.
I. Jesus first and foremost was focused. He understood who he was, why he was where he was going, and how he was to get there. Whenever Jesus met a problem, he consulted with the father or followed the pathway that was natural for who he was and who he represented. Jesus honored his father and the purpose he was sent to fulfill on behalf of his father.
Therefore, Jesus was never distracted. He made decisions that kept him on the pathway. He started and he didn't veer off. Seeking to be like Jesus in this way was and is challenging for me in life. We have many distractions, many disappointments, and it is sometimes hard not to be discouraged, dismayed, and distracted.
The lesson that Jesus teaches is that to remain focused on the call and the task protects the precious moments. We have to fulfill God's mission in us and through us from many moments. We really don't have. We must always remember that we are joining God in what he's doing. We are co-ed, co-laborers cooperating with him.
He doesn't need us to initiate anything for him. He asks us to join him in what he's already doing without us. By the way, I say all the time, I'm going to stop asking God to bless what I'm doing. I'm just going to do what He's blessing. And as I've said again so many times before, that is not just a turn of phrase or an example of clever wordsmithing.
It's reflective of a knowledge and attitude that says God is in control. The other major influencers in my life as a leadership model and an example were Ltt Thomas, my grandfather and my pastor. He exemplified faithfulness, was a prayer, carried the virtue of meekness well, and was long suffering. He showed me what it means to serve another without ambition or divisiveness.
And commit oneself to another man's vision. Bishop George Dallas McKinney inspired me to a belief that one could be intellectual learned and anointed. Early in my life when I was thinking of preaching, elder McKinney came to our church as a recent graduate of Oberlin College. He was young, energetic, and represented someone to aspire to emulate Elder McKinney Was approachable available and always pleasant.
Elder McKinney left Toledo when I was 13 years old, but his influence upon me has lasted for over 57 years. He left me with a sense that integrity and character and person and ministry are critically important. He remains one of my favorite leader preachers. Bishop Walter. Earl Jordan epitomized the gifted, personable, eloquent, young leader.
He assumed his pastoral leadership at a very young age. I watched him lead a young congregation through there and his maturity, and he led with dignity and a sense of purpose and a strong sense that he knew where he was and he knew where he was going. He was innovative and he was not afraid to take a risk.
In leading Elder Jordan was famous for one-liners and leaving you thinking about his pearls of wisdom and gems of knowledge with. Hmm. My most frequently used principle I received from Bishop Jordan was an answer to my question of him, how do you maintain your composure in the face of resistance, rebellion, and slow walking?
His response was classic. I don't try to lead people where they don't want to go. Bishop j o Patterson, the first presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ. Was also a great influencer on me as it applies to leadership. Example, the year of his appointment was 1968. 1968 was my first year attending the Church of God in Christ Holy convocation.
And that year's official message, Bishop Patterson's subject was taken from Revelation three and one, and unto the angel of the church and Sardis Wright. These things sayeth. He that have seven spirits of God and the seven stars, I know thy works. Th thou has the name th Thou Live and Art dead. That message impacted me in a profound way.
It affected my perspective on my personal walk. It brought me face-to-face with the perspective that a church, my church, Needed to take an introspective look at herself and its leader was bringing that to her. It spoke to me on what the responsibility of leadership is to those who choose to follow the leader truth.
Bishop Patterson inspired me to think broadly, think outside of tradition, but not demean traditions. He inspired me to excellence in preaching, excellence in leadership. He served as presiding bishop for 22 years. In the course of Bishop Patterson's leadership, I saw leadership that was transformative, and it was also full of contention, controversy, resistance, and at times chaos and turmoil.
But in the midst and in spite of those distractions of contention and controversy, resistance, chaos, and turmoil. He demonstrated an ability to take it on and adapt and lead. There are many others who made an impression upon me and showed me insights to effective leadership. They included Bishop g Patterson, Bishop Charles E.
Blake, Bishop William James, and Bishop j Deano Ellis. Each of them had unique qualities that have incorporated would make you a better leader. I believe leadership is at its best. When it is properly focused away from and beyond the personal interest of the leader. Additionally, effective leadership is at its highest integrity.
When it is in a, in alignment with something greater than the leader, the Christian leader must always remember and never forget that this is God's mission, God's vision, God's ministry, and God's people. He's privileged me. To join him in what he is doing. I say all the time, and I'm going to stop asking God to bless what I'm doing.
I'm just going to do what he's blessing. That's more, as I've said many times before than a turn of phrase or an example of clever wordsmithing. It's reflective of a knowledge and attitude that said God is in control and he knows what he's doing. Of course I have in the past forgotten that very fact. At times.
I can remember once deciding that because of the physical condition of my pastor, my grandfather, because he had suffered a stroke, which accelerated the oncoming of dementia, which limited greatly his ability to carry out his pastoral duties. It was incumbent upon me and I decided that it was important for me to be around.
And support him and the church and the people that I loved. At the time, I was working for I B M as a marketing rep and had reached a point where I needed to review my five-year development plan. Because of those aforementioned facts, I informed my manager that I decided to pursue my career path in the Toledo branch office rather than pursue promotion out of the branch along a pathway to upper management, we concluded the plan, jointly signed off on it.
And it was entered into my employee file. Two weeks after that, I heard to my surprise, God, say these words, I release you. I was stunned and began to give God all of the reasons he was mistaken in releasing me. I reminded God of the condition of my grandfather, the dependency he and the church had on me to stay the course, steady the ship and hold my pastor's arms up.
In my mind, surely God missed those details in this unexpected declaration that I was released, but God's response to me was swift, and sure I've got this. No one monkey stops the show. This is my church. This is my man, pastor Thomas. These are my people and I will take care of them. I release you. I went away from that experience having learned a critical lesson about God and about myself, about God.
I learned this. He is always ahead of us. He knows all things and never misses a detail. He knows where he wants you when you are to be there, and He what what he wants you to do and what he wants to do with you when you are in the place you're supposed to be. About myself. I learned that despite honorable intentions when God speaks, listen, hear, and obey, regardless of how illogical it may seem, listen, hear, and obey regardless of how inconsistent it may be with the status quo or what's comfortable or even what makes sense or even what was truth yesterday.
If God says something, listen, hear, and obey, and I learned, and not for the last time, simply listen, hear, and obey. That lesson would be repeated and experienced a few more times in my journey to become a leader. Another lesson on my leader journey was when I was leading new Jerusalem, church of God in Christ in a new building project.
We had determined that we had reached a point where we wanted and needed a new church. We wanted and needed a church that better served our growing congregation, that reflected who we thought we had become as a church and as a reward for our faithfulness to mission and vision of the church. We were enthused, motivated, unified, and in hot pursuit of our vision.
