Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

At the heart of every leader should be the desire to see people develop. Personal development is ‘part and parcel’ of the move from ordinary to extra-ordinary, from fear to faith and from a follower to a great leader. Let us take a look at the apostle Peter. Prior to Pentecost, he was an angry, violent man who was subject to fits of rage and petulance. He also proved that he was disrespectful of authority and when the chips were down, he was a coward at heart (see Matt 26).

Although he was a good businessman who provided for his family, he had never been delivered from the traits handed down to him. However, he left the fishing business he ran and went back to school with Jesus the master prophet/teacher for three years. After graduation, he still had flaws in his character that needed attention. He experienced the Pentecostal outpouring and gave a speech on the morning after the night before that has gone down in the annals of biblical history. The fisherman who was to become a fisher of men and one of the pillars of the New Testament church, still had flaws. He was still legalistic with a religious spirit (see Acts 10). He was also a prejudiced Jew with a superiority complex (see Galatians 2) who needed further deliverance after almost twenty years in church leadership.

Peter’s continued professional development is a model for all those whose desire it is to lead others. He got it wrong on several occasions. He opened his mouth and sometimes the wrong words came out. However, because of the grace of God at work in him, he was able to take correction from a junior apostle, Paul in Galatians 2, wrote two fantastic books and was at the start of a movement that now encompasses 1/3 of the world’s population of 7 billion. So you want to be a leader eh, then you will need CPD, continued personal deliverance! Start yours today. Ask Jesus  to reveal to you the areas in your life that needs attention.