We felt we had the three elements that guaranteed success in God. We had vision, unity, and leadership, Genesis 11 records for us that God himself declared that those three elements were key to man achieving anything he sets his mind to. And the Lord said, behold the people is one and they have all one language and this they begin to do.
And now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do in that passage are the elements of unity, leadership, and vision. What was missing in the vision of Nimrod and the people who sought to build the Tower of Babel was that God had not directed the building of the tower and glorifying God was not the purpose of the building.
Genesis 11 and four and they said, go to let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. What was missing in our endeavor to build a new church, which was also missing in Nimrod's desire to build the Tower of Babel.
Was gut that God had not directed us to build. We felt that a new building was the next logical thing for our ministry. Secondly, God had another plan, and the location of that plan was not Nebraska Avenue, but Oakwood Avenue. I didn't understand God's divine plan because it wasn't revealed to me, but it wasn't revealed to me because in seeking him in prayer, I essentially prayed this prayer.
Lord, this is what I'm getting ready to do. Put your approval on it. Lord. Bless what we're doing though things seem to be working in our favor. We had enthusiasm to do it, commitment from the people to make the sacrifices, to get it done favoring the form of services, which saved us tremendous amounts of money and greatly reduced our development time.
But one thing was missing. We did not have God's directed purpose as our guide. God was way ahead of us, and he wanted us to do another work that was important to him, fit his Aginwa, and fulfilled his vision and not ours. So what are the lessons in this short time, I seek to convey what leadership is and means to me.
Leadership is the function of followership, servanthood, knowing God's will and purpose. And dependently totally upon God for direction, purpose, and his chosen pathway. The best summary of leadership, which I have come to understand and now seek to guide my way, is Robert Greenleaf's description of servant leadership.
It reads thusly, the servant leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. To serve first, then conscious Choice brings one To aspire, to lead the servant first seeks to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test is do those served, grow as persons?
Do they while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer? More autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants. And what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit, or at least not be further deprived? That my friends, is the essence of being a leader.
Legacy Transcript
As a pastor teacher, I have as my chief purpose to teach impart God's word, God's law, commandments, and promises. In doing that, it's critical that what remains from that teaching and impartation is truth, the truth that sets men and women free. A freedom from the dominance and influence of sin, self, and faithfulness.
It begins with me. I must guard against the entrapments of self individualism, fame, fortune, popularity, and acceptance. All of that translates as a life philosophy rooted in grounded in purpose. We each have a purpose, and that purpose does not begin and end with us To follow a life purpose that begins and ends with me translates to little or no positive or redeeming legacy left to others.
If my life is defined by stuff, then stuff is all I can leave, all I can pass on and time eats up the value of stuff to others. My name on a street, sign, a bridge, a school, a window, or a bench may cause people to know my name, but there's nothing of me that is passed on or remembered what I do for with and through others.
To me is what constitutes legacy.
Legacy. Each man and woman is born with a purpose. Talents and gifts, A God designed pathway and a destiny. As we live out our lives, we search for our purpose, discover and use our talents and gifts, begin to take steps along our pathway, all of which lead us to our destiny. Along the way, we make decisions.
Which are influenced by family culture, events and circumstances which impact our pathway and our destiny at the end of life. The sum total of our life experiences, choices, decisions, influences, relationships, all work together to form what some call destiny. So what is this thing called legacy? What is it?
What does it look like? The common definitions of legacy are a bequest or inheritance, A gift handed down, endowed or conveyed from one person to another. What we leave behind for the people we serve some synonyms for the word legacy, are estate, gift, tradition, bequest, birthright. Endowment and heirloom.
That's what the world says. Legacy is. Some seek to put legacy in perspective by asking and answering the question, how do I want my grandchildren to remember me? And what have I done that is memorable? That says that legacy consists of memorable and significant events, accomplishments, and contributions to life or society.
But in my way of thinking, that perspective is rather limiting and dependent upon privilege, opportunity, resource that is made available to one in life. It removes large swaths of mankind from leaving a legacy to succeeding generations, a legacy that they will have to fuel their visions and dreams. I believe legacy is broader than that.
I believe that legacy is every man's gift. To those who associate with him are related to him, work with him, encounter him, succeed, or follow him. So how would I answer the question? How do I want my grandchildren to remember me and what have I done that is memorable? I would say that is rather difficult to answer at this moment.
I'm still going through life, still doing, still giving, still learning, still receiving, serving, teaching, and growing. There's still more to add to my contribution and building of legacy, but if pressed to answer that question based upon an up to now assessment, I would have to say it's the full body of my life and work in serving God and others.
Teaching and sharing God's word, imparting experience, and any wisdom God has graced me with. I choose to highlight those things in my life because I firmly believe legacy is what we deposit in others from those skills, gifts, experience, and any wisdom we receive from God and life. So how would I define legacy?
Again, the definition I'm most comfortable with is legacy, is what is deposited in people. Through their relationship or association with us. It includes our words, wisdom, life lessons, examples of character and integrity. It is connected very closely to impartation. The word impart means to give, convey, or grant impartation then is the act of giving or granting something in the Bible.
Spiritual gifts are imparted. Romans one and 11, wisdom is imparted. Proverbs 29 15. The message of the gospel is imparted one. Thessalonians two and eight and material goods are imparted. Ephesians 4 28 and one Timothy six 18. Some translations use the word share as a replacement for impart because of the nature of what is past, shared or imparted.
Legacy is serious stuff. We do it whether we are aware or not, whether it's intentional or not. Legacy happens. Legacy happens at the intellectual level and the spiritual level. The Old Testament speaks to legacy. In Psalm 78 and four, it reads, we will not hide from them, their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might.
And the wonders that he has done. Deuteronomy six, five through seven reads, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk.
By the way, And when you lie down and when you rise. And lastly, Psalms 1 45 and four, one generation shall command your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. So you see biblical legacy is connected to our responsibility, to our children, and succeeding generations. We have to be aware that God has made it a responsibility of the fathers to speak into the life of their children.
To speak God's word into his children's life. In addition, we are to model the life we speak of, teach the word we live, and show examples in life of what that looks like. The causes in our life capture us and elicit from us that which burdens our heart or our spirit, and inspires our soul. It leads us to act and react that are many causes that move me.
We live in a world in which causes are plentiful but of late. The one that bothers me and moves me the most is the attack and marginalization of the church in the eyes of people, people outside of the church, and so many unfortunately within. I understand that this condition is not uncommon in the history of mankind, but is real and now prevalent in the day that I now live.
I believe God, I believe his word. I accept his authority and sovereignty in the universe, the world and my life. The church is God's gift to the reconciliation of man, the reestablishment of community among men, the facilitation to right relationship with God and man. The church is the means by which the love of God is demonstrated, taught, manifested in the lives and relationships of those who are the church.
And represent God's son, Jesus Christ in the world. The world, and far too much of the church has lost any semblance of awareness of the role of the church in our society and the unity of God. The church is in some respects, God's legacy to prodigal mankind. Another perspective on legacy is found in the question, what will you be known for when you leave this earth?
The most influential people, those who leave behind incredible legacies will live on in the hearts of the people they touch physically. They may no longer be a part of society, but their principles, philosophies, and achievements will become immortal spreading from generation to generation. I often think about the myriad of challenges that exist in the local church community and for the community the church lives in.
I formulate responses to many of those challenges even though I realize that I don't have the means to solve most of them. However, I feel it'll come incumbent upon me and every leader to ponder them and bring intellect and spirit to imagining solutions to those challenges. It is consistent to our philosophy to meet a need, make a friend, be a friend, and win a soul.
This, it's reflects itself in our ministry mission. We have made the transition as a local church from a passive inReach church to an aggressive outreach church. Becoming a part of the community where our church is located is high on our vision priority list. Our vision includes the concept of operating out of seven competency centers.
As a pastor teacher, I have as my chief purpose to teach impart God's word, God's law, commandments, and promises. In doing that, it's critical that what remains from that teaching and impartation is truth, the truth that sets men and women free. A freedom from the dominance and influence of sin, self, and faithfulness.
It begins with me. I must guard against the entrapments of self individualism, fame, fortune, popularity, and acceptance. All of that translates as a life philosophy, rooted and grounded in purpose. We each have a purpose, and that purpose does not begin at end with us. To follow a life purpose that begins and ends with me translates to little or no positive or redeeming legacy left to others.
If my life is defined by stuff, then stuff is all I can leave, all I can pass on and time eats up the value of stuff to others. My name on a street, sign, a bridge, a school, a window, or a bench may cause people to know my name, but there's nothing of me that is passed on or remembered what I do for with and through others.
To me is what constitutes legacy. Legacy is not only the product of individuals, it is also the product of people, organizations, churches. Our local church is currently engaged in building a new building. Our emphasis and intent in the design of that building is tied directly to our ministry purpose and vision, not the aesthetics of the building itself.
The new building is reflective of our progressive evolution. Of our mission vision aimed at our community, the people of that community, and meeting the needs of the people in that community. Our mission statement says, A world in which the Saints of New Life are a growing and caring community of faith.
Passionately modeling the life of Jesus Christ, in which it is our aim to cooperate with God, to build a church that is great enough to impact greater Toledo and focus enough to make genuine disciples. If we as a church are to be positive legacy contributors to our succeeding generations and the community we serve, we must seek to be consistently engaged in establishing and living out our positive biblical principles and practices.
We must impart and share the biblical promises of our faith. We must live out God's commandments promoting the care and grace of our savior. We must remember and never forget. That our relationships and relational encounters in this life constitute our contribution to this thing called legacy Scripture does much to help us understand the place and impact of legacy in our life and the life of others.
Proverbs 1322 reads a good man, leaveth and inheritance to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just this verse, keys, our goals, vision, and our legacy. Front and center Joshua four and six reads that this may be a sign among you that when your children ask their fathers in time to come saying what mean ye by these stones, then ye shall answer them that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the arc of the covenant of the Lord when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off and these stones shall be for memorial.
Unto the children of Israel forever, a lasting legacy, one that continues for eternity is set in stone, written on our hearts and the hearts of our loved ones. A belief in Jesus Christ as the son of the living God and savior of the world is the legacy that lasts. Leaving a legacy is an important part of one's life's work.
A legacy develops from a life dedicated to self-reflection and will. And purpose what will be revealed and what will endure is a truthful and value-driven body of living. Every one of us is going to leave a legacy. It just depends on what kind. So what kind of legacy do you want to leave? I encourage you to think about it because knowing how you want to be remembered helps you decide how to live and work today.
Consider the following ways to leave a legacy. Number one, a legacy of excellence. St. Francis of as sissy said, it's no use walking anywhere to preach unless your preaching is your walking. To leave a legacy of excellence, strive to be your best every day. As you strive for excellence, you inspire excellence in others.
You serve as a role model for your children, your friends, and your colleagues. One person in pursuit of excellence raises the energy standards and behaviors of everyone around them. Your life is your greatest legacy, and since you only have one life to give, give all you can. A second way to leave a legacy is a legacy of encouragement.
You have a choice. You can lift others up or bring them down 20 years from now when people think of you. What do you want them to remember? What stories do you want them to tell? Who will you encourage today? Be that person that someone will call five, 10, or 20 years from now and say, thank you. I couldn't have done it without you.
A third way to leave a legacy is a legacy of purpose. People are most energized when they are using their strengths and talents for purpose beyond themselves. To leave a legacy of purpose, make your life about something bigger than you. While you're not going to live forever, you can live on through the legacy you leave and the positive impact you make in the world.
A fourth way to leave a legacy is a legacy of love. I often think about my mom who passed away 17 years ago. And when I think about her, I don't recall her faults and mistakes or the disagreements we had after all, who is perfect? Certainly not me. But what I remember most about her was her love for me and for others.
She gave me a legacy of love that I now share with others. Share a legacy of love, and it will embrace generations to come. I recently read an article on how to leave a legacy entitled, how to Make An Impact. Number one, support the people and causes that are important to you. Number two, reflect and decide what is most important in your life.
Number three, share your blessings with others. And number four, be a mentor to others. Lastly, number five, pursue your passions. Your passions are your legacy. Passion comes from an outpouring of the interests and ideas that make a difference in your life. Finding and pursuing your passion allows you to live your life wholeheartedly and with full intent.
Leaving a legacy is an important part of your life's work. A legacy develops from a life dedicated to self-reflection. And purpose. What will be revealed and what will endure is a truthful and value-driven body of living for me, discovering Christ, pursuing right relationship with him, understanding my purpose, by and through him, became my compassion.
Because I believe that legacy is what we deposit, share, impart in people, the people we influence, the people we lead, serve, and befriend. I can't say that my legacy is complete. I am, as I said before, still living, learning, growing, discovering, failing and succeeding as a person in this world and expanding my circle and sphere of influence.
But I believe that all that works together to set the legacy of my life and my being, and I'm not done yet. We all make legacy. It just happens as we live. We don't all pay attention to the legacy we are making and leaving. For some, they're not consciously aware that as they interact and influence people, that constitutes legacy.
For others, they are so self-absorbed, self-focused that they give no thought of it or care what their legacy may be. Let me close by reciting for you the wisdom of others concerning legacy. All good. Men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine.
Jim Ron, carve your name on hearts not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you. Shannon Alder, if you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead. Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. Benjamin Franklin, no. Legacy is so rich as honesty.
William Shakespeare, the great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. William James, you make your mark by being true to who you are and letting that be your staple, Kat Graham. The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example, Benjamin Desiree.
And lastly, your story is the greatest legacy that you'll leave to your friends. It's the longest lasting legacy you will leave to your heirs. Steve Saint Legacy, we all have one and we all make one.
Life Transcript
I wasn't saved because someone else wanted me to be saved. I wasn't denying myself happiness or pleasures against a secret desire for those same things I was denying. I wasn't fearful that to live differently would lead to hurting my loved ones. Those were not the reasons I loved God. Denied myself sought to learn more about the Lord and give myself to a lifetime of seeking and serving him.
I was saved because that was the life and purpose of life I chose for me and he chose for me. The only one in life I didn't want to disappoint was God. I could not conceive of life without Christ as my Lord and Savior. My relationship with him was key and valued in my life. Strangely enough in my search for me, faith and purpose, I discovered him not just as savior, but as Lord.
1 26 reads and God said, let us make man in our image and after our likeness, Jeremiah 29 and 11 says, for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, sayeth the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil. To give you an expected end. So much of our lives are determined by factors. We have little consciousness, awareness of, and even less control over factors.
We are not comfortable acknowledging or admitting. Some of the factors we typically think of as major influencers in our life are who our parents are, where we're born, and the circumstances we are born under and into. Then there are the uncontrollables, like our family, our mother or father, sister or brother, our ethnic culture and traditions, our D n A and inherited traits.
These are all major contributors and influencers. Over who we are. It is believed by many that these things together all work to mold us and shape us and all work together to make us the person we are and the person we become. But I've learned that there is another factor and influence and a determinant that is often the least considered element in the final determination of who we are or shall be an element that is present from our beginning.
To our dying day. It is not known by most and fewer e ever acknowledged that it plays any significant role at all in determining who we are. Though this influence is not known by most or may be greatly discounted by others, it is in my mind the most significant deciding factor in determining who we are and who we will become.
It's buried deep, but in plain sight in the scripture. Jeremiah 29 and 11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, sayeth the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil. To give you an expected end. Every human being begins life who God imagined them to be in his creative imagination. Which means we are all born with purpose.
We're all valued by God. We're all filled with talents and gifts, and have within us a destiny. We don't look the same. Some are short and others are tall. Some are black, brown, yellow, or white. Some have a tendency towards slim. Others have a tendency toward plus size. Some are athletic and others are seemingly born with two left feet.
We are imagined, created, made, and born different. The beauty of life is in the array of difference that exists in this world. Thus, the living of our lives holds significance and meaning for him, for us, and those who love us, even if we're not always as valued. Held in significance or viewed as meaningful in the eyes and lives of others.
God makes no rejects and he makes no mistakes. Our finite minds may not always understand or comprehend the infinite ways of God, but it doesn't change the fact that God is omnipotent. God is omnipresent and God is omniscient. God is in control and does all things well. When I think about my life, I think of all of the things I've said previously about influencers and influencers and of the societal, ethnic, and family culture and traditions that existed and played a part in my life.
I think of my parents and grandparents as major influencers. I think of my aunts and uncles and church members, leaders and pastors, teachers and friends, all adding something to who I am. I think of being inspired to pursue being the best me I could be by both my mom and my dad. I remember being the first child, the first son child, the first nephew, the first grandchild.
Being first was natural and nice and privileged in my life, but being first was also burdensome because of its expectations. The expectations of others and the expectations that I held for myself, they all helped to set a high bar for accomplishment in any and every sphere of my life. I didn't mind it.
In fact, it fueled me, and meeting expectations was never enough. I sought to exceed everyone's expectations, including my own. It helped define me to me. But the one thing more than any that influenced my life, my drive, my sense of who I was and whose I was, was the knowledge that before I was born, my mother dedicated me to God.
I don't know what prompted her to do so. Perhaps it was in gratitude for firstborn son. Nevertheless, she returned me to him, submitted my life to his care, his use, and his perfect purpose. I've lived with this knowledge all of my life and early in my life. It made certain things inevitable to me. It was inevitable that at the time of accountability, I would, on my own free will dedicate my life to God and his purposes for my life.
It was inevitable that satisfactory life for me would be filled with acts of sacrificial ministry service. To others. It was inevitable that all that I learned, experienced, and gained would be cataloged, stored away to be later used in my service to God and others. At the age of 14, though it was not my conscious plan at that time, I received Christ as my Lord and Savior and began living my Don't do this and don't do that.
Save life. I lived it with no hesitancy, no regrets, and in my mind, as far as I was concerned, there was no other way to live. It was also inevitable that though my grandfather was a preacher and later a pastor, there was no way I was going to serve God that way. I wanted to be an architect, a builder, an engineer, a baseball player, a basketball player.
Well, the prospect for that was slim to none. Too short in both stature and talent. I wanted to be a lot of things, but preacher was not one of them. I guess I forgot to ask God or sneak a peek into his imagination when he imagined me and consult him concerning his plans for me. He began calling me to him at 17, and I kept choosing to turn a deaf ear because that was not inevitable.
So I thought early in life I was diagnosed with asthma for all of my formative years and well into my adulthood. I was plagued with frequent and severe asthma attacks. It was a mighty influencer. I experienced an era of my life where there were limits and delimiters placed on those expectations.
Wherever physical exercise or activity was concerned, the desire to protect me in my earliest age. By some made me want to go beyond those diminished expectations and limitations. My grandmother was, my God, sent God ordained savior. In this instance, she suggested to my mother that keeping me indoors and out of the cold weather and overprotecting and coddling me was not the way.
Allow him to reach his limitations on his own. That released me and fueled the exceed expectations mindset that became and now is more and more who I was, who I was to become and who I am. Thank God for mama. Thank God for Louise. At 19 years old, I was in college and I had a crisis of faith. I was challenged by a friend that I was living an inevitable life, but also a life of fear.
Fear that to do anything different from what was expected of me to live any different than I was currently living would cause a disappointment to those who had taught me and lived in front of me, the life I was now living. He posited that deep down within me. I desired to do something else. I desired to live as he was living, to live in another way than the life I now led.
But love and fear kept me doing and living different than my deepest desires. I dismissed his words immediately. The very thought of what he said was dismissed, but immediately at the same time, I began to be haunted by those very thoughts. I began asking questions that countless many others have and are still asking concerning the truth of their faith.
And their walk with God. Was it true? Was my life choice merely a lived out expectation of others? Was there another way for me to live that I hadn't discovered that was more pleasing, satisfying, gratifying, and fulfilling? Was I wasting my life with limitations and rules? Doss and don'ts that robbed me of fun, pleasure, self satisfaction.
And just an opportunity to do what I wanted to do and not what others wanted from me, of me, or wanted me to do what was true and real about me, about God, about faith, my faith. So for 90 days, I wrestled with those fundamental questions and more. It was my come to Jesus moment, and it was also my epiphany moment.
Well, 90 days later I had answered all of those questions. I came to clear resolution and conclusion. I wasn't saved because someone else wanted me to be saved. I wasn't denying myself happiness or pleasures against a secret desire for those same things I was denying. I wasn't fearful that to live differently would lead to hurting my loved ones.
Those were not the reasons I loved God. Denied myself sought to learn more about the Lord and give myself to a lifetime of seeking and serving him. I was saved because that was the life and purpose of life I chose for me and he chose for me. The only one in life I didn't want to disappoint was God. I could not conceive of life without Christ as my Lord and Savior.
My relationship with him was key and valued in my life. Strangely enough in my search for me, faith and purpose, I discovered him not just as savior, but as Lord. I discovered that he and my mother had joined in presenting me with a j Jeremiah 29 11 as the pathway and motivation for my life. I was happy that Christ was my Lord and my Savior, but it was the Lord part that was the clincher.
It settled whose I was knowing, whose I was made knowing who I am, quite easy. I didn't have to look within myself to discover myself by myself. You know, it's tough for the wondering to settle the reason for and end of wondering by looking within the one who was wondering, sounds like a tongue twister, but it made good sense to me that in order to find myself, I had to look at he that created me.
That created me with purpose. It created me with destiny. My life from that moment on took on new meaning. Relationship was what God and me was all about. Salvation was to restore right relationship with God. Do's and don'ts were no longer important. My submission to God was important. I had come to value my relationship with God above doing the right thing or not doing the wrong thing.
Now, there was a different basis of my obedience, a new and different governor over my actions, my thoughts and my desires. How do they affect my relationship with God? Became my concern. Does what I do enhance or damage that relationship became the new basis for what I did or didn't do. As I valued my relationship, I became more and more the governor and not others and outside forces as I value my relationship with my parents as a child, for example, and sought therefore to respect, honor, and love them.
I discovered it was for those same reasons that I valued my relationship with God. It is and was why I would obey God, honor God, and submit to God I loved him and he loved me. That's what I learned in my 90 day wandering experience. Everything going forward was to be put through the prism of valuing the relationship.
I now understood and better understand what Paul meant. When he was saying in Romans 8 38 and 39, for, I'm persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
I discovered that the, that passage was not merely a declaration from Paul of his love for God. I. As often thought, but it was also a bold declaration of how much love God has for us and is committed to us. Verse 35 asked Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? I realized God, Jesus Christ had reconciled me, embraced me.
Yes, the unworthy justifiably guilty me and sought relationship with me. That was the most significant 90 days of my life. Over the course of my life, I've had many more come to Jesus moments. Moments when I had to remind myself that he's God and I'm not. He's all right and I'm not. He's in control. I'm not.
He knows where, how, and why of my journey. I don't. Even in love, I came to understand that God had a purpose and a plan, and that to be led only by my flesh or soul was injurious to my relationship with him, affected my hearing, his voice, or seeing his way. As a young man, I desired to be married and follow the normal pattern of young men to find my bride.
After several failed attempts at finding that special one on my own and my own way, I decided to turn that part of my life over to God as well. I had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. I don't know what I'm doing. It was sometime later, but it did happen one August evening in 1971 while attending the premus service to our state convocation, I walked upon the one God had for me.
I knew it immediately. There were a few early obstacles, though. She wasn't really thinking about me in the same way I was at that moment thinking about her. We knew each other, but it was in a casual way. Hi and see you around. But that evening, at that moment, I saw the present and the future. I said, hello, but instead of continuing on, I stopped and waited.
I. And the rest is history. 47 years later, we are still married and she's still the one, the only one for me. There are many chapters in my life as there are with any life. These are just a few of the chapters of my life, but they are the significant few chapters. They helped establish the foundation of my walk, the strength of my conviction, and the basis of right relationship with God.
Life is a continuum, and along that continuum, there are moments, events, experiences, and opportunities that come together and present it to us. Choices and decisions, those choices and decisions offer us opportunity to receive or reject, learn or not to learn, succeed, or fail. We make decisions and choices, and we seek to manage and control our decisions and choices.
Because we can't manage or control our circumstances and the results of our decisions and choices at the foundation of who I am, who any of us are is the purpose of God for us, acknowledge and yield to his purpose and we reach the divine destiny he set for us from the beginning, ignore, be ignorant of or rebel against his purpose.
And we become nothing but the sum total of our uncontrollables family culture, D n a, heredity, our experiences, our environment, others' wishes, hopes and dreams, and on and on. And the end result of that mix is being unfulfilled, living beneath our privilege as God's children, though created in his image and after his likeness.
Leadership transcript
I heard to my surprise, God say these words, I release you. I was stunned and began to give God all of the reasons he was mistaken in releasing me. I reminded God of the condition of my grandfather, the dependency he and the church had on me to stay the course, steady the ship and hold my pastor's arms up.
In my mind, surely God missed those details in this unexpected declaration that I was released, but God's response to me was swift, and sure I've got this. No one monkey stops the show. This is my church. This is my man, pastor Thomas. These are my people and I will take care of them. I release you.
Leadership. Learning to lead is a journey that begins with learning how to humbly follow. It is in times of failure that our greatest lessons for leadership are learned to miss those lessons is to guarantee failure. In leading those two statements, probably best describe my pathway to understanding what true leadership is and the means by which I can make any claim to being a good leader.
A backward glance along the path to leadership for me are many remnants of my failure along the way. Being selected and sometimes even being thrust into leadership has been common for my life. This is connected to my being the first and so many things in my life. The first child, the first nephew, the first grandson, et cetera, there was an expectation of leadership.
The qualities emphasized to me concerning leaders and leadership were honesty, integrity, truthfulness, humility, character, trust, excellence, and know your limitations. That last one, know your limitations emphasized to me by my father was related to me in the following way. If you know you're not qualified for a job, have the honesty of heart.
And presence of mind to not take it. If after you've taken a job and find you're not up to it, have the honesty and humility to give it back. I've been surrounded by good and great leaders all of my life. Several of those leaders had a profound effect upon how I fashioned myself as a leader. The most obvious influencer was and is Jesus Christ.
I. Jesus first and foremost was focused. He understood who he was, why he was where he was going, and how he was to get there. Whenever Jesus met a problem, he consulted with the father or followed the pathway that was natural for who he was and who he represented. Jesus honored his father and the purpose he was sent to fulfill on behalf of his father.
Therefore, Jesus was never distracted. He made decisions that kept him on the pathway. He started and he didn't veer off. Seeking to be like Jesus in this way was and is challenging for me in life. We have many distractions, many disappointments, and it is sometimes hard not to be discouraged, dismayed, and distracted.
The lesson that Jesus teaches is that to remain focused on the call and the task protects the precious moments. We have to fulfill God's mission in us and through us from many moments. We really don't have. We must always remember that we are joining God in what he's doing. We are co-ed, co-laborers cooperating with him.
He doesn't need us to initiate anything for him. He asks us to join him in what he's already doing without us. By the way, I say all the time, I'm going to stop asking God to bless what I'm doing. I'm just going to do what He's blessing. And as I've said again so many times before, that is not just a turn of phrase or an example of clever wordsmithing.
It's reflective of a knowledge and attitude that says God is in control. The other major influencers in my life as a leadership model and an example were Ltt Thomas, my grandfather and my pastor. He exemplified faithfulness, was a prayer, carried the virtue of meekness well, and was long suffering. He showed me what it means to serve another without ambition or divisiveness.
And commit oneself to another man's vision. Bishop George Dallas McKinney inspired me to a belief that one could be intellectual learned and anointed. Early in my life when I was thinking of preaching, elder McKinney came to our church as a recent graduate of Oberlin College. He was young, energetic, and represented someone to aspire to emulate Elder McKinney Was approachable available and always pleasant.
Elder McKinney left Toledo when I was 13 years old, but his influence upon me has lasted for over 57 years. He left me with a sense that integrity and character and person and ministry are critically important. He remains one of my favorite leader preachers. Bishop Walter. Earl Jordan epitomized the gifted, personable, eloquent, young leader.
He assumed his pastoral leadership at a very young age. I watched him lead a young congregation through there and his maturity, and he led with dignity and a sense of purpose and a strong sense that he knew where he was and he knew where he was going. He was innovative and he was not afraid to take a risk.
In leading Elder Jordan was famous for one-liners and leaving you thinking about his pearls of wisdom and gems of knowledge with. Hmm. My most frequently used principle I received from Bishop Jordan was an answer to my question of him, how do you maintain your composure in the face of resistance, rebellion, and slow walking?
His response was classic. I don't try to lead people where they don't want to go. Bishop j o Patterson, the first presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ. Was also a great influencer on me as it applies to leadership. Example, the year of his appointment was 1968. 1968 was my first year attending the Church of God in Christ Holy convocation.
And that year's official message, Bishop Patterson's subject was taken from Revelation three and one, and unto the angel of the church and Sardis Wright. These things sayeth. He that have seven spirits of God and the seven stars, I know thy works. Th thou has the name th Thou Live and Art dead. That message impacted me in a profound way.
It affected my perspective on my personal walk. It brought me face-to-face with the perspective that a church, my church, Needed to take an introspective look at herself and its leader was bringing that to her. It spoke to me on what the responsibility of leadership is to those who choose to follow the leader truth.
Bishop Patterson inspired me to think broadly, think outside of tradition, but not demean traditions. He inspired me to excellence in preaching, excellence in leadership. He served as presiding bishop for 22 years. In the course of Bishop Patterson's leadership, I saw leadership that was transformative, and it was also full of contention, controversy, resistance, and at times chaos and turmoil.
But in the midst and in spite of those distractions of contention and controversy, resistance, chaos, and turmoil. He demonstrated an ability to take it on and adapt and lead. There are many others who made an impression upon me and showed me insights to effective leadership. They included Bishop g Patterson, Bishop Charles E.
Blake, Bishop William James, and Bishop j Deano Ellis. Each of them had unique qualities that have incorporated would make you a better leader. I believe leadership is at its best. When it is properly focused away from and beyond the personal interest of the leader. Additionally, effective leadership is at its highest integrity.
When it is in a, in alignment with something greater than the leader, the Christian leader must always remember and never forget that this is God's mission, God's vision, God's ministry, and God's people. He's privileged me. To join him in what he is doing. I say all the time, and I'm going to stop asking God to bless what I'm doing.
I'm just going to do what he's blessing. That's more, as I've said many times before than a turn of phrase or an example of clever wordsmithing. It's reflective of a knowledge and attitude that said God is in control and he knows what he's doing. Of course I have in the past forgotten that very fact. At times.
I can remember once deciding that because of the physical condition of my pastor, my grandfather, because he had suffered a stroke, which accelerated the oncoming of dementia, which limited greatly his ability to carry out his pastoral duties. It was incumbent upon me and I decided that it was important for me to be around.
And support him and the church and the people that I loved. At the time, I was working for I B M as a marketing rep and had reached a point where I needed to review my five-year development plan. Because of those aforementioned facts, I informed my manager that I decided to pursue my career path in the Toledo branch office rather than pursue promotion out of the branch along a pathway to upper management, we concluded the plan, jointly signed off on it.
And it was entered into my employee file. Two weeks after that, I heard to my surprise, God, say these words, I release you. I was stunned and began to give God all of the reasons he was mistaken in releasing me. I reminded God of the condition of my grandfather, the dependency he and the church had on me to stay the course, steady the ship and hold my pastor's arms up.
In my mind, surely God missed those details in this unexpected declaration that I was released, but God's response to me was swift, and sure I've got this. No one monkey stops the show. This is my church. This is my man, pastor Thomas. These are my people and I will take care of them. I release you. I went away from that experience having learned a critical lesson about God and about myself, about God.
I learned this. He is always ahead of us. He knows all things and never misses a detail. He knows where he wants you when you are to be there, and He what what he wants you to do and what he wants to do with you when you are in the place you're supposed to be. About myself. I learned that despite honorable intentions when God speaks, listen, hear, and obey, regardless of how illogical it may seem, listen, hear, and obey regardless of how inconsistent it may be with the status quo or what's comfortable or even what makes sense or even what was truth yesterday.
If God says something, listen, hear, and obey, and I learned, and not for the last time, simply listen, hear, and obey. That lesson would be repeated and experienced a few more times in my journey to become a leader. Another lesson on my leader journey was when I was leading new Jerusalem, church of God in Christ in a new building project.
We had determined that we had reached a point where we wanted and needed a new church. We wanted and needed a church that better served our growing congregation, that reflected who we thought we had become as a church and as a reward for our faithfulness to mission and vision of the church. We were enthused, motivated, unified, and in hot pursuit of our vision.
We felt we had the three elements that guaranteed success in God. We had vision, unity, and leadership, Genesis 11 records for us that God himself declared that those three elements were key to man achieving anything he sets his mind to. And the Lord said, behold the people is one and they have all one language and this they begin to do.
And now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do in that passage are the elements of unity, leadership, and vision. What was missing in the vision of Nimrod and the people who sought to build the Tower of Babel was that God had not directed the building of the tower and glorifying God was not the purpose of the building.
Genesis 11 and four and they said, go to let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. What was missing in our endeavor to build a new church, which was also missing in Nimrod's desire to build the Tower of Babel.
Was gut that God had not directed us to build. We felt that a new building was the next logical thing for our ministry. Secondly, God had another plan, and the location of that plan was not Nebraska Avenue, but Oakwood Avenue. I didn't understand God's divine plan because it wasn't revealed to me, but it wasn't revealed to me because in seeking him in prayer, I essentially prayed this prayer.
Lord, this is what I'm getting ready to do. Put your approval on it. Lord. Bless what we're doing though things seem to be working in our favor. We had enthusiasm to do it, commitment from the people to make the sacrifices, to get it done favoring the form of services, which saved us tremendous amounts of money and greatly reduced our development time.
But one thing was missing. We did not have God's directed purpose as our guide. God was way ahead of us, and he wanted us to do another work that was important to him, fit his Aginwa, and fulfilled his vision and not ours. So what are the lessons in this short time, I seek to convey what leadership is and means to me.
Leadership is the function of followership, servanthood, knowing God's will and purpose. And dependently totally upon God for direction, purpose, and his chosen pathway. The best summary of leadership, which I have come to understand and now seek to guide my way, is Robert Greenleaf's description of servant leadership.
It reads thusly, the servant leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. To serve first, then conscious Choice brings one To aspire, to lead the servant first seeks to make sure that other people's highest priority needs are being served. The best test is do those served, grow as persons?
Do they while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer? More autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants. And what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit, or at least not be further deprived? That my friends, is the essence of being a leader.
Legacy Transcript
As a pastor teacher, I have as my chief purpose to teach impart God's word, God's law, commandments, and promises. In doing that, it's critical that what remains from that teaching and impartation is truth, the truth that sets men and women free. A freedom from the dominance and influence of sin, self, and faithfulness.
It begins with me. I must guard against the entrapments of self individualism, fame, fortune, popularity, and acceptance. All of that translates as a life philosophy rooted in grounded in purpose. We each have a purpose, and that purpose does not begin and end with us To follow a life purpose that begins and ends with me translates to little or no positive or redeeming legacy left to others.
If my life is defined by stuff, then stuff is all I can leave, all I can pass on and time eats up the value of stuff to others. My name on a street, sign, a bridge, a school, a window, or a bench may cause people to know my name, but there's nothing of me that is passed on or remembered what I do for with and through others.
To me is what constitutes legacy.
Legacy. Each man and woman is born with a purpose. Talents and gifts, A God designed pathway and a destiny. As we live out our lives, we search for our purpose, discover and use our talents and gifts, begin to take steps along our pathway, all of which lead us to our destiny. Along the way, we make decisions.
Which are influenced by family culture, events and circumstances which impact our pathway and our destiny at the end of life. The sum total of our life experiences, choices, decisions, influences, relationships, all work together to form what some call destiny. So what is this thing called legacy? What is it?
What does it look like? The common definitions of legacy are a bequest or inheritance, A gift handed down, endowed or conveyed from one person to another. What we leave behind for the people we serve some synonyms for the word legacy, are estate, gift, tradition, bequest, birthright. Endowment and heirloom.
That's what the world says. Legacy is. Some seek to put legacy in perspective by asking and answering the question, how do I want my grandchildren to remember me? And what have I done that is memorable? That says that legacy consists of memorable and significant events, accomplishments, and contributions to life or society.
But in my way of thinking, that perspective is rather limiting and dependent upon privilege, opportunity, resource that is made available to one in life. It removes large swaths of mankind from leaving a legacy to succeeding generations, a legacy that they will have to fuel their visions and dreams. I believe legacy is broader than that.
I believe that legacy is every man's gift. To those who associate with him are related to him, work with him, encounter him, succeed, or follow him. So how would I answer the question? How do I want my grandchildren to remember me and what have I done that is memorable? I would say that is rather difficult to answer at this moment.
I'm still going through life, still doing, still giving, still learning, still receiving, serving, teaching, and growing. There's still more to add to my contribution and building of legacy, but if pressed to answer that question based upon an up to now assessment, I would have to say it's the full body of my life and work in serving God and others.
Teaching and sharing God's word, imparting experience, and any wisdom God has graced me with. I choose to highlight those things in my life because I firmly believe legacy is what we deposit in others from those skills, gifts, experience, and any wisdom we receive from God and life. So how would I define legacy?
Again, the definition I'm most comfortable with is legacy, is what is deposited in people. Through their relationship or association with us. It includes our words, wisdom, life lessons, examples of character and integrity. It is connected very closely to impartation. The word impart means to give, convey, or grant impartation then is the act of giving or granting something in the Bible.
Spiritual gifts are imparted. Romans one and 11, wisdom is imparted. Proverbs 29 15. The message of the gospel is imparted one. Thessalonians two and eight and material goods are imparted. Ephesians 4 28 and one Timothy six 18. Some translations use the word share as a replacement for impart because of the nature of what is past, shared or imparted.
Legacy is serious stuff. We do it whether we are aware or not, whether it's intentional or not. Legacy happens. Legacy happens at the intellectual level and the spiritual level. The Old Testament speaks to legacy. In Psalm 78 and four, it reads, we will not hide from them, their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might.
And the wonders that he has done. Deuteronomy six, five through seven reads, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk.
By the way, And when you lie down and when you rise. And lastly, Psalms 1 45 and four, one generation shall command your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. So you see biblical legacy is connected to our responsibility, to our children, and succeeding generations. We have to be aware that God has made it a responsibility of the fathers to speak into the life of their children.
To speak God's word into his children's life. In addition, we are to model the life we speak of, teach the word we live, and show examples in life of what that looks like. The causes in our life capture us and elicit from us that which burdens our heart or our spirit, and inspires our soul. It leads us to act and react that are many causes that move me.
We live in a world in which causes are plentiful but of late. The one that bothers me and moves me the most is the attack and marginalization of the church in the eyes of people, people outside of the church, and so many unfortunately within. I understand that this condition is not uncommon in the history of mankind, but is real and now prevalent in the day that I now live.
I believe God, I believe his word. I accept his authority and sovereignty in the universe, the world and my life. The church is God's gift to the reconciliation of man, the reestablishment of community among men, the facilitation to right relationship with God and man. The church is the means by which the love of God is demonstrated, taught, manifested in the lives and relationships of those who are the church.
And represent God's son, Jesus Christ in the world. The world, and far too much of the church has lost any semblance of awareness of the role of the church in our society and the unity of God. The church is in some respects, God's legacy to prodigal mankind. Another perspective on legacy is found in the question, what will you be known for when you leave this earth?
The most influential people, those who leave behind incredible legacies will live on in the hearts of the people they touch physically. They may no longer be a part of society, but their principles, philosophies, and achievements will become immortal spreading from generation to generation. I often think about the myriad of challenges that exist in the local church community and for the community the church lives in.
I formulate responses to many of those challenges even though I realize that I don't have the means to solve most of them. However, I feel it'll come incumbent upon me and every leader to ponder them and bring intellect and spirit to imagining solutions to those challenges. It is consistent to our philosophy to meet a need, make a friend, be a friend, and win a soul.
This, it's reflects itself in our ministry mission. We have made the transition as a local church from a passive inReach church to an aggressive outreach church. Becoming a part of the community where our church is located is high on our vision priority list. Our vision includes the concept of operating out of seven competency centers.
As a pastor teacher, I have as my chief purpose to teach impart God's word, God's law, commandments, and promises. In doing that, it's critical that what remains from that teaching and impartation is truth, the truth that sets men and women free. A freedom from the dominance and influence of sin, self, and faithfulness.
It begins with me. I must guard against the entrapments of self individualism, fame, fortune, popularity, and acceptance. All of that translates as a life philosophy, rooted and grounded in purpose. We each have a purpose, and that purpose does not begin at end with us. To follow a life purpose that begins and ends with me translates to little or no positive or redeeming legacy left to others.
If my life is defined by stuff, then stuff is all I can leave, all I can pass on and time eats up the value of stuff to others. My name on a street, sign, a bridge, a school, a window, or a bench may cause people to know my name, but there's nothing of me that is passed on or remembered what I do for with and through others.
To me is what constitutes legacy. Legacy is not only the product of individuals, it is also the product of people, organizations, churches. Our local church is currently engaged in building a new building. Our emphasis and intent in the design of that building is tied directly to our ministry purpose and vision, not the aesthetics of the building itself.
The new building is reflective of our progressive evolution. Of our mission vision aimed at our community, the people of that community, and meeting the needs of the people in that community. Our mission statement says, A world in which the Saints of New Life are a growing and caring community of faith.
Passionately modeling the life of Jesus Christ, in which it is our aim to cooperate with God, to build a church that is great enough to impact greater Toledo and focus enough to make genuine disciples. If we as a church are to be positive legacy contributors to our succeeding generations and the community we serve, we must seek to be consistently engaged in establishing and living out our positive biblical principles and practices.
We must impart and share the biblical promises of our faith. We must live out God's commandments promoting the care and grace of our savior. We must remember and never forget. That our relationships and relational encounters in this life constitute our contribution to this thing called legacy Scripture does much to help us understand the place and impact of legacy in our life and the life of others.
Proverbs 1322 reads a good man, leaveth and inheritance to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just this verse, keys, our goals, vision, and our legacy. Front and center Joshua four and six reads that this may be a sign among you that when your children ask their fathers in time to come saying what mean ye by these stones, then ye shall answer them that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the arc of the covenant of the Lord when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off and these stones shall be for memorial.
Unto the children of Israel forever, a lasting legacy, one that continues for eternity is set in stone, written on our hearts and the hearts of our loved ones. A belief in Jesus Christ as the son of the living God and savior of the world is the legacy that lasts. Leaving a legacy is an important part of one's life's work.
A legacy develops from a life dedicated to self-reflection and will. And purpose what will be revealed and what will endure is a truthful and value-driven body of living. Every one of us is going to leave a legacy. It just depends on what kind. So what kind of legacy do you want to leave? I encourage you to think about it because knowing how you want to be remembered helps you decide how to live and work today.
Consider the following ways to leave a legacy. Number one, a legacy of excellence. St. Francis of as sissy said, it's no use walking anywhere to preach unless your preaching is your walking. To leave a legacy of excellence, strive to be your best every day. As you strive for excellence, you inspire excellence in others.
You serve as a role model for your children, your friends, and your colleagues. One person in pursuit of excellence raises the energy standards and behaviors of everyone around them. Your life is your greatest legacy, and since you only have one life to give, give all you can. A second way to leave a legacy is a legacy of encouragement.
You have a choice. You can lift others up or bring them down 20 years from now when people think of you. What do you want them to remember? What stories do you want them to tell? Who will you encourage today? Be that person that someone will call five, 10, or 20 years from now and say, thank you. I couldn't have done it without you.
A third way to leave a legacy is a legacy of purpose. People are most energized when they are using their strengths and talents for purpose beyond themselves. To leave a legacy of purpose, make your life about something bigger than you. While you're not going to live forever, you can live on through the legacy you leave and the positive impact you make in the world.
A fourth way to leave a legacy is a legacy of love. I often think about my mom who passed away 17 years ago. And when I think about her, I don't recall her faults and mistakes or the disagreements we had after all, who is perfect? Certainly not me. But what I remember most about her was her love for me and for others.
She gave me a legacy of love that I now share with others. Share a legacy of love, and it will embrace generations to come. I recently read an article on how to leave a legacy entitled, how to Make An Impact. Number one, support the people and causes that are important to you. Number two, reflect and decide what is most important in your life.
Number three, share your blessings with others. And number four, be a mentor to others. Lastly, number five, pursue your passions. Your passions are your legacy. Passion comes from an outpouring of the interests and ideas that make a difference in your life. Finding and pursuing your passion allows you to live your life wholeheartedly and with full intent.
Leaving a legacy is an important part of your life's work. A legacy develops from a life dedicated to self-reflection. And purpose. What will be revealed and what will endure is a truthful and value-driven body of living for me, discovering Christ, pursuing right relationship with him, understanding my purpose, by and through him, became my compassion.
Because I believe that legacy is what we deposit, share, impart in people, the people we influence, the people we lead, serve, and befriend. I can't say that my legacy is complete. I am, as I said before, still living, learning, growing, discovering, failing and succeeding as a person in this world and expanding my circle and sphere of influence.
But I believe that all that works together to set the legacy of my life and my being, and I'm not done yet. We all make legacy. It just happens as we live. We don't all pay attention to the legacy we are making and leaving. For some, they're not consciously aware that as they interact and influence people, that constitutes legacy.
For others, they are so self-absorbed, self-focused that they give no thought of it or care what their legacy may be. Let me close by reciting for you the wisdom of others concerning legacy. All good. Men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine.
Jim Ron, carve your name on hearts not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you. Shannon Alder, if you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead. Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. Benjamin Franklin, no. Legacy is so rich as honesty.
William Shakespeare, the great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. William James, you make your mark by being true to who you are and letting that be your staple, Kat Graham. The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example, Benjamin Desiree.
And lastly, your story is the greatest legacy that you'll leave to your friends. It's the longest lasting legacy you will leave to your heirs. Steve Saint Legacy, we all have one and we all make one.
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